Life on the margins: the inequality of food and nutrition security

AGRI-FOOD BUSINESS

PowerPoint presentation by Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without

Borders (MSF) UKSchools Team: Mary Doherty and Severa von Wentzel

January 2014

SUSTAINABILITY – SUPPLY AND PRODUCTION

“Goals other than improved nutrition are pursued by strong economic and political interests in both the agricultural sector and the postharvest value chain. Farmers and other economic agents in food systems aim to make money subject to reasonable levels of risk, and governments pursue

policies that are compatible with the interests of politically powerful stakeholder groups. Malnourished populations are rarely among these interests.” (Per Pinstrup-Andersen “Nutrition-sensitive food systems: from rhetoric to action” http://wphna.org/v2/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/13-08-03-Food-systems-and-nutrition-Pinstrup-Andersen-Lancet.pdf)

Food system• “Food systems encompass all the people,

institutions and processes by which agricultural products are produced, processed and brought to consumers. They also include the public officials, civil society organizations, researchers and development practitioners who design the policies, regulations, programmes and projects that shape food and agriculture” (FAO “The State of Food and Agriculture 2013 http://www.fao.org/publications/sofa/en/)

• The industrial food system started with the factory system of fast food, which changed how food was produced.

• The food system is complex and involves many steps.

Source: http://www.greenboardcoop.com/what-is-sustainable-food/

Action for students: Watch the clip on agriculture and the green economy. Discuss: What is the difference between food security for ‘us’ and sustainable food systems for all and note the key points of the discussion in your folder. http://www.farmingfirst.org/green-economy/ What is green economy?

Food-secure livelihoods ultimately depend on sustainable production of food.

Sustainability or business as usual? (1)

Image on sustainability http://www.vanderbilt.edu/sustainvu/cms/files/sustainability_spheres.png; Source: Edexcel Student Guide Unit 4, Option 3; http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/Unit-4-Option-3-Life-onthe-margins-Food-supply-problem-final.ppt;

Sustainability or business as usual? (2)

The sustainability discourse does not accept the externalisation of costs - the negative environmental, social and economic impacts - of food provision. In a well-functioning system, criteria need to overlap and work with all stages of food production to consumption.

A well-functioning system:

• Improves human health and social well-being

• Maintains environment and economy long-term

• Builds resilience at times of shocks from natural and man-made disasters. Resilience is the ability to withstand shock.

Image on sustainability http://www.vanderbilt.edu/sustainvu/cms/files/sustainability_spheres.png; Source: Edexcel Student Guide Unit 4, Option 3; http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/Unit-4-Option-3-Life-onthe-margins-Food-supply-problem-final.ppt;

Food systemNutrition and sustainability

• The food system is currently not ensuring basic food and nutrition security and sustainability around the world. It is interrelated with rural poverty, gender inequality and environmental degradation. If we judge food security on the basis of production alone, it is already failing given hunger.

• The food system considered as a whole needs to be reconceived with more emphasis on health and consumption if it is to secure positive nutritional outcomes for all and if sustainable practices are to be implemented throughout supply chains. The links from the food system to nutritional outcomes are often indirect and food system policies and interventions rarely have nutrition as their primary objective.

• While sustainable strategies are the ideal, there is also a need for non-sustainable strategies such as food aid in emergencies.

Agronomic practicesIn agri-business there has been relatively little emphasis on how to grow food without as much fossil fuel - sustainable food production goes hand in hand with sustainable energy resources.

More sustainable agricultural production systems that are proven to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels, entail combinations of:• Integrated pest management• Strategic application of fertilisers and irrigation water• Low-impact pesticides• Precision-farming procedures

Sustainable practices require a change in agricultural practices, lifestyles and urban and rural development. There is a link between sustainability and equity (e.g., for girls and women).

Source: Viglizzo 2012 as found in na.unep.net/geas/getuneppagewitharticleidscript.php?article_id=81

•No-till or•Minimum tillage•Crop diversification•Crop rotation

Agri-business labour violations

Policies are inadequate or not sufficiently enforced to improve labour standards and ensure access to social safety nets. Routine violation of internationally regulated labour standards include:• Long hours• Low wages• Poor working conditions• 170,000 deaths / year of agricultural workers, 40,000

of whom killed by pesticide poisoning (ILO)• Wide-spread child labour: 130 – 150 million

child labourers in agriculture (ILO 2010)Source: Fairfood Internationl http://www.fairfood.org/about-us/reports-and-organisation-documents/; ILO 2010 Accelaerating action against child labour www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/download.do?type=document&id=13853; http://:www.ilo.org/safework/info/WCMS_110188?lang--en/index.htm

Unsustainable food production

• The negative impacts of the Green revolution and then (genetically modified) GM crops and the global food system became more topical in the 1990s following food price hikes. International companies are recognising more and more that it could be in their interest to shift to more sustainable practices.

• Like developed countries, developing countries adopting Green Revolution Technologies are facing resource constraints and similar changes to natural ecosystems and loss of biodiversity due to the scale and intensity of food production on land and in the oceans. “The existence of over 4,000 plant and animal species is threatened by agricultural intensification” (Fairfood)

Source: Edexcel Student Guide Unit 4, Option 3; http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/Unit-4-Option-3-Life-on-the-margins-Food-supply-problem-final.ppt.; Source: UN Documents, Our Common Future - http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-05.htm; http://www.fairfood.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Fairfood-International-Strategy_Final.pdf

Environmental sustainability

Further info on sustainability http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/17_12_07_sustainguide.pdfSource: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/gfn/page/footprint_basics_overview/

Global Footprint Network devised an indicator of environmental sustainability – the ecological footprint (EF).

