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 report, Drinking Water Equity, Safety and Sustainability, by the UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation, says between 1990 and 2008, the proportion of the world’s population with access to improved drinking water sources increased from 77% to 87%. This represents an increase of almost 1.8 billion people worldwide and puts the world ever closer to reaching the MDG drinking water target of 89%.

However, despite good progress being made, at the current rate, 672 million people will still not have access to improved drinking water sources in 2015. We have seen the world’s population increase by almost 1.5 billion people since 1990 with 94% of this growth occurring in developing regions. Some countries are failing to increase access to improved drinking water sources in line with this population growth. For example, 12 countries, the majority of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa, have each seen an increase of more than 1 million people in the absolute number of people without access since 1990, despite making significant progress in providing drinking water to millions more people and seeing increases in proportional coverage between 1990 and 2008.

In addition to population growth, the process of rapid urbanization presents a further challenge to increasing access to improved drinking water. In 2008, 50% of the world’s population lived in urban areas – an increase of 7% since 1990. As a result we have seen the growth of informal settlements and poor environmental sanitation, which together hinder efforts to increase access to safe drinking water in urban areas. Climate change is also likely to lead to increased water stress as extreme weather events threaten water infrastructure.

The report found that the gap between the richest and poorest in the use of drinking water sources differs significantly by region and country. However, in all developing regions access to improved drinking water sources increases with wealth, and access to piped water on premises is much higher among the richest 20% of the population.  As well as social disparity, there is also gender disparity as for almost three-quarters of households without access to drinking water on premises; women and girls have the primary responsibility for collecting water. In some countries the proportion is more than 90%, creating a significant burden.

The report also says that even when there is access to water, it is often not safe for drinking. Water quality surveys show that many improved drinking water sources—such as piped supplies, boreholes and protected wells—do not conform to WHO guidelines. On average, half of all protected dug wells may be contaminated, along with one-third of protected springs and boreholes.

Read the report in full here.

Read about the Farming First principles to increase water efficiency.

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To coincide with CFS, Farming First organised a side-event on “Partnering for Sustainability”, in partnership with the International Agri Food Network. Guest speakers at the event gave presentations on public-private and private-private partnerships and the important role they play in building a more sustainable and stable food system.

Franklin Moore, USAID began the event with his opening remarks before Thomas Lyall, from Dow AgroSciences spoke about how sustainable beef production in Brazil is being achieved through multi-stakeholder collaboration. In Brazil, the Sustainable Livestock Initiative is working to increase the productivity and profitability of pasture whilst at the same time preventing deforestation. This is being achieved through the recovery of degraded areas and building the capacity of local producers and technicians through field visits, lectures and training.

Stephen Wilkinson from the International Zinc Association later gave a presentation on zinc and how it is an essential nutrient for human health. With a third of the global population deficient in zinc, it is crucial that adequate levels of zinc intake are achieved. Globally, 800,000 people die each year from zinc deficiency – 450,000 of which are children under the age of five – and many of who live in developing countries.  Zinc is a growth-limiting nutrient, which means that inadequate intakes can cause growth retardation or stunting in children. Wilkinson spoke about how the International Zinc Association has launched a partnership program with UNICEF with a goal of raising $3 million from zinc industry. “One sustainable solution to zinc deficiency is applying zinc to crops” said Wilkinson at the event. “Farmers using zinc fertilizer can increase their profitability whilst at the same time growing more nutritious food that contains higher levels of zinc”. HarvestZinc, a program under HarvestPlus, has shown that proper zinc fertilizer use can double the zinc concentration in cereal grains.

The final presentation at the event was given by Patrick O’Quin from Danone who spoke about private-private partnerships and gave an introduction to three Danone funds: The Danone Ecosystem Fund, The Danone Livelihood Fund and the Danone Communities Fund.  The Danone Ecosystem Fund is designed to support, strengthen and develop the activity of Danone’s “ecosystem”, meaning all stakeholders whose activities are impacted by Danone and who act closely with its local subsidiaries on economic, social and territorial matters. Through cooperation with 29 partners, the fund finances 36 projects around the world.

