Small Farmers Secure Food

Book excerpt: Small farmers tilling handkerchief sized farms feed more than half the world. They thus maintain national stability, forestall conflict and reduce emigration. Secure food supply is nothing short of national security. Such facts define the poor world, yet are misunderstood by nations that influence international development. Practitioners know that small farmers’ yields can exceed those of large farms. They also know that food security means guaranteeing enough food to survive as a national priority unrelated to free trade. Good governments of poor countries practice this to avoid food shortages and anarchy. Food always comes first – that is the message of this powerful book. History is replete with failed societies that lost sight of the centrality of food and farmers. Today, wealthy country delusions of isolation from instability in the rest of the world open everyone to an unprecedented risk. These matters are, in this book, refocused on the essentials of life, global security and peace. Polemic in parts, it shows the situation as it is. The opening paragraph says it. This is a simple book. It argues for the return of two critical values in international development. The first is the securing of food for a minimal level of existence. The second, acknowledgement of the vital role of small farmers. Dilution of these values means that aid may now be increasing risks of starvation and conflict. Some arguments presented here will be counter-intuitive to conventional thinkers, and so information supports forgotten axioms. The book also notes the responsible actions of the world’s major food producers, China and India, both of which are criticized for abandoning unsuitable agendas of development agencies.