Brasilia – May 15, 2013

Source: Development Pathways UK

We are delighted to share the tenth in the series of ‘Pathways’ Perspectives’, papers that provide people with the opportunity to debate key issues in international development.

In the latest Pathways’ Perspective Senior Social Policy Specialist Nicholas Freeland writes about the myths of social protection.  The paper aims to dispel some of the more common myths about social security systems in developing countries. By clarifying two distinct ideologies, the neo-liberal ‘tea party’ approach to social protection and the universalist approach the paper takes each deadly sin and myth in turn.

The paper can be found on our website here.

You’ll also notice that Development Pathways has ‘revamped’ its website! Feel free to check it out at www.developmentpathways.co.uk. We welcome you to read and comment on the Perspective Blog, “Just KIDDing”, as well as peruse our social protection resource centre. 

Alternatively if you’d prefer a PDF copy, please email admin@developmentpathways.co.uk.

About the Author

Nicholas Freeland graduated from the esoterically-named ‘School of Arts and Humanities’ at Cambridge many years ago. This is the first time he has been able to combine the two disciplines in a single article.

About Development Pathways

We are a group of international development practitioners who specialise in the fields of social protection and social development, working with a range of development organisations and country governments across the developing world. Our aim is to provide creative and context-specific solutions to the social and economic policy challenges facing developing countries. We believe that policy and programming should be evidence-based and aligned to the political realities of countries, which may mean challenging prevailing orthodoxy to deliver the best policy and programme solutions.

Photo: ESCAP 2013

Brasília, 11 April 2013 –  Amidst widening income inequalities and depleting natural resources, the Asia-Pacific region is facing subdued growth in 2013. The United Nations Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2013 analyses a wide range of areas including economic growth, trade, inflation, employment, and labour migrations. The 2013 Survey will be presented at the Seminar “Asia and Brazil: Perspectives for Inclusive Growth” jointly organized by the Brazilian Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) and the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on April 18^th, 9h am in Brasilia.

The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific, the oldest and most comprehensive annual review of economic and social development in the region, analyses the short and medium-term challenges for the region and the outlook for the year ahead. The special theme of 2013 argues for a shift in the macroeconomic policy paradigm to achieve more inclusive and sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

You or your representatives are cordially invited to the launch of the 2013 ESCAP Survey. The report launch will be followed by a question and answer session.

What: Seminar “Asia and Brazil: Perspectives for Inclusive Growth” – Release of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2013 in Brazil

Who: Mr. Claudio Hamilton dos Santos, Director of Macroeconomic Studies and Policies, the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) 

Mr. Jorge Chediek, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Brazil

When: Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 9 a.m.

Where: Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA): SBS, Quadra 1, Edifício BNDES, Auditorium 16º floor – Brasília – DF, Brazil

Agenda

For further information about the Press Conference or to set up separate interviews, please contact:

Ms. Mariana Hoffmann
Communications Officer (IPC-IG)
T: (+ 55 61) 2105 5036
M: (+55 61) 81256469
E: mariana.hoffmann@ipc-undp.org

Ms. Lauren Core
Communications Assistant (IPC-IG)
T: (+ 55 61) 2105 5022
M: (+55 61) 92464645
E: lauren.core@ipc-undp.org

‘Ghana Child Ambassadors on youth radio show in Washington DC.’ Photo: Ubantu Village Inc./IPC-IG

Brasília, April 04, 2013 –  Friday April 5th marks 1000 days until the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are anticipated to be achieved. Momentum 1000 is a worldwide rally organized by the UNDP that aims to enhance cooperation and advocacy throughout the final leg towards achieving the MDGs.

The International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has published a number of publications related to better understanding how to achieve each of the eight MDGs. In line with this, the following IPC-IG publications apply a critical lens to the development framework presented by the MDGs:

Global Development Goal Setting as a Policy Tool for Global Governance: Intended and Unintended Consequences

MDGs: Misunderstood Targets?

