FAO
FSN Forum

DISCUSSION No. 148   •   FSN Forum digest No. 1338

Eradicating extreme poverty: what is the role of agriculture?

until 24 April 2018

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Send your contribution to
FSN-moderator@fao.org
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Dear Members,

Please find below the latest contributions to the discussion "Eradicating extreme poverty: what is the role of agriculture?".

Participants are sharing views and experiences on interventions that can succed in addressing extreme poverty, focusing on the role of agriculture.

We would like to renew the invitation to add your thoughts: Can agriculture offer opportunities for sustainable livelihoods to the most poor and vulnerable, including those who lack productive assets? Are there examples of eradication of extreme poverty though agriculture interventions?

Your views will be part of a broader reflection to refine and improve FAO's approach towards the eradication of extreme poverty by using its experience in supporting agriculture and the livelihoods of rural dwellers towards the realization of SDG1.

The full versions and the introduction are available on the discussion page. To take part, send your contribution in English, French or Spanish to FSN-moderator@fao.org or post it online on the FSN Forum.

Your FSN Forum team

CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED

iconZhanhuan Shang, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, China

Based on the experice of Lanzhou University in Kenya and other African countries, Zhanhuan highlights the results obtained thanks to the implementation of low cost techniques followed by demonstrations to encourage adoption by farmers.

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iconChinasa Ikelu, Institute de Mathematique et des Sciences Physiques, Benin

Chinasa lists some conditions that would make agriculture more profitable and therefore more effective in helping people escape poverty.

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iconDaman Sanka, United Republic of Tanzania

Damian calls for stronger engagement with local farmers when designing interventions.

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iconAndrew Isingoma, Rwanda Agriculture Board, Rwanda

Responding to the questions proposed, Andrew highlights the role of agriculture in helping the poor and food insecure. He calls for more research on crop varieties for drought affected areas and for lower prices of agriculture products to support the poor in purchasing food.

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iconDonna Rosa, Aidtrepreneurship, USA

Donna draws attention to the problem of postharvest losses which hinder the achievement of food security and nutrition. She also quotes a few solutions already available for storage and processing.

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iconEdward Tanyima, FAO, Uganda

In countries like Uganda, where many poor and vulnerable rural households mostly rely on agriculture for food and as source of income, enhancing agricultural productivity, value addition and agro-processing are critical to lift people out of poverty. However, to succeed in reducing extreme poverty, agriculture interventions need to take a social protection perspective: this means that actions should be designed to address multiple risks related to economic, social and environmental aspects.

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iconHans Schaltenbrand, rural development expert, Switzerland

Hans stresses that political will and policy is what matters most to eradicate extreme poverty. F.i. India implemented the Food Security Bill in 2013 and it would be important to share lessons learned with other countries, such as Nepal, where a Right to Food Acts is currently being prepared.

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iconDeepak Sharma, VAAGDHARA, India

Deepak focuses on the problems such as post-harvest losses caused by looking at agriculture from an economic point of view, only. To address this, he argues that at small farm level there is need for awareness raising activities on the role of agriculture for nutrition/food security, while at  policy level the state should take on the responsibility for keeping land productive.

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iconKV Peter, Kerala Agriculture Research, Ethiopia

Kuruppacharil states that the unpredictable nature of agriculture with its price fluctuations and weather dependence can be the cause of post-harvest losses. He presents the case of Israel where infrastructure such as cold chambers and packinghouses avoid that produce goes to waste, and helps implement value addition activities.

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iconAklilu Nigussie, Ethiopian Institutes of Agricultural Research, Ethiopia

Aklilu answers the second question arguing that natural resource management is central to healthy food system and should be applied also at the small scale level.

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iconNurah Oseni, Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research, Nigeria

Nurah sees a strong nexus between food losses, hunger and poverty and perceives the adoption of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) as key to ensuring food security.

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