Securing the Future of Asia’s Food
Why there is a need for social entrepreneurship to secure the future of Asia's food
Think of “Food” and “Asia” and what comes to mind is a rich and diverse mosaic of landscapes and sentiments: on the one hand, we can imagine golden fields of rice tended by tight-knit communities, abundant harvests at year-end festivals, and sprawling, animated markets; however, we also have unsavory images of grain rotting in the heat, poverty-stricken and hungry children, and food riots in urban centers.
Rice, wheat, vegetables, fruits, corns, and pulses, are important not only as nourishment for the people of Asia but, more importantly, as livelihood. Asia accounts for over 80% of the world’s agricultural workforce, amounting to almost one billion people concentrated in the food exporting countries of China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Given this dual importance of food in the Asian context, food security has become one of the topmost priorities for the region.
One man’s meat
The prospects of food for Asia are mixed. The region has seen a remarkable boost in agricultural output since the 1960s.
Between 1980 and 2000, production per hectare generally rose – in China by 60%. Increased income also meant that people could buy better quality food. In Asia, from 1996 to 2006, overall meat production rose by 40%.
Yet in spite of the rise in farm output and employment, and the rapid development in food production and storage technologies, Asia still has a large hungry population. The most reliable statistics indicate that 16% of the region’s total population of 542 million people, are suffering from malnutrition. More than half of the world’s underweight children live in Asia.
Ironically, Asia’s hungry are our agricultural workers who spend up to 70% of their total income on food. With food prices rising 51% first half of 2008 compared to 2007, and commodity markets increasingly volatile, next year could be ‘another dangerous year for food prices in poor countries’.
Is it possible the region to develop alternative, sustainable and equitable food systems? What opportunities and possibilities can social entrepreneurship bring to address this complex and critical situation?
Sowing organic, reaping well
One of the pioneers in sustainable agricultural production is a two-year old organic rice farm in one of the poorest provinces of Thailand. Co-founded by Mr. Bryan Hugill and Ms. Lalana Srikram, Raitong (“Golden Land”) Organics Farm has evolved from the Srikram-Kewandee family farm that has cultivated top-grade Hom Mali rice under rain-fed conditions since settling in the Sisaket province some 200 years ago.
Environmental sustainability and education are two of the main motivations for Bryan and Lalana to choose the organic path. In essence, this is a production method that uses natural, rather than chemical, methods to enrich the soil and is characterized by “polyculture”, the cultivation of different crops together in the field, as opposed to “monoculture” – concentrating on one or two crops.
Says Lalana, “Organic production improves the quality of the soil as it improves the soil structure over time. Polyculture and the use of appropriate microbes and bacteria encourages carbon-storage and the fixing of nutrients in the soil, ensuring a healthy and high quality rice crop.”
Cultivating 25 rai (approximately 10 acres) of Hom Mali rice, Raitong Organics is the first certified organic farm in the Sisaket province, with international accreditation from the Organic Agriculture Certification Thailand (ACT) and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM).
“In contrast to popular belief, small farms are more productive than large ones,” Bryan explains, “Farmers know their land much better and spend more time on their land, leading to better management.”
Indeed, Bryan and Lalana’s success with their small farm – producing some 11 tonnes of rice per year with saved seed – has inspired other farmers in the community. Despite being initially resistant in the first year, farmers were much more receptive to organic farming methods after comparing their crop with that grown organically, which looked much healthier at the end of the growing season. Healthy and delicious rice – potentially a niche product for the region, has also sparked the interest of local provincial authorities. The Land Development Authority is now offering agricultural extension to promote organic certification, offering such services as ploughing farmer’s land for free and providing beans for farmers to grow nitrogen-fixing legumes.
One of the missions of Raitong is to enhance the awareness of the benefits of organic agriculture to local farmers and, when requested, assist them in implementing the necessary change. Bryan and Lalana firmly believe that organic farming represents a powerful way to spread income through the community in a sustainable way because, as a growing niche market, an increased supply of organic crop will create greater market opportunities for the entire community.
Raitong Organics is currently supplying a restaurant in Bangkok directly, bypassing exploitative middlemen and market structures. “Selling directly to food services establishes a direct connection between farmers and consumers,” Bryan explains, “This raises consumer awareness of organic food production, facilitates direct and immediate feedback, builds consumer trust and enables both parties to enjoy a fair price.” What system could be better?
“We hope that organic food production will snowball in the years to come, as more farmers learn about the benefits of, and consumers create demand for, healthy organic food, thus creating a greater market.” Bryan asserts, “We just have to keep demonstrating.”
Organic farming represents one of ways the food system can be changed at its source. Through promoting and facilitating the development of sustainable production methods and the direct distribution of farmed food to urban populations, social enterprises such as Raitong Organics Farm shows that an ethical alternative is possible.
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