February 19, 2010

Small farmers seen as cornerstone in agriculture investments

A new analysis charged that global aid and policy programmes have neglected smallholder farmers, who feed much of the world today and are key to future food security.

The analysis report is authored by scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the World Bank.

The authors urged wealthy countries to look beyond business investments. Billions of dollars promised to fund programmes to boost small-scale agriculture in developing countries are unlikely to succeed in feeding the world's rising populations, due to multiple factors. The factors include rising populations and changing environments, and little intellectual commitment to the omnipresent small-scale "mixed" farmers who raise both crops and livestock, and are the source of much of today's food supplies and economic development, according to the report.

Smallholder mixed farmers, particularly in Africa and Asia, have been overlooked by donors and policymakers because they typically cultivate small plots of land while tending only a few livestock. Yet collectively these farmers are responsible for most of the world's food production, and they are the key to any efforts to boost production in the developing world, said the report.

The small mixed system can be models of efficient farming, with livestock providing the draft power to till the land and leftover crop residues serving as feed for animals. Produce from the animal can also serve as important sources of income and protein needs, as well as a buffer against failed harvests.

This integrated approach to farming offers many opportunities to increase food production sustainably in the developing world, where over the next few decades will be expected to accommodate a massive population surge, adding great stresses to the already squeezed agricultural systems.

But the potential of the integrated approach will require reorienting agricultural policies to support smallholder farmers facing an array of challenges, including climate change, rising demand for livestock demand, and competition for natural resources, the last of which is the most crucial issue as the world's natural resources are being severely stretched amid a prediction that world population will explode to nine billion people in the next few decades.

An attractive but neglected approach is to channel investments toward boosting productivity in areas not yet seen as prime agricultural lands. With proper land preparation and cautious use of fertilisers, lands lying between fertile regions and dry rangelands could triple production of dryland crops. Meanwhile, breeders are developing new varieties of these crops that offer both higher yields and better crop residues that can be used as livestock feed.

The report says there should be at least a balance of investments between the livestock and crop sectors, as livestock is equally important to the health of smallholder farms yet receive a lot less funds. Farmers could also benefit from livestock breeding for more efficient animals, said the report.

Investments must also be made to redress poorly managed livestock intensification efforts that pollution water sources and encourage outbreaks of both human and animal diseases. But intensification itself carries risks of disease outbreaks, and effects could be worsened by poor disease control and underfunded veterinary services. The analysis recommends the development of disease surveillance and early warning systems to manage these risks.     

There is potential in smallholder mixed crop-and-livestock systems waiting to be tapped, said Carlos Sere, Director General of ILRI.

"Smallholder farmers have always shown amazing ability to adapt to changing conditions. With the right kinds of support, these traditional mixed farming systems can be modified to become pathways out of economic and environmental poverty," Sere concluded.