Chapter 5


2. Production and Supply Based Approaches

2.1 Increasing food production and supplies

Policies to increase food production and domestic supplies comprise, in principle, the whole
set of measures falling under the category of agricultural sector development. They comprise
measures in the following fields:

* agricultural research, training and extension,

* agricultural input supply,

* mechanisation,

* irrigation,

* rural infrastructure and institutions,

* land reform,

* agricultural marketing and pricing policies,

* agricultural credits.

These measures are not elaborated here in detail. Rather, reference is made to the abundant
literature on the subject. Here, we concentrate on the role of production and supply oriented
policies in efforts to improve food security, as referred to, for example, in Commitment
number three of the World Food Summit, to "Pursue participatory and sustainable food,
agriculture, fisheries, forestry and rural development policies and practices in high and low
potential areas, which are essential to adequate and reliable food supplies at the household,
national, regional and global levels, and combat pests, drought and desertification,
considering the multifunctional character of agriculture" (see Chapter 6, section 5).

The chief strategic concept to induce increased food production is the removal of constraints
which prevent a better (increased, more intense, more efficient) use of existing human and
natural production potentials. Such factors are listed in Table 5.1, together with policy
approaches which can reduce these constraints.

The specific natural, political, social, and economic conditions in a country or region
determine which of the approaches are needed and appropriate and how they specifically
should be designed.

Some policy measures appear more than once in the table, indicating that the same policy
measure may help to alleviate a number of different constraints.


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