It is unfortunate that albeit the world’s population relies on agriculture for its own subsistence, the said industry has come to be associated with extreme poverty. Indeed, some of the world’s poorest economies have great reliance in agriculture with a vast majority of the populace engaging in the activity on a full-time basis (Garnett et al., 2013). Further, one of the few economies in the world to have undergone an absolute collapse in recent history is that of Colombia. It is worthy of notice that this economic collapse came about when it decided to focus primarily on agriculture. This begs the question on whether agriculture itself is a lost cause and if the World Bank, can be able to use the same to extenuate on global poverty. However, some sections of the world have carried out agriculture with a great level of success and even used it as a means to thrive their respective economies. By mirroring the strategies adopted by these nations, the World Bank can be able to invest in a manner that not only alleviates poverty in agricultural economies but also gets the said bank a good return on its investment.
Investment in Research
The great scientist Albert Einstein is quoted as having defined insanity as doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Unfortunately, this is the trend among most farmers in the developing world. For decades, these farmers do the same things season after season, always hoping that one day they will have a break and break their cycle of poverty (Garnett et al., 2013). Yet farming is generally a scientific process that conforms to the aforesaid statement made by Einstein. Some of the largest agricultural producers such as India find themselves being net agricultural food importers instead of exporters. Yet within the same locality, a country such as Bangladesh has been able to properly develop a healthy agricultural economy (Uddin et al., 2014). Among the major differences between the success and failure is research. Different localities have different soils and climatic conditions. Further, different localities are affected by different forms of pests and diseases. All these are bearing factors in agriculture. Proper research will enable the realization of which farm produce, be it plant or animal based would do best in which locality (Uddin et al., 2014). Better still, research can establish which combination of plants and animals based produce would be best for the particular locality. This will enable players in the agricultural industry to work smart, instead of hard and get better returns on their investment. Finally, the research will also establish ways and means of production to add value to farm produce.
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Investment in Financing
The premier agricultural exporters are the USA, the Netherlands, Germany, and France (Garnett et al, 2013). In these countries, farming is associated with great wealth with farming being a respectable career. Among the major reasons why farming has been a great success in these areas is the ability to invest good money into the agricultural process. These nations are able to afford good seed, proper means of avoiding pests and diseases and also have proper farming tools and equipment (Garnett et al., 2013). All these are, however, unavailable to farmers in the developing world. As aforesaid, proper research will enable poor farmers to realize what kind of farming they ought to undertake. They will, however, require resources to undertake the same. These include proper seeds, proper farming implements, the right fertilizers and other necessities. Giving handouts generally encourage laziness and by extension poverty. Superintended financing programs will provide farmers with the right resources and also ensure that they are used in the right manner. This will exponentially increase productivity and transform farming from a mere means of subsistence to an income earning investment for the poor farmers.
Investing in Reclaiming Land That was Erstwhile, not Farmable
Within the last half-century , the world has experienced a tripling of its population, more so in the developing countries. Indeed, some communities and localities have seen over five times as many farmers today as there were by the end of the Second World War. Yet, the size of arable land in these localities has remained the same (Shiva, 2016). This has resulted in such great subdivision of land that some people only have enough land to reside on. Further, farming in a tiny piece of land is not economically viable. This is where the World Bank can take a great lesson from Israel, another success story in the arena of farming. Indeed, Israel has earned a reputation for transforming the desert land into arable land, inter alia through irrigation (Futran, 2015). Most of the poorest countries in the world have vast tracts of land which for one reason or the other are not arable and are going to waste. Transforming these into arable land will eliminate the problem of willing farmers lacking farming avenues and also the problem of too small farming portions that do not allow for productivity (Futran, 2015). The newly founded lands can also act as collateral for financing to some of the farmers so that the World Bank can be free to help the needier cases.
Investing in Population Control
There is reportedly a native African saying to the effect that many hands only differ at mealtime. Population control is a thorny issue but a reality that needs to be canvassed more so in the developing world (Shiva, 2016). A family that has only an acre of land and seven children is a recipe for disaster, no matter wwhow well they farm. Within a generation, this family has a potential of having over fifty members of different ages hence completely overrun their resources. Even when the World Bank invests in reclaiming land that is currently not in use, unless there is comprehensive and effective population, the problem will still recur (Shiva, 2016). The best way to achieve population control is through sensitization. This entails both educating the populace on the need for birth control and also offering incentives such as grants against a commitment not to surpass a certain number of offspring.
Investing in Farm Produce Production and Marketing
The general idea propagated in the entirety of this essay is the transformation of agriculture from a subsistence activity into a commercial venture, more so in the developing world. As indicated in the research segment, the World Bank also need to invest in value-added production. America has thrived in adding value to even seemingly mundane products. In the early 20 th century, George Washington Carver encouraged peanut production and his farmer got too much produce and no market. He was, however, able to invent many novel peanut products including milk and butter that added great value to the products and also expanded the market opportunities for the same (Brown, 2017). Some products that are grown in developing countries such as cassava, yams, millet, and sorghum can through proper production be developed into more marketable products thus adding value to them. Further, most farming relies on weather patterns leading to seasons of low and high yield. This also creates the need for proper storage to extenuate the production differences. Proper marketing will also ensure that these products reach the right market and also fetches the best prices.
Summary
Proper research will enable the World Bank to realize smart ways of making farming more productive in both quality and quantity. Financing will enable the farmers to utilize the ideas that have come out of the research regimens. This will make smarter farming a reality. The reclaiming of land that is currently unusable will provide more room for the said smart farming. However, the land is not infinite, hence population control will be necessary to avoid propagating the problem of land overuse. Value-addition through production processes as well as storage will ensure that the eventual product does not go to waste. Finally, marketing will enable the product to be sold at the best possible prices. Through these steps, the World Bank can use agriculture for poverty alleviation in the developing world.
References
Brown, S. (2017). George Washington Carver, agricultural scientist, inventor, political consultant. Retrieved from http://www.digitalafro.com/george-washington-carver-agricultural-scientist-inventor-political-consultant/
Futran, V. (2015). Tackling water scarcity: Israel’s wastewater recycling as a model for the world’s arid lands. GWF Discussion Paper 1311, global water forum, Canberra. Retrieved from http://www.globalwaterforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Tackling-water-scarcity-Israel%E2%80%99s-wastewater-recycling-as-a-model-for-the-world%E2%80%99s-arid-lands__-GWF-1311.pdf
Garnett, T., Appleby, M. C., Balmford, A., Bateman, I. J., Benton, T. G., Bloomer, P., ... & Herrero, M. (2013). Sustainable intensification in agriculture: premises and policies. Science , 341 (6141), 33-34
Shiva, V. (2016). The violence of the green revolution: Third world agriculture, ecology, and politics . University Press of Kentucky.
Uddin, M. N., Bokelmann, W., & Entsminger, J. S. (2014). Factors affecting farmers’ adaptation strategies to environmental degradation and climate change effects: A farm level study in Bangladesh. Climate , 2 (4), 223-241
