Low-Tech Cooperative Approaches Support Smallholder Farmers
Over 70 per cent of hungry people in the world today are smallholder farmers. Those producing food are, ironically, the most likely to go without.
This summer I visited Kenya with Canadian Foodgrains Bank to explore what can be done to address hunger and support the smallholder farmers (farmers with less than 10 acres of land) who make up the vast majority of food producers in Kenya.
If we are to achieve a world without hunger, solutions will need to meet the challenges faced by these farmers. While innovations in agricultural science and technology are undoubtedly important — we had a chance to visit world-class agricultural research facilities in Kenya — I was frequently amazed by the power of simple solutions, using basic technology and community co-operation, that helped people produce more food.
UN Photo/Albert González Farran