3rd World Farmer

"Farming looks mighty easy when you're a thousand miles from the cornfield" President Eisenhower (1890 - 1969). Most people in less economically developed countries (L.E.D.C's) are farmers and most of these are SUBSISTENCE FARMERS. Subsistence farming means producing crops and rearing animals for the use of the farmer. Very little surplus produce is grown. Technology is minimal. It is hard, physical labour. Subsistence farmers are at risk from shock factors such as drought, violence, flooding and disease, to name but a few. If nothing is produced, there is nothing to feed the family, and nothing to replant for the future. You can see how the CYCLE OF POVERTY is a trap that many subsistence farmers fall into and cannot escape.

In ECONOMICS the cycle of poverty is the "set of factors or events by which poverty, once started, is likely to continue unless there is outside intervention." It is a situation where poor families become trapped in poverty for at least three generations. These families have either limited or no resources. This can mean that the poor remain poor throughout their lives. The poverty cycle is linked to something called a DEVELOPMENT TRAP when so many people living in a place are trapped in poverty and cannot get out, that the whole country is suffering.

We have discussed the importance of BASIC NEEDS (food, water, shelter) in allowing development to happen. A hungry person is not thinking about LONG-TERM goals such as educating their children or vaccinating them against disease. Building schools and improving communication systems is a dream when your stomach is rumbling. Life becomes a day-to-day battle, and SHORT-TERM reactions are a reality - how to get food, how to pay for it...Development has stopped and survival has taken over.

Consider this image - swirling in the cycle of poverty...  

On your blog, reflect on what you have read and seen in this post so far. What have you learned? How do you feel?

One way to get out of the cycle of poverty is through more efficient farming. It is not about being a 'lucky' farmer. It is about having the skills, education and resources to apply longer-term ideas and plans. Part of our goal this year in Global Issues was to raise money and invest through KIVA.org to help a farmer do just this. First we need to understand the situation. Obviously we can't take a field trip to a farm and live there for a year to experience it first-hand! However, we can get a glimpse of the complications involved in subsistence farming through playing the simulation game, "Third World Farmer" by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post.

First, look at the HUNGER MAP published by the F.A.O - notice the patterns and anomalies. How does this relate to the 'North-South Divide' map that we looked at previously? Secondly, read the article, G8 AGRICULTURE MINISTERS ADMIT FAILURE ON HUNGER What reasons are given for 1 billion people living with chronic hunger? What is happening with the UN MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL #1 to "end poverty and hunger" by 2015?

On your blog, respond to the maps and articles. 

What have you learned?

How do you feel?

Ok - you are almost ready to play the game!

The goal is: to better understand the link between FARMING, FOOD and DEVELOPMENT. 

You will be playing and noting all of the things that HELP improve your farm productivity and all of the things that HINDER your farming success. You will be thinking about the SHORT-TERM strategies that you have to apply in order to survive, and any LONG-TERM strategies that you can apply in order to develop.

Play the game: THIRD WORLD FARMER Make sure that you take notes in your book (a T chart is fine) on 'Things that helped my family's development' and 'Things that were barriers to my family's development'. Do this as you play - I know the game absorbs you, but take a moment every few minutes to write down your strategies / obstacles. (You will forget the details later).

Your final blog response will be:

What are the challenges faced by farmers in L.E.D.C's?

What are the barriers to development that they face?

In what ways are farming and poverty linked to development?
Which SLR does this link to and why?
What did I learn from the resources posted on the blog?
How will this affect me in the future?