Transcript The Adoption of Quality Management

Research Needs and Outcomes
in Agro-enterprise Development
Peter J. Batt
The world’s population is rapidly approaching
7 billion
– population growing at 1.2% pa
– global agricultural production growing at 1.7% pa
– and yet 925 million people are malnourished
– why is that?
Malnourishment arises from
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armed conflict
natural disasters
scarce resources
weak governance
breakdown of local institutions
unsustainable livelihood systems
increased price of food
Food prices are increasing
• increase in demand
– increase in population
– increase in per capita consumption
• reduced supply
– climatic disasters
– low levels of stocks
– competition for resources
• land/water
• biofuels
For those living in poverty
• food prices increased by a greater margin than the
overall rate of inflation
• the impact is potentially catastrophic
– poor spend 50-70% of their income on food
• as prices rise, households are forced to
– limit their food consumption
– shift to even poorer diets
– to spend less on other goods and services
For those living in poverty
• the increasing price of food has negative
consequences for nutrition and health
• over 75% of the world’s poor reside in rural areas
– 62% derive livelihood from agriculture
Gains in agricultural productivity are slowing
• complacency
• chronic underinvestment in key areas such as
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new variety development
early generation seed multiplication
market infrastructure
market information systems
deterioration in public sector services
At the farm level, smallholder farmers have
• limited access to high quality seed, fertilizers and
pesticides
• lack credit
• limited access to markets
• limited access to market information
• concentration and aggregation in the food output
sector
To address the global food crisis
• higher prices ARE NECESSARY to stimulate
investments in improved productivity and increased
output
• an integrated approach is required to improve the
participation of smallholder farmers
– greater linkages to upstream and downstream sectors
– policy support to provide an enabling environment
To enhance smallholder production
• additional investments in agricultural productivity
of at least USD 7 billion per year are required to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals
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new crop varieties
seeds and fertilizers
biotechnology
vaccines and veterinary equipment
superior animal feeds
To enhance smallholder production (contd)
• adopt more sustainable production practices
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organic fertilizers
use mineral fertilizers as a supplement
integrated pest management
improved water efficiency
To enhance smallholder production (contd)
• technical assistance must be provided to ensure
that inputs are used to their best advantage
– collaborate with input suppliers, traders and even
consumer groups
To enhance smallholder production (contd)
• extension programs play a key role in information
sharing by
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transferring technology
facilitating interaction
building capacity among farmers
empowering farmers
To enhance smallholder production (contd)
• smallholder farmers must have access to markets
• adequate investments in
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rural roads
transport
storage
market infrastructure
market information
To enhance smallholder production (contd)
• market information is necessary
– helps farmers to make profitable decisions on what to
produce and when and where to market
– reduces transport costs
– enhances price transparency
– reduces marketing margins and price volatility
– increases farm gate prices
To enhance smallholder production (contd)
• rural credit is critical to
– enable farmers to increase their productivity
– invest in value-adding activities
• cash constraints prevent smallholder farmers from
intensifying their production systems
• families with more resources are
– better able to cope with risk and uncertainty
– experiment with new technologies
To enhance smallholder production (contd)
• public sector investments are required in
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agricultural research and development
institutions
infrastructure
reduce post-harvest losses
• 30-40% of the food produced is wasted
• reducing food losses will cost less than boosting farm
production
• production increases can be achieved more rapidly
• no additional utilisation of natural resources
The policy challenge is to
• promote productivity growth particularly for
smallholder producers
• in a way that improves the resilience of the market
to external shocks
• that reduces waste
• increases the supply of food to local markets at
affordable prices