InfoDev means business. ICRISAT means dryland farmers

HYDERABAD - From rags to riches is a pipe dream for many a village in Asia and Africa. Business knowledge becoming practice remains a dream for most of the poor in many dryland communities in many countries. From the World Bank comes the knowledge that only with farming treated as business can the small farmers help themselves, and from ICRISAT the information that farmers can be made self-sufficient only if public-private partnerships help them access the knowledge as well as the tools.

There is more of the good news. On 26-28 October, the Community of Practice, CoP for Agribusiness is being launched in a kick-off meeting, hosted by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, ICRISAT. The meeting is designed to share knowledge and expertise in order to shape the global agribusiness CoP work program. That the global launching is sponsored by ICRISAT is a signal honor and acknowledgement of the leadership of this institute in incubating businesses with and for dryland farmers in Asia and Africa, where ICRISAT has regional offices and outreach projects.

I understand that the CoP for Agribusiness is a program of the World Bank´s infoDev, a global sharing of information on technology for development with necessary financial support from world donors (check out infodev.org). Related specific CoP programs are for the Youth, Women and High Growth. The infoDev is the global program & secretariat; the actual networking for CoP is through the infoDev Incubator Support Center, iDISC (check out idisc.net).

The CoP for Agribusiness is meant to help innovators incubate their businesses in agriculture. This incubator initiative of infoDev was set up in 2002 with the support of the Government of Japan "to provide financial support, technical assistance and partnership networks for technology incubators and business incubators in developing countries" (infodev.org). This is a push for entrepreneurship in the disadvantaged nations of the world.

The CoP program puts "special emphasis on enabling access to and productive use of technologies that are available locally, in the region, and internationally" (idisc.net). This is entrepreneurship in action. The CoP promotes the use of information and communication technologies "to increase information, knowhow and markets, and enhance transaction efficiencies." Knowledge must be used to create products; the products must reach the markets; all exchanges must be value-adding to all.

The global CoP has 80 members from 20 countries (infodev.org). Membership "involves a readiness to share knowledge, active participation in the work program that the CoP undertakes, and a willingness to share good practices and data on agricultural companies incubated" (idisc.net as cited). That is to say, sets of information on good agricultural and business practices become accessible to all; and business data can be studied by everyone interested. This is entrepreneurship brought to a higher level.

In his inaugural address, Director General of ICRISAT William Dar says, "This event aims to bring together practitioners who enable agribusiness entrepreneurship in developing countries and to share their lessons and ideas with the purpose of shaping infoDev´s Agribusiness CoP work program for 2010–2012." At this point in time, the plan for 2010 must be to initiate the CoP program for the next 2 years.

It may be asked: Why is the World Bank interested in agribusiness? It is interested in helping increase the gross domestic product, GDP of countries, especially the disadvantaged, to help the poor. "The World Bank estimates that GDP growth originating in agriculture," Dar says, "is about four times more effective in reducing poverty than GDP growth originating outside the sector." Thus, agriculture is not only the Mother of Industry; it is also the Mother of Entrepreneurship.

Dar cites the example of China´s modern rags-to-riches story. "Let us not forget that China´s rapid growth in agriculture was initially responsible for the rapid decline in rural poverty, from 53% in 1981 to 8% in 2001." Where before the Chinese numbered 53 out of 100, in 2001 the poor numbered only 8 out of 100. Frank H sees that China´s modern experience shows that agriculture is a door to development. The World Bank´s infoDev initiative asserts that business in agriculture is a key to that door.

The CoP for Agribusiness wants to focus on food coming from farms. Dar says that by (1) increasing yields, (2) connecting smallholders to markets, and thereby (3) generating Jobs also outside of the farm, "the agro-food system is a strong engine for direct and indirect growth and poverty reduction in developing countries." The economic efficiency will increase while the number of poor will decrease.

Not only to raise yields, and link farmers to markets, the CoP for Agribusiness can help "reduce crop risks and vulnerabilities," Dar says, "and enhance environmental sustainability." While the farmers take care of their crops, they also have to take care that they do not reduce the capacity of the environment to sustain itself, to keep the life cycle of death and renewal in flux. The CoP for Agribusiness reminds us that Mother Nature cannot be abused with impunity.

In fact, ICRISAT´s own Agri-Business Incubator, ABI already is helping create competitive agribusiness enterprises benefiting farmers in the drylands. An ICRISAT program in this regard has set up 10 agri-incubators, Dar says. Under the global CoP for Agribusiness, "ICRISAT and infoDev will be cooperating in setting up model centers for Africa and seek respective governments´ funding for the same."

This is all very opportune for ICRISAT. "I would like to mention here," Dar says, "that ICRISAT´s new strategy to 2020 is strongly anchored on harnessing markets to reduce poverty and hunger. We call this strategy IMOD, for ´inclusive market-oriented development.´" IMOD fits within the context of the CoP for Agribusiness.

Dar is saying that directly linking the farmers to the markets reduces poverty because the farmers become the middlemen and reap the benefits of the transaction themselves, not some go-betweens. Also, this farm-to-market link stimulates the creation of more agribusinesses because of increased demands for a greater diversity of higher-value foodstuff and agri-industrial products. Without the middlemen, food is cheaper, and the consumer wants more not only of the same but of other kinds.

Be that as it may, for more agribusinesses to develop, "there are several challenges as well as opportunities," Dar says. It has to do with knowledge sharing of successful cases. "We need to share successful models that have ... graduated to successful agribusinesses." There is a need "to provide visibility through various media" for these successes. Frank H says that, among other things, there is an urgent need for the media to be educated about these successful agribusinesses working with the environment and not against it.

Among other things, we are interested, Dar says, about academia-to-industry linkages. The educational institutions should be a fertile breeding ground for innovative ideas for agribusiness. These higher schools must not only encourage innovation but must provide initiatives in entrepreneurship in agriculture. Then, Dar says, "we will together be fulfilling the mission of eliminating poverty (by) improving livelihoods."

So, when do we begin? Dar says, "Now is the time to do it!" Innovation for entrepreneurship for farmers is now.