Measuring MDG Achievements: Rate of Progress Matters Most

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: A Measure of Progress

Towards an MDG-Consistent Debt Sustainability Concept

How Should MDG Implementation Be Measured: Faster Progress or Meeting Targets?

The MDGs and Beyond: Pro-Poor Policy in a Changing World

The aforecited IPC-IG publications serve to inform policymakers in advancing human development and to leverage policy research on inclusive growth in the pursuit of achieving the MDGs. The featured research attempts to address the key challenges presented by each MDG, ranging from development innovations to gender equality. The IPC-IG invites you to visit the following links provided below each MDG that may help critically inform efforts to improve lives around the world. In addition to relevant news and publications, each MDG is accompanied by illustrative photographs from the IPC-IG’s Humanizing Development Global Photography Campaign.

MDG 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger 

Photo: ‘Humanizing Development Global Photography Campaign’/IPC-IG

Bolsa Família after Brasil Carinhoso: an Analysis of the Potential for Reducing Extreme Poverty

Analysing and Achieving Pro-Poor Growth

MDG 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

Photo: ‘Humanizing Development Global Photography Campaign’/IPC-IG

Covariates of efficiency in education production among developing pacific-basin and Latin American countries

Social Innovation: Tackling Poverty through Home Grown School Meal Programmes

MDG 3: Promoting gender equality and empowering women

Photo: ‘Girls in the hairdressing class at Pro-Link Danfa School in Ghana’/Alice Wong of Canadian Crossroads International

Greening the Economy and Increasing Economic Equity for Women Farmers in Madagascar

The Implications of Water and Electricity Supply for the Time Allocation of Women in Rural Ghana

The Role of Gender Inequalities in Explaining Income Growth, Poverty and Inequality: Evidence from Latin American Countries

MDG 4: Reducing child mortality rates

Photo: Inter-American Social Protection Network (IASPN)

Monetary Transfers for Children and Adolescents in Argentina: Characteristics and Coverage of a “System” with Three Components

No Child Left Without: A Universal Benefit for Children in Brazil

MDG 5: Improving maternal health

Photo: ‘Humanizing Development Global Photography Campaign’/IPC-IG

Regression Discontinuity Impacts with an Implicit Index: Evaluating El Salvador’s Comunidades Solidarias Rurales Transfer Programme

IPC-IG Joins UNFPA on the 7 billion Actions Global Campaign

MDG 6: Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other disease

Photo: ‘Humanizing Development Global Photography Campaign’/IPC-IG

Scaling-up HIV/AIDS Financing and the Role of Macroeconomic Policies in Kenya

Gearing macroeconomic polices to manage large inflows of ODA: The implications for HIV/AIDS programmes

The Macro-Micro Nexus in Scaling-Up Aid: The Case of HIV and AIDS Control in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia

MDG 7: Ensuring environmental sustainability

Photo: ‘Humanizing Development Global Photography Campaign’/IPC-IG

Raindrops for Education: How To Improve Water Access in Schools? 

Managing Resource-Dependence Amidst Opportunities and Challenges: Defining a New Sustainability Narrative for Caribbean Coastal Economies 

Low-Cost Technologies Towards Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: The Case of Rainwater Harvesting

MDG 8: Developing a global partnership for development 

Photo: ‘Humanizing Development Global Photography Campaign’/IPC-IG

South-South Cooperation for Inclusive Green Growth

South-South Cooperation in Times of Global Economic Crisis

China and The World: South-South Cooperation for Inclusive Green Growth

‘Vegetables.’ Source: Emmanuelle Graciet

Brasília, March 28, 2013 – The International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth has published a working paper (number 106) that aims to analyse Brazil’s Food Acquisition Programme (Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos – PAA) in terms of the implications for improving food security for the Brazilian population and promoting fair markets for rural smallholder producers. The paper focuses on a particularly impoverished sector of society in Brazil: small-scale farmers that often lack adequate market access and fair prices. Compounded with a varying agro-climatic landscape due to climate change and landholding inequalities, the situation for smallholder food security presents a formidable challenge. The idea is that a public food procurement scheme such as the PAA may help address these challenges on the production side through government purchases from small-scale farmers in Brazil and distributing food to social protection networks like food banks, community kitchens and schools.