The issues centre on land grabs, deforestation and replacement of staple food crops by biofuels. Deforestation for cash crops- most severe impact on mountainous areas, upland watersheds and dependent ecosystems

Global focus on Eco footprints and food miles (sustainability), animal welfare, fair trade and exploitation of workers

Eco footprints

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Human_welfare_and_ecological_footprint.jpg

Action for students: It will become imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a changing climate. Read about and discuss in class if your family could follow the example of the Hawksworth family http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/6902850.stm

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Per capita footprint can be used to:

• highlight inequality of resource use

• educate about overconsumption

• show how many lifestyles are not sustainable.

Human factors Physical factors Accessibility of markets Land ownership systems: security of

tenure. Inheritance laws: may be gender

biased Market and Trade patterns and

regulations skewed in favour of more developed economies

Competition often unfair, especially if subsidies, quotas etc. involved

Government action and support Big businesses and TNCs now

dominate research into agricultural production and are governed by profit margins rather than food security for poor people

Aid agencies are key players in both long and short term food supplies

Soil–nutrient store Climate: seasonal changes Precipitation: amount, frequency, type Length of thermal growing season Relief: steep or waterlogged areas less

useful Aspect-slope angle Altitude: affecting temperature, water

supply Hazards: tectonic, hydro-meteorological

and biological Recent climate change and weather

‘shocks’ linked to global warming.Source: Edexcel Student Guide Unit 4, Option 3; http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/Unit-4-Option-3-Life-on-the-margins-Food-supply-problem-final.ppt.

Food supply:human and

physical factors•Set natural limits to

production•Can be overcome with

technology•Technology is costly

• Eventually the law of diminishing returns apply

• Variation in food supply ≠ Variation in food security

• Production of crops for export can be high, while supply for local consumption can be low.

Grey area between human and physical

factors

Food supply factorsAction for students:

Using Sub-Saharan Africa as an example 1. Read the report on the region

http://www.afhdr.org/AfHDR/documents/chapter2.pdfand refer to the World Food Programme Global Security Updates and country updateshttp://www.wfp.org/content/global-update-food-security-monitoring

2. Prepare a slide that explains food supply factors, human and physical, to a fellow student.

Source: Edexcel Student Guide Unit 4, Option 3; http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/Unit-4-Option-3-Life-on-the-margins-Food-supply-problem-final.ppt.

Food supply chainFood supply defines what food is available. Food availability is influenced by production and distribution of food – in a country and household. The supply chain charts its course from primary production to retail and service. Consumption is followed by waste management.

Source: http://instruct.uwo.ca/geog/556/TNCs%20&%20Global%20Food%20Chain.pdf; Digby et al “A2 Geography for Edexcel”, p 282

World food supply chain

Farm equipment manufacturers e.g., Deere & Company

Hedge funds and other investment firms

Losses in the food supply chain

Source: http://www.farmingfirst.org/green-economy/ ; http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_R4gXlIDAvmg/TIBSGFnyhUI/AAAAAAAAEjo/sZ6mqKj6ous/s1600/figure1.jpg

Food Miles, losses and wastage

Further info on food miles: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/mar/23/food.ethicallivingSource on food emissions: http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/food-miles

Do greater and greater distances between growers and consumers matter? Most people associate food miles with final delivery transport , which actually only accounts for 4% of food emissions. What you eat and how much you waste tends to be more important than where it comes from.

Source: http://www.extension.harvard.edu/hub/blog/extension-blog/buying-local-do-food-miles-matter

In the UK one quarter of the lorries are carrying food. Source: “Food Security and Sustainability: One Can’t Make an Omelette Without Cracking Some Eggs” http://vimeo.com/24914046

Up to half of the food that is produced for human consumption is lost or wasted annually, around 1.3 billion tonnes. Up to 40% of food rots on the way to market in India. Americans throw away up to 40% of what they buy. (Gustavsson et al 2011; Economist September 1st 2012 “Clean Plates”)

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The UK only grows half its vegetables and 10% of its fruit; big rise in imports.

Source: “Food Security and Sustainability: One Can’t Make an Omelette Without Cracking Some Eggs” http://vimeo.com/24914046

Growing retail and processing share

Most of the economic value of food is added beyond the farm gate: food processing and retail make up significant and growing fraction of world economic activity.

Source: http://www.grida.no/files/publications/FoodCrisis_lores.pdfSource: http://www.globalpolicy.org/social-and-economic-policy/world-hunger/agribusiness-companies.html

Powerful intermediaries (1)

Source: http://www.atkearney.com/gbpc/ideas-insights/featured-article/-/asset_publisher/0cePdOWatojD/content/recipe-for-change-can-we-feed-the-world-/10192

Large transnational corporations dominate global food supply chains and have secured premium land.

The global food economy has been driven by policies favouring agro-processing, foreign investment and exports, which has weakened the link between agricultural production and access to food.

Powerful intermediaries (2)

• The intermediaries (a handful of multinationals) have increased their power and control over the entire food system – not the consumers or the farmers, producers and ranchers.

• Three-hundred to 500 giant corporations control the bulk – 70%.

• Whether it is in India, US or UK, farmers are controlled by the debt they need to take on to keep up with the technologies and systems imposed by large transnational corporations (TNCs).

• Corporations look out for their brand survival and profit. There can be issues around accountability and regulation.

• International food companies have strengthened their commitment to sustainability.

Consolidation of thegrain trade

, Source: http://www.ifpri.org/blog/price-spikes-volatility-and-global-food-markets

Powerful corporations determine prices and capture the growth in income and high return on equity rates whilst farmers experience a decline in their net income due to rising cost of inputs AND stable prices for their product.