The Danone Communities Fund was created to fund and develop social enterprises that create social and economic value, locally. Alongside social entrepreneurs, this support is provided through investment and technical advice via a network of committed experts. The Danone Livelihood Fund is a carbon investment fund that helps poor rural communities by generating financial resources for projects with high social and environmental value. Since its creation in 2008, Danone has invited companies such as Crédit Agricole, Schneider Electric and CDC Climate to join the Livelihood fund. Fund partners receive top-grade certified carbon credits in proportion to their investment, and can use the credits to offset their carbon emissions. Read more about the Danone Livelihood Fund in our previous blog.

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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 report argues that although irrigation in Africa has the potential to boost agricultural productivities by at least 50 per cent, food production is almost entirely sustained through rainwater, with only six per cent of the total cultivated area equipped for irrigation.

Over 70 per cent of Africa’s poor live in rural areas, and most of these people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Therefore, the report says, agriculture has a key role to play in tackling poverty on the continent.

To help increase agricultural production and decrease poverty, many development agencies have recently proposed to substantially increase investments in irrigation in Africa. But, as the report claims, the potential for irrigation investments in the region is highly dependent on geographic, hydrologic, agronomic and economic factors that must be taken into account when the viability of projects is assessed.

The report analyses irrigation investment potential in Africa, and concludes that there is “significant profitable irrigation potential for both small-scale and large-scale systems”.

Farming First think that water use efficiency is important as water is a precious resource. By 2050, the proportion of the population facing stressed water supplies is expected to increase by 500% and the number facing full water scarcity is expected to increase by 800%.

We believe that research, innovation, and access to improved technologies, seeds, and improved irrigation techniques are essential to increasing the efficiency of water use, and that agriculture needs to be part of watershed management.

Click here to go to our water page, where you can download our position paper and read about our six-point action plan.

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As part of the conference, participants were invited to discuss the six Farming First principles as an approach to sustainable agriculture in the future. The six principles are designed to be farmer-centric, knowledge-based and dynamic so that continual progress can be made in achieving food security in a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable manner.

The three-day conference addressed the four basic dimensions of food security: availability, physical access, economic access and utilisation. Topics discussed in sessions included sustainable growth in agricultural production, resilient food supply chains, the impacts of trade policies, and humanitarian food aid strategies.

With the IFAD reporting that 60.5 per cent of rural Asians living in poverty, hundreds of experts have stressed the importance of increasing food production in a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable manner in Asia, calling for a ‘doubly green revolution’.

And as rice yields in Asia are expected to fall between 17-20 per cent by 2050 due to rising temperatures, policymakers need to ensure that the world’s farmers have access to the appropriate mix of tools, knowledge and technologies they need to boost productivity and maintain viable rural livelihoods. Singapore has already announced funding of US$8.2 million for research into new rice varieties.

Siang Hee Tan, Farming First spokesperson  and Executive Director of CropLife Asia, said:

“Asia’s farmers are small-scale entrepreneurs in the making. If they are equipped and supported to adapt to meet the world’s food demands, they can boost their own livelihoods while driving broader economic development.”

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Almost seven years ago, the Tanzanian government approached fertilizer company Yara regarding a fertilizer partnership that would provide a stable supply of mineral fertilizers for the country’s farmers. Two years later, in 2006, the idea for the project expanded: realising that the real challenges extended beyond the supply of crop nutrients, the partnership needed to address the entire agricultural value chain. In 2008, The Tanzania Agricultural Partnership was launched.

The TAP consists of public institutions, private companies and national and international organisations coordinated by the Agricultural Council of Tanzania (ACT), the umbrella organisation for the agricultural private sector in the country. The partnership aims to reduce rural poverty by delivering appropriate agricultural inputs and improving output markets for Tanzanian farmers. It aims to blend commercial and developmental goals: its success will be determined by both business activities and effective public service delivery.  After an initial fast track pilot scheme in 2006, national roll-out has been going on since 2008 to cover 25 districts.

Yara play an active role in the partnership, with a special priority given to the distribution of fertilizer, including establishing credit facilities for farmers and setting up storage with a warehouse receipt system.

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Smallholder farmers in Ghana typically face several challenges preventing them from producing better yields. Among the lack of access to credit, inputs, storage facilities and infrastructure, a big influence on them is the belief that increasing production only serves to make the local market crash and prices plummet.