The working paper, entitled “Scaling Up Local Development Initiatives: Brazil’s Food Acquisition Programme,” was authored by Ryan Nehring and Ben McKay of the IPC-IG/UNDP. The research was informed by fieldwork in Piaui and Ceara in the northeast of Brazil, a region with the highest concentrations of extreme poverty and hunger in the country. The study explores the efficacy of the PAA at the scale of the family farm unit as an underutilized, productive class in Brazil’s agricultural sector when considering crop diversity of production. Smallholder resiliency is revealed by the fact that “despite inequities of the land distribution, family farmers already produce 70 percent of all food products consumed by Brazilians daily” (IBGE, 2009). Study participants hailed from a range of backgrounds, such as rural workers’ unions, cooperatives, associations, and non-affiliated producers. The data collection was primarily comprised of semi-structured interviews that enabled the researchers to have a consistent understanding of the local stakeholders’ views as well as the challenges and opportunities of the programme on the ground.

For a brief backdrop, the PAA was incepted in 2003 as a:

“government-sponsored food procurement programme that utilizes the productive capacity of family farms to contribute to meeting the nutritional needs of people living in food insecurity, by supplying food to local public school feeding programmes, food banks, community kitchens, charitable assocations and community centers for the needy” (CAISAN, 2011).

The analysis aimed to assess whether the PAA has been able to “guarantee access to food in the proper quantity, quality and regularity according to the needs of populations living in food and nutritional insecurity, as well as to promote social inclusion in rural areas by strengthening family agriculture.” In line with this, the main objectives of the working paper are outlined as follows:

Objective 1: Provide first hand documentation of the design and operations of the programme – which includes the observed physical actors – involved in the design and implementation;

Objective 2: Identify the potential for scaling up the programme in country and the possibilities for south-south knowledge building.

‘Mais de 330 produtos da agricultura familiar são vendidos no PAA’ Source: Government of Brazil/MDA

Following an overview of the ‘design, operations, and trajectories of the PAA’ in Brazil, the working paper demonstrates that acute disparities exist with respect to both income and landholdings in Brazil’s agricultural spaces. The publication also indicates that the following dimensions of the PAA are matters of particular importance: targeting and coverage; timely payment delivery; organization of farmer capacities; and transportation. For example, in terms of transportation, that paper poses the following question: “who can and should take on the responsibility of transporting the produce, especially in communities where both the producers and the consumers are challenged in this regard?”

In line with this, the paper highlights that heightening social initiatives for smallholder farms may not only help alleviate poverty but may also stimulate economic and social equality – while supporting rural livelihoods. Compellingly, the working paper suggests that the PAA is in fact able to improve the income of local farmers by empowering local capacities, communities, and economies. Of particular interest is the ability of the PAA to enhance the productive capacity of smallholders and boost the local economy through the revitalization of locally integrated production and consumption, increased family incomes and more competition in the food supply-chain. However, challenges still remain with respect to “lack of knowledge about the programme, lack of institutional participation and weak institutional capacity.”

Although there is progress to be made in terms of improving measures for food security, the study concludes that the decentralised system of food acquisition presented by the PAA is a promising model for a participatory and inclusive approach to food security. The working paper states that the PAA “design creates a new market for the commercialisation of family farm products with the aim of expanding additional market opportunities and improving linkages and new supply chains beyond the programme’s designed parameters.”

The efficacy of the PAA in Brazil depends on catering the social protection programme to the local context, including components such as agro-climatic conditions, cuisine preference, and economic landscape. The dual needs of enhancing market access and improving food security may be achieved through an inclusive social policy aimed at tackling food acquisition. Overall, the Brazilian PAA experience illustrates that it is possible to improve local agrarian economies while also establishing a progressive and effective national food security strategy.

