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Improving the livelihood of smallholder farmers
Little farms, huge importance
Smallholders form one-third of the world's population
Large-scale ‘industrialized’ agriculture plays a central role in feeding the world. But global food security also depends heavily on smallholders, and will continue to do so for many years to come.
There are approximately 450 million small farm units (up to two hectares) in non-OECD countries. Assuming an average household of five, about one-third of the world’s population depends on small-scale farming for at least part of its livelihood.
Smallholders produce a large share of the food consumed in developing and emerging market countries. Their ability to earn incomes from farming and in turn pay for inputs, consumer goods and, for example, education, also affects general development prospects and the nature of economic transformation.
In general, Asian countries have a very high percentage of small farms (e.g. 98% in China). In Africa, farm size varies considerably between countries. Latin America typically has a lower percentage of farms under two hectares (e.g. 20% in Brazil).
Raising productivity is crucial
In rapidly growing areas such as China, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, there may be significant farm consolidation by 2020. However, farm size in much of South Asia and parts of Africa is forecast to decline for at least a generation to come. Raising productivity and incomes therefore remains crucial for rural livelihoods.
In the long run, farm size may rise as people migrate to cities, the markets for land rentals and sales develop, and consolidation takes hold. Over the past few decades, however, farm size has declined in many countries. In India, for example, average land holdings fell from 2.3 ha to 1.06 ha between 1970 and 2002. This implies that the number of smallholders is increasing.
86% of Indian land holdings are now less than 2 ha; smallholders there farm an average of around 0.4 ha. Many factors have contributed to this trend. They include rural population growth, inheritance practices and land-leasing systems. Another major factor is the lack of off-farm employment for smallholders, who typically have limited professional skills.
The size of family plots is, however, not the key restriction on overall farm capability. In fact, there is usually an inverse relationship between farm size and land productivity in labor-abundant developing countries: small farms often produce more, per hectare and year, than large ones.
An estimated 40% of small farms (180 million) run commercial operations. The remaining 270 million ‘pre-commercial’ farms in developing and emerging countries, however, only achieve low yields and profitability. Key barriers to raising productivity include limited knowledge, tools and opportunities. The Foundation and its project partners seek to tackle these limitations, for example by improving access to extension services and linking farmers to input and output markets.
Smallholders can progress towards more productive levels of farming, by using more sophisticated agricultural inputs in line with their farm capability The Syngenta Foundation is convinced that suitable public-private partnerships can make this ‘additive progression’ become reality for huge numbers of farmers.
- See the Foundation's work on "Smallholder mapping and characteristics".
- Examine "The need for smallholder strategy".
- Read more about smallholders' “Value chain challenges”.