From seed to supermarket

Action for students: 1. In pairs, consider the implications of the growing dominance of a few

companies and countries, where large companies control substantial shares of the international markets for grains, fertilizers, pesticides and seeds and shape governments’ policies.

2. Explain how they control important functions of agricultural production and the food chain through vertical and horizontal integration*, global expansion and regional, national and global trade deals among other things.– Zoom the Seed Industry structure

https://www.msu.edu/~howardp/seedindustry.html– Read The Economist article “The parable of the Sower”

http://www.economist.com/node/14904184 and – Read the Organic Consumer Association “Consolidation in Food and

Agriculture” http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_416.cfm

* Vertical integration defines an arrangement “from seedling to supermarket” where the same corporation owns the producing, selling and distribution of a product or service.

* Horizontal integration increases a corporations scale by buying a firm at the same production of development, which leads to fewer players or monopolies

AGRI-FOOD-SYSTEM:THE GREEN REVOLUTION

“The agricultural systems that have been built up over the past few decades have contributed greatly to the alleviation of hunger and the raising of living standards. They have served their purposes up to a point....New realities reveal their inherent contradictions. These realities require agricultural systems that focus as much attention on people as they do on technology, as much on resources as on production, as much on the long term as on the short term. Only such systems can meet the challenge of the future.” (UN Documents, Our Common Future - http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-05.htm)

Ecosystem (1)

Image: http://www.micologica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Ecosystem.jpg; http://udallcenter.arizona.edu/lauralhlab/aboutecosystemservices.html

Agriculture needs to be thought of as part of a larger ecosystem linked to society and human well-being and ecosystem function. In order to preserve ecosystem service, the expansion of land area for agriculture needs to be restricted.

Ecosystem (2)

Agricultural terms“Commercial Farming - the growing of crops / rearing of livestock to make a profit. Common in most countries

Subsistence Farming - where there is just sufficient food produced to provide for the farmer's own familyArable Farming - involves the growing of cropsPastoral Farming - involves the rearing of livestock

Mixed Farming - involves a combination of arable and pastoral farmingIntensive Farming - where the farm size is small in comparison with the large amount of labour, and inputs of capital, fertilisers etc. which are required.Extensive Farming - where the size of a farm is very large in comparison to the inputs of money, labour etc.. Needed

Industrial agriculture – entails intensifcation, concentration and specialisation.

Source: Adapted from Witherick M. And S. Warn Farming, Food and Famine; Edexcel Student Guide Unit 4, Option 3; http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/Unit-4-Option-3-Life-on-the-margins-Food-supply-problem-final.ppt. http://www.slideshare.net/rgamesby/7-green-revolution

High Yielding Variety (HYV): plant has higher yield, matures more quickly, shorter stems, narrower leaves, standard length/height and insensitive to day length. Higher yield is dependent on a combination of inputs.

Agro-processing = process whereby primary agricultural products are turned into commodities for market, peanuts to peanut butter.

Agribusiness - involves the large corporate organisation of farming- often farms are run for profit maximisation and economy of scale. Agribusiness often takes over two more stages of the system, e.g. inputs and processes” (Source: text taken verbatim - http://thebritishgeographer.weebly.com/spatial-patterns-of-food.html)

AgricultureFood and agriculture are the world’s largest industry. Growth in agriculture has a key role in reducing hunger, malnutrition and ultra poverty, although the impact of growth is slow. Agriculture underpins the economic and social development of people in developing countries in particular.

Image: : www.bae.ncsu.edu

Agriculture“The traditional role of agriculture in producing food and generating income is fundamental, but agriculture and the entire food system – from inputs and production, through processing, storage, transport and retailing, to consumption – can contribute much more to the eradication of malnutrition.” (FAO “The State of Food and Agriculture 2013)

Feeding the world population and protecting land depend in large part on increasing yields, but high-yield varieties and resource-intensive techniques are not the only answer or a magic bullet. This emphasis comes at the cost of multiple social, political, cultural and environmental impacts and benefits.

The choices we make in agriculture and consumption and the policiesenacted by our representatives directly affect:• Our livelihoods;• Nutrition and development of our children;• Community health and well-being; and• Our cultural heritages and ecosystem function and services such as

pollination.Source: IAASTD Factsheet http://www.globalonenessproject.org/sites/default/files/downloads/IAASTD%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

Food and agriculture equation

ProductionLandWaterInputs and transport

costsLabourTechnologyAgrarian structure Climate change

DemandIncome growthPoverty and inequalityConsumer behaviourBioenergy (oil etc)Biomass (CO2)

Trade and markets Information and

standardsSupermarkets

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/jvonbraun/agriculture-for-sustainable-economic-development-a-global-rd-initiative-to-avoid-a-deep-and-complex-crisis

Sources of growth in crop production

Source: FAO; http://www.farmingfirst.org/green-economy/

“There are places where too little is grown; there are places where large numbers cannot afford to buy food. And there are broad areas of the Earth, in both industrial and developing nations, where increases in food production are undermining the base for future production.” (UN Documents, Our Common Future - http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-05.htm)

Agricultural curve

Source: Adapted from Witherick M. And S. Warn Farming, Food and Famine

Action for students: Agro-industrialisation erodes the comparative advantage of smallholders, raising pressure to commercialise or leave the sector. Discuss in pairs how this can lead to growing inequality.

Commercial chemical farming can have higher capacity and productivity, hence, output of land and labour.

The role of innovation, science and technology (1)

Image: ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/003/y1860e/y1860e00.pdf

The role of innovation, science and technology (2)

• Technology can help overcome physical factors, e.g. temperature, water and nutrient deficiencies.

• Health innovations, more affordable transportation and communication in one part of the world can positively impact other parts.

