Researchers at the University of Queensland have worked on research projects in the PNG Highlands since 2005. These projects were, and are, applied research to manage soil fertility in sweetpotato-based cropping systems in the Highlands. They were funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. Our key collaborator was PNG’s National Agricultural Research Institute. Although the projects were in the field of Soil Science, specifically soil fertility management, our approach has always been multidisciplinary.
The Water Resources Department, Government of Maharashtra, responsible for building infrastructure and delivering water to farmers and other users, has so far created irrigation potential of about 5.3. million hectares and the current utilization is about 76%. About 5000 Water User Associations (WUAs) have been established to manage the water supply within their designated areas. However, the water use efficiency and productivity is adversely impacting the overall water security of the state.
India is witnessing dwindling gains from agriculture for the smallholder farmers because of high cost of inputs, changing climate impacting production, fluctuating market prices of outputs, and weak delivery of services at the last mile. The value share of farmers in the commodity supply chain needs to be increased to ensure that farming remains a remunerative livelihood option. There has to be a wider acceptance of the fact that the country needs partnerships among multiple players with complementary knowledge and expertise for its agricultural development.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) financed the second Cordillera Highland Agricultural Resource Management Project (CHARMP2), in areas where poverty is most severe among indigenous peoples in the highlands of the Cordillera Region in northern Philippines. The aim is to reduce poverty and improve the livelihoods of indigenous peoples living in farming communities in the mountainous project area. The indigenous peoples consist of many tribes whose main economic activity is agriculture.
Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) and short organic supply chains have emerged as promising solutions for smallholder farmers to provide organic produce to nearby consumers. PGS is an institutional innovation that builds trust among producers, traders and consumers through a low-cost transparent and participatory certification mechanism. They have particularly gained a foothold among smallholder farmers in middle- income countries, where third-party certification costs are often unaffordable.
Colombia produces more sugar per month on one hectare of land than any other country. This privilege is due to the productivity of sugar cane grown in the Cauca River valley, where 14 processing plants operate nearly year-round to produce sugar, honey, bioethanol, and electrical energy. The cane is supplied by 2750 growers, owners of 75 percent of the 240 000 hecatres planted, and by the sugar mills themselves (25 percent of the area). The sugar cane chain provides more than 286 000 direct and indirect jobs.
Mexico is considered the geographic center of origin of the Agave genus. The "maquey pulquero" (Agave mapisaga and A. salmiana) is produced and used in central mexico to make a traditional fermented beverage known as pulque, which has been made and consumed since pre-Hispanic times and is still a form of subsistence for rural families.
México es considerado el centro geográfico de origen del género Agrave. El maguey pulquero (Agave mapisaga y A. salmiana) se produce y se utiliza en el centro de México para realizar una bebida fermentada tradicional, conocida como pulque, que se elabora y consume desde la época prehispánica, y que aún es una forma de subsistencia para familias rurales.
Colombia produce más azúcar por mes en una hectárea de tierra que cualquier otro país. El privilegio se debe a la productividad de la caña de azúcar cultivada en el valle del río Cauca, donde 14 plantas procesadoras operan casi todo el año para producir azúcares, mieles, bioetanol y energía eléctrica. La caña es suministrada por 2750 proveedores, propietarios del 75 por ciento de las 240 000 hectáreas sembradas, y por los mismos ingenios o centrales azucareras (25 por ciento del área).
Actores locales y productores agropecuarios en Latinoamérica tienen acceso limitado a la información agroclimática y, cuando logran acceder a ella, tienen dificultades para traducirla en conocimiento procesable y accionable. Si bien los servicios climáticos son reconocidos por contribuir a cerrar la brecha entre la generación de información climática y su uso por parte de las partes interesadas, su provisión y uso en Latinoamérica aún representa un desafío crítico.