Farming
Agricultural policies in Africa harming the poorest


Growing for export: May ‘exacerbate poverty’
AGRICULTURAL policies aimed at alleviating poverty in Africa could be making things worse, according to new research findings.
University of East Anglia (UEA) researchers this week published a report on so-called ‘green revolution’ policies in Rwanda. Governments, international donors and organisations such as the International Monetary Fund claim these strategies are successfully growing the economy and alleviating poverty, but researchers revealed that they may in fact be having very negative impacts on the poorest people in the country.
One of the major strategies to reduce poverty in sub-Saharan Africa is through policies aiming to increase and ‘modernise’ agricultural production. Up to 90 per cent of people in some African countries are smallholder farmers reliant on agriculture, for whom agricultural innovation, such as using new seed varieties and cultivation techniques, holds potential benefit but also great risk.
In the 1960s and 70s policies supporting new seeds for marketable crops, sold at guaranteed prices, helped many farmers and transformed economies in Asian countries. These became known as “green revolutions”. The new wave of green revolution policies in sub- Saharan Africa is supported by multinational companies and western donors, and is impacting the lives of tens, even hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers, according to Dr Neil Dawson, who led the UEA study.
The UEA research reveals that only a relatively wealthy minority have been able to keep to enforced modernisation because the poorest farmers cannot afford the risk of taking out credit for the approved inputs, such as seeds and fertilisers. Their fears of harvesting nothing from new crops and the potential for the government to seize and reallocate their land means many choose to sell up instead.
PRIVATE AID MAY NOT BE HELPING
The report follows another by social justice organisation Global Justice Now, which suggested the world’s largest private donors, who wield huge amounts of influence and financial power have “Dangerously and unaccountably [distorted] the direction of international development” in a way that could entrench corporate power and poverty. This has been done by, amongst other things, championing highly industrialised agriculture, which is undermining smaller-scale, biologically diverse systems.
Dr Dawson’s findings tie in with recent debates about strategies to feed the world in the face of growing populations, for example the influence of wealthy donors such as the Gates Foundation, initiative’s such as the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, and multinational companies such as Monsanto in pushing for their vision of agriculture in Africa.
There have also been debates about small versus large farms being best to combat hunger in Africa, while struggles to maintain local control over land and food production, for example among the Oromo people in Ethiopia, have been highlighted. In a recent policy document advocating on behalf of small-scale farmers, FAO warned that “The over-arching paradigm of economic growth, considered the highway to secure development, has left the social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development behind.”
Dr Dawson, a senior research associate in UEA’s School of International Development, commented, “Similar results are emerging from other experiments in Africa. Agricultural development certainly has the potential to help people, but instead these policies appear to be exacerbating landlessness and inequality for poorer rural inhabitants.
“Many of these policies have been hailed as transformative development successes, yet that success is often claimed on the basis of weak evidence through inadequate impact assessments. And conditions facing African countries today are very different from those past successes in Asia some 40 years ago.”
‘MODERNISATION’ NOT THE WHOLE ANSWER
Outlining one of the main criticisms with this vision of agriculture and its place in development policies, Dr Dawson added: “Such policies may increase aggregate production of exportable crops, yet for many of the poorest smallholders they strip them of their main productive resource, land. [My research] details how these imposed changes disrupt subsistence practices, exacerbate poverty, impair local systems of trade and knowledge, and threaten land ownership. It is startling that the impacts of policies with such far-reaching impacts for such poor people are, in general, so inadequately assessed.”
The research looked in-depth at Rwanda’s agricultural policies and the changes impacting the wellbeing of rural inhabitants in eight villages in the Country’s mountainous west. Here chronic poverty is common and people depend on the food they are able to grow on their small plots.
Farmers traditionally cultivated up to 60 different types of crops, planting and harvesting in overlapping cycles to prevent shortages and hunger. However, due to high population density in Rwanda’s hills, agricultural policies have been imposed which force farmers to modernise with new seed varieties and chemical fertilisers, to specialise in single crops and part with “archaic” agricultural practices.
Dr Dawson and his UEA coauthors Dr Adrian Martin and Prof Thomas Sikor recommend that not only should green revolution policies be subject to much broader and more rigorous impact assessments, but that mitigation for poverty-exacerbating impacts should be specifically incorporated into such policies. In Rwanda, in their view, that would mean encouraging land access for the poorest and supporting traditional practices during a gradual and voluntary shift.
Farming
Pembrokeshire Farmer Mansel Raymond Elected Chair of CARAS Cymru

