In 2003, African Heads of State made a commitment to invest at least 10% of their national budgets into agriculture by 2015. Many countries are still far from reaching this percentage. And those who have, such as Burkina Faso, are investing in biotechnology, large-scale use of chemical fertilizers, mechanisation, irrigation, pesticides and genetically modified seeds. These investments do not meet the priorities of family farmers, especially those of women.  With recurrent food crises and a growing number of vulnerable people facing hunger more and more voices are calling out for a drastic change in agricultural policies.

Therefore the International Year of Family Farming in 2014 is very timely. It stresses the need for appropriate investment in sustainable family farming. What type of farming needs to be supported?

For generations, family farmers in Burkina Faso have coped with famine by innovating and diversifying food production. They protect biodiversity, soil and water and improve productivity by using agro-ecological practices such as mulching, using organic manure, building rock barriers that catch water, and cleverly managing local seeds.

Alimata is one of these farmers. She is a leader in Tiguili village, in the east of the country. The land her family granted her is largely barren and eroded. Her yield used to barely cover her family’s needs. However, with perseverance and using agro-ecological practices, she is now self-sufficient and produces enough food for her family all year round, even generating some surplus to invest in other activities.

Supporting family farmers like Alimata will both protect them and help them reach their full potential. Appropriate policies and measures should include:

• secure and easy access to resources, such as credit and land;
• support for farmers who practice agro-ecological techniques;
• access to fair markets, including adequate roads and transportation, and protection against dumping;
• better inclusion of women farmers in financial and technical support schemes, in country level planning and budgeting; and
• appropriate facilities for food storage and processing, to add value and avoid post-harvest losses.

Family farming can feed the world and strengthen resilience. The International Year of Family Farming brings hope to many small scale farmers, who are counting on firm steps at international, national and local levels.

Author
Fatou Batta is the Groundswell International Co-coordinator for West Africa and also a member of the “We are the Solution! Celebrating African Family Farming” campaign of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA). E-mail: fbatta@groundswellinternational.org

This was Fatou Batta’s last column. The editors of Farming Matters would like to thank Fatou for her inspiring contributions.

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Four out of every five people in the Sahel depend on agriculture. Over 70% of them are illiterate, and the majority of them are women. This is especially shocking, considering the fact that agriculture is a major engine of development. In Burkina Faso, agriculture makes up about 40% of the GDP.

The UN’s decade of education for sustainable development (2005-2014) has brought few benefits for the rural population in the Sahel. Most of the region’s education programmes are inadequate, discriminating against girls and not taking into account the differing social, cultural and economic contexts. They draw rural youth into urban centres that are ill-prepared for an influx of people lacking technical skills. As a result, the ranks of the unemployed get larger every day.

Obviously, education is important to inspire behavioural change in agriculture. Literate and educated farmers are more inclined to adopt agricultural innovations and better able to access information that can strengthen their farming systems. But how can it be best done? Here, I present three examples of innovative education strategies that we use in Burkina Faso.

Study tours to rural areas. During these tours, elementary school pupils and their teachers learn about integrated soil fertility management, including the establishment of contour bunds, manure pits and composting. They then raise their parents’ awareness. Many of these former pupils are now agents of change in their communities. Similar environmental education tours can be used to help farmers learn about the effects of climate change on their production and their livelihoods and possible adaptation measures.

Bilingual education programmes. These programmes teach in French and in the children’s mother tongue, involving the whole community. Themes include animal husbandry, gardening, community organisation and socio-economic innovations. This way of educating strengthens endogenous knowledge. It also raises awareness in the communities about the need to train young people in production techniques in order to reduce their exodus to the cities. And it makes students more aware of the importance of natural resources.

Training of farmers by farmers is an effective strategy to increase farmers’ access to information and technical knowledge. Farmers are more readily convinced by information and knowledge provided by peers who live in the same environment and face similar challenges. A review of this strategy has confirmed its relevance and effectiveness in scaling up agricultural practices that increase food security and farming system resilience. I believe these experiences can provide us with some valuable inspiration!

