vitality, and innovation into the agricultural labor force in many developing countries.16
Limited Farm Size Over the past several decades, high population growth and inheritance-based land fragmentation have resulted in decreasing farm size and high pop- ulation density in many Asian countries and parts of Africa.17 Recent trends indicate that Africa south of the Sahara will continue to experience declining farm size, but Asia is showing signs of farm consolidation.18 An analysis of the relationship between increasing rural population density and smallholder farming systems in Kenya shows that, in addition to declin-
Many small family farmers are excluded from productivity- enhancing financial services, such as loans and saving accounts, and are thus unable to secure much-needed capital and lack the buffer against adversity and shocks that financial services offer.
ing farm size and incomes, increasing rural popula- tion density is associated with decreasing agricultural labor productivity aſter a certain population density threshold.19 Tis inverse relationship is potentially the result of unsustainable agricultural intensification.20
Access to Financial Services Many small family farmers are excluded from pro- ductivity-enhancing financial services, such as loans and saving accounts, and are thus unable to secure much-needed capital and lack the buffer against adversity and shocks that financial services offer. An analysis of maize farmers in Ghana reveals that small farms face more credit constraints than large farms.21 In rural areas, where the majority of small- holders reside, access to formal financial services is particularly limited.22 Reasons for this include
28 HELPINGSMALL FAMILYFARMERS TO MOVE UPORMOVEOUT
dispersed demand and the high cost of service in low-population areas; weak administrative capacity of rural banks; agriculture-specific risks such as vari- able weather paterns, pests, and price fluctuations that affect whole communities; and lack of formally defined property and land-use rights to act as collat- eral for loans.
Climate Change Te growing incidence and intensity of extreme weather events increasingly threaten the global food system.23 If business as usual continues and the world becomes 3–4°C warmer by 2050, crop yields could decline by 15–20 percent across Africa south of the Sahara.24 In some countries, yields from rainfed agriculture could decrease by up to 50 percent by 2020, with small-scale farmers being hit the hardest.25 In Malawi, smallholder farmers have experienced greater economic losses during droughts than have large landholders, in part because smallholders grew more drought-sensitive crops.26 Small family farms are particularly vul- nerable to more frequent extreme weather events because of such factors as chronic food insecu- rity, lack of access to formal safety nets, and high reliance on climate-dependent agriculture coupled with limited resources and capacity for mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change.27
Price Spikes and Volatility Recent food price volatility and spikes have affected both producers and poor consumers. Te complex set of factors behind the recent food price crises in 2007–2008 and 2011—including diversion of crops for biofuel, extreme weather events, low grain stocks, and panicky trade behaviors—is still pres- ent or has the potential to reemerge. Te magnitude and direction of the impact on small family farms depend on several variables, including whether input costs increase, whether the farmers are net buyers or sellers of food, farmer capacity to step up produc- tion and to bring the increased output to market, and off-farm income.28 Recent studies in Bangladesh and Malawi suggest that an increase in the price of sta- ple crops (rice and maize) resulted in a higher wel- fare loss for small landholders compared with large landholders.29
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139