Looking ahead: small-scale farming is the way to go

With increasing large-scale land acquisitions by foreign investors in Africa, the prospects for small-scale farmers are not looking too promising.  Many small scale farmers barely scrape by to provide for their families, and with large scale land acquisitions, they face the danger of having their land taken from them or of not being able to compete in the market.   It is thought that large scale land acquisitions are not the best way to improve food security or to provide sustainable practices.  While large foreign investors may produce in much larger quantities, they are largely producing cereals and not foods that contain high levels of nutrients.  Furthermore, much of the problem of global food security is not that there isn’t enough food globally, but rather an issue with distribution.  Land-grabs will only exacerbate this problem by taking away land from precisely those people who have trouble accessing food to grow food and distribute it elsewhere.  With land-grabs, there is also the likelihood of environmental degradation, as larger farms require the clearing of land.  Therefore, rather than encouraging land acquisitions, it is probably in our best interest to support small scale farmers in these regions to help them be more productive in order to enhance food security.

 One of the biggest issues in small-scale farming in areas affected by land-grabs is the limited resources these farmers have to work with.  One of the biggest problems is the depletion of nutrients in the soil because of high costs and lack of infrastructure through which to purchase fertilizer. 

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), which was established by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, is working to combat this issue.  Through its soil health program, they have placed 9000 vendors within reach of farmers- within five kilometers- so that they can purchase necessary supplies.  Because of their proximity to dealers, farmers are now able to use more fertilizer to improve their soil health and crop production

AGRA has also helped set up infrastructure so that farmers can sell their crops, connecting farmers to business chains. Groups of farmers are also being encouraged to form collectives to which AGRA has provided advice and expertise.  Through these groups, farmers gain bargaining power and can fund communal assets together.

Rather than focusing on purely increasing the amount of food that is produced globally, it is imperative to make sure that food production is increasing in areas that are truly lacking and making sure that food will be distributed to those who need it. Programs such as AGRA’s are very important in the support of small-scale farmers, and are therefore some of the best ways to improve global food security.

Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22329853.100-bill-gatess-epic-project-transforms-farming-in-africa.html#.VBecfpRdU4I