Farming has to come first to achieve the MDGs

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New York: 15 June 2010 – “Returning crops and the farmer to the centre of policy decisions is fundamental to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to sustainable development”, said Ajay Shriram, President of the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) and spokesperson of the Farming First coalition , at the Interactive Hearings with Civil Society on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that took place in New York on June 14 and 15 at the United Nations.

As the food crisis of 2008 showed, governments, businesses, scientists and civil society groups and need to focus on the sources of our food and nutrition security. To avoid such events, all these groups must work together to enable the millions of farm families, especially smallholders and women farmers, to increase crop production sustainably through the maintenance of effective markets, more collaborative research, and committed knowledge sharing. As a representative from the private sector, Mr Shriram addressed the United Nations General Assembly on the importance of investing in agriculture and smallholder farmers to achieve the MDGs by 2015.

The fertilizer industry is committed to building alliances and partnerships that will enable farmers worldwide to have access to knowledge, technologies and capacities. Since the beginning of his mandate in 2009 as President of IFA, Mr Shriram has been promoting the innovative concept of last-mile delivery of knowledge, services, tools, innovation and markets. “In most countries the main constraint is not the availability of technology or knowledge, but how to deliver the same to the farmer’s gate”, he explains.

Mr Shriram demonstrated, through a series of successful experiences by the fertilizer industry, innovative and easily replicable ways to increase agricultural productivity sustainably, reach this last mile, and improve conditions for farmers through new business models and public-private partnerships. Some of these examples include:

• the International Fertilizer Development Center’s Dealer Training and Certification Program in Ghana,
• the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited’s joint venture with Bharti Airtel to design new ICT services for farmers in India ,
• Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar (HKB), an innovative chain of rural agricultural supermarkets, and
• the Zinc nutrient initiative to promote zinc-enhanced fertilizers to fight zinc deficiency worldwide.

Most of these examples showcase partnerships involving a variety of agricultural actors, but also actors from other sectors such as education, research, health and telecommunications. Some projects can be carried out by the private sector alone, but business needs to work hand-in-hand with governments if we want to make a dramatic difference in the lives of millions of people.

Mr Shriram brought forward the following recommendations for governments to avoid another food crisis and to achieve the MDGs.

Raise productivity levels exponentially;

1. devise long-term agricultural development strategies that support the development of local agricultural markets and focus on farmers’ needs;
2. target women farmers, in view of their vital roles in the agricultural workforce, household food procurement and preparation, and family unit support;
3. support policies that encourage investment in the agriculture sector in developing countries;
4. invest in agricultural education programs to train agronomists, extension workers and agro-input dealers; and
5. invest in the development of input-output infrastructure.

In a world where population and consumption are growing, working towards food security for all, including the availability, accessibility and affordability of sufficient food with the required nutrient value, is a responsibility shared by farmers, businesses, governments and other representatives of society.

Central to the solution are the millions of farmers around the world who produce the food we all eat. Many of these farmers are trapped in a cycle of poverty. By improving their incomes through last-mile delivery of better tools, knowledge, partnerships and market access, we can not only create a sustainable solution to poverty, but also help address the key challenges of food and nutrition security.

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For more information, please contact

Ms. Morgane Danielou, Director of Information and Communications Service IFA
Telephone: +33 1 53 93 05 33 - General: +33 1 53 93 05 00 - Fax: +33 1 53 93 05 47