Hi all,

Here is the aggregated input on topic #6 - “How can policies affect small farm activities and their resilience?”

Q6.1/5 Question “6.1: What are the policies (international, national or local) in your region that affect the viability and development of small farms, and small farms’ decision making regarding the amount and type of food produced and their ambitions regarding market integration?”

From: Viviane CdV <[log in to unmask]> (Italy)
This is a reply to the query from Dominic Ducket, who asked: "SALSA is interested to hear about and discuss related experiences of small farmers and their advisors across Europe and Africa dealing with rapidly evolving conservation governance affecting the farming world.”
Viviane’s input:
Wolfs arrived by themselves in my neighbourhood. I wonder about the statistic tourism parks get. It is certainly good because they organised a museum (on wolves in the region), and the public curiosity is very high! 
But… I deal with two small farmers who had the visit of the wolves. In one case, 20 goats were killed in one night. This means that you have to report it to the authorities to get a compensation. (If you want a compensation, your goats have to have an ID card (or tag), otherwise you get nothing. How about the newborn goats which have not yet an ID: In that case, no money is reimbursed, and you may also get a fine, if you report ID-less goats, as this is well regulated in Italy.
In a response, the regional government proposed "sheep dogs". For me, this is useless as sheep dogs have to be trained. Who pays for this? Why does the regional government not pay for this training cost?

Vivian also replies to the input from Sigfrido Burgos (USA), who urges that policies need to be evidence/science based (with the government response on avian flu as an example-in-case)...
To which Vivian confirms: In the South of Italy, a multinational constructing a complex of houses in a fantastic scenery, declared the olive had a contagious disease and, as a result, had the old olive trees destructed. I agree completely that a scientific diagnosis is very important. The scientific centers or research organisations should actually recognise these findings. 

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Q6.3/5 Question “6.3: What are the most critical policies that are needed in your region to support small farm development and increase their role in food and nutrition security in the (regional) food system?”

1/ From: Mayank Jain <[log in to unmask]> (India)
On the question raised in Viviane’s input in Q6.3/4: "I think this also brings/highlights my previously raised question on small farm vs contact/corporate/commercial farming."
In context of India, corporate farming is not fully regularized but still is practiced as disguised contractual farming or by taking land on lease. Hence it becomes really difficult to differentiate. As a policy, Govt. of India is in final leg of model contract farming law that takes care of the same. 
Secondly, the promotion of farmer owned institution (groups/companies/clusters) in an ideal world should also protect the interest of farmers and I think that vision is there but it is more like a distant dream (as evident from inputs and observations across the globe)
Thirdly, our paradigms of development only considers GDP, so other 'important' issues take a back seat. I think we should have something like national prosperity index. Then only policy shift or rationale behind protecting small farmers would occur.

In a bid to attract investments in agri sector, land (ownership) laws have been either manipulated by some larger corporate enterprises in the past or laws have been liberalised by some provincial governments (agriculture is a "state subject" in India). 

Also on this topic:
Financial inclusion and financial literacy are two important components which are very important from policy front. 
Also, in India, we have some good schemes even on financial literacy programmes but unfortunately they are suffering on manpower front.
I am interested to know measures taken for financial literacy and it's impact from.differwnr geographies.

Another input from Mayank on this topic:
I also find sometimes there exists total disconnect between bureaucracy and policies which leads to abuse/misuse of position or a policy. There are lot of armchair (policy) naysayers who design policies on whims and fantasies. 
 Can I get some views on the same?

2/ From: Viviane CdV <[log in to unmask]> (Italy)
In Italy, from the 1980-ies to 2010, agriculture was considered a waste of time. 
I disagreed completely. Truly, farming in my zone went through a really bad time, but gradually we recovered. In my region the flower industry is the main crop, in the mountains, the potato agriculture picked up fast, closely followed by vegetables cultivation. Also the cultivation of spices like basilicum picked up fast. The same happened with “pesto”, a signature dish in the Italian Ligurian region, which is also mainly made of herbs.
Today, after the agricultural crisis of 2012/2013, agriculture did not loose its market, on the contrary it grew. 
Not only that, but it is the only section where young people engage in, and enjoy it.
(Policy makers should recognize this, and encourage agriculture, small farms’ agriculture, and youth’s engagement in it)

3/ From: Onima VT <[log in to unmask]> (India)
(Moderator: On the overall importance of small farms…)
In India, according to the Agriculture Census 2010-11, the total number of operational holdings in India numbered 138.35 million with an average size of 1.15 hectares. Of the total holdings, 85 per cent are in marginal and small farm categories of less than 2 hectares and it is expected that about 91 per cent of the total farm holding would belong to small and marginal farmers by 2030.  

These small farms, though operating only on 44 per cent of land under cultivation, are the main providers of food and nutritional security to the nation. Few successful small farm business practiced by Indian farmers are poultry farming, mushroom farming, bee keeping, fish farming, fruit juice-jam-jelly production, vegetable farming, medicinal herbs farming, fodder farming, vermicompost production. Majority of them sale their produce in local  markets or nearby regions.


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