Agriculture
The food that we eat connects each of us to the world of agriculture.
Farmers and livestock producers in every
country are responsible for most of the supply of food that goes through
grocery stores and markets in towns and cities. Fishing and forestry,
too, provide food and fiber important for daily life. In developing countries,
many farm families grow crops and raise animals for their own consumption.
Even in developing countries, rural producers are finding it profitable
to grow grains, vegetables, and fruits or harvest shrimp and fish
that find ready customers in distant regional or global markets.
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USAID Agriculture programs
benefit farmers
increase their crop yields |
Farmers and other rural producers in developing countries must
continually increase the efficiency, or productivity, of their
farms or animal operations. By increasing the number of tons
of foodgrains produced on each acre of farmland, for example,
farmers can assure that food supplies are
increased enough to meet the needs of a growing population
without running out of available land or irrigation water.
By increasing the value of their production through their choice
of crops (tomatoes, for example, command a higher price than
corn), or by lowering the cost of production (by using high-yielding
varieties of seeds and fertilizer), rural producers are better
able to sell their output on local, regional or world markets
on a competitive basis. They also earn incomes which will make
it possible for them to continue to invest in their farming
or livestock operations and improve the efficiency of their
production still further.
Increased agricultural productivity is
an important goal for USAID in nearly all the countries
in which we work. More than a billion people today live
on less than a dollar a day, and about 70 percent of these
people live in rural areas and spend all or part of their
time farming or raising livestock. Some also fish or extract
wood and other products from the forests. But even though
food production is their business, they often do not produce
enough even for their own families and many of them go
to bed hungry every night. The challenge of making the
agricultural sector much more productive is a critical
one.
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Agricultural research
leads to
more healthy foods |
Government policies must support the ability of farmers and
other rural producers to improve their production. Policies
with regard to land ownership, trade,
access to water or
other shared natural resources, and transport are important
for agricultural production and marketing. Governments must
also support research to search for new agricultural
technologies (including improved seeds) and, often, outreach
and extension services that give information about the new
technologies to producers who need them.
Agribusiness, however, is largely responsible for shaping
agricultural markets, processing products into different
forms for different consumers, and assuring a timely flow
of agricultural inputs and financing to support producers.
Agricultural cooperatives are often a useful form of farmer-owned
business that enables small farmers to realize some of the
benefits generally associated with larger-scale businesses.
USAID works with all participants in agricultural development
to support efforts to increase productivity …from
farmers and their organizations (including cooperatives)
to scientists working to develop new, more productive varieties;
from agribusinesses seeking to develop new, profitable
markets to governments providing the sound legal framework
within which businesses can operate; from the schools and
universities that train future farmers and businesspeople
to the research labs where scientists develop new technologies;
and from local communities working to manage their available
natural resources for sustainable production to regional
organizations seeking to lower barriers to trade between
countries.
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