Descendu des hauts plateaux andins pour arriver dans nos assiettes, le quinoa est entré dans le jeu économique où l’offre, la demande et le prix forment un cadre triangulaire aux paradoxes multiples.
Chez nous, certains en rêveraient presque … fini le chant du coq à 5h du matin, les odeurs de purin dans les campagnes, les manifestations des producteurs de lait à coup de tracteurs qui bloquent les entrées des villes, et aussi terminé l’argent du contribuable «gaspillé» dans le gouffre des subventions agricoles. D’autres, avec un haussement d’épaules, ne noteraient peut-être même pas la différence.
Este estudio apunta a evaluar esta pregunta a través del examen de un caso exitoso de conformación de una cadena productiva de jugos en Paraguay, con la participación de una empresa exportadora. La primera parte del estudio hace consideraciones sobre el debate entre comercio y pobreza en la literatura, al mismo tiempo de analizar brevemente la estructura productiva del Paraguay y sus niveles de pobreza, para luego indicar las principales hipótesis de la investigación.
With a large proportion of sub-Saharan African countries’ GDP still heavily reliant on agriculture, global trends in agri-food business are having an increasing impact on African countries. South Africa, a leader in agribusiness on the continent, has a well-established agri-food sector that is facing increasing pressure from various social and environmental sources. This paper uses interview data with corporate executives from South African food businesses to explore how they are adapting to the dual pressures of environmental change and globalisation.
The role of genetically modified (GM) crops for food security is the subject of public controversy. GM crops could contribute to food production increases and higher food availability. There may also be impacts on food quality and nutrient composition. Finally, growing GM crops may influence farmers’ income and thus their economic access to food. Smallholder farmers make up a large proportion of the undernourished people worldwide. Our study focuses on this latter aspect and provides the first ex post analysis of food security impacts of GM crops at the micro level.
Dans le contexte de changements environnementaux et socio-économiques, l’agriculture en Afrique sub-saharienne devra assurer la sécurité alimentaire des populations, tout en limitant son empreinte écologique. Les contraintes biophysiques et sociales des systèmes de production agricole sont complexes. Les pratiques agricoles innovantes seront basées sur une intensification des processus écologiques qui déterminent le fonctionnement du système sol–plante, des parcelles cultivées ou des agroécosystèmes.
Agricultural biotechnology and, specifically, the development of genetically modified (GM) crops have been controversial for several reasons, including concerns that the technology poses potential negative environmental or health effects, that the technology would lead to the (further) corporatization of agriculture, and that it is simply unethical to manipulate life in the laboratory. GM crops have been part of the agricultural landscape for more than 15 years and have now been adopted on more than 170 million hectares (ha) in both developed countries (48%) and developing countries (52%).
The food production and processing value chain is under pressure from all sides—increasing demand driven by a growing and more affluent population; dwindling resources caused by urbanization, land erosion, pollution and competing agriculture such as biofuels; and increasing constraints on production methods driven by consumers and regulators demanding higher quality, reduced chemical use, and most of all environmentally beneficial practices ‘from farm to fork’.
During May 2010 the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) hosted two events related to knowledge management (KM): The Knowledge Share Fair for Latin America and the Caribbean, funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and a regional meeting of the Knowledge Management for Development (KM4Dev) community. The Fair was attended by 200 professionals from more than 70 organizations and 18 countries and showcased more than 40 experiences related to KM in agriculture, development and food security.
CABI’s Plantwise programme runs local plant clinics in 24 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America where trained ‘plant doctors’ provide on-the-spot diagnosis and advice for farmers who bring samples to the clinics. A database that records each consultation and shares knowledge across clinics and countries continually builds the ability of the programme to respond to farmers’ needs. The programme embodies key principles of an innovation systems approach.