Agricultural Development Overview

Approximately 1 billion people live in chronic hunger and more than 1 billion live in extreme poverty.

Many are small farmers in the developing world. Their success or failure determines whether they have enough to eat, are able to send their children to school, and can earn any money to save.

Small farmers in the developing world face many challenges:

• Their soil is often degraded from overuse.
• They lack quality seeds, fertilizer, irrigation, and other farming supplies.
• Their crops are threatened by diseases, pests, and drought.
• When small farmers do manage to grow a good crop, they frequently lack access to markets.

Funders have sharply cut their international aid to agricultural development over the past few decades.

The majority of agricultural research and technology doesn’t reach or benefit small farmers in the developing world. In sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture employs two-thirds of the population but accounts for only 4 percent of government spending.

There is little support for women, who do the majority of the work.

In developing countries, women do up to 80 percent of the work on farms, like the planting, harvesting, and processing. They are responsible for both producing the food and preparing it for their families. Yet women farmers receive only 5 percent of extension services and are underrepresented in training programs. There are also few women in agricultural research and policy-making positions.

Improvements in agriculture help people in poverty improve their lives.

When small farmers are able to get more out of their land and labor, their families eat better, earn more money, and lead healthier lives. In Asia and Latin America, improvements in rice and wheat crops several decades ago doubled yields, saved hundreds of millions of lives, and contributed to long-term economic growth. This “Green Revolution” showed it is possible to reduce hunger and poverty on a large scale but demonstrated the importance of focusing on the environment and the needs of small farmers.

We’re working to help small farmers flourish on their farms and overcome hunger and poverty.

Next: Our Approach

We support programs that will enable small farmers to break the cycle of hunger and poverty—to sell what they grow or raise, increase their incomes, and make their farms more productive and sustainable. We work with a wide range of partners in the following ways:

Employ a collaborative and comprehensive approach.

There’s no single, simple solution to the challenges small farmers face. We seek the input of a variety of voices, from farmers and field workers to funders and policymakers. Ultimately, we want to offer solutions that help improve agriculture at every step: planting a seed, tending the soil, selling a crop, and setting good policy.

Provide small farmers with the supplies and support they need to succeed.

Successful harvests require quality seeds, healthy soils, appropriate fertilizers, and water and crop management systems. We work to provide small farmers with better farming supplies, training, and support networks. For example, we’re helping the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) develop and distribute locally adapted seeds in 16 countries. In India, we’re funding efforts to provide affordable irrigation systems so farmers don’t have to depend on unreliable rains to water their crops.

Put women at the center of our work.

Women are essential to the success of agriculture in the developing world. Therefore, we’ve developed a strategy to address the needs of women farmers at every step of the way—through increased participation, opportunity, and training. We’re providing research fellowships to 360 African women scientists to ensure that the next generation of agricultural researchers includes women. And we seek to measure the impact of our work on women.

Help small farmers profit from their crops.

Farmers need to sell what they grow to make a profit but often lack access to markets, ways to store and transport their goods, and information about pricing. We’re working to link small farmers to new and existing markets and to the information they need to make sound business decisions. For example, we’re providing small farmers in East Africa with the equipment and training they need to grow and sell higher-quality coffee.

Use science and technology to develop crops that can thrive.

We’re exploring the development of crops that can grow successfully in different soil types and resist drought, disease, and pests. For example, we’re funding the development of drought-resistant varieties of maize, Africa’s main cereal crop. We also support the development of nutritionally enhanced crops to combat vitamin deficiencies.

Gather and analyze data to improve decision-making.

We still need to better understand the challenges and opportunities that small farmers face. To learn more, we support research, data collection, and policy analysis related to agricultural development, including the results of our own work. We’re funding several analyses of hunger, poverty, and agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa to inform policymaking and identify areas of opportunity.

Encourage greater investment and involvement in agricultural development.

Small farmers need more attention and resources to succeed. We’re working to increase investments in agriculture from leaders in developing countries as well as from funders and partners in the developed world. We’re also looking for ways that the private sector can make a difference—whether by doing research, developing products, or opening up new markets that benefit small farmers.