Smallholder agriculture can potentially affect food security and nutrition through the following pathways: 

1. Making food available through production; 
2. Reducing the real cost of food by increasing the supply of food. The composition of production also matters, since this affects the availability and prices of different foods with their varying nutrients; 
3. Generating incomes for farmers and those working the land as labourers, that allow access to food; and through 
4. Providing incomes to others in the rural economy from linkages in production and consumption that create additional activity and jobs.