FAMILY FARMING:

FEEDING THE WORLD, CARING FOR THE EARTHORGANIZED by FAO and NATIONAL

GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

Washington D.C.22nd October, 2014

S. RajaramDirector,

RESOURCE SEEDS INTERNATIONAL TOLUCA, MÉXICO

ZERO HUNGER• The United Nations (UN) designated 2014 as the

International Year of Family Farming, recognizing that an estimated 500 million family farms, involving over 2 Billion people, play a key role in food production and consumption world wide. It is thus an opportune time to encourage a shift in tackling global hunger from a "food security" focus to an agenda that promotes "nutritional security" instead .

• M.S. Swaminathan

Science Editorial 1 August 2014, Vol. 345 Issue 6196

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH AND BRIDGING

THE GAP FOR SMALL FAMILY FARMS

INTERAGENCY REPORT TO MEXICAN G 20 PRESIDENCY

12 JUNE 2012

• Focus on farms with:– Less than 2 ha of

land– Multiple crops and

activities– Limited access to

credit and other resources

– Family-head herself the farmer

Family Farms

Courtesy: Shivaji Pandey, FAO

Policies to Support Family Farms

1. Good governance, peace and stability encourage investments

2. Access to land, other agricultural resources, and capacity building, especially for women farmers

Courtesy: Shivaji Pandey, FAO

Policies to Support Family Farms

Courtesy: Shivaji Pandey, FAO

3. and access to credit and markets

4. Access to improved technologies and knowledge, especially for women farmers

Policies to Support Family Farms

5. Support to Farmer Associations, Cooperatives, and companies

6. Contract farming with larger farmers

Courtesy: Shivaji Pandey, FAO

HELPING SMALL FAMILY FARMERS

Some Outstanding Technical Interventions

NEPAL HILL MAIZE RESEARCH 2004-2010

• Funded by USAID & SDC• Helped farmers to graduate to a

seed company in the hills• Improved maize variety

Manakamana 3 vs local variety 60% more yield

Courtesy: Guillermo Ortiz Ferrara, CIMMYT

Courtesy: Guillermo Ortiz Ferrara, CIMMYT

HYBRID MAIZE IN TOLUCA VALLEY: LAND OF ORIGIN OF MAIZE

• Yield of hybrid 7 Ton. per Ha.

• Yield of local criollo 2 Ton/Ha

• Adaptation constraints- cost of seed and inputs

• Cost of hybrid seed for 1 Ha $2000 pesos = 160 USD

• Net profit-- $20 000 pesos for hybrid

Source: Mario Albarrán. RSI, México.

Source: Mario Albarrán. RSI, México.

Source: Mario Albarrán. RSI, México.

Correcting Boron Deficiency

Courtesy: Perry Gustafson, University of Missouri

Bangladesh- Correcting Boron Deficiency (USDA/FAS)

• 1 Kg of Boron per hectare at planting time

• Yield increase of 20% over the check variety

• 1 Kg of Boron cost 1000 taka

• Farmers had 9000 takas net profit

• Yield increase for all crops except riceCourtesy: Perry Gustafson, University of Missouri

Courtesy: Perry Gustafson, University of Missouri

PROMOTING GRASSPEA VARIETIES IN THE STATES OF BIHAR, WEST BENGAL, CHHATTISGARH AND U.P.

• 5160 small/ marginal family farmers

• 16000 Adivasis (TRIBAL) farmers adopted these low toxin varieties

• Grasspeas varieties have 29% protein

Courtesy: Ashutosh Sarker, ICARDA

Courtesy: Ashutosh Sarker, ICARDA

Courtesy: Mahmoud Solh

Courtesy: Mahmoud Solh

Urea Deep Placement

• Urea use reduced by 78 to 150 kg/ha

• Paddy yields increased by 900 to 1,100 kg/ha

• Average net return $188/ ha higher than with broadcasting

Courtesy: Shivaji Pandey, FAO

ADAPTING MICRONUTRIENTS RICH GRAINS

TARGET

VITAMIN A CASSAVA

25 % NIGERIA

IRON BEAN 45 % RAWANDA

VITAMIN A MAIZE 25 % ZAMBIA

IRON PEARL MILLET

60 % INDIA

ZINC RICE 41 % BANGLADESH

ZINC WHEAT 43 % INDIA

Sorce: Harvest Plus, CGIAR

THANK YOU

DR. SANJAYA RAJARAM