Scott and Hannah's plan for improving unity and communication amongst farmers

1. Scott
Hannah
HOW CAN WE COMBAT THE WEAK
AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES AND THE PROBLEMS IT CAUSES?

2. FOR EXAMPLE, IN MANY AFRICAN COUNTRIES THERE IS
LITTLE SUPPORT FROM NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS FOR
SMALL FARMERS. THERE IS NO MONEY.

3. MORE SPECIFICALLY, IN COUNTRIES INCLUDING
ETHIOPIA, GOVERNMENTS ARE ACTUALLY SELLING MASSIVE SWATHES
OF LAND TO MULTNATIONAL CORPORATIONS, AT THE DETRIMENT OF

4. In the Gambela province of Ethiopia, the local
government has sold off massive swathes of land (some
individual ‘farms’ as big as Wales) to massive companies
based in countries as far away as India and Argentina.
The land was given away without any thought to the
locals, whose ancestors have lived there for hundreds and
in some cases even thousands of years.
The land was burnt as a quick method of deforestation,
and is being intensively farmed using old and cheap
machinery.
This quick mechanisation has not provided employment
for the misplaced locals, and where it has it pays them at
less than $1 a day, well below the World Bank’s idea of
‘severely poor’.

5. This kind of ‘development’ by African governments is not
sustainable and is not the solution to national poverty.
Furthermore, the rapid mechanisation and use of old
machinery is not the right way for the third world to
develop. If they do, they will end up with the same
problems as we have now.
The governments of more developed countries must
invest in sustainable development for these countries, in
order to reap the benefits of a stronger African economy
and more food security for the world’s burgeoning
population.
Any solution must be fair to the local/indigenous
population and benefit the environment as much as
people.

6. Our solution to this problem is not a massive government
initiative which will nationalise the farms or gift them to
multinational corporations, but a modern and sustainable
image to improve the environment and the lives of the people
that live there.
It is essentially a union of local farms, and a framework in
which they can communicate and share knowledge, co-
educate and improve the sustainability and efficiency of their
land.
The idea is to give them access to the internet through a
specially designed product, which will work in the remote,
rural areas in which they live and will be understandable to
the farmers, who will not be accustomed to modern
technology.
The product shown on the right will connect to the internet
via satellite, and charge using a solar-powered battery pack.
It will connect the farmers to each other, allowing them to
negotiate and share ideas, teaching each other efficient
techniques such as crop rotation. However, it will also provide
a connection to the wider world, allowing farmers to barter
and trade their produce with traders from around the world.

7. The products will be given to the farmers free of charge, and the
farmers will be educated on how to use them. They will function
in the farmers’ native language and incorporate connections to
interpreters and translators, so as to encourage inter-regional
and international trade.
The basis of the idea is that it will provide a forum for famers to
communicate with each other and band together in the face of
threats, such as climatic problems or the threat of unfair
governments or global companies. It is essentially the idea of
strength in numbers
‘ ’.

8. But who will pay for such an expensive initiative?
Many African countries are in debt to the developed world.
These loans were taken out in the 1970s in the face of
extreme poverty and unstable governments in the wake of
decolonisation.
If Western countries agreed to wipe off these loans in return
for investment in the agricultural sector, everybody would
reap the rewards in the future.
If there were stronger economies in Africa which could
participate in the international market, there would be more
trade partners for countries such as the UK.
Furthermore, with all predictions pointing towards
world food shortages in the future, the world needs to
put the massive landmass of Africa to good and
efficient use.
There needs to be sustainable development.