Small Farmers Can't Feed the Planet

Mark Thoma and Tyler Cowen and Paul Kedrosky all feature a tour de force mini-essay from Paul Collier, who left it as a comment on Martin Wolf's blog. I've been a big fan of Collier for a while, and I do hope he starts blogging in his own right soon, since he's really great at this sort of thing. The main causes and solutions to the present food crisis, then, through Collier's eyes:

• Chinese are eating cows which are eating grain which would otherwise have been eaten by Africa's poor.
• Americans are turning grain into ethanol which would otherwise have been eaten by Africa's poor.
• Europeans are banning genetically modified crops, which are Africa's main hope of growing enough grain to feed its own poor.
• Policymakers everywhere romanticize small farmers, when what the world really needs, if it's to feed a growing and ever-wealthier population, is Brazil-style high-technology Big Agriculture.

All of this is eminently reasonable, and if food riots achieve anything, it will be by forcing politicians to wake up to these realities and start feeding the hungry rather than pandering to the biofuel/anti-GM/small-farmer lobby. And if you think that "natural farming" or somesuch can replace technology-fueled agribusiness, think again.

Comments

[enviro111]

Small farmers could feed everyone, if populations were much, much smaller. Amish farmers feeds themselves and few others.

Huge cities and small rural populations suggest huge ag operations. If large scale ag dies, then billions will also die.

[nickgogert]

Another global macro argument without numbers and data. Please monitor the signal to noise ratio.

[jaylol]

This article is absolutly correct. Big farms are the only hope of gaining enough efficency to meet demands of the new consumers ( China and India are both adding more meat and better quality food to thier diets).
GMOs are also part of the answer...more food with less insecticide / fertilizer / water...all this makes for a better environment and more food.
The only question i have for the organic/natural food freaks is: who do you pick to die??? Since that is the only choice if GMO or Corporate farming goes away.
I have spent my whole life in the AG business, worked in Ag in over 40 countries, so I think i know a little bit about the topic!

[SGriskonisJr]

What would be your definition of a small farmer ?

[jaylol]

anything less than 200 acres in my opinion.

[bruce123]

It should be now as in the good ole days----all the food a family needs should be produced within a 100 mile radius. Think it can not happen again. Wait until the true results of the commercial farmer come in with the you-know-who seed companies. The commercial farmer GMO seeds can not even reproduce. Anyone who has looked at the facts understands (including many farmers) that substainable agriculture is not only viable but necessary for the food cycle to continue. GMO's are a dead food source not able to replinish itself. So much for the environment! There is a movie that is worth watching, a documentary " The Future of Food".

[Vivi]

Small farmers can feed the Planet Jaylol. GMO can't. To grow GMO's they put pesticide inside the product and need much more outside. You are are eating pesticides and insecticides. They do not tell you that. The wield they get is 30% less than the small farmers. Anyway please take all the informations first before writing and not from the big corporations, that will tell you lies because it suit their pockets. Look at the movie that Bruce123 told you to watch.

[blink0404]

Small farmers probably can't feed the whole planet... unless the number of farmers increases and the size of the population decreases, both highly unlikely.
Recognizing this fact, I think MON is a great investment opportunity. Growth into Latin America and plans to double grain yield by 2030 mean big growth in the short and long run.

Rev. Shark talks about the ag complex here: www.greenfaucet.com/sh...

Was pretty informative, plus the guy has a great story: attorney goes from deaf and destitute to multimillion dollar investor..
Hopefully by listening to his advice I can get just a little of his success to rub off on me.