The Debate

After decades of global under-investment in small-scale agriculture, the tide seems to be turning. The World Bank now says this is the best solution for combating rural poverty. But small farmers are unable to compete with big agribusiness and they’re being offered less money for their cash crops, so for many there is little option but to leave the land for already overcrowded cities.

What we eat and how we eat is changing, too. The new urban populations are demanding more dairy products and more meat. But more livestock means that grain is now being grown to feed animals rather than large numbers of people.

The international companies that grow, process and transport much of our food are accused by some of wielding too much market power.

But others ask how efficient traditional small scale farming has really been?

Are large-scale solutions the only way to guarantee a constant supply of affordable food for all?

And, if so, what happens on a local level to the world’s poorest – people for whom farming is not just a way of life, but survival?

The panellists debating the issues are: