International Fund for Agricultural Development

A cache of documentaries produced by this unpretentious UN group is available here. This is an amazing resource... they also have a knowledge base which has an unbelievable amount of information for rural poor farmers and the organizations trying to help them. And! They just signed a loan agreement to provide support to farmers in the northern highlands of Peru. Right on. I think I will be reading this site for the next month. Here is a recent interview of the president of the organization in the Financial Times where they discuss how rich countries are realizing in order to guarantee food security they are going to have to support agriculture in other, poorer countries... we live in interesting times.

Africa!

I have just read on US Food Policy the absolute most exciting news! The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development says that Africa is better off if they focus on organic agriculture. Many people have said it before (even within the UN), and many people will say it again, but each time we hear it I think it gets a little more real.

Organic agriculture is a "good option for food security in Africa", UNCTAD says, citing a 116% rise in productivity on 114 African farms that converted to organic or near-organic production.

Truly, truly thrilling, and I especially love this line in the recommendations for government section: Fund research on sustainable agriculture, building on indigenous knowledge in response and in partnership with farmers. EXACTLY what needs to happen in Peru as well (and what our friends at Cusichaca were doing last I heard).

Small farmin'

The number of farms in the US has increased 4% in the last five years according to the USDA's recently released farm survey (2002-2007), though most farmer's income is actually coming from other jobs (65% of farmers have other primary sources of income, vs. 55% in 2002). The small and mid-size farmers are still at a huge disadvantage because farm subsidy payments are made per acre, says FarmPolicy.com (via Amber Waves).

I did find it encouraging that in this NY Times article about the survey release Secretary of Ag Vilsack says he wants to work to create new market opportunities for small farmers! “There’s real opportunities to create a new rural economy."



And then there is this scary map from the survey that shows the decrease of land that is being used agriculturally... That's another issue altogether. In the previously mentioned NY Times article Amy Bacigalupo, program organizer for the Farm Beginnings program in Minnesota, tells Andrew Martin that the costs of land and health care are major obstacles for most would-be farmers.

Green Orange

Via the NY Times we read that Tropicana orange juice, of all things, is calculating its carbon footprint! I'm impressed... now they just have to figure out what it means and what to do with it. It sounds like the best thing they can do is look at the number and then try to make it better (after all, more efficient = higher profits). “If you don’t measure it, you can’t improve it," says Bryan Lembke, a PepsiCo manager on the project...

Food Secretary

Oh, if only he were called the Food Secretary maybe he would work out all right... The new Secretary of Agriculture is seen as a good guy by such organizations as the National Pork Producers Council, which means, I think, that we aren't going to see as much change in the food system as we might have if the Food Democracy people got one of their Sustainable Dozen up in the house... Apparently the foodie people are now looking at Tom Vilsack's choice for Under and Deputy Secretary. I have to say, too, it's really a bummer to see another white guy in office. I was hoping for a lady! Or at least someone different-looking.

Naturally Raised

The USDA is considering a new label for meat: Naturally Raised. Sounds nice, but all it means is that the meat was raised without hormones or antibiotics: not exactly the grassy green pastures kind of a thing, plus it overlaps with the 'organic' label. The Ethicurean has more about this. "USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service had previously proposed the development of "no antibiotics used" and "no supplemental hormones used" labels, both of which would provide clear and reliable signals to consumers."

I just filled in the USDA's comment form, which was very quick, and my comment is pasted below if you'd rather have something semi-personal than the talking points provided by The Ethicurean. The USDA is accepting comments from the public until March 3.

Comment: The definition of 'raised naturally' seems meaningless and appears to overlap with the definition of 'organic'. I'm not sure why you would want to confuse consumers. It seems to me that a 'raised hormone and antibiotic free' label would be more to the point.