Growth and Poverty Mailing List Archive

[<address removed>]

From John Madeley
<address removed>

To: <address removed> 

28th April 2004

Gareth Williams asks: âHow can DFID be more effective in getting 
poverty-reducing agriculture going?â   Vinay Chand urges better targeting and 
effective 
assistance to small farmers.

To some extent, Vinay answers the question. But how to target? There would 
seem to be a strong case to look at success stories on small-scale farms, 
success in terms of increased productivity and rising farmer incomes, and for 
DFID 
to use at least some of its aid for agriculture to help replicate the successes 
on a much wider basis. Replicate, of course, adapted to local farmers needs.

What is encouraging in developing country agriculture today is that there are 
many examples of successes, many of which come into the sustainable category. 
A doubling and even tripling of yields is not uncommon, often with 
inexpensive low-external input technologies.

DFID could usefully compile a database of success stories in small-scale 
farmer agriculture, drawing on its own work, academia, NGOs etc (the University 
of 
Essex has a database of over 200 examples), and make it known that aid is 
available for the replication of technologies which have proved successful in 
helping small-scale farmers out of poverty. In short - target with success.

John Madeley
Caversham, Reading
 
John Madeley is the author of âFood for All: the need for a new agricultureâ
.
Web: www.JohnMadeley.co.uk