The COVID-19 pandemic is a major economic shock, throwing into question the resilience of the agrifood sector at this stage, particularly in developing countries where self-employed, wage and informal workers are threatened by food supply chain disruptions, limitations on movement and trade restrictions. Even before the crisis, small and medium agribusinesses were often considered to be credit-constrained and extremely vulnerable to shocks.
A worthy agricultural innovation system (AIS) is one that that helps an agricultural sector be productive, sustainable and resilient and facilitates reduction in poverty and malnutrition. How can an AIS be made resilient in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is a question pondered in this note. The key issue will be continued strong investment in knowledge and technology creation that underpins growth in productivity and the active pursuit of mechanisms that make agriculture more resilient to the emerging environments challenges around the world.
Feeding the world’s steadily growing population while respecting the planetary boundaries will be a key challenge for humanity in the future. Prevailing production and consumption patterns are leading to a loss of natural resources and destroying ecosystems and their functions. More than 820 million people were affected by malnutrition in 2017. Climate change is exacerbating this development and pushing natural ecosystems to their limits, something that is having far-reaching consequences for the environment, the economy and humanity.
Rainfed agriculture accounts for more than half of the world’s food production but is facing increasing precipitation variability, driven by climate change. Achieving zero hunger will require improvements in rainwater management to increase productivity. About 45 percent of global rainfed cropland is still under low-input production systems. These are concentrated mostly in lower-income countries, which face multiple challenges in addressing the growing water shortages. Improved water management practices must be combined with the best agronomic practices for enhanced effectiveness.
This brief explores the evidence on the relationships between food aid transfers and investments in climate adaptive agriculture using data from Ethiopia, Malawi and United Republic of Tanzania. Four climate adaptive agricultural investments are considered, namely: adoption of cereal-legume intercropping, use of organic fertilizers such as manure and compost, construction of soil and water conservation structures in fields, and investments in livestock diversification.
Ce guide pratique s'adresse aux députés et aux conseillers parlementaires, qui sont considérés comme des «agents de changement». Il donne une vue d’ensemble exhaustive et systématique du rôle que les parlementaires peuvent jouer dans la création d’«environnements favorables» fiables, cohérents et transparents dans les différents domaines liés à l'investissement dans les systèmes agricoles et alimentaires.
Agricultural production is a crucial and fundamental aspect of a stable society in China that depends heavily on the climate situation. With the desire to achieve future sustainable development, China’s government is taking actions to adapt to climate change and to ensure food self-sufficiency.
The profound changes in European policy for farms advisory services (FAS) require a period of experimentation and results observation before the new CAP 2021-2027. This paper focuses on Measure 2 of Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020. The paper is focused on the description of case studies in three Italian regions: Campania, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto. Different Measure 2 – sub-measure 2.1 models are analyzed through a qualitative approach, using a conceptual framework adapted by Birner et al. (2009).
The important role that small farms play in supporting rural livelihoods, conserving biodiversity and maintaining traditional landscapes, rural traditions and cultural heritage is widely accepted. Nevertheless, they are often under the radar of the agriculture policy mechanisms, which tend to focus on the very large farms and globally driven food chains.
Le rôle important que jouent les petites exploitations agricoles dans le soutien des moyens de subsistance ruraux, la conservation de la biodiversité et le maintien des paysages traditionnels, des traditions rurales et du patrimoine culturel est largement reconnu. Néanmoins, ils passent souvent sous le radar des mécanismes de politique agricole, qui ont tendance à se concentrer sur les très grandes exploitations et les chaînes alimentaires pilotées à l’échelle mondiale.