Agriculture is still a small-farm story: half a billion farms of less than two hectares produce a significant proportion of the world’s food — estimated at over 90% in sub-Saharan Africa (iFPri 2004), and 50% in India (Arya and Asthana, learning network; see below). Efforts to reduce poverty, too, are closely linked with small farms. The livelihoods of 2.2-billion people are still linked to small-scaleagriculture (Singh 2012).

Since the food crisis of 2007-2008 and its aftershocks in 2010-11 galvanised interest in the future of agriculture, these small farmers have risen high on international agendas. Surging commodity prices have underlined the vulnerability of the world’s food supply to global change, and lent immediacy to the challenges of feeding a growing population under tightening environmental constraints. Globalisation links these changes (Box 1.1), and also has opened borders and exposed small-scale farmers directly
to price volatility and evolving market requirements that present multiple opportunities and risks.

Written by Bill Vorley, Ethel del Pozo-Vergnes and Anna Barnett

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