This report, drawing on a rapid desk-based review, seeks to outline the potential role of Afican Advisory Services (AAS) in addressing climate change and explores how far AAS in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are able to respond to climatic and other pressures. Recommendations are outlined, indicating how AFAAS can help AAS to understand climate change better and become more ‘adaptive’ in their responses
This report is the result of a study that was carried out for the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS), to make an inventory of experiences with ‘market-oriented agricultural advisory services’ (MOAAS). Lessons learned have been drawn from the cases studied. These lessons are the basis for guidelines formulated for setting up market-oriented agricultural advisory services.
The innovation system perspective acknowledges the contributions made by all stakeholders involved in knowledge development, dissemination and appropriation. According to the specific agricultural production system, farmers adopt innovations, modify them or innovate on their own. This paper examines the role of farmers' experiments and innovations in Cuba's agricultural innovation system (AIS), identifies knowledge exchange encounters and describes some strategies implemented to institutionalize farmers' experiments and innovations.
This Policy Memorandum provides policy advice to the government of Liberia (GOL) in an effort to mainstream gender issues in policies, programs, and projects supporting agricultural production and value-chain development. It is organized as follows. Section I reviews women's roles in Liberian agriculture and agricultural value chains, drawing on a variety of data sources, including the 2007 Core Welfare Indicator Questionnaire Survey (CWIQ) and the two rounds of the Comprehensive Food Security and Nutrition Survey (CFSNS, 2006 and 2008).
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.
Este Libro describe experiencias de extensión y investigación participativa en México. Describe la origen, fundamentos teóricos, objetivos, caracteristicas y acciones básicas, alcances y limitaciones así como la importancia de la investigación participativa en los procesos y modelos de desarrollo. Trae una propuesta metodológica y experiencias obtenidas en cuatro estados mexicanos.
In the remote upland regions of Laos many farming families live in relative poverty, relying on subsistence agriculture. Farmers need effective extension services to provide advice on commercial and technical options to supplement traditional practices and improve their livelihoods. One of these options is small-scale livestock production. However, the quality and quantity of extension staff working in livestock production is limited. Improving the knowledge and skills of extension staff working with upland ethnic minorities is a key goal of the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Over the last 10 years much has been written about the role of the private sector as part of a more widely-conceived notion of agricultural sector capacity for innovation and development. This paper discusses the emergence of a new class of private enterprise in East Africa that would seem to have an important role in efforts to tackle poverty reduction and food security. These organisations appear to occupy a niche that sits between mainstream for-profit enterprises and the developmental activities of government programmes, NGOs and development projects.
The Sourcebook is the outcome of joint planning, continued interest in gender and agriculture, and concerted efforts by the World Bank, FAO, and IFAD. The purpose of the Sourcebook is to act as a guide for practitioners and technical staff inaddressing gender issues and integrating gender-responsive actions in the design and implementation of agricultural projects and programs. It speaks not with gender specialists on how to improve their skills but rather reaches out to technical experts to guide them in thinking through how to integrate gender dimensions into their operations.
This report summarizes the findings of the study on Competitive Commercial Agriculture for Africa (CCAA). The objective of the CCAA study was to explore the feasibility of restoring international competitiveness and growth in African agriculture through the identification of products and production systems that can underpin rapid development of a competitive commercial agriculture.