Science Forum 2013 (www.scienceforum13.org) Breakout Session 9: Farm Size, Urbanization and the Links from Agriculture to Nutrition and Health Ken Giller
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Farming Systems and Agronomic Perspectives on Changes in Farm Size How small is beautiful? Ken Giller, Linus Franke, Huib Hengsdijk, Leonard Rusinamhodzi, Greta van den Brand and others Plant Production Systems, Wageningen University, The Netherlands Mark van Wijk ILRI, Nairobi, Kenya Bernard Vanlauwe IITA, Nairobi, Kenya Humid Tropics A ‘uniquely’ African green revolution Kofi Annan called for ‘a uniquely African green revolution in the 21st Century’ Recognising: • the rich diversity of Africa’s people, soils and farming practices • the urgent need to increase agricultural productivity But how do we target technologies to the huge diversity and heterogeneity of African farming systems? Gradients of soil fertility • Broodtekst corps 18 News Gothic regular Poverty leads to soil degradation - western Kenya Resource-rich farm Resource-poor farm Photo: Pablo Tittonell Farmers’ management decisions MKT CSH CNS HOME LVSTK OE WOOD Cash Labour Nutrients Resource allocation patterns To different activities To different fields Tittonell, Vanlauwe, Leffelaar, Shepherd & Giller (2005) Ag. Ecosyst. Environ. 110, 166-184. AfricaNUANCES Typology of farms Family composition Resource endowment Production orientation Site-specific factors Resource allocation strategies Tittonell, Vanlauwe, Leffelaar, Rowe & Giller (2005) Ag. Ecosyst. Environ. 110, 149-165. Resources Time (life cycle) Expanding family & resources Sub-dividing land E st ab lis hm ent and grow t h Decl i ne and di ss o luti on Maturity Maintaining & reproducing resources; production may exceed consumption The farm development cycle Chayanov (1925) AfricaNUANCES
Transcript
Farming Systems and Agronomic Perspectives on Changes in Farm Size
How small is beautiful?
Ken Giller, Linus Franke, Huib Hengsdijk, Leonard Rusinamhodzi, Greta van den Brand and othersPlant Production Systems, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Mark van WijkILRI, Nairobi, Kenya
Bernard VanlauweIITA, Nairobi, Kenya
Humid Tropics
A ‘‘‘‘uniquely ’’’’ African green revolution
Kofi Annan called for ‘ a uniquely African green revolution in the 21st Century’
Recognising:• the rich diversity of Africa’s people, soils and fa rming
practices• the urgent need to increase agricultural productivi ty
But how do we target technologies to the huge diver sity and heterogeneity of African farming systems?
• Link to markets and create new enterprises to increase demand for legumes
control +Pfert +ino +Pfert+ino Soybean response to P and inoculation in Nigeria
N2Africa demonstration trial results in Nigeria 2010
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Soybean grain yield in control plot (kg/ha)
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Soybean response to P and inoculation in Ghana and Nigeria
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N2Africa demonstration trial results in Ghana and Nigeria 2010
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Non-responsive soils
Prospective- Mg - P
- micronutrients controlPutting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
Yield gaps are poverty traps!1. A poverty trap is "any self-reinforcing mechanism
which causes poverty to persist”
2. Non-responsive soils are widespread poverty traps
3. Nutrient inputs are needed to restore productivity
4. Mineral fertilizer alone is not enough – need to (re)build soil organic matter
5. Animal manure is a scarce resource – not available to the poor
Tittonell, P. and Giller, K. E. (2013) When yield gaps are poverty traps: The paradigm of ecological intensification in African smallholder agriculture. Field Crops Research 143, 76–90 .
Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
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Land area per household member ISPC foresight study on urbanization & farm sizeprocess | summary of results | data and methods
Data and methods behind our conclusions
Source: Adapted from Giller (2013)
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Resource endowment per farm
Expansion of relatively big farms
Increasing number of the smallest farms
Stylized changes for Kenya 1997-2010 and Rwanda 1990-2000
Expanding the biggest farms usually implies shrinking land available for the smallest
Farm size distribution is like a balloon:
Typical distribution of farm sizes (e.g. lognormal)
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% farms
farm area/capita (ha/pers)
Mozambique
Ghana
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Land availability distribution in N2Africa target areas
N2Africa Baseline 2010
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Vihiga (HH)
Migori (HL)
Bondo (LH)
South Gem (LL)
Land availability distribution in four regions of Kenya
N2Africa Baseline 2010
Food self sufficiency and land surplus or shortage?
Farm land gaps
Zooming in, where will value chains work?Potential financial returns of soya cultivation on surplus land
Potential financial returns of maize and soya intensification Closing yield gaps for maize and legumes with inoculant
Value chains and safety nets…?
Vorley, del Pozo-Vergnes, Barnett, 2012. Small producer agency in the globalised market: Making choices in a changing world, London.
Seville, Buxton, Vorley, 2011. Under what conditions are value chains effective tools for pro-poor development? IIED/Sustainable Food Lab, London.
Climbing beans in DRC
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With manure
Long rains season 2010 in Sud Kivu, DRC
maize following maize maize following climbing beans
Pigeonpea-maize intercropping in southern Africa
Legume residues removed from the field
Residual effects of pigeonpea intercrops and sole crops on maize
Rusinamhodzi, Corbeels, Nyamangara, Giller 2012 Field Crop Res 136, 12-22
Nutrition Impact Study in Northern Ghana
• Diet of N2Africa subjects is more nutrient adequate
• Subjects <2 years of female N2Africa farmers have a higher
