The recent global food crisis was a wake-up call for a world that had grown complacent about agriculture. The soaring cost of staple foods such as rice and wheat hit the poorest people in the poorest countries hardest. It served as a reminder that a billion people still go to bed hungry, and that when more household income must be spent on food, other needs, such as educating children, go unmet.
Our organization, Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), supports research that helps developing countries find lasting solutions to practical problems. Activities IDRC supports related to agriculture include applied research on conserving and improving seeds, land, and water; technologies to improve farming practices and productivity; and on expanding access to markets.
Over the past four decades, IDRC has learned from successes and failures about what works best. We recognize the importance of paying careful attention to the local contexts in which agricultural innovations are introduced. And we know the value of a multi-pronged approach to agricultural development that encompasses both big and small-scale efforts.
Food crisis not a "silent tsunami"
Although some commentators dubbed the recent food crisis a “silent tsunami,” in reality it did not come out of the blue but was years in the making. Since the boost in food production known as the Green Revolution alleviated realistic fears of worldwide famine in the 1960s and 1970s, agriculture has fallen off the global radar screen.
Investment in agricultural research and development declined worldwide in the past two decades. As a result, growth in agricultural productivity began to lag behind increase in demand. Combined with demographics, economic success in parts of the developing world, notably China and India, created demand for more and better food. And global demand exerted pressure on world food stocks just as oil price rises and a rush into biofuels were handicapping food production.
Renewed support for agricultural research that will benefit the world’s poorest farmers and consumers is urgently needed. Encouraging signs point to new activity on the horizon. The Minister for International Cooperation, Beverley Oda, has announced that food security will be one of three thematic priorities of the Canadian International Development Agency (
CIDA). The World Bank is doubling support for agriculture, earmarking US$9 billion in 2010-12. The international agricultural research system, known by the acronym
CGIAR, is being reorganized, and many donor agencies are increasing support for agricultural research.
A new Green Revolution
A welcome big push is underway for a new and truly Green Revolution aimed at increasing agricultural productivity and incomes for all, while safeguarding the environment. Naturally, efforts will concentrate on places where the biggest return on investments is likely to occur. They will reach farmers who live in better growing areas and are well positioned to use improved technologies and access new markets.
IDRC has learned that small pushes are also needed – strategic efforts to fight poverty and hunger in places where the big drive will not reach. For example, it is likely to bypass almost half a billion of the world’s poorest people, who lack the prerequisites for participation, which include education and market access. Most live in Africa and South Asia, with significant numbers also in Latin America and Southeast Asia.
Collaborating for change
We need to focus research and development efforts on finding ways for these communities to escape poverty. One good example of such an effort comes from the Indian state of Nagaland, where
IDRC began working in 1995 in collaboration with
CIDA. Located in the foothills of the Himalayas, Nagaland is remote and isolated. Although the state has historically been food secure, rapid population growth has given rise to concerns about food and income security. The original Green Revolution did not reach Nagaland because its topography is not conducive to the high-yield rice varieties that were developed with flat lowlands in mind. Instead, Naga farmers continued to grow the hundreds of local rice varieties that are well adapted to their hilly and cold conditions.
The research we supported did not try to replace the Nagas’ traditional farming system with something completely new, but innovated within the existing context. The main idea – to integrate tree crops into the traditional rice production system to generate income – came from the Nagas themselves. After initially experimenting with timber trees, farmers introduced other crops, such as ginger and passion fruit, into the mix. Before long, poor rural people began accruing cash profits unheard of just a few years earlier. And how are they spending the money? Today, the most important investment the Nagas are making is in better education for their children.
At
IDRC, we look forward to many more such collaborations, with
CIDA and other donors, that support communities in the developing world as they find solutions to our shared global challenge of providing good food for all.
Jean Lebel is Director of IDRC’s environmental programming. Merle Faminow leads IDRC’s Rural Poverty and Environment program.