Source: IPC Working Paper 106

Check out this video to better understand what the PAA’s smallholder farmers have to say about supplying food to the programme:

Refer to the following publications released by the IPC-IG to learn more about food security, social policy, and agriculture:

Market Alternatives for Smallholder Farmers in Food Security Initiatives: Lessons from the Brazilian Food Acquisition Programme [IPC-IG Working Paper]

Public Support to Food Security in India, Brazil and South Africa: Elements for a Policy Dialogue [IPC-IG Working Paper]

The Food Security Policy Context in Brazil [IPC-IG Country Study]

The Food Security Policy Context in South Africa [IPC-IG Country Study]

South Africa’s ‘Food for All’ Campaign: A Promising New Plan to Tackle Hunger and Malnutrition? [IPC-IG Article]

East Africa Food Crisis: Understanding the Importance of Smallholder Agriculture [IPC-IG Article]

Supporting Food Production and Food Access through Local Public Procurement Schemes: Lessons from Brazil

‘A farmer harvests sorghum.’ Source: Fred Noy, UN Photo

Brasília, March 27, 2013 – The International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth hosted a 10-day E-discussion between February 10^th and March 4^th on the topic of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) with support from the UK Department for International Development. The discussion attempted to address the key tensions that exist at the intersection of climate change and agriculture in Africa, particularly emphasizing ‘climate-smart’ solutions. In so doing, the e-discussion yielded critical information from a portfolio of sources as well as strategies for improving CSA. The e-discussion also afforded the opportunity for diverse actors involved in climate change and agriculture across the world to engage in debate through an innovative online platform: a Google Groups.

Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is an approach to farming that aspires to support smallholders through risk-averse and environmentally sensitive agricultural practices. As the world is experiencing increasingly erratic weather patterns due to a changing global climate, efforts to enhance agricultural resilience are of critical importance. Investing in knowledge for smallholders may not only inform debates on social protection but may also improve the knowledge base for food security and climate change adaptations.

A follow-up to  a seminar on the ‘Role of South-South Cooperation in Agricultural Development in Africa’ held in Brasilia on 17 May 2012,  the e-discussion aimed to continue in this vein of policy and research related to knowledge innovation around sustainable agriculture and climate change. The e-discussion involved more than 60 participants from a range of institutions with differing professional and academic backgrounds, such as federal government representatives and farmers. It facilitated greater engagement and discourse between civil society actors on South-South Cooperation. Participants were also afforded the opportunity to offer practical and hands-on experiences to complement the more theoretical discussion.

The e-discussion sought to inform ongoing debates on CSA while recognizing the particular relevance for Brazil-Africa agricultural cooperation. In particular, the discussion set out to “deepen the conversation with civil society and organizations that represent small farmers, as well as individuals researching small farmer issues.” As such, the debate was structured around the following three objectives:

• Objective 1: To understand the value of climate-smart agriculture for smallholder farming 
• Objective 2: To serve as a platform for knowledge sharing on climate-smart agricultural innovations in the South
• Objective 3: To promote a gendered approach to climate-smart agriculture.

The resulting knowledge product, entitled Climate Smart Agriculture in Africa, is a report that provides a broad based overview of CSA policies as well as nuanced and practical examples from the field. It highlights areas of contention as well as consensus with respect to best practices and key challenges. Compellingly, original case studies as well as newly available literature are identified.

The DFID and the IPC-IG in Brazil aspire to continue cultivating a meaningful dialogue related to adaptation and initiatives for climate change. Stay tuned for a separate evidence paper on Climate Smart Agriculture that will be made available in the near future by the IPC-IG. The e-discussion served as an innovative avenue of knowledge cooperation that will inform the evolution of climate smart agriculture policy and practice in Africa and beyond.

Summaries in English and Portuguese are now available on the IPC-IG website.

