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7. Olivier de Schutter. Access to Land and the Right to Food, Report of the Special
Rapporteur on the right to food presented at the 65th General Assembly of the
United Nations [A/65/281], 21 October 2010
Supporting family farms for food, nutritional and livelihood security: India’s story
1. The definition of food in the Indian context includes major cereals such as paddy
and wheat, coarse cereals such as maize, sorghum, as well as millets and pulses.
2. Smallholder agriculture is a term which includes ‘small’ farmers with up to 2
hectares (5 acres) of land and ‘marginal’ farmers with less than 1 hectare (2.5
acres) of land; 84 per cent of India’s 130 million-odd farm households are
classified as small or marginal.
About the author
The author is a civil servant currently working for the Ministry of Agriculture,
Government of India. Views expressed here are personal.
The family farm in India
1.
2. Agarwal, B (2011). Twelfth Plan working Group on disadvantage farmers including
women. A report submitted to the Planning Commission, Government of India
3. Kadapatti, R. G. and Bagalkoti, S. T. (2014) ‘Small Farms and Agricultural
Productivity – A Macro Analysis’. International Journal of Social Science Studies
Vol. 2, No. 3; July 2014 :1123-135 ( URL:
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html (Accessed on 14.08.2014)
5. Agarwal (2011) Op. Cit.
6. Chand, Ramesh P. A., Lakshmi Prasanna and Aruna Singh. (2011) ‘Farm Size
and Productivity: Understanding the Strengths of Smallholders and Improving
their Livelihoods’. Review of Agriculture.
7. Chand et al (2011). Ibid.
8. NCEUS (2008)
Food security and small family farming in Asia-Pacific countries
1. FAO Committee on Agriculture, 2010
2. Planning Commission, 2007
3. FAO, The State of Food and Agriculture, 2011
Agricultural biodiversity: An essential asset for the success
and resilience of family farming
1. Bioversity International (2014) Bioversity International’s 10-year strategy 2014-
2024. Bioversity International, Rome, Italy.
library/publications/detail/bioversity-internationals-10-year-strategy-2014-2024/
2. Agricultural biodiversity is the diversity of crops and their wild relatives, trees,
animals, microbes and other species that contribute to agricultural production.
This diversity exists at the ecosystem, species, and genetic level and is the result of
interactions among people and the environment over thousands of years. The use
of agricultural biodiversity can help make agricultural ecosystems more resilient and
productive; and can contribute to better nutrition, productivity and livelihoods.
of-agriculture
3. FAO (2014). Family Farmers. Feeding the world, caring for the earth.Rome: FAO.
4. HLPE (2013). Investing in smallholder agriculture for food security. A report by
the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee
on World Food Security. Rome: HLPE. P. 10
Retrieved from
5. Lowder, S. K., Skoet, J., & Singh, S. (2014). What do we really know about the
number and distribution of farms and family farms in the world? Background paper
for The State of Food and Agriculture 2014. ESA Working Paper No. 14-02. Rome:
FAO.
6. Fanzo, J., Hunter, D., Borelli, T. and F. Mattei (eds) (2013) ‘Diversifying Food
and Diets Using Agricultural Biodiversity to Improve Nutrition and Health’. Issues
in Agricultural Biodiversity, Routledge.
7. Eyzaguirre, P.B. and Linares, O.F. (eds) (2004) Homegardens and Agrobiodiversity.
Smithsonian Books, Washington D.C.
Galluzzi, G., Negri, V. and P. Eyzaguirre (2010) Home gardens: neglected hotspots
of agrobiodiversity and cultural diversity. Biodiversity and Conservation 19(13):
3635-3654
8. Galhena, D.H., Freed, R. and K.M. Maredia (2013) Home gardens: a promising
approach to enhance household food security and wellbeing. A griculture & Food
Security 2013, 2:8
9. Helen Keller International - Asia-Pacific (2010) Homestead food production
model contributes to improved household food security, nutrition and female
empowerment – experience from scaling-up programs in Asia (Bangladesh,
Cambodia, Nepal and Philippines). Nutrition Bulletin 2010, 8 (1):1-8.
10. Eyzaguirre and Linares 2004 op. cit.
Galluzzi et al. 2010 op. cit
Hellen Keller International 2010 op. cit.
Jarvis, D.I., Padoch, C.; Cooper, H.D. (eds.) (2007) Managing biodiversity in
agricultural ecosystems. Columbia University Press, New York.
