Africa, agriculture and climate change

“If agriculture in developing countries becomes more sustainable, if it increases its productivity and becomes more resilient against the impact of climate change, this should help to reduce the number of currently around one billion hungry people and offer better income and job opportunities,” said Alexander Mueller, FAO Assistant Director-General.

“Millions of poor farmers around the globe could help in reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Peter Holmgren, FAO focal point for the UN climate change negotiations. ((Agriculture is essential for facing climate change.))

OK. But what about preparing those self-same farmers to cope with climate change by giving them access to agricultural biodiversty?

Africa’s market for milk, meat and staple food crops such as maize, banana, sorghum, rice and millet stands at over $150 billion a year which is more than what it fetches from pet cash crops like coffee, tea and flowers.

Researchers say that seven out of ten Africans earn their living by engaging in subsistence farming making the sub-sector to be the continent’s market leader.

It is for this reason that the farmers are encouraged to embrace modern farming methods to produce more food in order to make economic sense.

On the other hand, governments are obliged to ensure that farm inputs are affordable and farmers have access to markets to sell their harvests at competitive prices to reap fruits of the labour. ((Food crops edging out cash crops on rural Africa’s incomes.))

OK. But does “modern farming” mean abandoning their agrobiodiversity and the skills to use it? And why is it government’s responsibility to make sure inputs are affordable? If government distorts price signals, we can’t blame farmers for doing the most profitable thing in the short term, even if it means losing their agricultural biodiversity and the skills to use it in the longer term.

Nibbles: Coca to cacao, BXV, Chinese gardening, Forest conservation, Amazon, Soil bacteria, Prairie, Genetics, Wildcats, Milk product

Go Local recognized by CDC

We’ve often referred here to the sterling efforts of Lois Englberger and the Go Local team in Pohnpei in promoting agrobiodiversity-based solutions to the many, grave health and nutrition problems afflicting Pacific Islanders. The karat banana story is only one example.

Now we hear that the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) and Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have listed the Go Local campaign as one of their success stories in reducing the burden of chronic disease across the U.S. The full list is online. Look under Federated States on Micronesia (p.29). Congratulations to the Island Food Community of Pohnpei, the NGO behind Go Local. Some of the other success stories also look interesting.

The youthing of Japanese agriculture

I know I nibbled it, but the recent discussion on Global Voices about how Japanese agriculture is changing really deserves a bit more attention. I was particularly struck by what may just be the green shoots of burgeoning interest in agriculture among the young. There’s a fair way to go, of course.

In the next 10 years, the majority of farmers in Japan will be 70 or older according to an Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry survey, mainly because the younger generation doesn’t want to take over the family business, many young farmers said.

But countering that is the trend for celebrities to get involved in farming. Plus there’s the pilot agriculture-experience program. And increasing use of the internet in farming, including blogging.

Japanese agriculture may just get the shot in the arm it needs after all.