Source: IPC 819 and IPC 812, DFID 

Take a closer look at research on food security, climate change and inclusive growth through the following IPC-IG publications:

Market Alternatives for Smallholder Farmers in Food Security Initiatives: Lessons from the Brazilian Good Acquisition Programme

Public Support to Food Security in India, Brazil and South Africa: Elements for a Policy Dialogue

Providing Incentives to Women Farmers for Sustainable Food Production

Food Security Policy Context in Brazil

Integrating Public Works and Cash Transfers in Ethiopia: Implications for Social Protection, Employment and Decent Work

This year on World Water Day, which falls within Latin America Water Week, the IPC-IG highlights research and events related to water resources and social policy

“The children who have no clean water to drink, the women who fear for their safety, the young people who have no chance to receive a decent education have a right to better, and we have a responsibility to do better. All people have the right to safe drinking water, sanitation, shelter and basic services.”

Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General

‘Water’ Source: Stockholm International Water Institute

The long-term security and stability of humankind is tightly bound to one indispensable natural resource: water. Water is the bedrock and circulatory backbone of all human civilizations, a sine qua non for basic life, agricultural production, and transportation (see UNESCO). In our everyday lives we consume water not only directly as a source of hydration, but also through the products we use and food we eat. From the vantage point of international social policy, water resource issues are a particularly pertinent dimension of social protection, agricultural production, and poverty alleviation.

World Water Day was incepted in 1993 during the United Nations Rio Summit. A day to commemorate the importance of water resources is important as water security is linked to improvements in sustainable development and inclusive growth. Without enhanced water access and availability worldwide, the Millennium Development Goal 7c may not be achieved: “Reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.”

Water, Communication, and Society Conference

In this 2013 International Year of Water Cooperation, the National Water Agency of Brazil is hosting a Water, Communication, and Society conference that allows water and communication experts to collectively work towards improved water resource management. According to the conference website, the conference aims to facilitate a dialogue about “dealing with water demand cooperation” due to the fact that “it is only by means of cooperation that we may succeed in the future at managing our finite and feeble water sources, which are under growing pressure from the activities of a growing work population that surpasses seven billion people.”

In line with this, the infographic found below demonstrates the salience of water resources in many facets of development and social protection.

‘World Water Day 2013′ Source: BathShop321

The following section presents research published by the IPC-IG that traverses the umbilical connections between social protection, poverty alleviation, and water resource policy.

Small-Scale Water Providers in Kenya: Pioneers or Predators?

This publication series is focused on water resource issues through the lens of social policy and protection. The first study examines what role small-scale private water providers play in ensuring affordable, safe and reliable water supply. It finds that small-scale providers increase water supply coverage and reduce time poverty. In so doing, the publication illustrates that access to safe water is critically important for poverty reduction (access the full report here).

Raindrops for Education: How To Improve Water Access in Schools?

This paper attempts to ascertain the connection between universal primary education and water access. In so doing, the research sheds light on how the adequate provision of potable water may serve as an indicator of educational enhancement. This finding is correlated with the fact that pupils require adequate intake of water and calories to properly focus in the classroom and process the lessons being taught. It is also found that improving water security may not only help meet the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) but may also incentivise school attendance given the associative benefits.

To watch the message from the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon about World Water Day 2013 click here.

In celebration of Latin America Water Week and World Water Day, the IPC-IG presents research on the interconnections of water resources and international social policy:

Access of the Poor to Water Supply and Sanitation in India: Salient Concepts, Issues and Cases

Low-Cost Technologies Towards Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: The Case of Rainwater Harvesting

Water Supply in Rural Ghana: Do Women Benefit?

The Implications of Water and Electricity Supply for the Time Allocation of Women in Rural Ghana

Water Privatisation and Renationalisation in Bolivia: Are the Poor Better Off?

Raindrops for Education: How To Improve Water Access in Schools?

