Paper "Five Big Questions about Five Hundred Million Small Farms" by Peter Hazell, Imperial College

Summary of the presentation

• Why should we bother about small farms? Greater efficiency is found in the use of family labour, through self-supervision and better motivation. Small farms also contribute to food security by supplying locally produced food and stimulate rural growth by spending on locally produced goods.

• Small farms may disappear with economic transition but forceful eviction of small farms does not help economic growth. The exit of small farms is more a consequence of economic growth rather than a driver of economic development.

• There is a continuum of small farms ranging from the commercially-oriented ones to part-time farms to subsistence farms. In order to maintain viability, small farms need to get bigger, switch to high value production or diversify into non-farm income sources over time.

• Small farms typically need a level playing field with large farms in terms of accessing land, waters, inputs, credit, technology and markets. A concerted effort is required from governments, NGOs and the private sector to create a more equitable and enabling environment for small farms.

• It pays to invest in small farms as the earlier experiences with public investment reveals. There are high returns from investments in agricultural R&D, rural roads and other infrastructure and knowledge generation. These strategies have significant positive impact on poverty reduction.