There is a blossoming of voluntary certification initiatives for sustainable agro-food products and production processes. With these certification initiatives come traceability in supply chains, to guarantee the sustainability of the products consumed. No systematic analysis exists of traceability systems for sustainability in agro-food supply chains.
Swedish agricultural companies, especially small farms, are struggling to be profitable in difficult economic times. It is a challenge for Swedish farmers to compete with imported products on prices. The agricultural industry, however, supports the view that through business model innovation, farms can increase their competitive advantage. This paper identifies and describes some of the barriers Swedish small farms encounter when they consider business model innovation. A qualitative approach is used in the study. Agriculture business consultants were interviewed.
Agricultural innovation in low-income tropical countries contributes to a more effective and sustainable use of natural resources and reduces hunger and poverty through economic development in rural areas. Yet, despite numerous recent public and private initiatives to develop capacities for agricultural innovation, such initiatives are often not well aligned with national efforts to revive existing Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS).
his paper draws on the transition literature to examine niche-regime interaction. Specifically it aims to reveal and contribute to an understanding of the processes that link sustainable agriculture innovation networks to the agricultural regime. It analyses findings from participatory workshops with actors in 17 Learning and Innovation Networks for Sustainable Agriculture (LINSA) across Europe. Framing linkage as an adaptive process, whereby regime actors and entities adapt to incorporate LINSA, and vice versa, reveals different patterns and processes of adaptation.
This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion in the scientific literature on the advantages and disadvantages of privatization of extension and advisory services and the shift from thinking in terms of the traditional Agricultural Knowledge System towards a broader Agricultural Innovation System.
Parasitic weeds such as Striga spp and Rhamphicarpa fistulosa in smallholder rice production systems form an increasing problem for food and income security in sub-Saharan Africa. In this paper we implement the Rapid Appraisal of Agricultural Innovation Systems (RAAIS) as a diagnostic tool to identify specific and generic entry points for innovations to address parasitic weeds in rain-fed rice production in Tanzania. Data were gathered across three study sites in Tanzania where parasitic weeds are eminent (Kyela, Songea Rural and Morogoro Rural districts).
This paper reviews the NIS literature chronologically, showing how this shift in emphasis has diminished somewhat the importance of both institutions, particularly governments, and the political processes of institutional capacity building.
El servicio de extensión agrícola es uno de los principales vínculos entre la producción y el uso del conocimiento para la agricultura de los países en desarrollo. En la literatura, se han identificado agentes que actúan como intermediarios para vincular a dos o más actores que no se encuentran conectados. Sin embargo, pocos estudios abordan los mecanismos que éstos utilizan para intervenir y menos aún, una tipología que los caracterice e integre.
En esta investigación se analizan y aportan evidencias acerca de la concepción y metodología de cadenas productivas o redes de valor aplicadas al café, así como su utilidad para la integración vertical de productores y sus organizaciones. En estos procesos de agregación de valor e innovaciones en la cadena tiene un papel fundamental la creación de redes de participación y autogestión de actores, en la perspectiva de lo que se denomina como enredamiento para el desarrollo sustentable.
El presente trabajo se desarroló con el objetivo de elaborar un sitio Web para la RIAC, que propicie la colaboración internacional y el trabajo en redes, con ayuda de las TIC, con vistas a lograr un mayor conocimiento del estado del arte de la producción citrícola y una divulgación más rápida de los principales problemas que se presenten en estos cultivos