The Papa Andina network employs collective action in two novel approaches for fostering market chain innovation. The participatory market chain approach (PMCA) and stakeholder platforms engage small potato producers together with market agents and agricultural service providers in group activities to identify common interests, share market knowledge and develop new business opportunities.
Agriculture in South Asia is vulnerable to climate change. Therefore, adaptation measures are required to sustain agricultural productivity, to reduce vulnerability, and to enhance the resilience of the agricultural system to climate change. There are many adaptation practices in the production systems that have been proposed and tested for minimizing the effects of climate change. Some socioeconomic and political setup contributes to adaptation, while others may inhibit it.
The objective of this present study is to scrutinize the challenges in implementing PPP by examining the factors that hinder the successful adoption of PPP in Malaysia. A questionnaire survey was used to elicit the perceptions of the public and private sectors concerning the constraints of PPP implementation in Malaysia. A total of 122 usable responses were obtained.
The objective of this case study is to understand the application of ICT technologies for rural groundwater management in China, and it’s impacts on the rural poor. This will help understand the physical and policy context this technology is being applied and expanded, its impact on resource management, and changes in water delivery service to farmers. These understanding will help improve this technology and provide data and information for its replication in other parts of Asia. It will also h elp understand the capabilities of the ICT within the water sector applications.
This study was taken up to understand the training gaps and training needs of the agricultural stakeholders such as public, private extension officials and farmers in Tamil Nadu. The data were collected using pre tested well-structured questionnaire from public and private extension officials and using semi-structured interview schedule in case of farmers. The results show that training gaps are relatively higher among public extension officials than private extension officials.
There are divergent views on what capacity development might mean in relation to agricultural biotechnology. The core of this debate is whether this should involve the development of human capital and research infrastructure, or whether it should encompass a wider range of activities which also include developing the capacity to use knowledge productively. This paper uses the innovation systems concept to shed light on this discussion, arguing that it is innovation capacity rather than science and technology capacity that has to be developed.
Canvas of Change brings you stories from Phase 3 of the Katalyst and presents the positive impact that this project is achieving.
In the context of an exponential rise in access to information in the last two decades, this special issue explores when and how information might be harnessed to improve governance and public service delivery in rural areas. Information is a critical component of government and citizens’ decision-making; therefore, improvements in its availability and reliability stand to benefit many dimensions of governance, including service delivery.
Existing studies which have examined the impact of group farming on farm productivity have focused predominantly on former socialist regimes, usually comparing production under various types of collectivised/cooperatized farms with farm enterprises that emerged in the post-reform period, or after decollectivisation. Given this specificity, their experience is at best indicative; it cannot provide substantive lessons on the potential outcomes of group farming in today’s developing countries. This paper seeks to do so.
We present a model for research and development (R&D) investment in food innovations based on new plant engineering techniques (NPETs) and traditional hybridization methods. The framework combines uncertain and costly food innovation with consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for the new food. The framework is applied with elicited WTP of French and US consumers for new improved apples. NPETs may be socially beneficial under full information and when the probability of success under NPETs is relatively high. Otherwise, the traditional hybridization is socially optimal.