Stimulating Agriculture 3 – Rolling On

Setting National goals

          The Asian and Pacific region contains almost half of the world population. It is also the home of two-thirds of the world’s poorest people.

          It is estimated 560 million people live on less than $1.25US  a day.

          More than half of this region live in rural areas and most are engaged in agriculture.

          Having worked in many of these countries here are some of my thoughts

          National goals are important!

          If countries wish to increase food production the political climate must be favourable for rural people.

          More and more poor people are moving into cities leaving the rural areas with less political representation.

          Many of today’s decision-makers have little understanding of rural needs.  

          Unless governments have clear, realistic agricultural and horticulture goals and objectives and are prepared to make resources available for research, extension, training, salaries, and other services, more people will go hungry.

          Food exporting countries, such as New Zealand, Australia, and Taiwan(ROC)  will earn less.

Governments can:

• Set clear  realistic national goals.
• Supply sound leadership.
• Set up effective two way communication systems to fully understand the wants and the needs of rural people.
• Put in place systems to increase food production (transport, marketing, processing, education).
• Involve agro-industries in planning.
• Reorganise and streamline government departments by removing surplus people and by recruiting and training people with a rural background.
• Co-ordinate activities of departments involved in food production.
• Promote land development and land settlement schemes,
• Improve land surveying and ownership legislation. In some countries, like Sri Lanka, many farmers own small scattered units of land making production difficult.
• Encourage the development of storage and marketing facilities.
• Upgrade research and educational facilities for both men and women farmers.
• Introduce school projects to grow food and set up more training farms for youths. In Fiji they gave children seeds and encouraged them to produce food and to sell their surpluses at the local market.
• Establish rural workshops and “think tanks” comprising planners, innovative experts and rural people.
• Call in overseas consultants and trainers. This has  been done in many Asian and Pacific countries including New Zealand.
• Send people overseas to train and to look for new ways to produce and process foods. I was sent to Australia and to the USA on such  missions.
• Governments can borrow money to help finance some of the above measures.
• Many counties, UN agencies, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank make money available to help many poorer counties. The Bangladesh Agricultural Training Institutes are  a good example how foreign aid missions can help a poor country.

Each country is unique and at different stages of evolution. They have different population pressures, different needs, soil types, and climates but there are many things we can learn from each other.

Food production is becoming critical as our World population expands at an alarming rate. What can you do to help?

Geoffrey Moss(mossassociates.co.nz)

“Plans are not static things – they are dynamic,, and changes must be made to respond to changing conditions.”