Deep Roots

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The environmental, social and economic

sustainability of family farms in the dry areas

Dr Mahmoud Solh, Director General, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas

pproximately 75-80 per cent of the food produced

in the drylands results from the hard work of

women, men and children cultivating small plots

of land. Agriculture is the main livelihood and source of

food for these family units. While some small family farms

enjoy successful production units, many others are nega-

tively impacted by changing environmental, social and

economic conditions that threaten their existence.

The 2014 International Year of Family Farming is revital-

izing the emphasis placed by researchers, policymakers

and development actors on the importance of family farms.

Such emphasis is highlighting the need to integrate family

farms into equitable and sustainable development agendas.

Various successful approaches, exemplified by case studies,

are capable of enhancing the potential of small family farms in

dry areas and improving the quality of the lives of the women,

men and children that constitute them.

Dry areas cover over 41 per cent of the Earth’s surface and

are home to about 2.1 billion people, many of whom depend

on land, water, livestock, rangelands, trees and fish to sustain

their livelihoods. About 16 per cent of the population in the

drylands lives in chronic poverty. These areas are experiencing

rapid population growth and high urbanization. For example,

according to the World Bank, the 2006-2011 drought in

north-east Syria caused thousands of small herders and small

farmers to migrate to urban areas, swelling the urban slums

and potentially contributing to social and political unrest.

Social and political unrest, coupled with weak governance,

negatively impacts food security. Additionally, significant gender

gaps in access to livelihood opportunities, large youth popula-

tions, and the world’s highest unemployment rate, particularly

for the youth and for women, increase the vulnerability of the

dry areas to generational poverty. According to the International

Labour Organization, unemployment among the youth in North

Africa and the Middle East is 23.6 per cent and 25.1 per cent

respectively, compared to a world average of 12.6 per cent.

Dry areas have limited and degrading natural resources,

particularly water. Water scarcity is one of the key limiting

factors in food production. The demands of a growing popu-

lation and their economic and social development further

exacerbate the region’s increasing water deficit. Additionally,

drylands suffer from various forms of land degradation,

including desertification and the loss of biodiversity.

Climate change is another cause for the extreme vulner-

ability of farming in dry areas. Climate change is causing more

Weeding of lentil crops is labour-intensive and a common family task in

smallholder farming

ICARDA has been working in the drylands for more than 35 years to improve

the livelihoods of small family farmers

Image: ICARDA

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