Deepa Bachu, Director of Emerging Market Innovation at Intuit sought a solution to this problem. The research she carried out in Karnataka back in 2008 found that 40% of the time, farmers were accepting lower prices in order to sell perishable goods and up to 100% of the farmers she visited were unsure of whether the prices they were charging were correct.

As a solution, Deepa developed a free SMS based product called Intuit Fasal that connects rural farmers with buyers and provides them with real-time price information via mobile phone. It is described as ‘a basic supply and demand calculator’. Farmers register for updates by calling a toll free number and will then receive three text messages daily from the service. These messages are tailored to the farmer’s crop and location, thus helping them chose the right market to target in order to get the best price.

The service currently has more than 500,000 users who earn an average of 20% more income thanks to the technology.

Mobile technology has been used increasingly to enhance agricultural productivity. Access to up-to-date market pricing information is essential if farmers are going to increase their profitability, and in turn, increase production rates. (Farming First Principle 5)

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The call to action was announced at this year’s annual Agriculture and Rural Development Day, which took place on Saturday 3^rd December in Durban in parallel with the COP17 climate change negotiations. The all-day event brought together more than 500 agricultural experts, including policymakers and negotiators, journalists, farmers and scientists to discuss priorities to boost agricultural production while supporting adaptation and mitigation to climate change.

Dr. Bruce Campbell, Director of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) said:

It is astonishing that agriculture remains excluded from a global agreement on climate change.  This year’s conference offers a unique opportunity for this omission to be addressed.

Professor Sir John Beddington, Chair of the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, outlined a seven-point plan for urgent action for achieving food security in the face of climate change in his keynote presentation. These included integrating food security and sustainable agriculture into global and national policies, raising the level of investment in sustainable agriculture and food systems over the next decade and sustainably intensifying agricultural production whilst reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

A number of key learning events took place during the day, which looked at the successes in agricultural adaptation and mitigation. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) led a learning event that looked at the tools and policies required to bring food security, adaptation, and mitigation together and shared best practice. At the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) learning event on building the resilience of African smallholder farmers in a changing climate, Dr Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, Chief Executive of FANRPAN highlighted the importance of research, technology and mobilisation of funding for smallholder farmers in Swaziland, and other regions across Africa. Many other side events on the day provided agricultural organisations with the opportunity to share knowledge on examples of best practice in early action on agricultural adaptation and mitigation that deliver economic and livelihood benefits  – the triple wins we need for climate smart agriculture.

Other high-level speakers at the event included, Rachel Kyte, Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank and Chair of the CGIAR Fund Council, Dr. Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Dr. Mary Robinson, Chair of the The Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice (MRFCJ) and Former President of Ireland and United Nations High Commissioner and Tina Joemat-Pettersson, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Republic of South Africa

In the afternoon, there was a high level panel discussion, facilitated by Laurie Goering, Editor of Reuters Alertnet Climate, and included prominent participants such as Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). As the panel discussed taking agricultural productivity and food security into a new era, Spelman put forward the UK’s position on climate-smart agriculture saying:

Coping with climate change is a matter of extreme urgency. There are no simple, one-size-fits-all solutions but rather a rich diversity of approaches used around the world. Climate-smart solutions require smart finance.

Agriculture possesses huge uptapped potential to reduce poverty, bolster food security, adapt to climate change, reduce pressure on natural resources, and in many places lower greenhouse gas emissions. To realise this potential, farmers, fishers, and pastoralists must urgently become “climate-smart”, especially in the developed world, which is being hit hardest by climate change impacts. As the open letter endorsed by the 19 agricultural organisations reads:

Whilst agriculture is a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, it has significant potential to be part of the solution to climate change. Preserving and enhancing food security requires increasing agricultural productivity whilst at the time adapting to and mitigating climate change. It also requires a shift towards building farmers’ and vulnerable communities’ resilience to climate shocks, and related food price volatility.

You can read more about the open letter in our previous blog: “Agriculture: A call to action for COP17 climate negotiators”.

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The food chain – harvesting, packaging, storing, transporting, marketing and selling – can be just as vital as farming techniques in ensuring access to food. With rising global populations likely to hit 9 billion by 2050, it is more important now than ever before to ensure maximum efficiency in the supply chain that gets food from field to plate.

