Reducing poverty among smallholder farmers
In some countries, smallholder farmers earn as little as $1.26 a day Life can be hard for a smallholder farmer. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) estimates that there are 500 million smallholder farmers worldwide – usually working on plots of land smaller than two hectares – producing about 80% of the food consumed in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Despite this, smallholder households are often some of the poorest in the world, a fact which is causing the children of smallholders to abandon their farms in search of better opportunities in cities. This shift contributes to two very real risks. First, food security. the UN estimates that the global population will reach 9 billion by 2050 and consume 60% more food. And second, rising urban poverty. For these reasons, it is imperative that smallholder farming becomes a much more profitable and sustainable venture; this is the goal that we at Kennemer Foods International, together with the Philippine Government, have been working on for the past five years. Based on our experience in driving the growth of the Philippine cacao industry, here are some of the key ingredients necessary to dramatically reduce poverty among smallholder farmers: 1. Comprehensive credit, guarantee and insurance policies geared towards smallholder farmers The average coconut farmer in the Philippines earns approximately $450 a year from one hectare of land (gross revenue). This translates to roughly $1.26 a day, for a household of 4-5 people. Given this situation, it is almost impossible for a smallholder farmer to adequately provide for the needs of his or her family, much less to make the necessary investments into newer or better farm inputs and technologies in order to improve yields. Without access to affordable – and more importantly, patient – capital, smallholders cannot break the cycle of low farm […]