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Half the world’s poor people live on small farms. These farmers and their families often go hungry because they cannot grow enough food to feed themselves all year round. With the right kind of support many of these farmers would be able to feed their families and improve their lives.
Yet these poor farmers are often ignored by both developing country governments and donor governments like the UK. These governments tend to favour better-off farmers who can produce for markets and boost economic growth.
What are we calling for the UK government to do?
If the UK government is serious about tackling global hunger and poverty it must increase its support to poor farmers and put their needs at the heart of its agriculture policy in developing countries. We believe that the government should:
- Put the needs of marginal farmers at the heart of its agriculture policy in developing countries;
- Increase the amount of aid money given to agriculture in developing countries, and make sure it reaches the poorest people;
- Support investments that provide marginal farmers with the services and support they need to become food secure and more resilient to livelihoods shocks;
- Strengthen the capacity of marginal farmers to participate in the decisions that affect them
The Government's Department for International Development's (DFID) current policy focuses exclusively on the role of agriculture in accelerating economic growth. But DFID should take a more nuanced approach to agricultural development, recognising its importance to both the lives of poor people and to the growth of the economy.
DFID is reviewing its agriculture policy in developing countries this year.. This is a crucial opportunity to put the needs of poor farmers at the heart of agriculture policy and practice.
Aid to agriculture, if effectively targeted, can play an important role in supporting marginal farmers. But the UK Government’s support to agriculture has fallen in recent years. In November 2007, the House of Commons International Development Committee concluded that “DFID has shifted its focus away from agriculture in recent years and we believe its programmes need to be rebalanced in this respect.”
Increased aid to agriculture would help African Governments to realise their commitments, made in the Maputo Declaration, to spend 10% of their national budgets on agriculture by 2009.
Increasing aid to agriculture will only be effective in tackling poverty if it meets the needs of marginal farmers.
These needs will vary depending on where the farmers live and on their particular circumstances. Support needs to respond to these specific needs. Support should also be sensitive to the particular needs of women, who make up a large proportion of poor farmers.
Farmers' needs might include: improved seeds; access to fertilisers; improvements in infrastructure; information on latest research; and access to credit.
Listening to, and acting on, the needs of marginal farmers will lead to more effective policies and programmes. Governments and donor agencies must be willing to listen. And poor farmers need support so they are able to organise themselves.
In 2005 DFID committed itself to support developing country governments to “ensure the participation of representatives of the rural poor in shaping agricultural policies”. DFID should now identify the specific steps it will take to ensure the voices of marginal farmers are heard.
