The purpose of this issues paper is to provide an overview of the issues, numbers, disputes, and approaches so that contributors to SOW11 can share a common framework and consider how the innovations they describe fit into the larger international discourse. The paper is structured as follows: • Section 2 describes diverse perspectives on food security that emphasize global supply chains to feed middle-class populations in cities; smallholder farmers who still supply much of the world; and smallholder farmers who are relatively disengaged in commercial markets.
This presentation at the GCARD Montpellier, in March 2010, focuses on the Danish model for agricultural advisory services.
Livelihoods, food security, and development processes in Sub-Saharan Africa are highly dependent on land management practices to generate natural ecosystem goods and services. Out of a total population of about 717 million people, almost 60 percent depend for their livelihood on agriculture, hunting, fishing, or forestry. However, unsustainable land management already is leading to large-scale land degradation trends, which pose a threat to food security and poverty alleviation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Climate change threatens to exacerbate and add to the existing vulnerabilities.
This case study describes the history and business model of the Rural and Community Bank (RCB) network in Ghana, analyzes its performance, identifies key issues, and makes recommendations on the way forward. The study analyzes the service delivery and financial performance of the RCBs. Before the establishment of RCBs in the late 1970s and the subsequent expansion of other service providers into rural areas, access to institutional credit for farm and nonfarm activities was scarce. The main sources of credit were moneylenders and traders that charged very high interest rates.
Although Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the worst nutrition indicators in the world, nutrition remains a low priority on the policy agendas of many African governments. This despite the fact that proven interventions are known and available and that investment in them is considered a cost-effective strategy for poverty reduction. This case study is one in a series seeking to understand (1) what keeps African governments from committing fully to reducing malnutrition, and (2) what is required for full commitment.
The World Bank has a long relationship with Uruguay's agricultural sector, expanding over a period of more than 60 years in which several projects and various analytical and advisory assistance initiatives have been implemented.
This report presents the impact and lessons learned from the Andhra Pradesh Drought Adaptation Initiative (APDAI). The APDAI was implemented as a package of pilot activities in two dryland districts in Andhra Pradesh (Anantapur and Mahbubnagar) with the aim of developing and testing approaches for natural resource-based economic activities to better respond to current climate variability and long-term consequences of climate change. The report discusses how innovations are being scaled up through integration into regular government programs for greater outreach.
African farming systems are highly heterogeneous: between agroecological and socioeconomic environments, in the wide variability in farmers’ resource endowments and in farm management. This means that single solutions (or ‘silver bullets’) for improving farm productivity do not exist. Yet to date few approaches to understand constraints and explore options for change have tackled the bewildering complexity of African farming systems. In this paper we describe the Nutrient Use in Animal and Cropping systems – Efficiencies and Scales (NUANCES) framework.
Le Tuy, province de l'Ouest du Burkina Faso est une région soudanienne à forte pression démographique et pastorale où se posent avec acuité des problèmes de fertilité des sols. Face à la dégradation des ressources naturelles, opter vivre dans son milieu natal et s'assurer une bonne production agropastorale nécessite de la part des acteurs des actions concertées. Le projet Fertipartenaires aide les producteurs de cette province à se concerter, à réfléchir à leurs problèmes, proposer et expérimenter des solutions et les évaluer afin d'améliorer leur sécurité alimentaire.
Face aux enjeux majeurs pour l’avenir de la sécurité alimentaire et de l’agriculture mondiale, le phénomène d’acquisition et de location de terres à grande échelle est un sujet fortement controversé qui mobilise activement les médias et l’opinion publique.
Le présent document est organisé en deux grandes parties. Une première partie dite « de synthèse » qui à partir de six études de cas d’investissement massif dans les terres en Afrique, en Asie et en Amérique latine, se propose de :