Guest Blog Post by Darin Grimm, Board Member, AgChat Foundation and Kansas Farmer

I had the recent privilege of attending the Global Farmer-to-Farmer Roundtable, an event that coincided with the 2010 World Food Prize Symposium. It was organized by Truth About Trade & Technology (TATT) and sponsored, in part, by the Council for Biotechnology Information.

I have the space to focus on just a few of the farmers I met the Roundtable.  Here are the farmer stories that most stood out to me as an American farmer:

Rajesh Kumar and V. Ravichandran, India

I was surprised by how similar their issues were to mine, despite living in a far away country, with a very different culture, economic base, and agriculture system.  The importance these two individuals placed on communicating their livelihoods as farmers to an increasingly urban public surprised me.

Giorgio Fidenato, Italy

Most of the challenges Giorgio faced were shared by the other European farmers in attendance. But Giorgio’s story had a unique twist.  He is facing an upcoming trial for planting a GM seed on his farm that is not approved under Italian law.  He described the dialogues that were now happening in Italy about these important issues because of his case.

To be perfectly honest, I doubt I would be willing to go to that level of civil disobedience, but I have to respect and admire his commitment.  I think it reflects the desperation many European farmers feel as they are asked to compete in a world market, without access to many of the tools much of the world has accepted.

Mike Jandreau, South Dakota

One of the accounts that stood out was Mike Jandreau. He is a Native American living in South Dakota, probably only a few hours from me.  The Native American story is a sad and even ugly mark on the history of a country I love.  We can’t correct the past, but the abundant resources that still belong to the tribes in many areas give me hope that Native Americans can be active, contributing partners in helping us meet global agricultural needs.

Sarah Munalula, Zambia
Finally, the farmer story that touched me the most was Sarah, from Zambia.  Sarah acknowledged that she was unique among the farmers there.  She is a “poor” farmer. To be honest, if you’re reading this blog post, I doubt you really understand the poverty Sarah lives in. I sure don’t.  She farms one hectare, and she does it all by hand, which is hard back-breaking labor.  There’s no fertilizer for her plants, everything is hand-weeded.  To those that idolize that style of agriculture as “progress” I wish you could have visited with Sarah.

And yet, Sarah’s goals aren’t that much different than my own. I may farm using completely different methods, but at the end of the day, I hope to feed my family and pass along to my kids the education and values that I received. What Sarah wants is no different.

There seem to be massive debates at the global level about “how” we should farm and how we are going to meet the needs of a growing global population.  I think there’s been a very important voice missing from those debates.  The voice of those doing the actual work, the farmer. This is a big part of why I became involved in the AgChat Foundation, and after sitting through the Global Farmer Roundtable, it’s apparent to me that better communication and recognition for farmers is a global need as well.

To read more from Darin, visit his blog: http://daringrimm.wordpress.com/

To learn more about the Roundtable, check out TATT’s website: http://www.truthabouttrade.org/

As farmers consider the future of agriculture around the globe, we were interested to hear their thoughts on how their governments can enact policy to support farmers and the agriculture industry.

What is the most important policy change your government could enact to support agriculture in your country?

Tariq  Zaman  Khan (Pakistan):  As Pakistan is an agriculture-based country and a major part of the economy of Pakistan depends on agriculture,  government support is not adequate regarding provision of fertilizers and pesticides as a majority are imported and are expensive.  And then there is the energy crisis.  A subsidy should be given for electricity, as a majority of the agricultural land is irrigated with help of tube wells.  Apart from that, education regarding crop management practices like plant population, weed control , adequate plant protection measures and using right genetics at the right time can be helpful.

Olga Alcaraz Andrade (Mexico): Access to crop insurance and price hedging in the contract farming scheme, before planting (not when it suits the industry). Also, [it would be helpful] to analyze the actual costs of production, and subsidize production in the areas that are needed.

Next week, farmers from around the world will gather in Des Moines for the Global Farmer-to-Farmer Roundtable, held in conjunction with the Word Food Prize Symposium, hosted by Truth About Trade & Technology (TATT), and sponsored in part by CBI. The farmers will discuss the future of agriculture and how innovations in farming can promote food security around the globe. In preparation for this exciting event, we asked the farmers to share their thoughts on agriculture. Meet a few farmers below and hear their thoughts on food security.

This year, the theme of the World Food Prize Symposium is “take it to the farmer.”  How would you describe the role of farmers in feeding the world?

Jose Luis Romeo Martin (Spain): I think Norman Borlaug gave us the correct answer: If you can feed the world you must give the technology and the seeds to the farmers. In many countries in Africa hunger could be solved giving the farmers good seeds and good fertilizers and teaching them the best way to use them. And giving the seeds to the farmers doesn’t solve only hunger. It solves poverty also. In Asia I think the problem is different. There are a lot of people in Asia and they are using all the land they can. And I think the only way to increase the yield is using the new biotech crops.

Giorgio Fidenato (Italy): The role of farmers is analogous to that of other entrepreneurs. Food production is an entrepreneurial activity like any other and must respond to the law of supply and demand. Like all activities it continuously evolves toward the goal of greater efficiency. If the farming sector were left alone and there were a truly free market, innovation in agriculture would be continuous and could certainly solve world hunger.

Camilla Illich (Brazil): Data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) show that by the year 2050, the world will have around 10 billion people, in other words, from the current situation there would be 4 billion-plus people to feed. Compounding the problem of feeding the world, emerging countries like Brazil have been reducing the number of farmers who have the responsibility to feed urban populations. Given this reality, the focus of the farmers in agriculture is to promote high productivity, or yield average (plant and animal), with help of technology and biotechnology. Farmers are one of the most important players in feeding the world.