There are innovations developing across the globe that could improve market access, enhance farmer-to-farmer communication and harness simple technology. Improvements in the supply chain can provide farmers with fairer prices, and help in increase food security by distributing food with minimum waste.

These innovations include:

-       The DrumNet project in Kenya, which uses simple communication technology to provide farmers with real-time market information which allows them to receive fair prices for their crops

-       In Uganda, Technoserve is working to improve market conditions for the sale of bananas by helping individuals form business groups that enter into sales collectively

-       Google and the Grameen Foundation have collaborated to develop Google Trader, an online bulletin board on which farmers and merchants can contact one another, and includes applications such as the ‘Farmer’s Friend’ tool that offers information on weather, pests and livestock management.

These new resources are helping to coordinate farmers, are increasing market transparency and are using low-cost technology to boost efficiency as well as enabling a less-wasteful supply chain and reducing some of the risk inherent in small-scale agriculture.

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Following on from Hague Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change, the Farming First coalition welcomes the commitment expressed by participants to achieving the ‘triple win’ of improving food security, addressing climate change and improving the lives and livelihoods of rural populations.

The Road Map for Action on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change summarises the discussions from the conference that took place on 31st October to 5th November, and identifies solutions to the key challenges faced. We as a coalition welcome the emphasis on increasing agricultural productivity and sustainable intensification and on prioritising agriculture as a means for economic growth and poverty reduction.

Farming First supports the recognition of the need for increased research and technology, especially the need to address the ‘uptake gap’ and the need to think about delivery of tools. Sustainable agriculture is knowledge intensive and agricultural policies need to be knowledge-based. We need a stronger commitment to restoring extension and training programmes for farmers, and concrete commitments in this area were not sufficiently articulated. Innovation will be essential to achieving the challenges of the future but much can also be done by improving the uptake of existing technologies through extension services and increased investment in farmer education. In particular, we recognise the need for building farmer knowledge in Integrated Crop Management (ICM) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to enable farmers to tackle pest problems in a sustainable and efficient manner. In addition to training, improving access to information and advice through ICTs, improving availability of suitable storage, improved transport and market facilities, as well as, when needed, pesticides, is an important part of offering farmers a ‘toolkit’ to minimize pre- and post-harvest losses. In addition, we would suggest that women farmers should become specially targeted recipients of programmes and funding because of their vital roles in the agricultural workforce, household food procurement and preparation, and family unit support.

We also urge building effective local private sector networks of technology providers to improve farmer access to tools.  It is essential for sustainability and growth that government policies and development aid work to build the local private sector and not undermine or bypass it.

We agree on the importance of creating an enabling environment for farmers to invest in their farms and to attract private sector investment. This effort should be extended to all sectors that contribute to the distribution, sale and transport of agricultural inputs, outputs and tools. Encouraging the development of storage facilities, transport firms, processing facilities and agrodealers can help farmers be more efficient and build agriculture as a dynamic economic sector.

Finally, there is a need for greater coherence and transparency in terms of the pledges and realisation of pledges made by government on the issue of food security. In the UN system, the Secretary- General’s High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis (HLTF) represents an effort at giving an overarching direction but how non-UN efforts (such as the G8 and GAFSP) relate, for instance, to the Comprehensive Framework for Action (CFA) developed by the HLTF, is not clear.

Farmers must be at the centre of our efforts to ensure that research programmes, as well as training and other services, are effective and respond to actual needs. The future will require a mosaic of solutions to be applied, and efforts in research, infrastructure and services must reflect the fact that viable long-term solutions must require collaboration between all groups involved and be localised and driven by farmers’ needs.

For a printer version of this statement click here.

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• Electrostatic powder

Exosect, an integrated pest management (IPM) innovation company, has pioneered the use of a charged wax powder that is soaked in synthetic female pheromones and then attached to male insects. When sprayed over crops, male insects are attracted to each other, rather than to females, leading to a reduction in mating, egg laying and consequent crop damage with the benefit of very few pheromone dispensers. The powder is environmentally friendly, and works 24/7 in all weather conditions. The company is also starting a UK government project to tackle insects in grain storage. Around 16% of the world’s grain is destroyed by insects in storage.

