Traditional (subsistence) smallholder agriculture typically rely on indigenous and traditional knowledge that is based on farming practices used for several generations, has limited or no use of off-farm inputs, and results in low- productivity, low value added per worker and primarily reliant on extracting soil nutrients with insufficient replenishment by either organic or inorganic fertilisers. Generally, it is susceptible to yield losses due to erratic rainfall, pest and weed infestations and other production- related risks. It can trap already poor farmers in a downward spiral of growing poverty and social marginalisation.
Traditional agriculture has limited scope for capital intensive farm mechanisation and intensive use of external agrochemical inputs. Many smallholders’ plots, overarchingly located in developing countries, are too small to realise the economies of scale required for most of the available commercial farm machinery. In addition, the high cost of purchased inputs, such as chemical fertilisers, pesticides and seeds, generally require that at least some portion of the crops produced must be sold to recover costs. Failure to modernise land tenure systems, which can facilitate distribution, consolidation, and the use of land as security for bank loans are important barriers to the commercialisation of small-scale agriculture in many developing countries. Commercialisation is further limited by inadequate road transportation linking food-producing areas to large urban centres. For these reasons, value added per worker in developing countries is far below that of industrialised economies. Whereas the average value added per agricultural worker in OECD countries in 2003 was US$ 23,081 (which grew at 4.4 per cent per year between 1992 and 2003, in Africa, the figures were only US$ 327 and 1.4 per cent, respectively (IAASTD 2009b).
Worldwide, there are 525 million small farms, 404 million of which operate on less than two hectares of land (Nagayets 2005). These small farmers in the developing world produce the majority of staple crops needed to feed the planet’s population (Altieri 2008). Their highest share is in Africa where about 90 per cent of all agricultural production is estimated to be derived from small farms, (Spencer 2002). In many instances their contribution is growing at the national level. While the issue is contested, there is substantial evidence that smaller farms have higher yields than large farms (Banerjee 2000; Rosset 1999; Faruqee and Carey 1997; Tomich et al. 1995; Barrett 1993; Ellis 1993; Cornia 1985 and Feder 1985). In Kenya, the share of national agricultural production contributed by smallholders increased from 4 per cent in 1965 to 49 per cent in 1985 (Lele and Agarwal 1989). In India, smallholders contributed over 40 per cent of food grain production in 1990-91, compared with only a third of
Box 1: Agriculture at a crossroads
The key message of the Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development, published in 2009 is: “The way the world grows its food will have to change radically to better serve the poor and hungry if the world is to cope with a growing population and climate change while avoiding social breakdown and environmental collapse.” The Assessment calls for a fundamental shift in agricultural knowledge, science and technology (AKST) to successfully meet development and sustainability objectives. Such a shift should emphasise the importance of the multi- functionality of agriculture, accounting for the complexity of agricultural systems within diverse social and ecological contexts and recognising farming communities, farm households, and farmers as producers and managers of ecosystems. Innovative institutional and organisational arrangements to promote an integrated approach to the development and deployment of AKST are required as well. Incentives along the value chain should internalise as many negative externalities as possible, to account for the full cost of agricultural production to society. Policy and institutional changes should focus on those least served in the current AKST approaches, including resource- poor farmers, women and ethnic minorities. It emphasises that small-scale farms across diverse ecosystems need realistic opportunities to increase productivity and access markets. Source: IAASTD (2009)
Africa 8%
Europe 4% 1% Americas
87% Asia
Figur e 4: Regional distribution of small farms Source: Nagayets (2005), based on FAO 2001c and 2004c and national statistical agencies.
Note: Small-scale farms are defined as those of less than 2 hectares. The total number of small-scale farms is 404 million.