Access to Water in the Slums of the Developing World

Tariff Hikes with Low Investment: The Story of the Urban Water Sector in Zambia

“On this first International Day of Happiness, let us reinforce our commitment to inclusive and sustainable human development and renew our pledge to help others. When we contribute to the common good, we ourselves are enriched. Compassion promotes happiness and will help build the future we want.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for the International Day of Happiness, 20 March 2013

‘Boys enjoy water in Vietnam’ Source: Emmanuelle Graciet

The role of ‘happiness’ is increasingly important in national agendas around the world.  In Bhutan, for example, “Gross National Happiness” (GNH) serves as a key indicator of national prosperity. Although many interpretations of ‘happiness’ exist, this article will present photographs from the IPC-IG’s ‘Humanizing Development’ global photography campaign that may exemplify visual representations of the happiness concept. In addition to the photography below, the IPC-IG has made available a range of publications on social protection, pro-poor growth, and a variety of topics which may relate to enhancing happiness.

It is hoped that the following images shed light on a world in which happiness and well-being serve as central fulcrums of national agendas. Behind each photograph is a unique narrative of how ‘happiness’ may manifest in manifold ways.

Happiness: A Global Photo Essay

‘As Children Should Be’ Source: Philip West/Australia

This photograph shows primary school children celebrating happiness, peace, and learning in a poor area of Banjarmasin City, Kalimantan Island, Indonesia.

‘Doctores Bola Roja’ Source: Marco Simola/Lima, Peru

The photograph provides a glimpse into the lives of the doctors of Bolaroja who have graduated from the Bolaroja Clown School in Lima, Peru. A typical day for a Bolaroja clown-doctor includes entertaining young patients with music, toys, and bonding activities. Unique games are also created that cater to the unique interests and needs of individual patients.

‘Rural India talks’ Source: Divyangana Rakesh/Khunti District, Jharkhand, India

A woman smiles as she displays her handiwork at a public meeting about the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) held in Khunti District, Jharkhand, India.

‘A Smile’ Source: WONG Chi Keung/Hksar, China

The farmer shown here, Uncle Ming, resides in the mountain region of Yunan in China. Due to the climatic context, the options for farming in Yunan are limited in scope.  Thus Uncle Ming cultivates corn and consequently carries the produce to the local market to gain profit.

‘Business as Usual’ Source: Rolando Villanueva/Rural Bailundo, Angola

The smiling faces displayed in this photograph are microfinance clients in rural Bailundo, Angola, that are carefully tending to their livelihoods despite the rainy conditions.

Read more about the International Day of Happiness

Please find here the message from the UN Secretary-General in a meeting on ‘Happiness and Well-being’

See how the IPC-IG may help to promote happiness through research on issues such as enhancing access to basic services and inclusive growth:

The Life Development of Young People Engaged in the Oportunidades Programme

Green Equity: Environmental Justice for more Inclusive Growth

Securing Greater Social Accountability in Natural Resource Management

Dimensions of Inclusive Development

Source: ‘Bihar’ JAY MANDAL/UNDP INDIA

Brasilia – March 15, 2013 – It came as a surprise when the normally poverty-stricken region of India was met with world-record rice yields. In fact, the entire north-east Indian state of Bihar is currently experiencing a surge in the production of rice, leading many farmers out of poverty and into food security. Compellingly, the successes of the rice cultivation are partially attributed to the chemical-free approach adopted by the farmers through a particular method called the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). The phenomenon of intensified yields was first recognized when the paddy yield for a farmer named Nitish Kumar weighed in at 22.4 tons per hectare, surpassing the former world record of 19 tons per hectare by an agricultural scientist in China. To compound the success, the state of Bihar now also boasts the world record for potato cultivation.

The record-reaching production levels bring hope for other world regions and present an opportunity to meet the challenges facing agriculture today. According to Nitish Kumar, one Bihari farmer that has experienced the increased yields, “In previous years, farming has not been very profitable…Now I realise that it can be. My whole life has changed. I can send my children to school and spend more on health. My income has increased a lot.”