Fatou Batta

Fatou Batta is the Groundswell International Co-coordinator for West Africa and also the director of Association Nourrir sans Détruire, ANSD.
E-mail: fbatta@groundswellinternational.org

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Most family farmers produce both for their own consumption and for local and regional markets. However, in today’s globalised world it is often hard for small-scale producers to access such markets on equitable terms.
Many development organisations are involved in looking for ways to increase agricultural production and improve the food security of small-scale farmers. But, to what extent do these agencies and political leaders take into account the need to create conditions under which small-scale producers receive a fair share of the benefits of this increase? How can they help strengthen the capacity of small-scale producers to access local markets and to sell their products and make a profit? It is becoming increasingly important to explore the opportunities for farmers to increase their productivity and generate an income while also still feeding their families.

The eastern region of my country, Burkina Faso, suffers from recurrent food insecurity, and poverty levels are among the highest in the country. Yet, this region has a significant economic potential. Population growth and the expansion of the urban areas mean an increase in demand for food. Furthermore, people in urban areas are adopting eating habits that provide exciting new market opportunities for producers and processors.

Farmers are starting to develop networking strategies to create better market conditions for their products, and sell them at profitable prices. One example is the women farmers’ group in the town of Gayéri. Realising that to improve their livelihoods they needed to win a share of the newly emerging but highly competitive markets, they established a communication network to share information about the availability and prices of products in different parts of the country. Through cell phones, they communicate with women’s groups in other parts of the country.

This initiative has reduced the influence of middlemen, who often have more resources and negotiation capacity than the producers. The women report that this innovative networking system allows them to sell their products at reasonable prices, which was not previously the case.

The agility and strategic insight of these women are striking. But at the same time, organisations and networks of small-scale farmers still face significant challenges. It is important that development agencies engage in advocacy to ensure that the concerns of such farmers are taken into account in national policies.

Local, national and regional markets need to be properly regulated, and the related value chains must be well managed if producers are to receive better prices for their products and ensure the well-being of their families. If we are seeking to encourage production and achieve food security, this is where the emphasis must lie.

Fatou Batta

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The “miracle” solution to famine currently being promoted by the New Green Revolution for Africa is based on the intensive use of external inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified seeds. Unfortunately, despite the existence of these technologies, nearly one billion people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition. More than three quarters of them are family farmers in developing countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture is practised by the majority of the rural population. It is the main source of income for more than 80% of the inhabitants of the Sahel. Nevertheless, they face food insecurity. Family farmers who cannot produce enough to feed themselves do not have money to buy additional food. They are farmers, but they lack the power to influence policy decisions on agriculture. How can we make sense of this?|

These inputs are expensive, but not necessary. Better local solutions exist, that are able to ensure food security and strengthen the resilience of small-scale farmers to climate change. These solutions, which fall under the umbrella of agro-ecology, include mulching, natural pest management, and using local seeds and organic manure. Such approaches are affordable, adapted to local ecosystems and have demonstrated their ability to improve the food security of communities while preserving their natural resources.

Women play a vital role in this landscape. They are central to African agriculture: they do more than 70% of the work on the land, and are responsible for almost all processing activities. In times of crisis, women ensure the survival of their families by developing coping strategies to ensure their families are fed. They are the primary link between production, consumption and nutrition – for their children and, indeed, the whole family. And they demonstrate that the use of agro-ecological practices is paying off. We have recorded testimonies of large numbers of women, heads of households or not, who are capable of feeding their families and covering their children’s school fees. Thanks to their perseverance, these women have been able to increase their yields, and are now producing enough food.

The need to provide support to such innovative women farmers is evident. But some fundamental questions remain. Do we understand clearly enough the roles of rural women farmers? How can we provide women with strategic support that can enable them to influence agriculture policies? It is crucial to start developing answers to these questions so that we can spark a shift in resources and invest more in ecological agriculture. This will support the rural people in West Africa to work towards truly sustainable livelihoods.

Text: Fatou Batta

Fatou Batta is from Burkina Faso. She is the Groundswell International Co-coordinator for West Africa and a member of the “We are the Solution! Celebrating African Family Farming” campaign of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA).
E-mail: fbatta@groundswellinternational.org

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