Source: Originally posted on Global Forum for Agricultural Research's website
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Under U.S. President Barack Obamas Feed the Future initiative, we have made incredible strides in increasing crop yields, agricultural surpluses and farmers incomes.
The Faculty of Agriculture offers a range of undergraduates programmes which respond to new and emerging trends in the agricultural and food sectors of the island. Some programmes currently being run at the Faculty of Agriculture are: BSc (Hons) Agriculture (Spp: Aquaculture), BSc (Hons) Crop Technology (Spp: Landscape Management), BSc (Hons) Biotechnology, BSc (Hons) Food Quality and Safety, BSc (Hons) Agriscience and Technology, BSc (Hons) Microbiology and BSc (Hons) Agriculture (Spp: Land and Water Management).
During their second year of study, students have the opportunity to participate in the Student Work Experience Placement (SWEP) programme so that they acquire complementary skills and have an experience of the world of work waiting for them. Some companies to which students have been to during the SWEP programme are Innodis Ltd, Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Agricultural Research and Extension Unit (AREU), Albion Fisheries Research Centre (AFRC), Agricultural Marketing Board (AMB), Food and Agricultural Research Council (FARC), Irrigation Authority among many others.
Mobile phones promise new opportunities for reaching farmers with agricultural information, but are their potential fully utilized? CIMMYTs agricultural economist Surabhi Mittal and IRRIs economist Mamta Mehar argue that institutional and infrastructural constraints do not allow farmers to take full advantage of this technology. In India, agro-advisory service providers use text and voice messaging along with various mobile phone based applications to provide information about weather, market prices, policies, government schemes, and new technologies. Some service providers, such as IKSL, have reached more than 1.3 million farmers across 18 states of India. But what is the real impact of such services? Are messages available at the right time? Do they create awareness? Do they strengthen farmers capability to make informed decisions? Are they relevant to his or her farming context?
Mittal and Mehar say there is still a long way to go. While farmers get information through their mobile phones, it is often general information irrespective of their location and crops, which is information they cannot effectively utilize. In 2011, CIMMYT conducted a survey with 1,200 farmers in the Indo-Gangetic Plains; the survey revealed the farmers needed information on how to address pest attacks and what varieties better adapt to changing climatic conditions. Instead, they received standard prescriptions on input use and general seed varietal recommendations. To provide the information farmers really need, dynamic databases with farmers land size, cropping pattern, soil type, geographical location, types of inputs used, variety of seed used, and irrigation must be developed.
Sustainability is another problem. Such agro-advisory projects require continued financial assistance; when money runs out, the project ends and the people are again left without information, feeling cheated and without trust for any similar project that may come in the future. There is a need to assess the willingness of farmers to pay for these services and develop sustainable business models, say Mittal and Mehar. Furthermore, it has been shown that the benefits of mobile phone services are not reaching the poor, as they do not have access to the technology despite its increasing availability. The main beneficiaries of the mobile phone revolution are the ones with skills and infrastructure, and the poor are thus left even further behind.
What can be done? Agro-advisory providers need to develop specific, appropriate, and timely content and update it as often as necessary. This cannot be achieved without a thorough assessment of farmers needs and their continuous evaluation. To ensure timeliness and accuracy of the provided information, two-way communication is necessary; Mittal and Mehar suggest the creation of helplines to provide customized solutions and enable feedback from farmers. The information delivery must be led by demand, not driven by supply. However, even when all that is done, it must be remembered that merely receiving messages over the phone does not motivate farmers to start using this information. The services have to be supplemented with demonstration of new technologies on farmers fields and through field trials.
The future of agriculture depends on attracting young talent by making them realise what a modern, challenging career it is. Ask anyone for their impression of a British farmer and they are likely to describe an aged character with a flat cap and a tweed jacket, ideally sucking a piece of straw. This caricature is often perpetuated by advertisers who see it as a trustworthy and wholesome image, likely to inspire confidence in the food they produce. It's not, however, an image that will inspire the brightest and best young people to take up a career in agriculture. Nor is it accurate.
Our climate is changing, which threatens traditional world food production. Our population is growing, increasing the demand for food. Interest is building in greater self-sufficiency. As a result we need more efficient, more highly skilled farmers. Successive governments, too, would like to see a farming industry able to stand on its own feet free from the support provided by the European common agricultural policy. This requires technically savvy entrepreneurs who are prepared to balance risk and reward so that they can deliver the food we need, in a way that gives them sufficient return for their labour and capital.
As partners in GFAR - The Global Forum on Agricultural Research, YPARD Community is invited to share their views in shaping the GFAR Theory of Change. Read GFAR secretariat's call and have your say as a young professional by filling the survey:
"As an important part of the work of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research, we are exploring how best to measure and show changes in the way agricultural institutions and networks of all forms behave and work together towards achieving greater development impacts, changes which have been set out by participants in the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) in Montpellier, described as programmes in the second GCARD in Punta del Este last year and which now form the basis of the new GFAR Medium Term Plan.
Agricultural producers in rural America represent less than 1% of the U.S. population, yet they produce almost 75% of the food we eat in this country and much of the food eaten throughout the world. Among that 1%, the average age of the American farmer is 57 years oldmaking it imperative for us to engage and encourage young people to pursue agricultural careers.
Earlier this summer, while visiting Browning, Montana, I had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Billie Jo Kipp, President of the Blackfeet Community College (BCC) and Mr. Terry Tatsey, Director of Agricultural Programs at the college. Their efforts and commitment to educate local students and keep young people in agriculture is inspiring.
Young people are creating a movement for social change. They are brimming with energy waiting to be transformed into positive social action. Are we paying attention to what they have to say and supporting what they want to achieve?
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