The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that over 795 million people in the world are affected by severe hunger and poverty. The majority of these people live off the land, many as smallholder farmers.
Their farms often have unproductive soils and are dependent on increasingly erratic rainfall patterns. When crops do grow, they are affected by diseases, pests, and drought. Too often, farmers lack access to critical agricultural inputs like fertilizers that can enhance crop yields. Furthermore, widespread illiteracy limits their ability to access the right information at the right time – including modern best practices and innovations in agricultural science.
However, data shows that with the right knowledge and resources, smallholder farmers can move out of poverty and become dynamic players in agriculture. They have the potential to not only feed the world, but become the game changers of 21st century agriculture.