PEMBROKESHIRE farmer Mansel Raymond MBE FRAgS has been elected as the new Chair of CARAS Cymru, the prestigious Council for Awards of Royal Agricultural Societies, following his unanimous election by the CARAS Cymru Council in January.
He will serve a two-year term, succeeding Janet Phillips FRAgS, who stepped down after a distinguished tenure as Chair.
CARAS is a highly regarded awarding body that recognises individual who have made exceptional contributions to agricultural and rural progress across the UK. With national panels representing each of the four UK nations, CARAS Cymru plays a key role in celebrating and honouring the achievements of individuals in Welsh agriculture.
Mansel Raymond, a well-respected figure in the agricultural community, leads a family partnership in Pembrokeshire alongside his brother, their wives, and sons.
Over the years, he has held numerous high-level positions across the agricultural industry, including President of Copa Cogeca Milk Board, past Director of First Milk, European Milk Chairman, and Chairman of the NFU’s Milk Board. He has also served as Pembrokeshire County Chairman for NFU Cymru and as past President of the Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society.
In response to his election, Mansel said, “It is a huge honour to take on the role of Chair of CARAS Cymru. I’m deeply proud to be involved with an organisation that recognises the remarkable individuals who shape our agricultural industry.”
He added, “I also want to extend my gratitude to Janet Phillips for her exemplary leadership during her tenure as Chair. Her contributions have been invaluable, and I hope to build upon the strong foundation she leaves behind.”
Mansel will be joined by Malcolm Thomas MBE FRAgS, who has been elected as the new Vice Chairman of CARAS Cymru. Malcolm, from Llangynog in Carmarthenshire, brings a wealth of experience, having had a long and distinguished career in agriculture. He is a former Director of NFU Cymru and has served as a trustee of various charities and organisations throughout his career.
Both Mansel and Malcolm are committed to furthering CARAS Cymru’s ambition to recognise and honour outstanding achievements within agriculture, rural life, and the wider rural economy

Farming
Cold milk feeding maintains growth rates and offers flexibility for surplus lamb rearing

A RCENT survey of over 100 sheep producers has highlighted that 58% of respondents will consider feeding milk replacer cold to surplus lambs this season and view the method as a viable alternative to feeding warm milk during the busy lambing period.
In a separate question, over half of respondents said that feeding milk replacer cold to lambs has no difference to lamb growth rates and can be advantageous for feeding lambs at different growth stages. The data comes from the annual Lamlac Lamb Intentions Survey carried out at the end of 2024.
Dr Jessica Cooke from Lamlac says ewe milk replacer fed cold is a proven technique and provides surplus lambs with the consistent rearing support they require.
She says: “Rearing surplus lambs with milk replacer fed cold offers sheep producers a time-effective feeding method in their systems. After following recommended rearing practices during the first week of life, the ability to feed cold can also be useful in situations when rearing lambs of different ages requires milk to be fed at a constant temperature.”
This response from sheep farmers is supported by trial work from Reaseheath College where comparisons between cold and warm milk feeding were evaluated on surplus lambs. Dr Cooke highlights how the cold milk fed lambs performed in the trial.
“Lambs fed cold milk replacer from just over a week of age showed no negative impact on their performance. In fact, lambs fed cold milk replacer performed marginally better through to weaning – achieving a daily live weight gain of 0.27kg/day, compared with the 0.25kg/day delivered by the warm milk fed group of lambs.
“This data highlights that feeding milk replacer cold isn’t a poor alternative to warm milk feeding and can add flexibility to lambing systems. With over half of producers stating it has no difference to growth rates, flockmasters should consider it as a viable feeding option, especially if warming milk isn’t possible or time limitations prevent it,” says Dr Cooke.
General rearing advice for producers administering milk cold to surplus lambs shouldn’t be any different to feeding warm milk replacer.
“A single lamb reared away from the ewe to weaning (at an average of 35 days of age) will require a minimum of 9.5kg of Lamlac (equating to 47.5 litres of reconstituted ewe milk replacer). It is worth remembering that lambs should have access to fresh water, straw, and a good quality creep feed to encourage rumen development. Producers feeding cold milk replacer should always mix cold and feed, rather than mixing warm and allowing to cool, as this could encourage lambs to gorge,” concludes Dr Cooke.
Farming
Mutual interest in protecting farm water supply leads to mentoring partnership

