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policies need to be looked at carefully. National governments, such as in Sub-
Saharan Africa (SSA), seem to equate agricultural growth with modernization
and capital investment, disregarding the smallholders (“.. the rural poor are
merely in the way”). More work needs to be done on what modern agriculture
should actually look like, in which there can be an engagement between small
and large-scale production. Labour productivity remains a key issue as labour
costs are often low in SSA, and the question arises if it is possible to have an
agriculture that produces sufficient revenue (a “living wage”).
What is only touched upon in the HLPE report, according to Woodhouse,
is the enormous differentiation of smallholders in SSA and the land rights they
have (collectively or individually). This differentiation will generate multiple
responses to any proposal to move towards large-scale farming. Furthermore,
an analysis is needed of these various types of land rights and what they actually
mean. Large-scale agricultural production in SSA has, by and large, not been
successful as it requires very good input and output chains and infrastructure.
Finally, on the yield gap issue (see also World Bank 2011a, which is mentioned in
the chapter) Woodhouse makes the point that closing the gap points to industrial
agriculture, which might not be desirable for the future. Rather than focusing
on production, reduction of harvest losses might be a more important strategy.
Chapter three has two contributions, both from IFAD, namely by Kevin
Cleaver and Edward Heinemann. In the first part of the chapter, Cleaver states
that there is substantial consensus on the future role of agriculture in developing
countries, which should be focused on food production. The recent food price
volatility is, according to IFAD and other multilateral organizations, not caused by
speculation in food markets, but because of an increasing demand that outstrips
the slowly increasing supply of food. Low agricultural productivity and output in
many developing countries is caused by a lack of investment and technology, an
increase in transport and farm input prices, and the widespread phenomenon of
land degradation. He adds to this list the relative shift to biofuels. Agricultural
growth is needed, as this causes a strong increase in income in the lowest deciles
of income distribution, therefore acting as a powerful factor in poverty reduction.
Particularly, investing in “basic agriculture”, production of food staples and
livestock, is therefore crucial and must be supported by the development of
agricultural services and farmers’ training, access to finance, and improvement
of small-scale irrigation schemes. In this section, Cleaver asks, “if it is so
easy, why not do it” The answer is more complex than the question. First, in
fragile states and those in conflict there is a breakdown of institutions, and
very often these states are not or are less supported because the government
is not democratic. Second, public international institutions still have difficulties
10 | AGRICULTURE, FOOD SECURITY AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH