Participation of actors is essential for achievement of the United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With respect to sustainable agriculture the UN has introduced a collaborative framework for food systems transformation encompassing: 1) food system champions identification; 2) food systems assessment; 3) multi-stakeholder dialogue and action facilitation; and, 4) strengthen institutional capacity for food systems governance. The last two actions are the focus of this thesis.
Food security is predicted toface considerable challenges in the upcoming period. This couldbe more profound in developing countries due to rapid societal change and ecological pressure in theseregions. Concerted efforts to deal with these challenges areof great importance, including accelerating th euse of improved agricultural input technology (IAIT) such as high yield varieties of seeds and improved fertilizer formulas. This type of innovation is more suitable to being introduced amongst developing countries farmers in order to increase their productivity.
This thesis is situated in this field of inquiry and studies entrepreneurship in agriculture. It explores how we can further develop both agriculture and sustainable rural areas. Farmers have traditionally played a significant role in rural areas and rural development, and still do. However in pace with societal development and the reduced number of farms and farm production, their role has changed. Today, they are considered as raw material producers, being the first link in a food chain, and active in landscape conservation in the countryside.
La presente Tesis doctoral se planteó con cuatro objetivos específicos. El primero era "conocer el estado actual en el que se encuentra el sector agroalimentario incidiendo en aquellos aspectos que pueden influir en mayor medida en el desarrollo de su ecosistema emprendedor"; para su cumplimiento se han confirmado los principales problemas y enfoques para abordarlos con personal experto de los diferentes eslabones de la cadena agroalimentaria (método Delphi), y elaborado unas matrices DAFO y CAME.
Rising demand for agricultural commodities coupled with population growth, climate change, declining soil fertility, environmental degradation and rural poverty in the developing world call for strategies to sustainably intensify agricultural production. Sustainable intensification refers to increasing production from the same area of land while reducing its negative environmental consequences.
Smallholder farmers across the Global South increasingly need to adapt their farming activities to fast-paced changes, for example, in climate, policy and markets. In many places, public and private agricultural extension services support technological change through trainings and the dissemination of information. The effectiveness of extant ex-tension (advisory) methodologies is, however, challenged by the difficulty of reaching a large and growing clientele with highly diverse information needs.
Innovation processes in rural contexts occur in systems that are diverse, coupled with complex challenges. Dealing with complex systems requires an understanding of the social dynamics of actor networks and innovation.This study attempted to provide insights on thecompositional dynamics of actor networks,and how they influenceinteractive learning and innovation among agro-processing enterprises in South Africa. The guiding research questions to help address the study objectives are:What are the structural characteristics of actor networks for innovation in rural contexts?
El presente trabajo pretende ser una herramienta útil para APPAG, que les permita tener un diagnóstico empresarial y socio organizativo de la asociación, mismo que servirá para la identificación de las limitaciones y las fortalezas de la empresa. Estos avances permiten tener un insumo para la realización participativa de un plan estratégico, en el que se definen las acciones que se deben priorizar en un tiempo determinado. Tal plan es complementado con un plan de acción para definir actividades y dar cumplimiento a los objetivos de la asociación.
El trabajo se realizó en el cantón Puntarenas en los distritos de Paquera, Lepanto y Cóbano, pertenecientes a la provincia de Puntarenas, ubicado al sur de la Península de Nicoya, con el objetivo de diseñar un modelo de negocios para madera de bosques secundarios, mediante la selección de las especies forestales con mayor potencial de mercado y la caracterización de la cadena productiva de maderas nativas en las áreas seleccionadas.
Este trabajo se trata de la caracterización de tipo la cadena apícola del municipio de Aldama, Chiapas, tomando en cuenta sus dimensiones económicas, sociales y ecológicas; la visualización de estrategias para el fortalecimiento; además, se describe el tipo de la gobernanza de la cadena, el poder y control de los actores que interviene en el sector y los efectos del cambio climático sobre la apicultura.