Back in 2008, fertilizer company Yara initiated a partnership with local growers in Ghana to address these challenges from production to market.  Working with local government, donors, private sector, scientists and farming communities, they commenced on working to provide the apparatus for marketing, warehousing, logistics and input services that would help farmers to stabilise and optimise their production and market prices.

The Ghana Grains Partnership focuses on maize, of which low production is a major problem in Western Africa. The initiative set to offer a holistic approach to the challenges faced in the agricultural value chain. Yara Ghana, together with Ghanaian inputs trader Wienco, financed the initial inputs requirements and coordinated the supply of fertilizers. A revolving credit fund was established, helping to attract further private sector participation in rural agriculture.  Along with Yara and Wienco, the partnership involves a variety of both public and private institutions: the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF), farmers’ associations, the Ghana Ministry of Food and Agriculture, commercial banks, output buyers and traders.

Ensuring that the farmers could make the most of the partnership, training in accessing appropriate credit, suitable inputs, and profitable output value chains was also provided.

After a successful fast-track plan in 2008, a larger scale model, including the launch of the growers’ association Masara N’Arziki (“Maize for Prosperity”), is now being rolled out over Ghana’s three northern regions. The association offers a programme package including provision of fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, spraying equipment, and technical advisory and training services.

In order to explain the benefits of joining the association to farmers, a sensitization project was undertaken initially, following which about 2,200 farmers signed up and over 10,000 acres were cultivated. Through relevant training, extension and inputs distribution, average yields improved significantly by the end of the first year.

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Since its introduction in 2004, the Malawian government’s subsidy programme, which gives smallholders vouchers to buy seeds and fertilizer, has more than doubled farmers’ harvests. The example of Malawi is cited regularly as a symbol of how African agriculture can lift itself out of low productivity.

In order to continue the programme’s success, in 2007 fertilizer company Yara initiated the Malawi Agricultural Partnership (MAP) whose focus was to make the subsidy initiative more effective and reduce costs along the fertilizer supply chain.  Taking part in the MAP are AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa), IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development), local authorities and the Norwegian government, amongst others. Working between government, private sector and donors, an investment plan has been created that alleviates the systematic problems in the fertilizer supply chain, in turn helping to share the risks with all involved in the scheme.

The MAP works on three objectives: i) to create an enabling environment by addressing subsidies, legislative and trade reform, fiscal policy and infrastructure; ii) to create an efficient value chain by supporting input suppliers, retailers, farmers and markets, and iii) to create the business services needed for each of the parts of the value chain to succeed.

In Malawi, Yara also contributes to Mwandama, a Millennium Village project supported by the UN, where inhabitants are the recipients of high levels of development aid, including seeds and fertilizer on a more generous basis than the nationwide scheme, and advice on diversifying their production into cash crops.

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With Dar es Salaam port providing access to the Indian Ocean for the interior of Tanzania and its neighbouring landlocked countries – Malawi, Zambia and the Congo, Tanzania has a large agricultural potential. The Southern Corridor, through serving both regional and international markets, could become a vibrant sustainable commercial farming sector, helping to enhance local food security and economic development in Tanzania. This potential, however, has been greatly underutilized.

In 2009, Yara and other partners began the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT), to harness this potential. In a Blueprint for Investment, more than 350,00 hectares of farmland will be put under commercial production, to be farmed by emergent and smallholder farmers. The estimated results for the scheme indicate lifting two million people out of poverty, offering at least 20,000 smallholders the opportunity to become fully commercial and bringing in annual revenues of an estimated US$ 1.4 billion into the country.

Several key stakeholders from the public and private sectors are taking part in SAGCOT with Yara, including the governments of Tanzania and Norway, the African Development Bank, World Bank, FAO, and the Tanzania Agricultural Partnership. Similarly to the Tanzanian national policy initiative “Kilimo Kwanza” (“Agriculture First”), the intention is to support smallholder farmers to become commercial farmers, involving the development of clusters of commercial farms and agribusinesses through the corridor, in areas with high agricultural potential.

Building on Kilimo Kwanza, the SAGCOT will have US$ 2.4 billion of private investment over a 20-year period, alongside public sector commitments. The intended result is a tripling of the area’s agricultural output.  In an area that has a diverse range of climates and altitudes, a broad range of crop production will be invested in, including cereals, horticulture, coffee, tea, potatoes, bananas, beans, vegetables and sunflowers.

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