Hi all,

Here is the aggregated input received on topic #2 ""Small farms’ contribution to resilience of the food system” — Peter

Q2.1/4 - Question: “2.1 What are the ways that small farms contribute to the resilience of the food system in your region? Please provide examples.”

1/ From: Mark Redman <[log in to unmask]> (Romania)
I am Mark Redman from the SALSA project partners in Romania.

Olga Moreno Perez from Spain made a very interesting point in her response to Question 2.1 (ways that small farms contribute to the resilience of food systems).  She highlighted the important contribution of small farms to sustainable FNS (Food and Nutritional Security) that is generated through the informal distribution of food products (commonly including fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables) amongst their networks of extended family members.  This is also a common practice in Romania and is a deeply embedded cultural tradition that continues to sustain the health and happiness of many families – both rural and urban.  However, it is also a practice that is declining.

It is clear that we tend to undervalue such informal food systems, whilst our policy-makers are prone to actively discriminate against them in the name of standardisation and fiscalisation.  Of course, I’m painting a rather simplistic picture since there are also some potentially negative aspects of informal food systems (including problems with food hygiene and safety), but I’m interested to know of any initiatives that actively foster / promote the informal - often family-based - food systems that are commonly associated with small farms in some countries.


2/ From: Harriet Gausi <[log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]> and Prof. Paul Iji <[log in to unmask]> (Australia, Malawi)
My name is Harriet Gausi, I work as Principal Animal Health and Livestock Development Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development at Lilongwe Agricultural Development Division in Malawi. I am currently studying PhD in Agriculture at the University of New England, Australia, under the supervision of Professor Paul Iji.

In Malawi, small farms contribute towards resilience of the food systems in many ways:

1. Village / local / scavenging chickens are generally kept by smallholder farmers (small farms), most of them with less than a hectare of land; and yet they supply village chickens to town and city markets, plus supplying directly to consumers throughout the country. In addition to the fact that this enterprise enables farmers to get income for their livelihood from the chicken sales; the small farms make a huge contribution towards resilience of food system and this will continue for many years to come since currently, big farms are not much involved in animal protein supply to rural areas. Again, small farmers help to reduce the magnitude of malnutrition among children under five of age, with the majority of rural communities relying on animal protein from village chickens.

2. Small farms in Malawi are also involved in food crop production. Apart from the market (Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation), provided by Government for staple food crop, maize, most of the maize and other food crops that are cultivated by small farms are sold to consumers and traders through specific markets, generally along the main roads that connect the three regions of the country. These markets have designated days, every week and they operate throughout the year, but the volume of the produce sold is high immediately post-harvest. Small farms also supply vegetables, fruits and livestock to these markets. The markets act as ‘buffet’ markets, where consumers / traders can get any food, be it crop or livestock.


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