S.Mahendra DevDirector and Vice Chancellor, IGIDR, Mumbai

Agriculture Research and Poverty Reduction: Pathways and Drivers

in South Asia

South Asia• South Asia is experiencing significant economic growth,

sectoral, social structural changes.

• It is the fastest growing region in the world with GDP growth rates of 7 to 7.5%

• Nearly 50% of workers employed in agriculture

• Rate of poverty reduction in the last decade was quite rapid

• However, South Asia region has the highest number of poor people in the world.

• It is still home to more than 35% of the world’s poor (300 million)

• It has also the highest number of children suffering from malnutrition in the world.

Agri research to poverty reduction: Pathways

• Challenge: Increase agri productivity, nutrition security and resilience due to climate change (productivity, equity, sustainability)

• Pathways and drivers in South Asia:

• 1. Pathway: Diversification of agriculture is the key for raising overall growth and incomes. One critical question is how to achieve diversification in SA.

• Policies and support concentrated on cereals. Should focus on diversification to pulses, oilseeds, high value crops, livestock and fish.

• Value chain approach: Production to processing

• Rural non-farm employment: Poverty reduction in India, Bangladesh last decade due to non-farm

PathwaysSome Drivers: Public investment in infrastructure, technology, marketing, water management, credit etc.

Rural non-farm: Linkage with urban areas

2. Pathway: Reduction in Inequality: Inclusive development

There are significant inequalities in South Asia

Drivers: Focusing on small farmers, rainfed areas, youth, women, disadvantage sections

Lower food prices for consumers

Small farmers lot of challenges and opportunities (more later)

Pathways3. Changing pathway: Climate change and resilience:

Climate change and sustainability will challenge pathways agri research to poverty

South Asian agriculture will be significantly affected due to climate change. Decline in yields and other consequences.

Drivers for climate resilient agriculture:

1.Technologies, research and extension

2.Risk mitigation measures: crop insurance and social protection measures

3.Diversification is another way for resilience

Pathways• 4. Pathway: Agriculture-nutrition linkages. emerging

area of research

• Important because South Asia malnutrition levels are double to that of Sub-Saharan Africa.

• The agri-nutrition linkages should be improved given other things like health, safe drinking water and sanitation

• Drivers: Diversification of diets, proteins and micronutrients

• small farmers and women empowerment.

• Biofortification of crops

• Food safety standards

Challenges and opportunities What are the challenges and opportunities in pathways and drivers: will discuss few

Water management is key driver

land degradation, water logging, soil quality problems; inefficient use of water. water shortages including ground water depletion.

India uses 2-3 times the water used to produce one tonne of grain in China, Brazil and USA.

This implies with water use efficiency of those countries India can at least double irrigation coverage or save 50% of water. Drip irrigation

Institutions are key for improving efficiency

Small Farmers:Inclusive Development85% of the farm holdings are small farmers.

Small farmers have difficulties to access inputs, credit and extension or to market their output.

Many institutional innovations are coming up to link small farmers to high value agriculture and marketing. Also legalizing tenancy laws

Provide smallholders the knowledge and technical skills needed to build climate resilience.

ICT revolution in South Asia is helping small farmers with information, input supplies marketing

Farmer producer organizations can help

Unless we increase their incomes and resilience, agriwill not be sustainable.

Role of women Empowerment• Significant part of “South Asian Enigma’of

malnutrition compared to other regions can be explained by women’s agency given the income.

• Raising women’s empowerment is an important driver and pathway of agriculture research to poverty reduction and increasing food and nutrition security.

• Gender equality and the well-being of children go hand in hand.

• The role of women in enhancing food and nutritional security should be recognized much more than before. Gender sensitive policies in agriculture should be enhanced.

Climate resilient agricultureFirst, diversification is part of climate resilient agriculture. For example, pulses cultivation can be an important strategy as pulses are legumes.

Second, technologies, research and extension; drought tolerant varieties.

In India, IFPRI is examining climate-smart interventions of major crops like rice, wheat, and maize. In the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain.

It is also studying local institutional and policy factors for climate resilience in Nepal, Bihar, and West Bengal in India, and north western Bangladesh.

Third, social protection policies including crop insurance (Public works program MGNREGA to create assets soil and water conservation)

Rural non-farm sector • Agricultural incomes are not sufficient to reduce

poverty in rural areas.

• One of the reasons for reduction in poverty in South Asia is growth in rural non-farm and increase in real wages of labourers.

• Many farmers and agricultural labourers do multiple activities including rural non-farm.

• More ‘pull’ factors needed than ‘push’ factors.

• Encouragement to women and improvement in skills.

• In Bangladesh, garment sector provided large scale employment

• Policy makers have to promote rural non-farm

Regional Cooperation in South Asia• Regional cooperation in agriculture and food and

nutrition security

• Regional Cooperation can be in the following areas.

• 1. food and agriculture

• 2. climate change and disaster management.

• 3. Free Trade agreements like SAFTA

• 4. Intellectual property rights in agriculture

• 5. Energy and water: Cooperation between India, Nepal, Pakistan

• 6. Cooperation on global issues

• 7. Learning from each other: post harvest technologies and operations, social protection programs, accountability and governance