History has shown us that when conditions are right, small farmers have always consistently made dramatic improvements in productivity growth. It is estimated that even if large farmers increase their production by 20 per cent by 2050, smallholder farms will more than double their current production in order to feed a growing population. This places an even bigger challenge on their shoulders. It can be achieved.
Although smallholding farmers are the backbone of the rural economy, they are bearing the brunt of climate change. Worldwide, there are 500 million smallholder farms supporting some two billion people. Climate change multiplies the threats facing smallholders, endangering the natural assets they depend on and accelerating environmental degradation. Over the centuries, smallholders have learned to adjust to environmental change and climate variability.
Small farms play an indispensable role in food security, particularly in developing countries including Bangladesh. In many instances, small-holding farms are significantly more productive than large farms. The best evidence of the power of smallholding farmers is the Green Revolution that triggered overall economic growth and contributed significantly to poverty reduction in the region. The transformation of Asian agriculture happened on the backs of small-holding farmers-women and men. Increased productivity of small-holding farmers during the Green Revolution not only had a transformative impact on food production and food security, it also changed the lives of youths across the developing world.
If smallholding farmers are to embark on the transition to agricultural modernisation, the vicious circle of poverty, lack of resources and low productivity which characterise small-holding food crop farming must be broken. Currently most smallholders have only partially adopted feasible good agricultural practices.
The government must provide several sets of good agricultural practices for smallholding farmers to adopt. This should be the priority of the agricultural extension services. The government should also strengthen the rural feeder road network for better marketing of their produce and strive to enhance the security of land rights for farmers.
Despite the enormous success of the Green Revolution, countries like India and Bangladesh still have unacceptably high levels of poverty. We have made progress, but we are moving too slowly. We believe we can see a hunger-free South Asia in our lifetime, but it will require us to take urgent action to re-energise the agricultural sector. It will require us to focus on rapidly enhancing farm productivity.
Small farmers are always linked to the local private sector as they buy inputs and tools from suppliers and when they sell their produce to traders and sellers. But often these linkages are not strong enough to secure high quality inputs and the necessary technical knowledge, hindering small farmers to increase their productivity and diversify crops into higher value agriculture production meeting the market demand.
Although governments in many Asian countries have shown strong political commitment to small farm-led agricultural development in the past, further support to small farmers will be needed in the areas of policy interventions, support for institutional innovations and public-private partnership in order to enable small farmers to face new challenges and benefit from new opportunities.
The government must play a key role in revitalising smallholder farming and shifting them from subsistence to commercial agriculture. It also needs to ensure that the Ministry of Agriculture is performance-driven. Agricultural policies should be clearly focused on helping the broad mass of small-holding farmers to begin the process of transformation from subsistence production to commercial farming. However, the government should also play an active role in coordinating the delivery of input, financial, technical and output marketing services to small farms.
It is to be noted that small-holders have the ability to help feed the growing population. However, they need support and access to technologies, markets, information and finance. If the government, donors and NGOs come together and work in partnership with smallholding farmers, they can help lift them out of poverty. This will not only support rural economic growth but also contribute significantly to overall food security.
The writer is a nutritionist, BCA Dept., Labaid Hospital.
fahmida@labaidgroup.com