• Monitoring Irrigation

PureSense is a company that provides farmers with the tools and support needed to manage irrigation more effectively. They use a Field Monitoring Station that collects real-time data from a grower’s field, orchard or vineyard by monitoring soil and climate conditions every 15 minutes.  By monitoring how much moisture there is in the soil in real-time, they adjust the farms’ irrigation systems accordingly via wi-fi. More accurate irrigation scheduling have resulted in water savings of 10% to 40% and the project has produced increased crop yields of 5% to 15% per year.

• Connecting farmers to buyers

FarmsReach is an US-based online marketplace that connects farmers to business buyers. This makes it easier for restaurants and independent supermarkets to buy produce from local farmers.

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Here is the text of his speech:

UN HIGH-LEVEL PLENARY SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Roundtable 1
Intervention by IFAP Secretary General, David King
on behalf of President Ajay Vashee

September 20, 2010

United National Headquarters

Mr. President, Excellencies, Delegates and Observers,

It is an honour for me to present four key messages on poverty, food security and gender on behalf of the farm families represented by IFAP. I also bring apologies from the IFAP President, Ajay Vashee, who is unfortunately retained on his farm in Zambia.

1. Investing in small-holder agriculture is essential to reducing hunger and poverty, and underpins success with all the Millennium Development Goals, including those regarding health and well-being.
2. Funding agricultural development programs is critical to achieving the MDGs so we are counting on the G-8 countries to follow through on their L’Aquila funding commitments.
3. Programs are needed that are ‘Farmer-centred and knowledge-based’ so that the full potential of farmers, both men and women, including small-holder and commercial farmers, can be harnessed in making food security and sustainable development a reality.
4. Farmer organizations have a vital contribution to make to the development of agriculture and rural communities. Unless small-scale farmers are organized, they will remain politically powerless and economically disadvantaged. One of the keys to a successful fight against hunger and poverty is therefore having wellorganized partners to work with. Strengthening the institutional capacity of farmers’ organizations therefore needs to be a cornerstone of any strategy for reaching the rural poor.

Farmers’ organizations can contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals in four ways:

1. Policy definition and implementation, e.g. in country strategies
2. Research: defining research priorities that meet the real needs of farmers, including the special needs of women farmers
3. Sharing knowledge and information among their members e.g. on prevention of HIV/AIDS, or on technology transfer
4. Strengthening the place of farmers in the market through farmer cooperatives and commodity associations

Since the world food price crisis of 2008, agriculture has become a priority for many national governments, donors and international institutions. However, in order to translate good intentions into real impacts on the ground, governments need to work with their farmer organisations as partners in a process of continual improvement of all agricultural systems, creating rural employment, protecting eco-systems, delivering fair prices for safe and nutritious food for consumers, and allowing farmers a fair return for their work. In this way, we are convinced that the MDGs can be achieved by 2015.

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The presentation used the examples of Ethiopia and Tanzania to show how crops have served both food and cash purposes, for the benefit of reducing poverty and hunger in developing countries.

In Ethiopia, chickpea production has been significantly boosted in recent years. Improved varieties and training programmes have resulted in a 40% increase in yields nationwide, with a 90% increase in yields in the East Shewa Zone in the Oromia region. With great increases in production by the tonne, earnings from exporting the crop have risen from $1 million in 2004 to $26 million in 2008. In Tanzania, similar impacts have been achieved with a key leguminous crop, the pigeonpea.The ICRISAT team stated,

As these examples illustrate […] the notion of a single, ideal balance point between food vs. cash crop may be too simplistic.

The presenter spoke of the insights they have gained in their Village Level Studies initiative, that have shown that poverty reduction is linked with improved connectivity between rural areas and urban markets.  ICRISAT refer to this concept, now the model for their Strategic Plan 2020, as ‘inclusive market-orientated development’ (IMOD).  In this plan, ‘markets’ are broadened to include the poor.

Their objective regarding food and cash crops is:

ensure food security first, then add income to the extent possible through cash crops.

The paper examines the need for a concept of ‘food and (not vs.) crops, whereby the balance between the two will depend on each farmers’ individual food security status.  The researchers say that stimulating staple food production, rather than growing high-value exotic products and export crops, will be the first trigger for IMOD, and will offer basic experience in supply chains before new crops are added to the mix.

The team also called for a comprehensive perspective on the entire value chain system, where farmers are supported by inputs, access to markets, infrastructure, credit and weather and market insurance, in a way that promotes equity and security.