• Technological advances can lead to greater food supply, but some areas are also more suited to food production such as the great plains of America and Russia.

Action for students: 1.Read the FAO article on the role of technology (biotechnology,

sustainable agriculture, future research) and print and annotate the graph alongside. Discuss your annotations with a partner. Retain the graph for revision http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/y3557e/y3557e09.htm

2.“The Future of Food and Farming”: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/foresight/docs/food-and-farming/11-547-future-of-food-and-farming-summary.pdf

Large-scale profit motive

• The world agriculture, food and nutrition situation for the poor is not sustainable on the production and consumption side.

• Dominant players in agri-business have harnessed ‘modern’ technology to drive high-profit, large-scale, resource-intensive agriculture – from subsistence to surplus farming.

• Agri-business aims to increase profit by removing pest weeds, reducing weeds and increasing production per area.

• Agri-busines seeks to increase profit by using machinery, chemicals, antibiotics and animal / fish feed

• The main beneficiaries of the technological advances such as high-yielding crop varieties, agro-chemicals and mechanisation have been TNCs and the wealthy, not the hungry or poor.

Food supply and technological advances

• Technological advances can lead to greater food supply, but there is a law of diminishing returns. Advances can have a negative impact on the environment problems and social equity.

• The undesired consequences include pollution, eutrophication, deforestation, degradation, desertification, soil erosion and salinsation, antibiotic resistance

• Monoculture depletes the land of its nutrients.Source: Edexcel Student Guide Unit 4, Option 3; http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/Unit-4-Option-3-Life-on-the-margins-Food-supply-problem-final.ppt.

Source: www.relationship-economy.com

Green Revolution – Technology-package approach

Subsistence farmingSmall, extensive farms

Green RevolutionPesticides / BiocidesFertilisersAnimal feedsMiracle crops

Expensive schemesIrrigation and Fertilisers

Poorer farmers cannot compete

Larger, intensive farmsGreater yields, greater profit

Loss of subsistence farmingIssues with debt, control, land ownership

Rural to Urban migration

Damage to rural economy, environment and ecosystem

Source: Adapted from peterelliott.net/powerpoint/Geography%20AS%20Rural.ppt

The Green revolution, the move from subsistence to large-scale farming, was indeed a revolution.

Increasing dominance oflarge agri-chemical TNCs

Large-scale, high-intensity food production

Images: http://oneaction.ch/industrial-agriculture/; http://www.thinkgreenliveclean.com/2010/01/the-increased-impact-of-the-food-we-eat/

Green revolution - background

“These and other developments in agriculture contain the makings of a new revolution. It is

not a violent red Revolution like that of the Soviets nor is it a White Revolution like that of

the Shah of Iran. I call it the Green revolution” – William Goud, Director USAID 1968

• Green Revolution consisted of research transfer initiatives, technology and developments between 1940s and 1970 that markedly increased agricultural production starting in the 1960s in LEDC.

• Global development people and power considered it essential, given population growth, to increase yields and living standards in LEDC to stave off famine and communism

• Growing single crops for cash, mechanisation of farming, development and concentration of agri-economy

• Largely funded by Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, which also founded the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines in 1960.

• Substantial improvements in crop production in Asia and South America, India and China. India most successful experiment; Large parts of Africa have not benefitted because crops not suited to crop conditions there and other impediments to the implementation of the technology package such as transport

Further info: On the success and failures of the Green Revolution http://www.slideshare.net/cheergalsal/greenOn degraded soil and food shortages: http://passthrough.fw-notify.net/download/834312/http://www.nutritionsecurity.org/PDF/DegradedSoils.pdf

Quote taken from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/interview/earthdays-norman-borlaug/

Dr. Norman E. BorlaugRon Sachs-Pool/Getty Images

CGIAR and GASFPWorld Bank

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), including the World Bank, FAO, IFAD and UNDP was one of the key actors in the Green Revolution. A worldwide network of agricultural research centres, it “was established in 1971 as part of the international response to widespread concern in the 1950s, ’60s and early ’70s that many developing countries would succumb to hunger.”(http://www.cgiarfund.org/history). It continues to support agricultural research and monitor agricultural trade to identify potential food shortages.

The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) was established in 2010 by the World Bank at the request of the G20 as an innovative, multi-donor and multi-stakeholder approach with public and private actors, large and small scale farmers, civil society and such to address food security

Further info: • On CGIAR http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP41jc8xJk8• On GASFP http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/rp/ResolvingFoodCrisis.pdf

Green Revolution

Graph: The Green Revolution http://www.slideshare.net/rgamesby/7-green-revolution; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Agricultural modernisation programme: large-scale, investment-heavy, industrial farming techniques; move from subsistence to commercial farming.Action for students: Use this table and relevant slides in this section to write a report: “The green revolution is not without controversy.” Discuss.

Energy and food production

• Energy-related expenses vary between crops and also affect livestock producers.

• With the Green revolution, agriculture has become increasingly dependent on fossil fuel inputs (global oil consumption doubles every 10 years) as machines replaced farm workers, whilst world oil reserves have been dwindling and mismanagement of natural resources is common.

• Intensive agriculture consumes large amounts of energy especially in the production of field crops and meat.

• It is sensitive to energy prices for refined petroleum, electricity, natural gas and coal, which it requires for:- Direct energy consumption through combustion of fossil fuels for farm

machinery and electricity for irrigation and other equipment.- Energy-related inputs, especially to manufacture fertiliser and pesticides

and prepare seeds• Retail food prices are less affected by increased agricultural

commodity prices than energy costs in food processing, distribution and marketing from the farmgate through wholesale and retail levels.