11. Bioversity International (2013) Homegardens in Nepal. Bioversity International’s
series of Impact Assessment Briefs. Bioversity International. Rome, Italy.
12. Rosset, P.M., Machin-Sosa, B., Roque-Jaime. A.M. and D.R. Avila-Lozano. 2011.
The Campesino-to-Campesino agro-ecology movement of ANAP in Cuba. Journal
of Peasant Studies 38: 161-191
13. Fanzo, J.; Hunter, D.; Borelli, T.; Mattei, F.(eds.) (2013) Diversifying Food and
Diets: Using Agricultural Biodiversity to improve nutrition and health. Routledge/
Earthscan, Oxon.
Further reading
- Berdegue, J. A., & Fuenteabla, R. (2011). Latin America: The State of Smallholders
in Agriculture. IFAD Conference on New Directions for Smallholder Agriculture. IFAD,
Rome, Italy.
- Brooks, S. (2014) Enabling adaptation? Lessons from the new Green Revolution‘ in
Malawi and Kenya, Climatic Change , 122, 15-26.
- Carter, M. (1984). Identification of the Inverse Relationship between Farm Size
and Productivity: An Empirical Analysis of Peasant Agricultural Production. Oxford
Economic Papers, 36(1), 131–45.
- Jones, A. D.; Shrinivas, A. and Bezner Kerr, R. (2014). Farm production diversity is
associated with household dietary diversity in Malawi. Food Policy 46, 1-12. http://
- Snapp, S. S., Blackie, M.J., Gilbert, R. A., Bezner Kerr, R., Kanyama-Phiri, G. Y.
(2010) Biodiversity can support a greener revolution in Africa. Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, 107(48), 20840-20845.
-
- Van Oudenhoven, F., Mijatovic, D, and Eyzaguirre, P.B. (2011) Social-ecological
indicators of resilience in agrarian and natural landscapes. Management of
Environmental Quality: An International Journal. 22(2):154-173.
Family and smallholder farming in Himalayan communities
1. NRC (National Research Council) (2003). Frontiers in agricultural research. Food,
health, environment, and communities. Washington DC: National Academy Press
2. Ramakrishnan P.S. (1992). Shifting agriculture and sustainable development: an
interdisciplinary study from north-eastern India. Man and the Biosphere Series, Vol
10, UNESCO, Paris 424 p.
3. Ramakrishnan, 1992 ibid.
4. Saxena K.G., Liang, L. and Rerkasem, K. (2007). Shifting agriculture in Asia:
Implications for environmental conservation and sustainable livelihood (Edited book).
Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun, India, 460 p.
5. Sundriyal R.C. and M. Dollo (2013). ‘Integrated agriculture and allied natural
resource management in northeast mountains – transformations and assets
building’. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 37(6): 700-726
6. Sundriyal, R.C., Rai, S.C., Sharma, E. and Rai, Y.K. (1994). ‘Hill agroforestry
systems in south Sikkim, India’. Agroforestry Systems 26(3): 215-235
7. Maikhuri R.K., Rao K.S., Saxena K.G. 1996. ‘Traditional crop diversity for
sustainable development of Central Himalayan agro-ecosystems’. International
Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 3: 8-31
8. Negi, G.C.S. and Joshi V. (2001). ‘Agroforestry trees restore degraded land in the
Himalayan mountains’. Agroforestry Today 13(1-2): 19-21
9. Negi, G.C.S. & K.D. Kandpal (2003). ‘Traditional methods of water management
in the Central Himalayan agriculture’. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 2
(3): 256-264
10. Rai, S.C.; Sharma, E. and Sundriyal, R.C. (1994). ‘Conservation in the Sikkim
Himalaya : Traditional knowledge and land use of the Mamlay watershed’.
Environmental Conservation 21(1): 30-35
11. Maikhuri .RK., Rao K.S., Semwal R.L. (2001) ‘Changing scenario of Himalayan
agroecosystem: Loss of agrobiodiversity, an indicator of environmental change in
Uttarakhand Himalaya, India’. The Environmentalist 20: 23-39
Livestock farming boosts local economies in developing countries
1. Delgado, C.L., . 1999. Livestock to 2020: the next food revolution. Food,
Agriculture and the Environment Discussion Paper 28. Food, Agriculture,
and the Environment. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
Washington D.C.
2. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 2011. Mapping supply and
demand for animal-source foods to 2030, by T.P. Robinson & F. Pozzi. Animal
Production and Health Working Paper. No. 2. Rome.
3. FAOSTAT, 2012.
Notes and References