This brochure presents the Programme on Bridging the Rural Digital Divide, that begun in 2003 under the implementation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The programme highlighted innovative approaches to knowledge exchange that were taking advantage of new (at that time) digital technologies, and that were based on synergies between information management and communication for development. At the time this was referred to as "information and communication for development"(ICD).
There are divergent views on what capacity development might mean in relation to agricultural biotechnology. The core of this debate is whether this should involve the development of human capital and research infrastructure, or whether it should encompass a wider range of activities which also include developing the capacity to use knowledge productively. This paper uses the innovation systems concept to shed light on this discussion, arguing that it is innovation capacity rather than science and technology capacity that has to be developed.
Cette brochure présente un programme stratégique intitulé «Combler le fossé numérique en milieu rural», mis en œuvre en 2003 pour l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture (FAO). Le programme exposait des approches novatrices pour le partage des connaissances qui tiraient partie des nouvelles technologies numériques (de l’époque) et qui s’appuyaient sur des synergies entre la gestion de l’information et la communication pour le développement. A l'époque cela était appelé «information et communication pour le développement" (ICD).
Depuis plusieurs décennies, les pays de l’Afrique de l’Ouest se sont investis dans le développement et la diffusion des innovations agricoles dans le but d’accroître la productivité agricole et la production vivrière en particulier. Plusieurs mécanismes et approches ont été développés à cet effet en vue d’une utilisation efficace de ces innovations agricoles par les producteurs.
Le développement de l'agriculture organique au Brésil prend des formes multiples. Au travers de leur expérience de l'AO, dans une communauté proche de trois métropoles, de petits maraîchers d'Ibiúna (São Paulo) créent des entités collectives et expérimentent de nouvelles pratiques sociales.
This report summarizes and consolidates the findings of three Bank studies on poverty issues in Mexico, written as part of the second phase of this work: Urban Poverty, Rural Poverty, and Social Protection. It also expands on how Mexico will seek to use social protection policy as a vehicle for redistribution. Discussed in Chapter 1, the state has a clear role in providing risk-pooling mechanisms where private insurance markets fail (e.g., old age and health insurance), but the role of social protection policy in promoting redistribution is more an issue of national choice.
The present report is based on the authors' visits to Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua, during June-August 2004 in order to develop an initial understanding of innovation processes and identifying stakeholders working with national innovation processes. It also review the experiences of the invited Latin American participants in the 7th Global Conference of Competitiveness Institute (entitled "Building Innovative Clusters for Competitive Advantage") in September 2004 and finally presents suggestion for further activities.
Early applications of the innovation systems framework to developing-country agriculture suggest opportunities for more intensive and extensive analysis. There is ample scope for empirical studies to make greater use of the theoretical content available in the literature, and to employ more diverse methodologies, both qualitative and quantitative. Further, there is room to improve the relevance of empirical studies to the analysis of public policies that support science, technology, and innovation, as well as to policies that promote poverty reduction and economic growth.
L’objectif de ce travail est de proposer un plan de formation des différents catégories d'acteurs (à identifier) dans le but d'apporter une contribution significative au renforcement de capacité dans chaque pays et dans la sous-région. Des actions précises visant à permettre aux acteurs de lever les éventuels blocages institutionnels devront accompagner ce processus de renforcement des capacités, notamment en ce qui concerne la négociation, le lobbying, la mise en réseau etc.
Les résultats attendus de ce travail sont :
The purpose of this paper is to map some elements that can contribute to an IFAD strategy to stimulate and support pro-poor innovations. It is an initial or exploratory document that hopefully will add to an ongoing and necessary debate, and is not intended as a final position paper. The document is organized as follows.