USDA “Impacts of Higher Energy Prices on Agriculture and Rural Economies”, http://www.usda.gov; UNEP “The end of cheap oil: a threat to food security and an incentive to reduce fossil fuels in agriculture”, http://na.unep.net/geas/getuneppagewitharticleidscript.php?article_id=81

Water

• Food production generally requires massive amounts of water. Examples:– 1 kg of wheat needs 1000l of water; 1 kg of rice needs 3,000l.

• Producing one litre of biofuel requires 2,500 litres of water (UNESCO)• Irrigation can ensure an adequate and reliable supply of water which

increases yields of most crops by up to 400%. • Although only 17% of global cropland is irrigated, it produces 40% of

the world's food.• Ongoing food availability depends on increasing irrigation efficiency

and limiting environment damage through salinisation, damaged aquifers or reduced soil fertility.

Source: Edexcel Student Guide Unit 4, Option 3; http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/Unit-4-Option-3-Life-on-the-margins-Food-supply-problem-final.ppt; Graph: http://www.bunge.com/citizenship/water_world.html#; Map: http://theresilientearth.com/files/images/agricultural_water_use_world_2001.png; http://www.fao.org/nr/water/docs/wateratfao.pdf; Teacher resource slide: Agricultural production and trade

Source: Edexcel Student Guide Unit 4, Option 3; http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/Unit-4-Option-3-Life-on-the-margins-Food-supply-problem-final.ppt; Graph: http://www.bunge.com/citizenship/water_world.html#; Map: http://theresilientearth.com/files/images/agricultural_water_use_world_2001.png; http://www.fao.org/nr/water/docs/wateratfao.pdf; Teacher resource slide: Agricultural production and trade

Improving water productivity is key

Water productivity can be improved through increasing yields and

drip irrigation.

Source: http://www.farmingfirst.org/green-economy/

Global Water Gap

Water is critical and agriculture’s main limiting factor.

Source: http://www.farmingfirst.org/green-economy/

World fertiliser consumption

World fertiliser use has grown fivefold since 1960. The FAO predicts global fertiliser use to grow to 188 million tonnes by 2030 (IAASTD

2009)

Source: http://www.foodsecurity.ac.uk/issue/global.html

Further info: Financial Times article on “Agricultural pollution: Inputs that place huge pressure on the land” http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a06792c0-0a00-11df-8b23-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2gFmqHFVj

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Negative impact of intensive farming

Many systems of food production are unsustainable with environmental issues brought on in large part by the high-impact modern food production started in the developed world after WWII. These lead to:– Overuse of chemicals and technology inherent in the high use

of fossil fuel-derived energy for synthesis of nitrogen fertilisers and pesticides

– Environmental pollution and human health issues– Excess use of fertilisers with their run-off of nitrogen and

phosphates damages water resources– Substantial quantities of greenhouse gases and other

pollutants contributing to climate change– Soil degradation of intensive farming eroding the overall base of

agriculture – history of earth abuse and soil erosion.– Cropped areas increasingly advancing into marginal lands prone to

erosion. – Poorly designed and implemented irrigation systems that cause

water-logging, salinisation and alkalisation of soils. – Depleted commercial fisheries, endangered bird species and

extinct insects that preyed on pests; and an increase in insect-resistant pest species.

Source: www.unep.org/geo/geo4/report/03_land.pdf

The Green revolution in India

The “unprecedented growth in food production has been achieved partly by an extension of the production base: larger cropped areas, more livestock, more fishing vessels, and so on. But most of it is due to a phenomenal rise in productivity.” Source: UN Documents, Our Common Future - http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-05.htm

Action for students: What are the impacts and problems with the rise in productivity – use the

resources below and the subsequent slide to note a list the pros and cons of the Green Revolution in India.

• IFPRI Green Revolution – Cure or Blessing? http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/pubs/pubs/ib/ib11.pdf

• NPR On ‘Green Revolution – Trapping Indian Farmers in Debt’http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102944731

• BBC On the end of India’s Green Revolution: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4994590.stm

India’s Green Revolution in crisis? (1)

• In the 1960s and 1970s farmers in Punjab abandoned traditional farming methods for intensive Green Revolution methods backed by U.S. Foundations and subsidised by Indian policies. A deliberate attempt to become self-sufficient in provision of basic food crops – national food security – and to lift large numbers of people out of poverty.

• Hailed a success at first, now population growth is outstripping agricultural growth and lowest levels of rural employment are driving migration to cities.

• To survive, farmers choose more profitable cash crops such as cotton and coffee rather than as stable food crops such wheat.

India’s Green Revolution in crisis? (2)

• Dramatic drop in water tables as the seeds require a lot more water than provided by rain, so that farmers pump ground water.

• As they have to pump deeper, buying more powerful pumps drives them into debt.

• When they tap into brackish underground pools, they bring up salt residue that poisons the fields.

• High-yield crops also deplete the soil of nutrients, rendering it anaemic.

• The Director of the Punjab State Farmers Commission has warned that farmers are committing economic and ecological suicide and says that they need a new sustainable revolution.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4994590.stm

Further info: On Second Green Revolution: http://www.assocham.org/agriculture/2nd-green-revolution/presentations/Dr_HS_Gupta_IARI.pdf

Diminishing water

Research and Development (R & D)

Source: http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/gfpr2012_ch02boxfigure.png

Support for publicly funded research and development have been reduced in favour of private research such that R & D is decided and driven more and more by the private sector. What are the possible risks of business taking on a bigger research role in marginal food supply areas?

Agricultural research

• Global agricultural R & D spending stalled in high-income countries and has been driven by middle-income countries – notably China and India.

