World Agriculture Watch
Understanding
structural changes in agriculture,
informing policy dialogue
Farmers’ Forum
23. Feb. 2012
IFAD
Alexander Müller, FAO
WAW at Farmers’ Forum – 23rd February 2012 1

Objectives of the side event
• Why WAW?
• Inform about WAW and other initiatives
involving Farmers’ organizations
• How WAW could better serve farmers,
agricultural policy makers?
WAW at Farmers’ Forum – 23rd February 2012 2

Organization
 16:30 Presentation of WAW
• A. Müller, FAO
• P. Caron, CIRAD
 17:00 Panel presentations of ongoing
initiatives involving Farmers’ organizations
• ROPPA
• AFA
• COPROFAM
• C. Seré, IFAD
 17:40 Open Discussions
 18:20 Synthesis and conclusion
WAW at Farmers’ Forum – 23rd February 2012 3

AG transformations: The Context
• Wide diversity of agricultural systems with
predominance of small holders and family farms
• Long-term ‘structural’ changes visible at farm
level: size of holding, labor and inputs use,
market and investment access, investment , non
agricultural income etc.
• Differing implications - local to global:
• Food & nutrition security;
• Economic growth; Employment; cultural changes and
Heritage values
• Natural resources (Land and water, BioDiversity, GHG)
•
rd
Resilience to changesFebruary 2012
– 23
(CC adaptation, ..) 4

Agricultural transformation
is a GLOBAL phenomenon
with local consequences
social, economic and environmental
5

Agricultural Transformation
‘Ghout’ system
•Small, 0.5ha basins, dug to GWL ‘Modern’ practice
•Low maintenance, •Irrigation
•Adapted to desertification •Large fields
•Family production – subsistence •Commercial oriented production
•Preserves agro-biodiversity
Implications?
•Incomes
•Water availability
•Customary rights &
El Oued, management
ALGERIA •etc
World Agriculture Watch – December 2011 6

Agricultural Transformation
‘Ghout’ system
•Small, 0.5ha basins, dug to GWL ‘Modern’ practice
•Low maintenance, •Irrigation
•Adapted to desertification •Large fields
•Family production – subsistence •Commercial oriented production
•Preserves agro-biodiversity
Implications?
El Oued, ALGERIA
World Agriculture Watch – December 2011 7

Agricultural Transformation
Agribusiness production
•Higher input levels
•Larger fields
•Commercial oriented
production
Family farming
•Lower input levels
Implications? •Smaller fields
•Employment •Some commercial production
•Environment
•Food security &
nutrition
•etc Thika, KENYA
8
World Agriculture Watch – December 2011

Agricultural Transformation
Decreasing number of
farms, especially
small farms
Implications?
•Employment
•Environment
•Territorial
development
•etc
FRANCE
World Agriculture Watch – December 2011 9

Why we need to know more about
Agricultural Transformations
WAW at Farmers’ Forum – 23rd February 2012 10

Why we need to know more about
Agricultural Transformations
1. Important implications for development goals –
local to global
• Food security - MDG1, WFS including poverty
and employment
• Environmental integrity – MDG7
WAW at Farmers’ Forum – 23rd February 2012 11

Why we need to know more about
Agricultural Transformations
1. Important implications for development goals –
local to global
• Food security - MDG1, WFS including poverty
and employment
• Environmental integrity – MDG7
2. Polarized policy debates but complex and
context-specific situations
WAW at Farmers’ Forum – 23rd February 2012 12

Why we need to know more about
Agricultural Transformations
1. Important implications for development goals –
local to global
• Food security - MDG1, WFS including poverty
and employment
• Environmental integrity – MDG7
2. Polarized policy debates but complex and
context-specific situations
3. Insufficient knowledge and capacities of
stakeholders to Inform policy dialogue
WAW at Farmers’ Forum – 23rd February 2012 13

Objectives of WAW
1. To understand the diversity of
agricultural systems, structural changes
and assess socio-economic and
environmental implications
2. To improve multi-stakeholder planning
and policy formulation related to
agricultural transformation at local and
international levels
WAW at Farmers’ Forum – 23rd February 2012 14

WAW Outputs: International
1. A common framework to be used (after adaptation to
local needs) by local observation units and partners to
assess transformations through performances and
evolutions of types of “farms”:
• Livelihoods Approach ; Socio-economic and environmental indicators;
• Scale: Production units to district level, markets, food systems
• People centered; gender-sensitive; Local knowledge
2. Identify and characterize “hot spots” of
transformations
• Could include areas under large scale investments and systems at risks
3. World wide information platform
• Information exchange;
• Building common knowledge,
• Comparative analyses
WAW at Farmers’ Forum – 23rd February 2012 15

WAW Outputs at National level
with a few supported “Local WAW”
1. Strengthen Coordination
• Build on existing institutions and information networks
2. Capacity development to support policy
dialogue on transformations and their
implications
3. Improved access to information products
for different stakeholder needs:
• Assessment reports
• Policy options
• Forecasts of possible crises
• etc.
WAW at Farmers’ Forum – 23rd February 2012 16

WAW: Key features
1. Focus on diversity & structural changes in
agriculture for small to large scale systems, from
farm to markets
2. Local observations
3. A common framework with socio-eco and
environmental dimensions
4. Innovative inclusive approach, improving
stakeholders’capacity including Farmers, to
influence policy and planning processes linked to
transformations
WAW at Farmers’ Forum – 23rd February 2012 17

WAW and Farmers’ organizations
Context
• Important role of farmers’ organizations to
improve policy effectiveness, notably to voice
specific concerns and interests
• Calls of FO to better understand and recognize
specific concerns of family agriculture
International Year of Family Farming
• New forms of collaboration involving Farmers’
organizations needed to generate knowledge
to inform policy
18

WAW and Farmers’organizations
Possible roles of FO
• Multistakeholders’ involvement at different
levels:
– Governance: influence what to observe and which
indicators
– Use of Farmers’ knowledge
– Participation in the collective analysis and multi-
stakeholders dialogue to elaborate policy options
– Synergies with existing observation systems led by
Farmers’ organizations
WAW at Farmers’ Forum – 23rd February 2012 19

WAW and Farmers’organizations
Benefits expected
• Strengthened capacity to contribute to policy making
process through:
• Better awareness of performances of types of farms,
agricultural transformations, their impacts and
possible policy options
• Reinforced capacities to generate knowledge on
agricultural transformations (Training, tools and peer-
to-peer exchanges)
• Participation to a forum for dialogue with different
stakeholders on agricultural transformations
WAW at Farmers’ Forum – 23rd February 2012 20

Next steps
1.Follow-up action needed by participants --
e.g. interest/commitments etc.
2.Stakeholders and experts meeting in March/
April 2012
• To refine the scope and method
• Consolidate governance and alliance
3.Selected pilot assessments in different
regions of the world
WAW at Farmers’ Forum – 23rd February 2012 21

World Agriculture Watch
THANK YOU
World Agriculture Watch – 25 November 2011 22