Hi all,
Here is the aggregated input received on topic #4 "How small farms address future challenges"
-- best, Peter.
Q4.1/11 - Question: "4.1. Within your region, what are the three main challenges that small farms face in the future? Why? Are these different from past challenges? If so, why?"
1/ From: Florence Egal <[log in to unmask]> (France/Italy)
I come from a sustainable development and territorial perspective. it is quite clear to me (including from the - very interesting - contributions I have been reading) that small farms have a comparative advantage in local economies, sustainable diets and resilience and that we should work from farmers knowledge, traditions and initiatives. Participatory approaches from the local level up is essential.
The present economic development model (pushed by both corporate agriculture and governments) remains by and large commodity driven and export driven. It ignores the multi functionality of agriculture. Getting enough cheap and standard food to supermarkets and hotels Is often the main objective, reticent farmers are considered ignorant, land plots need to be consolidated for mechanisation and supply of agricultural inputs, with obvious impacts on environment, biodiversity and health. Local markets have lost their importance and people are leaving agriculture because living in rural areas means poor access to health, education or other social services. It is clear that this process is unsustainable.
On the other hand there is increasing awareness that small farmers can contribute to, and benefit from, shorter food chains and that consumers are interested in knowing where their food comes from and how it tastes. The demand for organic, seasonal and local food is on the rise and people are "shopping out" on supermarkets. Fair trade and animal welfare have also become visible concerns. Food hubs, food processing of local and niche products and catering are generating jobs. And public procurement and eco-tourism are providing entry point for more sustainable food systems. Small farmers do need more income, but also social services and healthy lifestyles. Knowledge management of promising local practices is urgently needed to learn from the field and disseminate sustainable approaches
What I am therefore missing in this consultation is what is the context and the purpose of organising small farms. In the context of Agenda 2030, it is urgent that we frame the conversation within a bioregional perspective. The growing attention given to agro-ecology should help us in doing that.
2/ From: Mayank Jain <[log in to unmask]> (India)
Another important challenges which I see and can relate to is access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy, access to affordable electricity for one:
This is required both for growing crops as well as for post harvest loss reduction perspectives.
(Moderator: And for what I have seen in many parts of India, a crucial issue to have access to water - In many parts of Punjab e.g., the water level has dropped that much, that deep-water pumps are needed to access water for irrigation. And these pumps need electricity. No electricity, no pumps, now irrigation, no crops... In this region, I saw quite some government projects to provide electricity to farmers, on a subsidy basis, specifically for irrigation systems)
3/ From: Richard Yeboah <[log in to unmask]> (Ghana)
This is a response to the input from Teresa Pinto Correia <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> (Portugal) who said:
If a small farm does not have the skills (Moderator: or ability/opportunity) to colaborate, how does he/she get these skills? if you do not have access to knowledge or do not know how to use it, how can these skill be improved?
There are drivers which need to be there otherwise the solutions do not work, and "the acquisition of drivers" is my main question.
To which Richard replied:
There should be the revival of training in cooperatives at the institutions of higher learning. In our University there is one course 'Principles of Cooperative Practices', the only cooperative course (core for a department) but interest in the course is very low and if students were given to opportunity to choice they will hardly choose it.
__________________
Q4.2/11 - Question: "4.2. To cope with these future challenges, do small farms require new innovations and adaptation techniques? And if so, which?"
1/ From: Mahesh Chander <[log in to unmask]> (India)
Yes, farmers' collective efforts would pay dividends; individually they can’t handle the challenges. In gradual process-Informal association, self help group, farmer producer organization to producer company, farmer can benefit coming closer to each other for sharing resources to produce and market their produce. Here is a success story. One of the key requirements will be soft skills, the Extension and Advisory services can help on this so that the association doesn’t get dissolved due to misunderstanding and conflicts commonly seen. The small scale farmers need a lot of informal extension educational efforts to improve their understanding of cooperation.
2/ From: Karin Nichterlein <[log in to unmask]> (Italy)
Karin is an agricultural research officer at FAO, and a member of the SALSA team.
This is an answer to a question from Mayank Jain <[log in to unmask]> (India): How can we ensure that weather information obtained is processed and presented as an advisory to the farmers which has considerably helped them. Any success story to share and learn?
To which Karin replied: Julien de Meyer provided earlier an example of the apple industry by smallholders in South Tyrol. This sector is supported by a private advisory service (“Beratungsring”) with almost 7,000 members offering a well-functioning weather information service. Weather data is collected through a network of 130 weather stations, actualised every 5 minutes, and used for weather forecast. The data is successfully used to warn farmers of frost, a serious threat to apple producers in South Tyrol. Member farmers can access these data through internet (two third of members use internet), a mobile application of the advisory service or through SMS.
3/ From: Richard Yeboah <[log in to unmask]> (Ghana)
As are reply to the input from Mayank Jain <[log in to unmask]> (India), who said: How can we ensure that weather information obtained is processed and presented as an advisory to the farmers which has considerably helped them. Any success story to share and learn?
To which Richard replied: There is an annual workshop in Northern Ghana (led by CARE Ghana) just before the beginning of the farming season where weather data is analysed and predictions made making use of the Meteorological department specialists. Some predictions are made and farmers are give advise as to what to do. This needs evaluation to know how effective it has been.
There is also a very good development to help reduce the effect of climate on small farmers in Ghana. This is the introduction of 'Crop Insurance' which is growing gradually to help farmers gain some cushioning in case of weather failure.
4/ From: Dennis Escudero <[log in to unmask]> (Italy)
As a response to an input from Mark Redman <[log in to unmask]> (Romania), who said: One approach I’m particularly interested to hear more about is the hybrid concept of ‘Productive Alliances’ that has been promoted by the World Bank in Latin America for linking smallholders, buyers and the public sector in order to improve smallholder access to major markets.
To which Dennis replied:
I think that the mentioned World Bank document presents detailed information about the concepts and examples of the implementation of Productive Alliance projects considering different realities of the Latin-American countries. Thus, the question could be answered considering the following sections: i) the productive Alliance approach (10 – 12), ii) Subproject preparation and selection (pag. 30 – 32) and iii) Subproject financing (pag. 34 – 38).
In addition, it is important to consider that the methodological approach and the implementation model of the “Productive Alliances” – demand-based projects with territorial approach- facilitate the participation and interactions of producers, buyers and public institutions. Typically, the local governments support the smallholders and buyers because these public entities have institutional responsibilities in promoting the economic development in their territories. In this sense, the “Productive Alliance Projects” can leverage significant public and private resources of the different levels of governments (national, regional and local) in order to improve the product value chains. For instance, the “Productive Alliance Project” in Peru was implemented by a specialized national entity. The regional and local governments actively participated in the promotion, elaboration, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the business plans by having a crucial role in articulating the producers and buyers with the territorial development priorities. The local governments co-financed strategic business plans that were aligned with the territorial development plans. In this way, small farmers can access to better and competitive markets at the national and international levels with the involvement of national, regional and local governments in the implementation process of the “Productive Alliances”.
########################################################################
To unsubscribe from the SMALL-FARMS-L list, click the following link:
https://listserv.fao.org/scripts/wa-fao.exe?SUBED1=SMALL-FARMS-L&A=1
|