HarvestChoice:

Better Choices, Better Lives

Agriculture provides much more than food. More than two billion poor people depend on the sector as a source of income and a way out of poverty.  Unfortunately, agriculture has not always delivered on these promises, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, due to insufficient and erratic investments during the past several decades.

While commitment by the development community to reverse this trend grows, new efforts are needed in order to ensure that future investments are effective and sustainable. Researchers and policymakers must do more than only consider how much to invest in agriculture; they must also identify those investments and strategies that offer the best potential for reducing poverty and hunger.

With this in mind, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Center for International Science and Technology Practice and Policy (InSTePP) at the University of Minnesota recently launched the research project, HarvestChoice. A three-year initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the project identifies promising technologies and strategies that can help raise the productivity of agricultural systems most beneficial to poor people. The findings are intended to guide future agricultural policy and investment choices in developing countries.

During the next three years, HarvestChoice researchers will create research tools and release new information focusing on ways to accelerate and enhance the performance of crops and agricultural systems that are most likely to bring significant benefits to the world’s poor. While the geographic focus of HarvestChoice is sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, research findings are likely to be relevant to other developing regions, such as Latin America.

The research team will examine the dependence of urban and rural poor populations on specific crops within a region in order to better assess local food demands. They will also map the location of poor people in relation to major crop production systems in each country so as to better gauge where specific technologies (developed nationally or in similar locales in other countries) might be of most relevance to these communities.   

Because agriculture provides both basic food needs and income for impoverished areas, HarvestChoice researchers will study the potential income-generating possibilities of producing certain crops in a given area. Additionally, researchers will examine the effects of drought, poor soil fertility, and pest and disease problems on crop quality and productivity.

An extensive set of analytical tools, including household surveys and geographical information systems-based data sets, will be utilized to carry out HarvestChoice research. These tools help pinpoint the most promising investments for augmenting agricultural productivity and delivering the benefits to poor farmers and consumers.

To help implement and disseminate its research, HarvestChoice has established an independent advisory panel, comprised of partners from around the world, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Discussions are underway with numerous groups, including the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the Gates and Rockefeller Foundations' joint initiative on the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and the African Union's agricultural development plan (CAADP) within the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

“Only by identifying agricultural strategies that provide benefits to poor people, can the real harvest of crop technology and development aid be truly reaped,” notes Stanley Wood, IFPRI senior scientist and co-principal investigator of HarvestChoice. “Ultimately, better investment choices yield better lives.” 

For more information about HarvestChoice, visit: www.HarvestChoice.org