Smallholder viability and food security in South Asia: constraints and policy options

Achieving the global policy objective of doubling farm productivity and incomes of smallholder farms squarely depends on the viability and sustenance of the farm sector in general and smallholder farms in particular. In South Asia, smallholder farms account for more than 70% of the total farms and cultivate about 50% of the cropped area. This paper assesses the trends in the status, potential, and future of smallholder farms across five countries of South Asia, namely India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan. It is argued that neglecting agriculture and smallholder farms amounts to putting the future self-sufficiency and food security objectives of South Asian nations in jeopardy and has global ramifications. This is more so in the fast-changing global geo-political scenario. Given the precarious nature of food security and the importance of agriculture in terms of its contribution to food self-sufficiency and employment, policies need to be farmer-centric, especially smallholder-centric. Experience among the countries (like low productivity, high price risk, climate vulnerability, etc.) indicates that economic viability and profit margins are the crux of the problem. Addressing these problems is a policy priority across the developing world. In all the countries, smallholders suffer from low access to all four capitals, especially natural capital.