Growth and Poverty Mailing List Archive

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Dear Colleagues 

I apologise for my late entry into this discussion.  I have no wish to 
go over ground already covered but it might (?) be useful to support 
some of the statements made earlier to give you an indication of where 
I am coming from after many years experiential learning.  I am very 
interested to see the wealth of contributions from many different 
disciplinary and country perspectives, the contributions from 
relatively younger research and development workers and the 
surprisingly fewer contributions from those who have spent a lifetime 
working in developing country agriculture ( found partly among the 
ranks of the TAA in the UK).  The other people missing (as several 
contributors have pointed out) are the very people for whom we are 
concerned: the poor farmers, livestock owners and carers, fishermen and 
growers of the South.  

I begin by returning to Andrew Macmillan's moral perspective and 
imperative need to alleviate food and hunger and the fact that we have 
the means to resolve the problem.  Why are we discussing the "problem" 
in the way that we are now ? Has someone suddenly remembered that maybe 
agriculture, after years of neglect on the aid priorities agenda of 
several major donors, might be quite important after all in 
contributing to, and sustaining, the livelihoods of millions of people 
in many countries?  

The importance of the environment at many scales of analysis ( 
including global) as an essential element within our  perception of 
sustainable natural resource mangement  leads to a need for a more 
systemic view of the natural resource world and the role of agriculture 
within  it. While we are asked to direct our contributions to "the 
relevant sector",  I am more and more feeling that this is seemingly 
reductionist approach loses the essential interdependence, complexity  
and systemicity of these areas of discussion. I think that it is 
essential that contributors be allowed to make whatever linkages and 
connections that they care to make , whatever their starting point 
might  be.  In so doing we might generate some new insights and areas 
we have so far missed. 

I do not think that we can escape from some consideration of:-
1. The grossly inequitable world conditions of trade which directly 
disadvantage many millions of small holder producers by denying them 
fair access to national, regional and world markets, 
2. The unsustainable nature of many so called "modern, high input",  
highly subsidised , agricultural systems which combine excessive energy 
use with very high long term human and environmental health risks, and 

3. The systematic and cynical dismissal, by  very powerful political 
and economic interest groups, of the viability, resilience and 
potential contributions of small farm systems, despite much evidence to 
the contrary. 

Despite these rather negative  factors, in the spirit of appreciative 
inquiry, I remain optimistic that  there is enough positive experience 
in the World for us to feel that things can change for the better in 
the longer term.  I do think that we need to reflect more profoundly on 
what has worked as well as analysing more carefully experiences that 
were less successful.  I would hope that the products from DFID's own 
project and programme evaluations are fed into these discussions at the 
appropriate moment. 

The growing development of direct producer/ processer/ consumer 
linkages , although relatively small so far , are a sign that 
alternative, fairer,  trade arrangements can work to the satisfaction 
of all parties. 

We have also had many succeses in human capacity building through long 
term bi-lateral support for developing country institutions.  I would 
assume that the graduates  from these partnerships, are key 
contributors to this discussion.  Why have we ceased to do this 
important work ?  I consider the professional staff with whom I worked 
at Pakhribas as friends and colleagues of the highest calibre who are 
now all making major contributions in agriculture and poverty 
alleviation in the Nepal Hills. Is this not a most significant legacy 
that we ought to be replicating ? 

One area that we might consider worthwhile is to analyse what it means 
to be a small farmer in this century.  As many contributors have 
pointed out, many rural regions have undergone rapid and significant 
changes in recent years, though peri-urban development, migration and 
changing priorities in farmer livelihood income sources.   Although it 
might not seem relevant to many in this discussion, a study of the 
resilience of small farm systems in parts of Southern Europe over the 
past 20 years might indicate some useful lessons in survival through 
the exploration of pluriactivity and the development of innovatory 
business linkages.  Similar features can, of course, also be found in 
many Asian countries.  Creating linkages between small farmer 
organisations in the North with groups in the South ( as several 
Swedish organisations have done) might be mutually beneficial. 

The rapid growth of farmer learning groups ( ref. Kevin's FFS)  under a 
great variety of conditions has indicated to me how relatively simple 
changes in knowledge, access to relevant options and faciltiation, can 
make a huge differences to peoples' lives . I am currently in 
Bangladesh ( which I have visited many times over the past 25 years) 
and really appreciate Sattar Mandal's excellent contributions on the 
innovatory energy of the Bangladesh people and the transformation of ( 
and threats to from WTO agreements)  the economy in this period.  My 
experience in the very small (DFID funded) project that I am studying 
has indicated precisely the features that Sattar mentions:- the 
diversification of the livelihoods of the very poor ( offically 
landless) people though the introduction of vegetables and small 
livestock enterprises, primarily for women,  has had a very positive 
effect on family income and child nutrition ( supports to the earlier 
discussion on improved nutrition and reduced poverty) .

Finally, I have found little reference in the discussion so far to 
small farmer innovatory activity as a potential engine for learning and 
transformation of agricultural systems  . I apologise if I have missed 
this.  The books on farmer innovation in soil fertility in Africa by 
Chris Rea and others show how significant changes can be initiated 
through the skills, enthusiasm and communication power of individuals 
in society. 

David Gibbon



-- 
Dr David Gibbon, Agricultural and Rural Livelihood Systems , 
Farmer-Participatory Research and Learning.
Lower Barn, Cheney Longville,Craven Arms, Shropshire, SY6 8DR. United Kingdom, 
Tel/Fax. +44 (0)1588 673086 e mail <address removed> 
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