Small farms essential to food security

The study, ‘Farming and the geography of nutrient production for human use’, found that a global mix of large and small farm enterprises is needed to meet the forecast food task, which is estimated to require production to rise 70 per cent by the 2050s.

It was designed to quantify the production of different sized farms and analyse how food and nutrient production changes with farm size.

The study said small farms will be essential to provide food and nutrients in low-income and middle-income countries, while surpluses from larger farms can deliver trade balances to deal with scarcity hotspots.

It found agricultural diversity needs to be safeguarded when practices to intensify agricultural production are promoted, because intensification had reduced the number of different crops planted, particularly as farm sizes increase.

Lead author, CSIRO chief research scientist Dr Mario Herrero, from said diversity of scale must be a protected to meet the needs of a growing population.

“We must focus on quality as well as quantity, and it is vital that we protect and support small and medium farms and more diverse agriculture so as to ensure sustainable and nutritional food production.”

Low income countries rely heavily on small to medium farms.

About 570 million farmers are estimated to contribute to global food supply, with small farms contributing the majority of food production, especially in low-income and middle-income countries.

The study estimated that globally, small and medium farms (less than 50ha) produce between 51 per cent and 77pc of commodities.

Large farms (larger than 50 ha) dominate production in North America, South America, and Australia and New Zealand. In these regions, large farms contribute between 75pc and 100pc of cereal, livestock, and fruit production, and the pattern is similar for other commodity groups.

By contrast, small farms (less than 20ha) produce more than 75pc of most food commodities in sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia, south Asia, and China.

In Europe, west Asia and north Africa, and central America, medium-size farms (20 to 50ha) also contribute substantially to the production of most food commodities.

Very small farms (less than 2ha) contribute to about 30pc of most food commodities in sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia, and south Asia.

The majority of vegetables, pulses, fruits, fish and livestock, and cereals are produced in diverse landscapes, as is the majority of global micronutrients and protein.

The majority of sugar and oil crops, which account for the majority of the world’s landscapes, are produced in less diverse landscapes.

The study was funded by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Australian Research Council and a range of other organisations. The authors declare the funders had no role in the study or writing of the report.