Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
2.1
INTRODUCTION
2.1.1 B roader P icture
Four-fifths of the developing world's food is produced on about half a billion small
farms, supporting more than at least one billion people (International Fund for
Agricultural Development [IFAD] 2012). Smallholder farmers live and earn their
livelihoods in the world's most ecologically and climatically vulnerable land-
scapes—hillsides, drylands, and floodplains—and rely on weather-dependent natu-
ral resources. They are at the forefront of the world's efforts to deal with climate
change and environmental degradation. These women, men, and young people face
enormous difficulties. Yet they are themselves among the poorest and least food-
secure people on Earth. In developed countries, smallholder farmers cannot compete
with large commercial farms producing bulk products and have to focus on “niches”
in the urban market, increasingly being framed in terms of ecosystem services that
go beyond the production of food.
The term “smallholder agriculture” covers a wide variety of farming systems in
different parts of the world. In many developing countries, small farms are often
less than a few hectares in size, supporting only the farming family. Only somewhat
larger farms may be able to grow a limited amount of cash crops for the local mar-
ket. In many developed countries, farm sizes have increased strongly during the last
decades owing to mechanization and rationalization of production; however, many
small farms still exist and increasingly service “niche” markets aimed at urban con-
sumers. Recent reviews (e.g., IFAD 2012) emphasize the enormous diversity of small
farming systems in developing countries, requiring a focus on local conditions when
formulating desirable future developments, as generalizations may be meaningless.
The same diversity applies to small farms in developed countries. Smallholder agri-
culture will be illustrated in the following by a number of case studies, and their
selection has therefore a somewhat arbitrary, subjective character.
Farmers everywhere face three stark challenges over the next four decades. They
must (i) contribute to fulfilling an estimated 60% increase in demand for agricultural
production by 2050 to feed a growing, more urbanized population; (ii) do so facing
growing water scarcity, climate change, and the likelihood that the available area of
arable land will hardly increase. At the same time, soil degradation is proceeding in
many areas, and they must (iii) ensure that developments are sustainable, continuing
to provide a range of ecosystem services to future generations.
Problems and the future potential of smallholder agriculture have been widely
analyzed, also considering the future challenges of climate change, water availability,
and biodiversity loss (e.g., InterAcademy Council [IAC] 2004; Dorward and Chirwa
2011; IFAD 2012; Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO] 2008, 2009, 2010,
2011; Ncube et al. 2009; Garvelink et al. 2012; Herrero et al. 2014; and many others).
The major and well-recognized factors inhibiting future development of smallholder
agriculture in developing countries are (i) declining productivity, (ii) insecure land ten-
ure, (iii) insufficient infrastructure, (iv) inadequate education and training, (v) lack
of new seeds and technologies, and (vi) inadequate financial services. In addition,
many institutional barriers retard development of smallholder practices (e.g., Jiggins
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