The vast majority (85%) of farmers in developing countries are small-scale farmers, and most poor are living in rural areas. Increasing agricultural production and strong economic growth in agriculture - with attention centred on small-scale farmers - are required to achieve reduction of hunger and poverty. At the same time, a more sustainable land use is urgently requested.

Candidates for higher food production and sustainable land utilisation in developing countries - with focus on small-scale farmers - are the following agricultural production systems(together with their technologies and management practices):

• Conservation Agriculture
• System of Rice Intensification
• Organic Farming
• Agroforestry systems
• Rainwater Harvesting

These production systems have the potential for a "low-input intensification", meeting especially the needs and possibilities of small-scale farmers. They can be described as complex agricultural systems of intensification through higher agro-ecological and biological productivity. They do not require necessarily higher external inputs (as mineral fertilizer and pesticides). Instead, they focus on the optimisation of input utilisation. Improved management of soil and water are central elements. An additional common point is: They are working with principles to be adapted to local conditions. Therefore, research, development, testing and diffusion have to be conducted in cooperation with the local farmers.

Global principles of production systems will be connected with concrete applications, and biophysical and production related questions will be linked with social and actor related aspects, in a problem-oriented research approach.

Aims of the project are:

• Evaluation and structuring of the topic "pro-poor low-input intensification" in developing countries,
• Development of a preliminary "map" of the potentials of agricultural production systems for small-scale farmers in developing countries,
• Organisation of a workshop with external experts.

December 8, 2010, Karlsruhe

In the context of the project, the workshop had addressed two issues:

• The potentials of low-input intensification for small-scale farmers and approaches for their evaluation;
• Approaches for problem-oriented research to connect global principles of production systems with concrete local applications, and the implications for research agendas.

Materials about the workshop

Rolf Meyer (ITAS, KIT):
Setting the frame: Challenges for small-scale farming in developing countries
(German)
Presentation 1 / PDF

Katharina Butz (IfGG, KIT):
Geophysical potentials for low-input intensification in the agriculture of developing countries
(German) Entwicklungsregionen
Presentation 2 / PDF

Shilpi Saxena:
Organic farming and marketing channels in Tanzania: Challenges and chances for development
(English)
Presentation 3 / PDF

Raphael Knoll, Dieter Burger (IfGG, KIT):
Influence of soil micro-fauna on soil fertility: Case study from Central-Amazonia, Brazil
(German)
Presentation 4 / PDF

Nizar Omrani (IRA, Tunesien):
Improvement of irrigation efficiency in date palm oasis: Case study Kebili, South Tunisia
(German)
Presentation 5 / PDF

Carsten Marohn (Uni Hohenheim):
Agroforestry systems: From agricultural production system approach to local implementations
(German)
Presentation 6 / PDF

Stephan Krall (GTZ):
The development assistance perspective: What kind of research support is needed?
(German)
Presentation 7 / PDF

Marc Dusseldorp (TAB):
Research contributions to solving the world food problem: Results from the TAB project
(German)
Presentation 8 / PDF

Dieter Burger / Rolf Meyer (IfGG, KIT / ITAS, KIT):
Perspectives for low-input intensification in smallholder agriculture: How to proceed?
(German)
Presentation 9 / PDF

Workshop proceedings (in English) will be published in spring 2011 as a "KIT Scientific Report".