Urbanization threats to smallholder farmer financial security in Kerala, India

URBANIZATION THREATS TO SMALLHOLDER FARMER FINANCIAL SECURITY IN KERALA, INDIA

Photo Credit: Yeeli Mui

Smallholder farmers make up approximately 85 percent of the 570 million farmers worldwide. Carrying out operations on two hectares or less, smallholder farmers operate on about 12 percent of the world’s agricultural land, but produce approximately 80 percent of the world’s food.
A key component of smallholder farmer success and overall food security is access to food supply chains, defined here as the “farm to fork” sequence of activities, beginning with production and ending with consumption.
Despite the promise of globalization, however, many smallholder farmers in the Global South increasingly face challenges related to financial security and sustainability of their farm operations.

Planning for Regenerative Equitable Food Systems in Urbanizing Global Environments (Plan-REFUGE)
2/12/21
Plan-REFUGE aspires to understand and mitigate food inequities experienced by small-holder farmers in the Global South. Using a transdisciplinary approach we investigate how small-holder farmers in the Global South adapt their daily living practices in the face of a number of challenges including globalization and climate change. Lessons from on-the-ground experiences are used to inform purposeful community development and planning strategies. The project ensures a Global South to Global South learning exchange as well as capacity building of policy makers both locally and globally through publications and trainings. Plan-REFUGE is a collaborative effort that aims to have multiple study countries including India.
Centering Smallholder Farmers’ Experiences to Advance Food Equity in the Global South
10/23/19
Agriculture provides the livelihoods for approximately one-third of the world’s labor force. However, urbanization, globalization, and extreme weather events are placing their livelihoods at risk. By 2050, for example, wheat yields are expected to fall by 13% and rice by 15% due to temperature rise.