Farm Management Challenges in the Developing World

The key farm management challenge confronting smallholder farmers in developing countries is to assure sustainable intensification of agricultural production while pursuing efficient and effective use of natural resources. Failure to do so will lead to continued degradation of natural resources, which will undermine production capacity and perpetuate poverty and hunger, compromising the welfare of future generations. There are several challenges to sustainable intensification that cut across the farming community in the developing world. These include poverty and inadequate human resource development; constraints in timely availability, access, and use of agricultural inputs; lack of access to ecologically and economically appropriate technology; declining investments in agricultural research for developing-country farmers; inadequate agricultural extension systems; severe limitations in rural credit and savings facilities; insecure property rights; inefficient agricultural markets; and inappropriate policy environments. There is an urgent needfor policy changes to assist farmers in coping with the myriad challenges they face.