Access to capital is often cited as one of the challenges facing farmers. And that is certainly true… Agriculture can be a capital intensive business. But most solutions to the problem involve finding new forms of financing to give farmers more leverage. Which sounds great, but is really just another word for more debt. And as the last few years have amply demonstrated, debt increases risk, and that is one thing that most farmers have an abundance of already.
I call this a question for the day, because I have no answer. In the context of a sustainable food system, is this a contender for the question of the century?