Our industry 2014 - (Page 28)

  28   02 Sustainable agricultural systems   Building rural prosperity   In Asia, where more than 90% of the world's rice is produced, rice yields have  increased by an average of 1% per annum. But to meet the growing food  demand and keep the price of rice affordable to the poor, the annual yield  increase needs to reach around 1.5%. Increasing yields can be met through  further intensification, while taking account of the increasing scarcity of  resources and minimizing the environmental impact.   When smallholder farmers are given access to improved agricultural  technology, new crop varieties and better irrigation methods, they can be  efficient producers per hectare and achieve high levels of yield. Vietnam, for  instance, transitioned from being a food deficit country to being the second  largest rice exporter in the world largely through developing its smallholder  farming sector. It is estimated by the FAO that around US$ 30 billion per year  needs to be invested in re-invigorating smallholder agriculture on a global  scale, in order to reverse the decades of under-investment. But simply increasing productivity is not enough. Farming needs to be  profitable. For this farmers need access to markets and fair prices for their  produce. Developing farmer cooperatives, partnering with food chain  companies and accessing market and price information via mobile phones are  some of the ways in which farmers secure better prices for their produce. The  risk of farming can also be reduced through the provision of affordable credit  and insurance. Public-private partnerships that are supported by governments  and encourage private cooperation, such as Grow Africa and Grow Asia, have  the potential to deliver scalable solutions to smallholders, and are equally as  important in accelerating investments and transformative change in smallholder  agriculture. The role of women farmers is another aspect that demands focus. In the  smallholder regions of Asia and Africa women make up 60-75% of the  agricultural workforce and this is increasing with the growing trend of men  migrating to urban areas, leaving women to care for the family and farm. Yet  women often have no title over the land and find it harder than the men to  access markets, financial services and technology. In instances where women  have had better access to inputs such as seeds and fertilizer, results show  substantial increases in staple crops. To reduce the burden of intensive labor  while increasing the productivity of smallholder farms and the food security of  rural communities, women farmers need to be considered when developing  agricultural solutions.  Women's contribution to agricultural employment (% of women) Sub-Saharan Africa South Asia East Asia and Pacific Middle East and North Africa Europe and Central Asia Latin America and Carribean 0 20 40 60 Agricultural self employment 100 Nonagricultural self employment Agricultural wage employment 80 Nonagricultural wage employment Source: IFAD, 2009,  FAO, 2010, World Bank 2008, UN Gender Diversity Program, 2009, WDR 2008 In Asia and Africa women  make up 60-75% of the  agricultural workforce 

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Our industry 2014

Our industry 2014

https://www.nxtbook.com/syngenta/Our_industry/Our-industry-2014
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com