Download - 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