Lhasa July 24, 2005

1. Agricultural Development in the
Highlands
Joachim von Braun
Director General
International Food Policy Research Institute
Lhasa
July 24, 2005

2. Overview
 Highlands in the international agenda
 Highland environments in the world and Asia
 Food security and nutrition
 Challenges to agricultural development
 Strategies for agricultural development

3. Highlands in the global agenda
 Chapter 13 on Agenda 21 at the UN Earth
Summit (1992) is devoted to mountains
 International Year of Mountains (2002)
 Mountain Forum
 Mountain Partnership
 CGIAR Global Mountain Program, CGIAR
African Highlands Initiative

4. Mountain environments in the
world
 12 % of world population lives in mountain
areas (720 million people)
 40 % of world population occupies the
watershed below mountain areas
Half of the world’s population depend
directly or indirectly on mountains

5. Distribution of mountain
population by region
Total mountain population: 720 millions
Developed
Countries
Asia and Pacific
8%
46%
Countries in
transition
4%
Sub-Saharan
Africa
12%
Near East and Latin America
and Caribbean
North Africa
14% 16%
Source: Huddleston et al. 2003

6. Rural/ Urban Population in
Mountain Regions
Urban
14%
Rural
Urban
Rural 53%
47%
86%
Urban
22%
Rural
Asia and 78% Latin America and
Pacific Caribbean
Sub Saharan Africa
Source: Huddleston et al. 2003

7. Mountain area in developing
countries by type of land
Barren land
Cropland 33%
7%
Protected area
10%
Closed forest
25%
Grazing land
25%
Source: Huddleston et al. 2003

8. Main farming systems in mountain
regions
Upland intensive 30%
mixed 8%
10%
Highland mixed
5%
Percentage of rural mountain
population
Upland extensive 8%
Percentage of mountain area
mixed 4%
8%
Pastoral
16%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Source: Huddleston et al. 2003

9. South and Central Asia highlands
 Pastoral systems predominate
 Meat and wool production are main sources
of income
 Excessive animal population and poor
grazing causes erosion and degradation of
open pastures.
 Deforestation poses major threats

10. East and Southeast Asia highlands
 Heavily populated and overwhelmingly rural
 Extremely small landholdings, low crop
production per person
 Farmers increasingly moving into marginal
sloping lands to survive.
 Highland regions can be productive, e.g. Slopes
of southern China
o moderate altitudes and gentle slopes
o rice and wheat as staples
o livestock for meat and income
o good links to markets

11. Food security and nutrition in
highlands
 Half of mountain population in developing
countries (250-370 million people) are
vulnerable to food insecurity (FAO 2002)
 High nutrient deficiency: iodine, iron, and
Vitamin A

12. Challenges to agricultural
development in highlands
 Inaccessibility: obstructs mobility, imposes
isolation and closeness
 Fragility: Poor soil quality, harsh climate,
erosion
 Marginality: product of fragility and
inaccessibility, and historical and political
processes
 Diversity: highlands are very heterogeneous in
climate, soil fertility, culture

13. Further challenges
 Remoteness to markets and services
o Lack of infrastructure
 Subsistence orientation of farmers
 Limited understanding of mountain
environments by policy makers

14. Environmental constraints in
mountain areas
Source: Huddleston et al. 2003

15. Most pressing challenge to
agricultural development
Increasing imbalance between population and
available productive land
Deforestation, water scarcity, reduced
biodiversity
Soil erosion and soil impoverishment
Increasing poverty and undernourishment

16. Pillars of agricultural development
in highlands
 Stimulate growth in agricultural productivity
 Raise income
 Conserve resources

17. Strategies for agricultural
development in highlands
 Increase public investment in less-favored
areas: high returns to investment
 Develop effective economic linkages with
national economies
 Reform property rights institutions
 Improve access to markets, link to public
investment in infrastructure

18. Strategies for agricultural
development in highlands (Cont’d)
 Design policies and technologies that
encourage diversification
 Develop technology suited for highlands
 Strengthen scientific capacity for developing
country mountain regions, such as
meteorology, hydrology, ecology and soil
sciences