This methodological framework is based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and multi-criteria assessment methods. It integrates CSA-related issues through the definition of Principles, Criteria and Indicators, and involves farmers in the assessment of the effects of CSA practices. To reflect the complexity of farming systems, the method proposes a dual level of analysis: the farm and the main cash crop/livestock production system. After creating a typology of the farming systems, the initial situation is compared to the situation after the introduction of a CSA practice.
For farmers, the transition towards agroecology implies redesigning both their production system and their commercialisation system. To engage in this type of transition, they need to develop new knowledge on practices adapted to local conditions, which will involve new actors in their network. This chapter explores the role of actors’ networks in the agroecological transition of farmers, with a particular focus on farming practices and modes of commercialisation.
As the PAEPARD project is complex and multi-faceted, ensuring that appropriate information is made available to users in a timely manner and in a form that can be easily understood and used has been a major challenge.
The aim of this paper is to characterise the innovativeness of individual farms in the Łódź region. Based on a domestic and foreign literature study, the most frequently used variables connected with farms (namely, the type of agricultural activity, economic size and VAT settlement system) were selected. The analysis of selected variables that characterise the innovative activity of the researched entities was carried out using the basic measures of structural analysis and interdependence of phenomena.
As Part of the Livestock Livelihood and Markets Project (LILI Markets), two innovation platforms were implanted in the project sites. First thought to be a mechanism to promote and enhance communication and networking across value chain actors as well as providing them with a platform for addressing common problems the platform, although new, has already surpassed its expected role; it has now become an important element of interaction and problem solving stage among the value chain actors, including the government.
This article addresses the impact of Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) on food security among smallholder farmers in three countries of southern Africa (Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi). Southern Africa has suffered continued hunger despite a myriad of technological interventions that have been introduced in agriculture to address issues of food security, as well as poverty alleviation.
The objective of the article is to show how quality tools help the management of the supply chain in the agricultural sector, in this way quality management of the supply chain will improve operating results in companies that produce asparagus. The company is located in Trujillo, Peru; where the managers of each area were interviewed to determine the practices that will be used in the agribusiness sector.
This paper presents a qualitative case study of a US based beef co-operative integrated to a VBSC. Was used an analytical framework of viability, sustainability and resilience to analyse impacts at farm-level. Our analysis highlights a number of positive effects on farm-level viability, sustainability and resilience including improvements to market orientation and price stability, among others which provide crucial insights for beef PO development in Ireland.
The main cash crop of The Gambia is groundnuts. The country is primarily a agricultural country with 80 percent of the population of just over 2 million depending on agriculture for its food and cash income. The farming economy is the only means of income creation for the majority of rural families most whom live below the poverty line. The agricultural sector is the most important sector of the Gambian economy, contributing 32% of the gross domestic product, providing employment and income for 80% of the population, and accounting for 70% of the country's foreign exchange earnings.
Innovation platforms are groups of individuals or stakeholder representatives with different backgrounds and interests. They come together to diagnose problems, identify opportunities, and find ways to achieve their goals. When innovation platforms are set up by development projects, their processes are usually facilitated by the support organization.