THE RIPPLE EFFET of positive change is being experienced on farms and other
agri-businesses across Wales thanks to the Farming Connect Mentoring programme.
Farmers like Dai Evershed, who benefitted from the guidance and expertise of a friend and colleague when he returned to the family farming business in Ceredigion in 2022, are “paying it forward’’ as a mentor.
For his mentees, including Powys sheep farmer Aled Haynes, the mentoring relationship has armed them with the knowledge and confidence to move forward with new aspects of their own businesses.
It was Dai’s experience of utilising smart sensor technology at Wallog, the 194-hectare holding near Clarach which he farms with his father, Jack, that brought the two men together.
Dai uses LoRaWAN technology to monitor water supply and use across the farm, and to detect and stop leaks at the earliest opportunity, thus safeguarding the limited spring water supply for his farm.
With support from Farming Connect as an ‘Our Farms’ project, water levels at different reservoirs are being monitored alongside flow rates of water and that information is being used to inform decisions on when pumping is necessary.
Aled was keen to apply this technology to help protect his own water supply at Trefnant Isaf, Welshpool, and applied to Farming Connect to be mentored by Dai.
He had attended a Farming Connect open day at Wallog in 2024 where he had learned about Dai’s project.
The two men had an initial meeting at Trefnant Isaf and have since followed that with a second site visit as well as video and telephone calls.
“Aled’s farm is similar to mine,’’ says Dai. “When I visited, we had a walk around and discussed what needed doing.’’
But Dai stressed that a mentor is not a consultant, the role is one intended to help mentees come up with solutions themselves, although be it through a “mutual development of ideas’’.
“It’s about encouraging the mentee to concentrate on what their goals are and what can be achieved,’’ Dai explains.
“Aled took my personal experience into account though and looked at what was doable in his situation.’’
Aled has since invested in two sensors, one which monitors water levels in the receiving tank and the other the flow rate.
This data will enable him to know how much excess water becomes available in the winter and therefore the extra capacity in the system for supply in the drier months.
The next step is to work out how much is consumed by his livestock and how to get that water to different parts of the farm.
Dai also works at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University and his own knowledge of LoRaWAN technology was developed with support from his colleague, Jason Brook.
“Jason was very knowledgeable in usage of LoRaWAN after implementing it in the controlled environmental growing facilities at the university,’’ he says.
“He helped me in the early stages and with any issues latterly.’’
It is that experience which, in part, encouraged Dai to engage with the Farming Connect Mentoring programme.
“I had help when I needed it and am grateful to be that person who can now pay it forward with what I have learned.’’
He was sure that the knowledge he had gained could be useful to other farmers.
“It is a niche area that could be valuable for farmers who want to do something similar and need help.
“Most farmers are unlikely to have been exposed to LoRaWAN and sensors and it is doubly challenging perhaps in that it can also be a complicated subject matter.’’
His innovative approach to water efficiency saw him named as runner-up in the Farming Connect Farm Innovator Award at the recent Lantra Cymru Awards 2024.
It is not only mentees who gain from mentoring, reckons Dai, who is now a mentor to three farmers.
“I have learned so much from the farmers I have mentored, it is very much a two-way thing, an exchange of ideas.
“It is a brilliant way for me to see different farming systems and, as someone who is relatively new to farming, that has been very beneficial.’’
So, what makes a good mentor? In Dai’s opinion, it is having an unlimited capacity to listen and to be open to the ideas of others, to help the mentee to develop their own ideas.
“We are there to help the people we mentor grow and to find the motivation to move forward with their ideas,’’ he says.
There are also occasions when a mentor can draw on their own experiences to help those they are working with to solve problems.
“Aled called me when a sensor wasn’t working and it sounded like a similar situation to one I had previously experienced, when a slug had found its way inside the sensor,’’ Dai explains.
“I suggested that he checked for slugs and in fact that was the problem and he was able to resolve it. Sometimes problems have simpler solutions than you can dare imagine!’’
For Aled, the opportunity to discuss some of his ideas with Dai has been very beneficial for him personally and his business.
“Every situation is different so having someone come to the farm, to have a look at the set-up and to bounce ideas off, is really worthwhile,’’ he says.
With a big range of potential mentors with different areas of expertise listed in the Farming Connect Mentoring directory, Aled encourages others to take up the opportunity and capitalise on that wealth of knowledge.
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