Scientists and agricultural experts have attempted to unravel the causes behind the dramatic yield increases witnessed in northeast India. Experts have identified the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) as the main reason why Bihari villagers are experiencing such unprecedented production levels. The SRI method of cultivation is based on an organic system of farming that follows a particular pattern of cultivation. First, the farmers plant half as many seeds under carefully monitored conditions. The rice shoots are then individually moved to the paddy fields at a younger age than traditionally practiced. Finally, the shoots are placed in drier-than-usual soil in a grid pattern with a 25 cm space between each plant. This approach to farming does not require any costly external chemical inputs, making the method an economically viable option for sustainable and inclusive agriculture. According to Dr. Surendra Chaurassa of the Ministry of Agriculture in Bihar, “Farmers use less seeds, less water and less chemicals but they get more without having to invest more. This is revolutionary.”

SRI was first documented in the 1980s by a Frenchman named de Laulanie who gained a particular interest in the unique way villagers in Madagascar cultivated their crops. Norman Uphoff, Professor and the Director of International Institute for Food, Agriculture, and Development at Cornell University became similarly intrigued by the observations of de Laulanie and shared the knowledge with the academic and professional community. Following a generous donation to conduct further research, Uphoff returned to Madagascar for further investigation, concluding that “Agriculture in the 21st century must be practiced differently… SRI offers millions of disadvantaged households far better opportunities. Nobody is benefiting from this except the farmers; there are no patents, royalties or licensing fees.”

The experiences of the Bihari farmers may serve as a demonstration of the possibility of a future without GM crops and agrochemicals. Upon visiting the Bihari villages, a Nobel prize-winning economist named Joseph Stiglitz claimed that “Agriculture scientists from across the world should visit and learn and be inspired by them.” In addition to being more cost-effective than chemical-intensive farming, it has been documented to require less labor. Coined by some as the “new green grassroots revolution”, it is envisioned that the SRI method of farming may be adopted by more governments and research institutions worldwide. The IPC-IG is currently preparing a report documenting the proceedings of an e-conference for climate smart agriculture that will serve to further inform the dialogue on improving sustainable agriculture and inclusive development.

Learn more by listening to an audio slide show about the rice boom in Bihar

Watch more about the experiences of farmers in Bihar by watching the following video

Related Research by the IPC-IG:

A Socially Inclusive Pathway to Food Security: The Agroecological Alternative

Linking Social Protection and Agricultural Production: The Case of Mexico

Market Alternatives for Smallholder Farmers in Food Security Initiatives: Lessons from the Brazilian Food Acquisition Programme [IPC-IG Working Paper]

Public Support to Food Security in India, Brazil and South Africa: Elements for a Policy Dialogue [IPC-IG Working Paper]

The Food Security Policy Context in Brazil [IPC-IG Country Study]

The Food Security Policy Context in South Africa [IPC-IG Country Study]

South Africa’s ‘Food for All’ Campaign: A Promising New Plan to Tackle Hunger and Malnutrition? [IPC-IG Article]

East Africa Food Crisis: Understanding the Importance of Smallholder Agriculture [IPC-IG Article]

‘Farmer with jatropha plant’. Source: IRIN/David Gough

Brasília, March 14, 2013 - The discourse surrounding biofuels may paint a picture of an economically viable, environmentally friendly, and socially protective pathway for alternative energy development. In the pursuit of strategies for a “green economy”, biofuels are often praised for their ability to provide energy security and help to avert greenhouse gases from non-renewable fossil fuels. However, the socio-environmental impacts are still a highly debated topic. Can biofuel production and policy contribute to poverty reduction and rural development?

Adjusting Biofuel Policies to Meet Social and Rural Development Needs: Analysing the Experiences of Brazil, India, and Indonesia, a PRB authored by Mairon G. Bastos Lima and published by the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) of the United Nations Development Programme, sheds light the social policy side of the recent surge in biofuel production. This comparative analysis presents the experiences of the biofuel industry in Brazil, India, and Indonesia with particular reference to rural development and social protection. By applying a critical lens to biofuel policy and production, it is revealed that there exists a disharmony between the requirements of rural development and biofuel expansion. The PRB unveils increasing inequalities in land ownership and adverse impacts on rural development such as smallholder displacement and food security instability.

