Food and nutrition security and role of smallholder farms: challenges and opportunities

This report constitutes a comprehensive compilation and synthesis of the principal issues and outcomes of the workshop on ‘Local level food and nutrition security and the role of subsistence/smallholder farms organised by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (EC) in Seville on 9–10 September 2015. The report summarizes the debate on the role, constraints and contribution of smallholders in food security and reducing rural poverty in developing countries.

The key message from this debate is that “enhancing smallholders’ production capacities and their economic and social resilience may have a positive impact on food security and nutrition at different levels. However, not all smallholders are the same, and assistance strategies need to differentiate between smallholders who should be ‘moving up’ into more productive systems and those who should be ‘moving out’ of farming. The choice should depend on the type of constraints smallholders face”.

The analysis considers, in addition to the role of small farmers as food suppliers, smallholders’ role as consumers and their level of nutrition security. “The link between agriculture and nutrition is analysed to understand how agriculture affects human health and dietary patterns. Given the importance of smallholdings, strategies to increase productivity in agriculture are essential to improve food and nutrition security, as is food diversity. Finally, synergies and trade-offs between economic, environmental and social objectives and outcomes are analysed through an overview of the methods and tools used to assess food security on small farms at household level. Models at country level are usually focused on long-term conditions, but short-term analyses would also be welcome. Developing global models to assess food security is also relevant, to include trade issues in the analysis. Models at farm household level in developing countries have a valuable role to play in the analysis of the impact of any policy on small farmers.”