• Reduced funding “in numerous smaller, poorer, and more technologically challenged countries. Countries in this last group are often highly vulnerable to severe volatility in funding, and hence in spending, which impedes the continuity and ultimately the viability of their research programs.” (http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/astiglobalassessment.pdf)

• There was divestment from agriculture since 1970s largely as a result of structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) and neo-liberal policies of the 1980s. Implemented by the IMF and World Bank, aid or loans were given if a country followed SAPs. SAPs were aimed at boosting development 2000s marked by greater emphasis on trade justice and sustainability.

• International aid to agriculture collapsed from 17% of aid in 1980 to 3.4% in 2006.

Further info:MDG, Food and Agriculture: http://www.mdg-review.org/index.php/sections/38-food-aagriculture/56-mdg-food-and-agricultureOn SAPs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_adjustment

Source: http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/astiglobalassessment.pdf

Source: http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/astiglobalassessment.pdf

Declining development assistance to agriculture

Source: http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/rp/ResolvingFoodCrisis.pdf

Levels of investment in developing-country agriculture and particularly in small-scale agriculture have been low.

Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

Historically, Sub-Saharan African governments have placed low priority on improving agricultural performance. In response, a New Green Revolution for Africa , the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), is intended as a holistic effort funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates and Rockefeller Foundations to:•Build the capacity of the smallholder (women, subsistence

farmers);•Better access to markets and market information;•Develop locally adapted varieties of seeds;•Enhance soil health.

Source: Madelyn Swift “Double Standard in Approaches to Food Aid”, http://www.aidemocracy.org/students/double-standard-in -approaches-to-food-aid/

AGRA - a Trojan horse?

“Unsurprisingly, the push for a New Green Revolution in Africa is being led by the same players that pioneered the original concept in Asia, with new allies adding strength to the effort. The Rockefeller Foundation leads the pack, with the full support of the African arms of ...CGIAR, an institution created by the Rockefeller Foundation to provide the scientific and technical backbone for the Green Revolution in Asia. Duplicating the example set in Asia, the Rockefeller Foundation’s admission into Africa is akin to that of a “Trojan horse” paving the way for entry by transnational agrochemical, fertilizer and agricultural biotechnology companies to peddle their wares.” (http://www.twnside.org.sg/title2/par/Unmasking.the.green.revolution.pdf)

AGRAAction for students:1. Watch the clip Agra’s strategy on

http://www.agra.org/AGRA/en/who-we-are/-strategy--for-an-african-green-revolution/

2. Watch “Winner National History Day 2012 – The Green Revolution: Against All Odds” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Ids_RK6XM

3. Read “Countering Africa’s green revolution”, IRIN http://www.irinnews.org/report/98378/countering-africa-s-green-revolution

4. Discuss with a partner and note in your folder what is AGRA and what are arguments for and against AGRA.

5. Does AGRA (http://www.agra.org) promise to rebalance the power toward farmers in LEDC – herders, women farmers, pastoralists, in particular?

6. Does it promote more sustainable and affordable approaches? What are examples of more sustainable and affordable approaches? Are expansion of industrial agriculture and multinational corporations and trading and affordable and sustainable approaches mutually exclusive?

AGRI-FOOD-SYSTEM:GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD

High-yield High-yield,disease-resistant seeds have enabled farmers with the means to do so to expand their land and has increased monoculture (single high-yielding cash crop). On average, agricultural productivity growth has been relatively low in developing countries. The focus has been on yield rather than to what purpose the food is allocated (e.g., to feed meat habit and automobiles).

Action for students: 1. What is meant by high-yield?2. What is the difference between modern GM crops and

cross breeding high-yield animal breeds from the 19th Century onwards?

3. How has the culture changed to that of a technician rather than a farmer?

4. How can organic production lead to an increase in yields?

Terms for

genetically modified food • Following the “seed monopolies” that gained

increasing impact as the Green revolution progressed, the 1990s introduced more complex layers of genetically engineered seed breeding and control with genetically modified food.

• Transgenic technologies are used to overcome the limitations of conventional breeding approaches. They can lead to specific crop improvements.

• Genetically modified food (biotech, transgenic or genetically engineered): crop plants modified in laboratory to enhance desired traits such as resistance to herbicides and previously unknown combinations of genetic traits across species to achieve previously specified objectives, for example:– “Miracle” rice and wheat. Golden Rice which seem to

be a solution to the common Vitamin A micro-nutrient deficiency. Source: http://www.rand.org/pubs/periodicals/rand-review/issues/fall2004/revolution.html; WebMD

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/are-biotech-foods-safe-to-eat

GM• Improved and patented seed with “Technology Use Agreement.” The seed

must be purchased every year.• TNCs control the entire life system - profits beyond the seed, e.g. tying

farmers to use of specific pesticides.• US and Europe – different stance on GM.• Issues around intellectual property rights*: property rights created by law

over inventions of the mind; an official license for applicant to the exclusion of others from the government over economic rights over their creation for a fixed period.

• Multinational organisations, biotechnology companies are set to benefit at the loss of biodiversity, threatened, for example, by the pesticides.

• Litigation: agro-biotech companies exert unprecedented control over farmers to use patented seeds (see Monsanto Canada Inc vs Schmeiser, for example:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_Canada_Inc._v._Schmeiser)

• Development largely through private sector with profit incentive, impeding the kind of accessibility for LEDC farmers that public sector or public-private partnership could open up.

• Profit focus on industrialised world and designed for industrialised planting situations

• Greater variety and number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) opposing GM or aspects of GM are more prominent than during Green Revolution.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/periodicals/rand-review/issues/fall2004/revolution.html

GM advantages and risks

• GM crops advantages can include increased yields; increased pest and disease resistance; drought tolerance; reduced maturation time; better nutritional content, taste or quality.

