Press release No.: IFAD/09/09

Smallholder farmers hold key to food security

Rome, 18 February 2009 – The President of IFAD, Lennart Båge, issued a wake-up call to world leaders and highlighted essential steps that must be taken to improve world food security and end poverty and hunger.

We are living through the most significant global economic crisis of a generation, Båge noted. “Even before this crisis, almost one in six already lived in hunger and poverty. That number is now rising. Another 100 million people have been added over the last year. This reverses a previous downward trend,” Båge told delegates from 165 Member States at the UN agency’s 32nd Governing Council.

Båge, addressing the final Governing Council of his eight-year presidency, said: “The stark fact is that long-term supply is not keeping up with demand. Global demand for food is projected to increase by 50 per cent by 2030 and double by 2050. At the same time, agricultural productivity, which grew at 4 to 5 per cent in the 1970s and early 1980s, has fallen to 1 to 2 per cent today.”

Increased agricultural production is essential, but there is limited scope to expand agricultural land. It is estimated that there is only 10 to 15 per cent additional land available for cultivation, without cutting down forests.

As a result, most of the increased production will have to come from higher productivity per hectare of existing farmland. “This requires increased political attention and much greater investment in the whole agricultural value chain,” Båge said.

Smallholder farmers must be involved in the global food supply response. There are close to 500 million smallholder farms, representing more than 2 billion people – one-third of humanity, Båge noted. “In Africa and Asia, smallholders farm 80 per cent of the total farmland. Globally, smallholder families constitute the vast majority of the poor, living on less than US$1 or US$2 a day. At the same time, they are an important part of the global food production potential,” Båge said.

Most smallholder farms have very low productivity, but they can double or triple their yields if they have access to the right seeds, fertilizer and irrigation and financing. For example, a year ago, Brigitte Addassin was struggling to live on less than US$2 a day in Benin. But with IFAD support, Brigitte switched to growing NERICA rice, a cross between African and Asian varieties, which matures quickly, is more pest resistant and requires less water. As a result, and with improved irrigation and fertilizer, Brigitte was able to increase her harvest from 1.5 tons of rice to 6.5 tons.

“We need to listen to and work very closely with poor rural people themselves,” Båge said. “They know their needs and priorities better than anyone else. When they come together in farmers’ and producers’ organizations, they add strength to their aspirations.”

In his speech, Båge paid tribute to IFAD members and staff, and to IFAD’s important partners, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme in Rome, the wider UN system, the World Bank and regional development banks, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the Global Environmental facility, and the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research system. 

On a personal note, Båge recalled his many trips to the field during his eight years at the helm of IFAD. “I have met individuals, families, communities, farmer organizations – all deeply anchored in their cultures, identities and livelihoods joined together in a global village of hope,” he said.

“Our joint responsibility is to enlarge this global village to reach all those hungry and poor living in destitution and despair, to help them realize the dreams that we all share as human beings.”

Note to editors

During his address, Båge set out five key issues relevant to global food security: 

• We need to grow 50 per cent more food by 2030 – 100 per cent more by 2050
• Area expansion is only a small part of the solution
• Increased agricultural productivity, more tons per hectare, is key. We have to go from today’s 1-2 per cent a year to 3-5 per cent
• Political and financial re-engagement in boosting agriculture is necessary
• 500 million smallholder farmers can and must be part of the solution

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IFAD was created 30 years ago to tackle rural poverty, a key consequence of the droughts and famines of the early 1970s. Since 1978, IFAD has invested more than US$10.6 billion in low-interest loans and grants that have helped over approximately 350 million very poor rural women and men increase their incomes and provide for their families. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency. It is a global partnership of OECD, OPEC and other developing countries. Today, IFAD supports close to 250 programmes and projects in 87 developing countries and one territory.