‘Support small farmers’

Lazarus Sauti

Most people in Zimbabwe live in rural areas and depend largely on agriculture for their livelihoods.

These smallholder farmers provide most of the food consumed in large parts of the country, thus contributing to food security and poverty reduction.

Sadly, smallholder farmers are not fully supported yet they contribute immensely to the reduction of poverty in the country.

Additionally, increasing fragmentation of land, reduced investment support and the marginalisation of small farms in economic and development policy have hampered the development of this vital contribution and left many smallholders vulnerable.

Achim Steiner, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and United Nations Environment Program Executive Director picked underinvestment as a hindrance to development.
Steiner said: “. . . underinvestment in agriculture, growing competition for land and water, rising fuel and fertiliser prices, and climate change have left smallholders less able to escape poverty.

“Smallholder farmers can continue to be marginalised or be recognised as catalysts for a transformation of the way the world manages the supply of food and the environmental services that underpin agriculture in the first place.”

Accordingly, supporting smallholder farmers to play a greater role in food production is one of the quickest ways to lift the country out of poverty and sustainably nourish a growing population.

Given the right enabling conditions and targeted support, these often-neglected farmers can transform the rural landscape and unleash a new and sustainable agricultural revolution.

For countries to benefit effectively from smallholder farmers, governments should heavily invest in the agriculture sector. Supporting smallholder farmers offers the highest rate of return for those interested in overcoming poverty.

Food security

Government and stakeholders in the agriculture sector must scale up farming practices that maintain the resources base upon which smallholders depend so that it continues to support food security and rural development in the country.

This can also be the answer to enhanced food security, environmental protection and poverty reduction.

The director of International Fund for Agricultural Development’s Environment and Climate Division, Elwyn Grainger Jones, believes that to place smallholder farmers at the forefront of a transformation in agriculture, they need appropriate support to overcome the many challenges they face.

Jones said: “Smallholder farmers hold a massive collective store of experience and local knowledge that can provide the practical solutions needed to put agriculture on a more sustainable and equitable footing.

“Thus, they need appropriate support to overcome the many challenges they face.”

Information

Consequently, it is critical for stakeholders in the agriculture sector to provide smallholder farmers with incentives to invest in sustainable farming.

More so, government should remove subsidies on unsustainable fertilisers and subsidise practices that encourage soil and water conservation.

Since information is power, it is essential to provide smallholder farmers with the information they need. Thus, must invest in approaches such as farmer field schools and the use of rural radios and other mobile telecommunication methods to disseminate information. For land reform to effectively flourish, government must support smallholder farmers and allow them to play a greater role in food production and natural resource stewardship.