Two Contrasting Systems
For Ensuring Food Security
By Jaspal Singh Sidhu
16 November, 2009
Countercurrents.org
As heads of countries are meeting in Rome this week for the World Summit on Food Security, a new book pulls together – for the first time – major successes in agricultural development that have brought millions of people out of hunger over the past 50 years. The book, Millions Fed: Proven Successes in Agricultural Development, was commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to determine what works in agriculture – what sorts of programs, policies, and investments have had a proven impact on hunger and food security.
The book, of course, eulogizes the industrial agriculture system or the capitalistic farming system, now virtually in practice world over. But this has been diametrically opposed through an anti-capitalistic agricultural practice as elaborated in another book ‘Hungary for Profit: The Agribusiness Threat to Farmers, Food and the Environment”. In the latter book, its authors- Fred Magdoff and Brian Tokar –find serious flaws with industrial mode of agriculture . They say ,” In 2008 people woke up to a tsunami of hunger sweeping the world with the prospect of rising hunger has loomed on the horizon for years. Food riots spread through many countries in the global south”.
“The causes for extraordinary spike in food prices in 2008, doubling over 2007 prices , brought together long-term trends, at work for decades, with a number of more recent realities”, Fred and Brian underlined . They argued that most important long-term trends leading to current situation are: (a)decreased food production in poor countries on adoption of neoliberal paradigm of letting the “free market” food production and distribution. (b) wide spread “ depeasantization” partially caused by neoliberal “reforms” and IMF mandated “ structural adjustments” as conditions forced peasant farmers (farmers working on their land) off the land into urban slums where one-sixth humanity lives and increasing concentration of corporate ownership and control over all aspects of food production, from seeds, pesticides and fertilizers to grain elevators, processing facilities and grocery stores”. And the last one (c) increased diversion of corn grain and soybeans to produce meat as the world’s per capita meat consumption doubled in about past 40 years. As 95 per cent of calories are lost in conversion of grain and soybeans to meat.
Much earlier Karl Kautsky had noted in his book “ The Agrarian Question (1899) underlined, “ Technical progress in agriculture, far from making up the loss of soil nutrients, is , in essence, a method for improving the techniques of wringing the goodness out of soil and increasing the mass of nutritional material removed each year for dispatch to the towns…. And current techniques of agriculture production( popularly now known as Green Revolution techniques heralding the growing use of fertilizers, pesticides etc) will soon lead to collapse of agriculture”.
On other hand, Millions Fed, presents just an opposite story in favor of continuation of industrial agriculture. This book is the culmination of a major research project led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), presenting 20 case studies – not pilot projects or short-lived experiments – but large-scale initiatives that are documented to have substantial, long-term effects. These stories include “achievements” not just in increasing the yields and production of staple food crops, but also in expanding markets, developing better policies, conserving natural resources, and improving nutrition.
These “successes”, the book says, have played an important role in the last 50 years, helping to reduce the proportion of people in the world suffering from malnutrition from about one third to one sixth. But progress has slowed, and the challenge of meeting future food needs is exacerbated by factors such as stagnating yields, climate change, and population growth.
The IFPRA study, however, recognizes that problems are fast coming up in increasing production and productivity and there is an urgent need to resolve the food crisis getting aggravated. But it puts these disturbing realities in mild terms without suggesting any systemic or paradigm change in ongoing agriculture practice. “Learning from past achievements in agricultural development is now more urgent than ever,” stressed Rajul Pandya-Lorch, head of IFPRI’s 2020 Vision Initiative, and coeditor of the book. “These successes provide valuable lessons about how to put agriculture to work to solve hunger and malnutrition. Until now, however, relatively little evidence has been available on where, why, and how these interventions succeeded.”
The case studies, the book claims, were chosen through a rigorous process that included an open call for nominations, an extensive literature review, and expert interviews with a view that the initiative should be a large-scale one , reaching hundreds of thousands or millions.
Of the 20 case studies selected, more than half come from Asia, five are from Africa, one is from South America, and two are global in scope. Examples include:
· Breeding of rust-resistant wheat varieties in Mexico spawned a global effort to fight the deadly fungi that threatened global wheat production in the 1950s. As a result, 117 million hectares of land under cultivation were protected from wheat rust, ensuring the food security of 60-120 million rural households.
· Market liberalization in Bangladesh during the mid-1980s to ease restrictions on the importation and sale of irrigation equipment stimulated the growth of irrigated rice farming. Rice production nearly doubled, benefitting about 22 million people a year.
· Improved environmental practices in Burkina Faso and Niger led to the rehabilitation of millions of hectares of farmland, producing enough food to sustain about 3 million people in the region.
· Between 1978 and 1984, China returned more than 95 percent of the nation’s total farmland to some 160 million farm households. These reforms directly contributed to an increase in rural incomes by 137 percent, a reduction in rural poverty by 22 percent, and a 34 percent rise in grain production.
“Each of these cases tells a different story of what worked, how, and why,” explained David Spielman, IFPRI research fellow and book coeditor. “While no single story offers a complete solution to ending hunger, each one illustrates the importance of combined approaches to achieve success, including good science, collaboration, visionary leadership, community action, and progressive policies.”
The release of this book comes at a critical time when after about two decades of neglect, decision-makers are recognizing the central importance of agriculture for development. The G-20 recently committed an additional $22 billion for agriculture, and the U.S. government is currently leading an initiative to spur action, ‘Partnering for Food Security: Moving Forward.’
Recognizing that the agricultural development is a powerful driver in reducing poverty, Millions Fed also puts on record the fact that “Despite the progress that has been made over the past decades, there are still about one billion people worldwide who are undernourished”. But, it is does focus on emerging problems like rising food prices, recent food riots in three dozen countries and deteriorating soil and environment.
The major lessons the book draws for policy makers of different countries world over and which are often critical to success are following:
· Sustained investment in agricultural research and development to bring science and technology to bear on challenges in agriculture
· Sustained investment in complementary areas, such as irrigation, rural roads, education, and market infrastructure
· Creation of strong private incentives to encourage farmers, entrepreneurs, and companies to invest in agriculture
· Cooperation and collaboration among diverse groups, such as public research institutes, government agencies, community-based organizations, international organizations, and private companies
· Good timing, whether by chance or design, and good planning
· Creation of space for experimentation and innovation to encourage adaptation to local challenges
· Support for community involvement, including the use of local knowledge and practices
· Leadership capable of championing a movement for change, demonstrating what can be done, or marshaling political or financial resources.
The release of Millions Fed seems to be an advocacy in favor of capitalistic mode of agriculture which is now turning into a ‘ corporate farming’ ahead of World Summit on Food Security . Also it is an attempt to brush under the carpet ill-effects of this ‘modern agriculture’ . It ignores the warning: “ Modern man, using immense potential of the “ Power Age, has won war against animals, domesticated them, used them for food, power and for sport… he is winning war against vegetation by ploughing up the grasslands, butchering the forests, paving the earth, and spraying poisons on transgressing insects and plant life (weeds). The Man engaged in a savage chemical war against insects and other forms of life will get his health and ultimately his life threatened … The Alternative? Learning to live and let live ; or better still, to live and help life”.
(Jaspal Singh Sidhu, has worked as a correspondent with Indian Express and United News of India (UNI) for three decades. Now regularly writing on Agriculture and Food issues from Delhi.