• GM crops being developed to thrive on less water; cope with soil heavy in salt or metals; convert nitrogen from air; produce vaccines against diseases (e.g., cholera and hepatitis B).

Experts caution that there are no guarantees and health, ethical and environmental impacts. Risks include introducing allergens and toxins to food; contamination between GM and non-GM foods by accident; antiobiotic resistance; a crop’s adverse change of nutritional content; creation of environmental risks such as super weeds.

IAASTD report against transgenic cropsInternational Assessment of Agricultural knowledge,Science and Technology for Development Report

(2009):• “Little solid evidence exists ...that

transgenic crops contribute to equitable or sustainable development or will do so in the future...

• Substantial questions about their social, health and environmental impacts remain...

• Inconsistent performance in the field• Surging use of chemical weed killers in

conjunction with herbicide-tolerant crops• Genetic contamination of wild and native

seed resources and of organic farms• Lack of transparent communication by

manufacturer of the technology...• Threats to social equity posed by intellectual

property rules and increasing corporate ownership of genetic resources.

Source http://www.unep.org/dewa/agassessment/reports/IAASTD/EN/Agriculture%20at%20a%20Crossroads_Global%20Report%20(English).pdf

GM revolution countriesFOR • A ‘revolution’ in USA, Canada, China and

Argentina, Australia, India and Mexico, the general public and policymakers tend to accept the new technology. In these countries GM crops such as soybeans, corn and cotton account for 30 - 80 % of total plantings of these crops and are likely continue to make up a substantial portion of total plantings going forward.

• The US is the largest producer of GM crops. According to experts 60% - 70% of processed foods on US grocery shelves contain genetically modified ingredients.

• ‘Regulation’ in the US falls mostly to the companies creating and reaping profits from the technology, notably Monsanto (90% of industry share), Dow Chemical Company and Syngenta AG.

• Controversies in US food labelling policy which generally do not require GM foods to be identified

AGAINSTThe EU position is against GM crops• Prefers organic which

it considers healthier.• Believes that

multinationals will be alone to benefit and dominate the world food supply even more at the cost of traditional farmers

• Technology stigmatised because of unease and uncertainty around risks and regulation

Source: WebMD “Are Biotech Foods Safe to Eat? www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/are-biotech-foods-safe-to-eat

AGRI-FOOD-SYSTEM:ORGANIC FARMING

Local Food systems

Image Food Miles and Local Food System Objectives: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_R4gXlIDAvmg/TIBSGFnyhUI/AAAAAAAAEjo/sZ6mqKj6ous/s1600/figure1.jpg

Further info: On Fair trade: Farmers get paid more so that they can re-invest and thus produce more. Farmers must join a certification fee to join the scheme - http://www.wfto.com/?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=14On Local Food in Burkina Faso: http://www.irinnews.org/report/99179/out-of-spotlight-humanitarian-crisis-continues-in-mali

There has been “a series of counter -movements attempting to simultaneously reassert the value of local, organic foods, and challenge the attempt on the part of food corporations and national and global institutions to subject the food question to market solutions....the power of food lies in its material and symbolic functions of linking nature, human survival, health, culture and livelihood as a focus of resistance to corporate takeover of life itself.” www.researchgate.net/publication/...The.../32bfe5126ddd9a0460.pdf

Organic farming • Relatively low impact on the environment, whereas industrial farming can

exceed the biophysical limits of the soil.• Usually less profitable than more technologically based types• EU, reforms, though slow, of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) foster

more environmentally friendly agriculture, with a growth in LEAF farms (Linking Environment with Farming).

• The majority of farmers in developing countries use subsistence and small scale production methods, often organic.

• Markets for organic food are expanding as more people consider it worthwhile to pay more for food about which they know more.

Further info On CAP http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21567122-even-times-austerity-europe-spends-too-much-subsidising-rich-farmers-milking-budget

Source: Edexcel Student Guide Unit 4, Option 3; http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/Unit-4-Option-3-Life-on-the-margins-Food-supply-problem-final.ppt.

Global rise of organic market

Graph: http://www.zanran.com; image: http://www.worldmapper.org

Top 10 organic countries

Image: http://oneco.biofach.de/en/news/new-impulses-for-continued-growth--focus--83e5e38c-b020-4e58-99b7-1b8f9e41ad7e/

Organic in the UK

Images: http://www.soilassociation.org/marketreport

Action for students:1. Can you account

for the decrease in the UK share of the organic market?

2. Do you believe the trend will continue downward or that it is a short-term impact?

AGRI-FOOD-SYSTEM:RESPONSES AND MANAGEMENT

“Governments could pursue two kinds of policy action: they could either change the

behaviour of farmers, consumers, food processors, and other economic agents in the system through incentives, regulations, and knowledge; or they could accept present behaviours and introduce health-specific and nutrition-specific interventions to compensate for any nutritional damage done or improvements forgone. Although changing of behaviour is likely to be more cost-effective and sustainable, the second option is the most common.” (http://wphna.org/v2/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/13-08-03-Food-systems-and-nutrition-Pinstrup-Andersen-Lancet.pdf)

“The priority...is too heavily focused on increasing production. While food production needs to increase, there are many problems with this short-

sighted supply-side approach. It encourages the expansion of industrial agriculture

rather than more sustainable and affordable methods. It treats current demand

trendsbiofuels, meat-based diets, post-production food waste, etc.—as given

rather than challenging the policies that encourage them. Also unchallenged are

the inequities in the distribution of the food we produce, which is more than

enough to feed everyone.” (Tufts http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/rp/ResolvingFoodCrisis.pdf)

Recommendationsfrom CGIAR report

Source: http://ccafs.cgiar.org/publications/achieving-food-security-face-climate-change-summary-policy-makers-commission#.Uj1io210n-J

Food system interventions for better nutrition• Keeping up the

momentum of agricultural growth in agricultural productivity will be key to meeting demand.

