gordon conway: on being a smallholder

Conference onNew Directions for Smallholder Agriculture

GORDON CONWAY, Imperial College, London On Being a SmallholderJan 24 2011

North Borneo (Sabah)

Smallholders ‐ under 2 ha

400 – 500 million smallholders

2 billion people

33 million in Africa

80% of farms in Africa

3 Facts

• the size of land holdings is falling, with the fastest decline in Africa.

• land and water are deteriorating and becoming scarce

• smallholdings remain of primary importance not only to agriculture but to rural development

The Virtuous Circle• As agriculture develops – greater yields and production ofsubsistence and cash crops – smallholders become moreprosperous. The landless also benefit through wage labour.Chronic hunger decreases.

• The rural economy also grows – through the creation ofsmall rural businesses ‐ providing more employment andimproved rural facilities, especially schools and healthclinics. Roads and markets develop. The rural economyconnects to the urban economy and to the growingindustrial sector.

• Free trade provides opportunities for greater imports andexports. High value agricultural exports accelerateagricultural development, further intensifying the virtuouscircle.

A Javanese Home Garden

Labour Productivity in AgricultureUS $ per worker

brazilrealestate.catenaecastro.com.br

Mrs. Namarunda

A single mother farming a hillside in

western Kenya

Survival line

Months

1

2

3

2 31 4

An Insecure Farm

WeedsPests

Drought

Appropriate Technologies

• They are productive; in particular they generate high levels of income

• The production they generate is stable and resilient

• They are readily accessible and affordable. • They do not have significant environmental or human health downsides

Traditional Technologies

Breeding and growing Land races

International Treaty onPlant Genetic Resourcesfor Food and Agriculture

Treadle pump and drip irrigation

Wamalwa Farm, Siritanyi FFS, Kanduyi.Maize-groundnut intercrop providing 5330kg maize and 1203 kg groundnut per ha.These results indicate that MBILI canproduce significant food surpluses.

Rasike Farm, Chililila WG. MBILI maize-soyabeanintercrop providing 1215 kg maize and 545 kgsoyabean per ha when conventional intercropsfailed. These results indicate that MBILI is ameans toward greater food security.

Microdosing in Niger

sing in Niger

Controlling Striga

• 2.4 m ha• $380m loss• Maize resistant to Imazapyr

• Coat seed, herbicide kills Striga

• BASF, Weismann. CIMMYT, IITA, NARS, NGOs

New Platform Technologies

Nanotechnologies

Information and Communication Technologies

Global Information Systems

Biotechnologies

ISAA.org

BT Cotton in Burkina Faso 

Survival line

Months

1

2

3

2 31 4

Weeds Insects & diseases

Drought

Act

ual h

arve

st

SoilFertility

Resilient Crops

A Secure Farm

>2 t/ha

New Seeds

Agrodealers

Incentives for Adoption

• Land Reform

• Output Markets

• Insurance

Land Reform in Rwanda

http://www.livelihoodsrc.dfid.gov.uk/uploads/File/Ebulletins/Issue%203%20December%202007.pdf

Cereal Bank in Western Kenya

Temperature and rainfall projections, 1980 to 1999 versus 2080 to 

2099

scenario A1B

The Atlas Mountains

Argan Oiland

Euphorbia Honey

Nwadjahane, Southern MozambiqueIncreasingly frequent and severe droughts, floods, and storms

Fertile lowlands good crops but can be destroyed during flood

Highlands good crops of maize and cassava during flood years, but less productive otherwise

http://www.geog.ox.ac.uk/research/landscape/projects/adaptiv...

Eduardo Mondlane

In many places extreme events (e.g. droughts and floods) will occur with

greater frequency and intensity

How do we build Resilient Livelihoods?

Russia and Pakistan 2010

Goddard GHCN_GISS_HR2SST_1200km_Anom07_2010_2010_1951_1980

Logistics cluster, Islamabad

Where are the Greenhouse Gases coming from?

Agriculture’s Greenhouse Gases

• CO2 – deforestation, loss of soil carbon

• Methane – flooded rice, enteric fermentation in cattle

• Nitrous Oxide – microbial transformation of nitrogen in soils and manures

Win-win SolutionsConservation Farming in Zimbabwe

Ploughed

3 years minimum

2-4 tonnes C/ha

Going to Scale – Some principles• The private sector is key

• In most cases there has to be a public‐private partnership. 

• Each value chain is likely to be different. 

• The value added needs to be biased to the lower levels of the value chain to achieve better equity. 

• There is likely to be a significant role for farmer associations

• much of the success depends on the details of the pathways, processes and deals between the partners that are struck.  

•

A Comprehensive Framework

Enabling national governments in partnerships with aid agencies, NGOs and the private sector, to help smallholders achieve food security for themselves and their communities and at the same time sustainably increase their incomes