This brief summarizes a report on the first large survey of maize traders in Nigeria in the past several decades. The sample of about 1400 traders covered one state in the South and four in the North, with traders in city wholesale markets in the North (Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina) and South (Ibadan) and regional markets in secondary cities in the North.
En Colombia la política pública de cadenas productivas del Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural (MADR) se ha consolidado como una estrategia de desarrollo para el agro. Los Comités Regionales (CR) planean e implementan buena parte de las iniciativas de apoyo público en conjunto con el sector productivo-privado local.
Las políticas de desarrollo rural han evolucionado considerablemente en América Latina. Durante los últimos 15 años, una de las principales áreas de énfasis ha sido el desarrollo de iniciativas que promuevan la formación de cadenas productivas en el sector agrícola en torno a unos productos estratégicos, los cuales generan economías rurales mucho más competitivas. En Colombia, el enfoque es novedoso, ya que se centra en el establecimiento de organizaciones de cadenas en el ámbito nacional y regional.
En Colombia, el desarrollo rural requiere de una institucionalidad que contribuya a cerrar la brecha urbano-rural, que cuente con los instrumentos de política necesarios para la inclusión productiva y la promoción de una asociatividad orientada a una ruralidad competitiva. Los 12 años de experiencia de la implementación del Proyecto de Apoyo para las Alianzas Productivas (PAAP) del Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural (MADR) aportan lecciones en esta dirección.
Efficient agricultural value chains create competitiveness and accelerate industrialisation. Though they have the ability to advance economic partnership and competition, in most African countries, agricultural value chains remain underdeveloped and underexploited; moreover, they are hardly affected by political instability with direct consequences on society. Regional integration with many spill-over, affects agriculture, while food prices and countries' macroeconomic policies affects food security.
This policy brief shows how digital tools can help to ensure that public money for agricul-tural extension is spent wisely. Governments often fund offices, training centers, and the salaries of extension officers, but cannot eas-ily review the impacts of these expenditures. This is because the activities of extension agents are not monitored systematically. Ex-ension services rarely generate quantitative data on the effects of their work.
As the COVID-19 pandemic turns into a global crisis, countries are taking measures to contain the pandemic. Supermarket shelves remain stocked for now. But a protracted pandemic crisis could quickly put a strain on the food supply chains, which is a complex web of interactions involving farmers, agricultural inputs, processing plants, shipping, retailers and more. The shipping industry is already reporting slowdowns because of port closures, and logistics hurdles could disrupt the supply chains in the coming weeks.
he European Union's long-term strategy for agricultural research and innovation was published in January 2016 following a year-long process of development, which included targeted consultations. Based on five priority areas, the strategy guides the programming of its main research and innovation programme – Horizon 2020 – not only for 2018 to 2020 but also for the period beyond 2020, to be covered by Horizon Europe.
Agricultural research and extension systems are central to unlock the potential of agricultural innovation and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Public agricultural research, extension and advisory services are essential for increasing productivity and promoting sustainable agricultural growth and alleviating poverty.
The publication is a part of the FAO work to assist the member countries in reforming their national Extension and Advisory Services (EAS). It highlights the main elements and provide concrete guidelines for the policy makers to coordinate pluralism in extension and advisory services (EAS), i.e. ensuring that multiple EAS providers from public, private sector and NGOs/donors, provide quality services that contribute to national agricultural priorities and wellbeing of rural producers, collaborate and exchange information to maximise synergies and minimise gaps and duplications.