Global climate change and food security are complex and closely intertwined challenges. A key requirement for dealing with them successfully is that agriculture becomes more eco-efficient. As researchers work toward this goal, they must always ask, “Efficiency for whom?” Finding answers to this question requires that research be conducted from a systems perspective in a broadly participatory manner involving complex collaborative arrangements.
Some of the most promising and at the same time some of the most challenging areas of future food production are found in the savannas of South America. Integrating cropping, livestock, and forestry in these regions can increase the eco-efficiency of agricultural production. This chapter presents a case study of an integrated crop, livestock, and forestry system in Brazil. The study area is in Goiás State in the Cerrado region, a vast savanna covering almost one quarter of Brazil's land area.
This chapter analyses the access to and adequacy of formal sources in meeting the credit needs, particularly agricultural credit needs, of small farmers in India with the help of banking data, and data on the borrowing profiles of these households collected through the village surveys of the Project on Agrarian Relations in India (PARI).Three major institutions provide formal credit in the rural areas of India today: commercial banks, regional rural banks (RRBs), and credit cooperatives.
The development community has shown increasing interest in the potential of innovation systems and value chain development approaches for reducing poverty and stimulating greater gender equity in rural areas. Nevertheless, there is a shortage of systematic knowledge on how such approaches have been implemented in different contexts, the main challenges in their application, and how they can be scaled to enable large numbers of poor people to benefit from participation in value chains.
Market access determines the income of agricultural households and incentivizes the cultivation of diverse crops. Markets in India are mostly unorganized with limited infrastructure limiting their ability to cater to quality requirements and specifications demanded by urban consumers. Therefore, parallel to traditional markets, direct linkages with farms and alternative markets based on electronic sales platforms, new commodity futures and warehousing systems are needed.
Accordingly to the authors It is beyond the scope of this chapter to empirically explore the determinants of the commercialization of agriculture and its impact on poverty; so instead, they will present and discuss some empirical evidence on topics that remain hotly debated regarding commercialization and poverty. In Sect. 12.2, it is investigated how smallholder farmers in northern Vietnam have been affected by the recent food price volatility with respect to their income and consumption levels, while in Sect.
The paper sets out the general concepts and principles of the Agricultural Innovation Systems approach, and its application to agricultural research and development, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. It is intended for those interested in applying new approaches to research with farmers, NGOs and the private sector that lead to developmental outcomes.
Research, extension, and advisory services are some of the most knowledge-intensive elements of agricultural innovation systems. They are also among the heaviest users of information communication technologies (ICTs). This module introduces ICT developments in the wider innovation and knowledge systems as well as explores drivers of ICT use in research and extension
Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) is a single-window institutional arrangement for technology and information dissemination at the district level and an attempt was made to assess the dairy extension system in the context of ATMA in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh during 2016. The study revealed that along with organized dairy extension services, ATMA is an important alternative to provide extension services to the dairy sector as animal husbandry sector is an existing allied sector for the ATMA.
The present chapter outlines a descriptive analysis of the sorghum value chains across the globe, the identified major constraints of the sorghum value chain, the business service provisions, and suggested specific areas of interventions for upgradation of the value chain. Considering the VC of sorghum, it is very new and value addition is limited up to harvesting and marketing of whole sorghum grain.