The ICRISAT research emphasises the need for inclusion in market-access strategies, and also the need for full understanding of the context of each community, rather than blending all the poor into one bracket. They call for more information about the different categories of poor at local scales, to aid development work.

The presentation concluded:

The question should not be food vs. cash crops; it should be how to make food and cash crops work synergistically to propel farmers out of poverty. Ensure food security first, not in a way that creates aid dependency, but rather in a way that makes it a springboard towards market-orientated development.

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In just the few years since markets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions have been established, their combined value has increased to more than US$100 billion.

While agriculture accounts for an estimated 10 to 14 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, its role as a mitigating force is receiving increasing attention.

The report notes that whilst agriculture has a large potential in climate change mitigation, it has been largely excluded from both formal and informal carbon markets.

Reasons for this exclusion include the uncertainties regarding the amount of carbon that can be sequestered by agricultural soils, how long it can be stored for and the amount of reductions in emissions from agriculture. An additional concern is the transaction costs associated with monitoring, reporting and verifying changes in soil carbon and emissions.

The IFPRI paper describes the climate change mitigation potential of agriculture, noting the current regulatory and voluntary carbon markets under which agriculture mitigation could be rewarded and provides an overview of what options could be put in place for climate change mitigation strategies.

Many studies have noted the barriers that hinder farmers’ ability to take part in climate change mitigation and sustainable land management practices, notably a lack of knowledge, credit and access to functioning markets.  In carbon markets, barriers to smallholder participation include high transaction costs, uncertain revenue flows, a lack of clarity on ownership of carbon, as well as education and governance limitations.

The paper concludes by calling for the integration of smallholder farmers into carbon markets and for transformation of climate change policy into a pro-poor development strategy.

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Hans Joehr – Nestec

Nestle buys around $7 billion of agricultural commodities from emerging economies every year. This is around two-thirds of the company’s total expenditure on raw material – and nearly 40% goes towards three key commodities: milk, coffee and cocoa. Over half a million farmers (610,000) supply Nestle directly.

Each of the key regions from which Nestle sources its products has its own political, socio-economic and environmental conditions, but Nestle works to protect the security of its supply, the quality of the resources available, and rural employment and development. 

In Pakistan, Nestle invests more than $180 million a year in milk procurement and $3 million on milk-sourcing operations, agricultural and technical support, and training for farmers. Nestle Pakistan contributes to a partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which is training 4000 women agricultural advisers. The project provides technical assistance and advice about animal health, breeding and fodder production to female dairy farmers in rural Pakistan them to raise the quality and value of the milk they supply, which in turn boosts the local economy.

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Lucy Muchoki – Pan-African Agribusiness Consortium

The Africa Seed Investment Fund is a $12 million investment facility that offers the opportunity to seed businesses to access the capital they require in order to increase seed production volumes, seed quality and take advantage of the opportunity to commercialise new improved seed varieties.

One of the key reasons for a non-competitive nature of agribusiness in Africa is due to the lack of access to quality and innovative inputs. One major shortcoming has been the empowering of the input suppliers who are in most cases small and medium enterprises. Since most of these businesses are undercapitalized and lacking in expertise and innovation, they have not been able to develop and make available high yielding seeds to meet the growing demand. The need for programs that strengthen the access and financing to small and medium seed companies is therefore an important step in improving this aspect of the value chain.

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in partnership with the African Agricultural Capital (AAC) group, a venture capital based in Kampala, Uganda, and 20 seed companies launched a partnership to ensure availability and access of seed to these smaller businesses.

Alongside capital investment, the fund provides business development services, including continual advice on seed production, storage and distribution and seed company management. The distributors are also to be trained on the appropriate use of seeds and other inputs such as fertilizer, to ensure the most efficient, safe and environmentally sound use of all. The fund also implements a gender policy that works to involve women actively as entrepreneurs, workers and smallholder farmers. In addition to its larger loans to the 20 African seed companies, the project is also investing in about 10 early-stage businesses with big potential. These loans range from $50,000 to $1,500,000 each. The fund attracts a net return of 3% on its investment. To qualify, companies need to meet investment criteria in three main areas: enterprise, performance and development criteria. The latter includes measures such as overall job creation, skills development in rural communities and an environmentally benign footprint.

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