World food security will not exist without increasing yields in “lagging regions”, declared Dr Marco Ferroni, Executive Director of the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, on his Australian visit last week.

 

Raising yields in developed countries like Australia is important, but this alone is not enough. “To feed the world we must raise the productivity of all farmers, but especially smallholders in developing countries where the yield gap is the greatest,” Dr Ferroni said. “Yields must rise in lagging regions, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, where there is a large rural population whose livelihood and food security depends on agriculture and therefore improved yields.”

 

According to Dr Ferroni, while Australia remains one of the world's key grain exporters, developing countries must raise their own food supplies or else face ongoing food shortages as the world's population increases and global diets change. Productivity growth is still increasing, but at a reduced rate. In the 1960s and 1970s, yield was increasing by between three and four percent each year. Since 2000, yield growth has dropped to under two percent each year. 

 

The rate of population growth, meanwhile, has also decreased – but at a slower rate than yield growth. The results of this are a significant decline in world grain stocks and a trend towards rising grain prices. While Australia's contribution does help to stabilise markets, this country's wheat exports make up only two percent of the world's grain consumption. In fact, grain from the world's top eight exporters only makes up 20 percent of total consumption. The rest comes from local markets.

 

“In developing countries, smallholders [farming properties under two hectares] make up the largest proportion of agricultural businesses,” Dr Ferroni said. “For example in China, 98 percent of farms are less than two hectares, while in Bangladesh this is 92 percent and in India it is 85 percent. “In Burkina Faso, the average farm size is closer to four hectares, however poor quality land puts major restrictions on agricultural yields,” Dr Ferroni explained. “If we only increase production in developed countries, the result will be food aid forever—and that is just not sustainable. “We must not only intensify agriculture, as was done in the ‘Green Revolution' during the 1970s, but we must intensify sustainably, using land and water wisely.”

 

In order to increase yields sustainably, Dr Ferroni said that farmers in lagging regions need the same things as farmers in highly successful agricultural countries such as Australia—access to technology and services.

 

“Agricultural technology, such as traits, seed treatments and crop protection products, is risk management to protect yields,” Dr Ferroni said. “However investment in R&D alone is of little use if the technology is not adopted by farmers.

 

“In countries like Australia, technology uptake is higher because there is a greater level of knowledge and expertise on things like agronomy and input systems, as well as better infrastructure and access to markets.

 

“The challenge in lagging regions is not just to deliver the technology that can improve yields, but to share the knowledge, build infrastructure and link farmers with markets so that they can increase their profitability.

 

“In developing countries a large share of the population currently depends on agriculture. In fact, 60 to 70 percent of their labour force, depending on the country, derives their income from agriculture. “As long as yields are low, poverty is high. There is a strong correlation,” Dr Ferroni said. “Just like successful farmers in Australia, modest farmers in poorer countries will invest in technology if they can see a return on investment. “By increasing the profitability of these farmers we will empower them to become more productive. Closing the yield gap is feasible.”

 

Australian growers must also continue to embrace technology and make better use of land and water resources if yields in this country are to improve. According to Dr Ferroni, the yield frontier is a dynamic one in Australia, despite the country's own challenges.

 

“Despite issues such as years of drought, Australian farmers have managed to continue to contribute to local and global food supplies, even on land that is less fertile than some of the land being farmed in other parts of the world,” he said. “This is testament to the knowledge and experience of Australian farmers and researchers – many of whom are amongst the most highly-respected in the world.

 

“Australian agriculturalists can contribute to improving global food supplies not just by increasing their own yields, but by sharing their research and practical knowledge with farmers in lagging regions.” Australia's aging farming population and the drop in agricultural enrolments have raised some concerns about the capacity of farmers to extend their knowledge overseas.

 

“We need to make agriculture attractive for students again,” Dr Ferroni implored. “At the moment, agriculture is not on the agenda—people in developed countries like Australia don't know where their food comes from!

 

“For the last 30 years, people have been complacent. Now is the time to invest in agriculture again, share our knowledge and find a way to feed the world's growing population.”

 

The Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture is a non-profit organisation that supports farmers in resource-poor settings in developing countries and emerging markets through the development and provision of technology, on-farm support and policy advocacy.

 

Dr Marco Ferroni was in Australia as a keynote speaker at the Crawford Fund's Annual International Conference, which focused on the topic: “World food security: can private sector R&D feed the poor?”

 

 

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