• Production interventions that are gender sensitive and combined with nutrition education are more effective.

• Agricultural research and development priorities need to have a greater emphasis on nutrient-dense foods such as vegetables and fruits.

Source: FAO “The State of Food and Agriculture 2013 http://www.fao.org/publications/sofa/en/

Shift to a moreequitable and sustainable approach

• There is Increasing realisation that current production and consumption are unsustainable. Yet, powerful multinationals keep the government’s and population’s focus on high-tech ‘solutions’ (how to produce more?) and away from what’s wrong with the system (why and more of what?).

• Relatively little thought about demand side, about how to change consumerism and markets; for example, food systems skewed toward ‘bad’ calories.

• A more sustainable food system must be driven by concerns for social values, quality, environment, health, economy and governance. This entails a move to: – How to increase output for current diets to what our bodies need for

nutritious diet and how we can produce it– How to mine resources for food and lower prices to how to build

production on ecological and sustainable principles– How to be more efficient and ‘high-yield’ to how to reflect full cost of

food

Building resilience:sustainable land management

Climate resilient techniques and links to nutrition outcomes and sustainability can be achieved by securing legal, economic and social security for small-scale farmers “by • revising laws of ownership, • supporting the establishment of women’s farmers’, Indigenous

and community-based organizations, and • investing in local infrastructure, community-based businesses,

local agro-processing and farmers’ markets”(IAASTD Fact sheet)

Action for students: 1. Watch UNCCD’s “Building resilience – people with greener land”

at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sKnPiPDzII.AND Read on resilience in the Sahel and Horn of Africa https://www.concern.net/sites/default/files/media/resource/2114_concernresiliencereportv4_2.pdf

2. Write a note for your folder explaining why strengthening the resilience to drought and disaster through sustainable land management is key for sustainable development.

Source: http://www.g20civil.com/documents/infographic/transparency.png

Demand-sideWhat you can do

• Understand and share knowledge about environmental cost of different food groups

• Read labels and fight to know what is in your food and better regulation

• Reduce your waste: do not waste food and choose packaging carefully

• Consume less so others can consume more• Shift to a diet with more vegetables and less protein with smaller

servings of high-cost meat• Buy organic, local, in season and fair trade products• Grow your own food

Further info: Tips from Michael Pollan author of the bestseller “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” on eating green http://www.oprah.com/world/Michael-Pollan-Omnivores-Dilemma-Environment-and-Food/1Sustainweb http://www.sustainweb.org/; WWF One Planet http://www.oneplanetliving.net/; Friends of The Earth http://www.foe.co.uk/Source: “Food Security and Sustainability: One Can’t Make an Omelette Without Cracking Some Eggs”

http://vimeo.com/24914046; book cover http://michaelpollan.com/images/omnivores-dilemma.jpg

Your voice• Vote for politicians that put consumption (moderating demand)

and improving food system governance on the policy agenda to help change the system to one that treats animals, environment and workers with respect, “to stop policies that hurt poor people. These are our best opportunities to promote the Great Escape for those who have yet to break free.” (Angus Deaton, “The Great Escape”)– Hold your government accountable for their promises. – Use your voice to stop spending cuts on aid and investments such as

agricultural development.• Ask your school for healthy school meal and talk to the produce

manager at your local stores (see http://www.childrensfoodtrust.org.uk/)• Do not wait for others to act. Effect change by taking action :

– Support effective and efficient aid programmes and organisations through your time, donations or raising funds

– Be an advocate and joining and building local food initiatives and movements supporting eco-nutrition security

– Check the FAO website for events happening around your area for World Food Day

TEACHER RESOURCESSLIDES

Pressures on the agri-food system

The FAO report ‘How to Feed the world in 2050’ projects an unprecedented confluence of pressures on the global food system over the next 40 years: • “Global population of 9 billion will mean new and traditional demand for

agricultural produce putting growing pressure on already scarce agricultural resources.

• Global demand for food, feed and fibre will double. Growing numbers of wealthier people will push up demand for a more varied, high-quality diet requiring additional resources to produce

• Crops increasingly used for bio-energy and other industrial purposes, not food.• Agriculture forced to compete for land and water with sprawling urban

settlements, 70% population will be urban (50% at present)• Agriculture will have to adapt to and also contribute to the mitigation of climate

change, helping preserve natural habitats, protecting endangered species and maintain a high level of biodiversity.

• New technologies will be needed to grow more food with fewer people as rural depopulation continues in most regions.“ Source: Women in Agriculture: Closing the Gender Gap for Development, FAO, 2011

Action for students: Discuss how each of these points affects the growing issues around

people, communities and countries left behind on the one hand and increasing consolidation

and concentration of power on the other.Source: Edexcel Student Guide Unit 4, Option 3; http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/Unit-4-Option-3-Life-on-the-margins-Food-supply-problem-final.ppt.

World agriculture

contentsImage: http://blog.collinsmaps.com/2010/05/collins-world-watch-visual-guide-to.html

Agricultural production and trade

Share of agricultural production

Agricultural trade (im)balance

Source: http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/gfpr2012_ch02fig03.png; http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/rp/ResolvingFoodCrisis.pdf

International trade is relied upon to satisfy domestic food needs in poor countries. These struggle as they become more dependent on imports while their local production is declining in favour of cash and non-agricultural crops for export.

China and R & DThe graph shows how investment in R & D has driven up cereal yield in China.

Source: IFPRI http://www.farmingfirst.org/green-economy/