Brazil

The case of Brazilian biofuel production is marked by an ever-increasing rift between large estates and smallholder farmers in terms of land holdings. While public support is provided to Brazilian agroindustry through regulatory and economic incentives such as tax exemption, small and medium-scale sugar cane growers often lack the financial and technological capital necessary for market access. Thus small scale producers are often left to sell their products to large suppliers who consequently acquire the majority of value added. In addition, the system of biofuel production in Brazil has not proven to be advantageous with respect to enhancing job security for poor people in rural areas. Employment is often offered on a seasonal basis and ridden with health risks due to the severe working conditions.

Peering into the Brazilian policy space, the National Programme on the Production and Use of Biodiesel (PNPB) is a “social labeling initiative” that facilitates the incorporation of smallholders into the production chain (for further information see IPC’s publication on the PNPB by Clovis Zapata, Sara Brune, and Jackline Achieng Adero). The PNPB was not an immediate success, however, as it focused on the cultivation of low-quality Castor bean (a non-edible oil seed) to be grown on ‘sub-optimal’ soils. Instead of economic mobility and incorporation into the production chain, many smallholders were met with low yields and the inability to adapt to the system cash-cropping. The PNPB was amended in 2008-2009 to rectify the aforementioned difficulties and improve the programme efficacy for smallholders. Consequently, it has been observed that smallholders have enhanced social inclusion and heightened bargaining power with the biofuel industry (see How Can Petrobras Biocombustíveis Engage Small-Scale Farmers While Promoting Sustainability in Brazil’s Biodiesel Programme? published by the IPC-IG).

India

The case of India echoes that of Brazil in many respects, particularly in terms of the subsidies and tax incentives offered to the agroindustrial sector. Enacted in 2003, India’s National Biodiesel Mission (NBM) is envisioned to enable the country to significantly reduce reliance on fossil fuels. To incentivize social inclusion, the NBM provides tax reductions and credit provisions for private enterprises that “engage in contract farming schemes with smallholders”. The NBM also facilitated the cultivation of a jatropha monoculture on ‘marginal’ or ‘sub-optimal’ lands. Unfortunately, the jatropha crops proved incompatible with the land and did not serve as a beneficial investment for smallholders. The NBM “resulted in the reduction of local food production (e.g. groundnut in the state of Tamil Nadu) and larger exposure to food insecurity, often leaving poor people in rural areas worse off.”

Indonesia

Indonesia differs from the previous two cases in that the biofuel production sector is based on palm-oil biodiesel rather than fuel ethanol. However, the biofuel policy and production space is largely congruent with the previous findings: the sector is dominated by corporate-owned plantations that receive economic and regulatory incentives while “independent smallholders can hardly afford the high start-up costs of cultivation and bear four years without income before the palm matures.”

The Policy Research Brief examines Indonesian “contract farming schemes” that exist between rural cultivators and private enterprises. Although many of the rural farmers envisage ownership of land upon termination of the contract, the land often becomes government property. Additionally, the PRB illustrates that “farmers concede it for lower than they would due to an eagerness to earn an income and escape poverty – a situation of powerlessness and vulnerability.”

Further Directions

The evidence presented by Lima directs to the conclusion that there remains the need to heighten the emphasis on the social dimensions of biofuel policies and production in Brazil, India, and Indonesia. To address the cross-cutting themes identified in the analysis, Lima offers avenues to improve social protection and poverty reduction with respect to biofuel expansion:

1. Building traditional livelihoods, rather than attempting to replace them;

2. Involving social movements in policy- and decision- making to ensure due consideration of the needs and interests of poor people in rural areas;

3. Inserting provisions that allow smallholders to climb up the value chain, thus addressing the inequality structures that keep poor people poor.

It is hoped that a more socially inclusive approach to biofuel policy and production may be adopted in the future that demonstrates positive structural change and inclusive growth.

By Lauren Nicole Core

Read more about biofuel policy and production: 

Retrofitting the Brazilian Biodiesel Programme: Implications for Policy Design

How Can Petrobras Biocombustíveis Engage Small-Scale Farmers While Promoting Sustainability in Brazil’s Biodiesel Programme?