Farming

Agricultural policies in Africa harming the poorest

Published

10 years ago

March 1, 2016

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

Plaid pressed to reveal urgent bovine TB plan before Royal Welsh Show

Published

11 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Tom Sinclair

ANDREW RT DAVIES has called on Wales’ new Plaid Cymru government to publish an urgent bovine TB plan before the Royal Welsh Show, warning that farmers need clarity after years of herd breakdowns, cattle losses and uncertainty.

The Conservative Shadow Farming Minister used First Minister’s Questions to challenge Rhun ap Iorwerth on whether his administration will change direction on one of the most divisive issues in Welsh agriculture.

Mr Davies asked the First Minister to explain what “science-led” policy means under Plaid Cymru, and whether a new plan will be brought forward before the Royal Welsh Show in July — the biggest event in the Welsh farming calendar.

Mr ap Iorwerth did not give a timetable, saying only that the Cabinet Minister would bring forward details “in due course”.

Mr Davies said: “For too long, the approach to bovine TB in Wales has been determined by ideology, not science.

“Welsh farmers need a proper plan, not warm words. They deserve to know before the Royal Welsh Show what this new government intends to do.”

Bovine TB remains one of the most serious pressures facing Welsh farming, with affected families dealing with repeat testing, herd restrictions, the slaughter of cattle, compensation disputes and the mental strain of prolonged outbreaks.

The issue is particularly sensitive in west Wales, where herds in high-risk areas have faced more frequent testing and long-running restrictions.

Farming unions have repeatedly called for a change in direction, arguing that the current approach has failed to give the industry confidence. NFU Cymru has said the next Welsh Government must make “drastic changes” to give young farmers hope for the future.

Any new policy is likely to reignite debate over cattle movement controls, testing, vaccination, biosecurity, compensation and the controversial question of badger control.

Animal welfare and conservation groups are expected to resist any return to culling, while many farmers argue that every part of the disease cycle must be addressed if Wales is to make real progress.

Business

Award-winning Herbrandston holiday site set to expand

Published

3 days ago

June 1, 2026

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PLANS to expand a Pembrokeshire holiday operation which was voted as the best of its type in the UK by the Caravan Club in its very first year of operation have been given the go-ahead.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Dean and Sharon Philpin sought permission to expand the existing holiday operation at Woody Kiln Farm, Herbrandston Village, Herbrandston by converting a former agricultural barn to four short-term holiday lets.

A supporting statement through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd said: “Woody Kiln Farm is located to the east of Herbrandston village, to the south easterly side of Havens Park residential estate. It is a registered agricultural holding, and the land is used mainly for the raising and grazing of sheep covering 12 / 13 acres.

“The farm complex comprises of a number of traditional outbuildings and the applicants main dwelling surrounding a surfaced courtyard. Immediately to the south is a caravan site registered with the Caravan & Motorhome Club as a Certificated Location for up to five touring caravans and motorhomes.

“This Certificated Location has been in operation for 10 years and was the first ever site to be voted the best site in UK on its first year of operating by its members. In recent years it was voted best site in Wales.”

The site has won many similar Certificated Location awards.

It went on to say: “The application proposal relates to a total of three barns that integrate into one building footprint. It is intended to reuse the barns and provide four short-term holiday let units that will be run in conjunction with our client’s current Caravan Club site, situated immediately to the east of the barns.”

It was described as: “A sympathetic design that incorporates no change to the footprint or roof design and little change to the fenestration is the main theme of the design strategy.”

An officer report recommending approval, subject to conditions including a unilateral undertaking to provide a contribution to affordable housing said: “Strategic Policy have advised that the scale and layout of the units could lend themselves to residential use and that an affordable housing contribution may be required.

“Whilst the proposed use is short-term holiday let given that the properties are capable of use as full residential properties, it is proposed that a full unfettered residential permission be granted, with no condition for holiday let-only, meaning that the property could be used for full residential use or second home use.”

Based on current affordable housing contributions, that amounted to £26,170, the report said.

The application was conditionally approved, conditions including the affordable housing element.

Farming

Rural crime cost Wales more than £2m last year, NFU Mutual report reveals

Published

3 days ago

June 1, 2026

Tom Sinclair

WALES saw the cost of rural crime fall by 21 per cent last year, but farmers are being warned not to become complacent after a rise in tractor and livestock thefts.

New figures from NFU Mutual show rural crime cost Wales an estimated £2.2m in 2025, down from £2.8m the previous year.

The fall mirrors the UK-wide picture, with the total cost of rural crime across the UK dropping from £44.1m in 2024 to £41.5m in 2025.

NFU Mutual said the reduction showed the impact of investment, police work and closer collaboration between farmers, insurers and rural crime teams. However, the insurer warned that organised criminals continue to target the countryside for high-value farm machinery, livestock and equipment.

In Wales, the cost of agricultural vehicle theft rose by six per cent, with criminals targeting tractors across the country. Livestock theft also increased by almost seven per cent compared with 2024.

NFU Mutual said the rise was particularly concerning in Wales, where livestock farming plays a central role in the rural economy and food production.

The company said rural crime remained a serious issue for farming communities, not only because of the financial loss but because of the emotional impact on farmers and their families.

Nick Turner, Chief Executive of NFU Mutual, said: “For more than 20 years, NFU Mutual has called for a stronger response to rural crime, and we know the financial and emotional toll it takes on farmers.

“As a mutual, our support goes beyond paying claims: last year we invested over £500,000 in rural crime initiatives, including ongoing funding for the National Rural Crime Unit and the UK’s first dedicated livestock theft officer.

“We also collaborate with the unit to identify at-risk areas and support recovery efforts.

“In addition, we worked with local police forces to install 13 ANPR cameras across rural hotspots in England and Wales to track suspicious vehicles and disrupt criminal activity.”

Hannah Binns, Rural Affairs Specialist at NFU Mutual, said rural crime was becoming increasingly organised.

She said: “Rural crime is more organised than ever, with criminals prepared to go to extreme lengths, and 2025 proved no exception.

“Yet targeted investment in rural crime initiatives alongside industry collaboration with law enforcement is helping drive down crime, with our latest figures highlighting a 21 per cent fall year-on-year in Wales, to an estimated £2.2m.

“The impact of rural crime extends beyond financial loss, undermining trust and connection, often leaving a trauma that can remain with farmers, their families and wider communities for a lifetime.

“But we cannot afford to be complacent. With proposed policing reforms on the horizon, it is crucial rural crime teams receive fair resources and specialist support to empower local forces to respond quickly to countryside incidents caused by organised and serious criminals.”

Across the UK, the highest rural crime cost was recorded in the North East at £7.6m, followed by the South East at £6.8m, the Midlands at £6.4m and the South West at £6.2m.

Wales recorded the joint-lowest estimated cost alongside Northern Ireland, although Northern Ireland saw a 24 per cent increase.

A survey of 119 NFU Mutual agents found that 91 per cent believed rural crime was disrupting farming in their area, while 79 per cent knew farmers who had been targeted repeatedly.

Almost a third said they had seen farmers change practices or leave the industry altogether because of rural crime.

NFU Mutual said the figures were based on claims statistics rounded to the nearest £100,000.