Republic of the Philippines

SORSOGON STATE UNIVERSITY

School of Graduate Studies
Sorsogon City

Subject : PA 518 – Rural and Urban Development

Semester : Summer 2019
Professor : Dr. Emma S. Pereña
Discussant : Rodel E. Esquierra
Topic : Dimensions of Rural and Urban Development
(Agriculture and Food Security)

Agriculture is the science, art and business of producing crops and livestock for economic
purposes. It encompasses all aspects of crop production including horticulture, livestock rearing, fisheries,
forestry, etc.
Agricultural sector plays a strategic role in the process of economic development of a country. It
plays a crucial role in sustainable development and in hunger and poverty eradication especially in the
developing and least-developed countries (LDCs). The agricultural sector is at the heart of the economies
of the least-developed countries. It accounts for a large share of Gross Domestic Product, employs a large
proportion of the labor force, represents a major source of foreign exchange, supplies the bulk of basic
food and provides subsistence and other income especially to the rural poor population.

Functions of Agriculture for Development

1. Reducing Poverty
 Agriculture provides employment opportunities for rural people on a large scale in
underdeveloped and developing countries. It is an important source of livelihood.
 The development of agriculture helps the creation of infrastructure projects such as roads, market
yards, storage, transportation railways, postal services and many others creating demand for
industrial products and the development of commercial sector.
 As a result of agricultural progress, there will be extension of market for industrial products.
Increase in agricultural productivity leads to increase in the income of rural population.

2. Triggering for Economic Growth

 Provides raw materials such as fiber, fuel and wood to non-agricultural sectors of the economy.
Agriculture also offers investable surplus in the form of savings and taxes to be invested in non-
agricultural sector.
 Earning valuable foreign exchange through the export of agricultural products.
 During depression, industrial production can be stopped or reduced but agricultural production
continues as it produces basic necessities of life. Thus it continues to create effective demand
even during adverse conditions of the economy.

3. Narrowing Income Disparities

 The rising agricultural surplus caused by increasing agricultural production and productivity tends
to improve social welfare, particularly in rural areas. The living standard of rural masses rises and
they start consuming nutritious food.
 In a country which is predominantly agricultural and overpopulated, there is greater inequality of
income between the rural and urban areas of the country. To reduce this inequality of income, it
is necessary to accord higher priority to agriculture. The prosperity of agriculture would raise the
income of the majority of the rural population and thus the disparity in income may be reduced
to a certain extent.

4. Providing Food Security

 Agriculture is the basic source of food supply of all the countries of the world—whether
underdeveloped, developing or even developed.
 Subsistence farming plays an important role in reducing the vulnerability of rural and urban food-
insecure households.
  Agriculture and the entire food system from inputs and production, through processing, storage,
transport and retailing, to consumption can contribute much more to the eradication of
malnutrition.

5. Steward of the Environment

 Farmers are stewards of the land because of the close connection that they have with the land.
Their livelihood and way of living depends on their ability to use the land. Therefore it is in the
farmers’ best interest to help protect the land because they rely on it.
 Promotion of sustainable agriculture practices to reduce negative impact on the environment and
ensure resilience to climate change.

What is Sustainable Agriculture?

 Sustainable agriculture is the production of plant and animal products, including food, in
a way which uses farming techniques that protect the environment, public health,
communities, and the welfare of animals.
 Sustainable agriculture allows us to produce and enjoy healthy foods without
compromising the ability of future generations to do the same. The key to sustainable
agriculture is finding the right balance between the need for food production and the
preservation of environmental ecosystems.
 Sustainable agriculture also promotes economic stability for farms and helps rural
farmers to better their quality of life.

What is Food Security?

 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food security as access at all times by all
people within a household to enough food for an active, healthy life.
 Availability at all times of adequate, nourishing, diverse, balanced and moderate world food
supplies of basic food stuffs to sustain a steady expansion of food consumption and to offset
fluctuations in production and prices. – (1974 World Food Conference)
 It exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and
nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. -
(1996 World Food Summit)

Four Pillars of Food Security

1. Food availability: The availability of sufficient quantities of food of appropriate qualities,

supplied through domestic production or imports (including food aid).

2. Accessibility: Access by individuals to adequate resources (entitlements) to acquire

appropriate foods for a nutritious diet. Entitlements are defined as the set of all those
commodity bundles over which a person can establish command given the legal, political,
economic and social arrangements of the community.

3. Meeting nutritional requirements: Utilization of food through adequate diet, clean water,
sanitation, and health care, to reach a state of nutritional well-being for which all physiological
needs are met. This brings out the importance of non-food inputs in food security. It is not
enough that someone is getting what appears to be an adequate quantity of food if that
person is unable to make use of the food because he or she is often falling sick.

4. Stability: To be food secure a population, household, or individual must have access to

adequate food at all times. They should not be at risk of losing access to food as a
consequence of a shock (e.g. an economic or climatic crisis), or cyclically (e.g. during a
particular period of the year – seasonal food insecurity). The concept of stability can therefore
refer to both the availability and access dimensions of food security.
Pillars of Food Security and its Determinants

Availability Accessibility Utilization Stability

· Domestic · Food safety and quality · Weather variability,
production · Income, purchasing power, seasonality
own production · Clean water
· Import capacity · Price fluctuations
· Transport and market · Health and sanitation
· Food stocks infrastructure · Political factors
· Care, feeding and health
· Food aid · Food distribution seeking practices · Economic factors

GOAL 2: ZERO HUNGER (Sustainable Development Goals, 2015 United Nations General Assembly)

“End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable
agriculture”.

Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2015 United Nations General Assembly seeks
sustainable solutions to end hunger in all its forms by 2030 and to achieve food security. The aim is to
ensure that everyone everywhere has enough good-quality food to lead a healthy life. Achieving this Goal
will require better access to food and the widespread promotion of sustainable agriculture. This entails
improving the productivity and incomes of small-scale farmers by promoting equal access to land,
technology and markets, sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices. It also
requires increased investments through international cooperation to bolster the productive capacity of
agriculture in developing countries.

Ways to Improve Food Security

 Set up campaigns to promote optimum diets and reduce food waste.

 Improve rural agriculture and support urban farming.
 Encourage the youth and women to engage and transform agriculture.
 Government should establish systems toward food affordability.