Farmers around the world are promised that “modernization” will improve the quality of their life and the lives of their families. Many small farmers around the globe have a long history of farming, and in some cases use farming methods that have been around for many generations. Particularly in the global South, farming is often a subsistence livelihood. As such, these farmers are some of the most susceptible to the promise of a better life.

Data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on smaller farms also confirms that the poverty rate faced by smaller farm households is indeed high, ranging from 18 percent to 83 percent for the 19 included countries. With that level of poverty, it is understandable that these farmers are in many cases eager to take whatever steps they can to improve their experience of life, and to provide a better future for themselves and their families.

Consider the situation across the African continent. The pressure to modernize agriculture in Africa is quite pervasive and comes from many directions. The UN wants modernization of agriculture in Africa. The World Bank (1, 2, 3, 4) wants modernization of agriculture in Africa. China wants modernization of agriculture in Africa. The African Union wants modernization of agriculture in Africa. Academic scholars (1, 2, 3) want modernization of agriculture in Africa. These illustrative examples suggest the spectrum of global trading partners, international organizations, within-country leadership, international development agencies, global and regional lending institutions, national and international businesses in food and agriculture who would benefit, academia and think tanks suggesting that modernization of agriculture in Africa is the future. Pressures come even indirectly through embedded consumerism and broader pressures to modernize life and culture. (A full dive into this is beyond what I’ll share here, but what I’ve found so far is so deep and broad that perhaps I will dive in more later).

What is truly meant by “modernization” of agriculture? I’ll note five key principles that are often housed within this idea:

• Maximize productivity of agricultural land

• Increase use of inputs

• Reduce on-farm labor

• Increase exports (often thereby increasing reliance on trade)

• Intensify and deepen ties with global food and agribusiness systems

Smaller farmers are fully entitled to their desires for a better life, and that’s true however they choose to define a better life. And, there is absolutely the need to develop access to additional opportunities to make better lives possible.

Still, given all of the challenges that highly “modernized” agricultural systems face, it seems worth questioning whether expanding those systems into smaller farms in the Global South will truly enhance quality of life for small farmers and is truly the best path forward, or if there are alternatives available that could better serve individuals and societies.

--1/2/25

Note: An introduction to this series and links to other topics in the series can be found here.