European agriculture is facing increasing economic, environmental, institutional, and social challenges, from changes in demographic trends to the effects of climate change. In this context of high instability, the agricultural sector in Europe needs to improve its resilience and sustainability. Local assessments and strategies at the farming system level are needed, and this paper focuses on a hazelnut farming system in central Italy. For the assessment, a participatory approach was used, based on a stakeholder workshop.
Zimbabwe has a pluralistic agricultural extension system. In addition to the public extension service, donors contract private service providers to deliver extension services in specific project areas. This study assesses the impact of an outsourced extension service on rural households in the Mutasa district of Zimbabwe’s Manicaland Province, and examines the financial cost and benefit of this service. The extension service was delivered by a local agribusiness firm and funded by USAID. The study analyses survey data gathered from 94 client and 90 non-client rural households.
TAP and its partners carried out regional surveys in Asia, Africa and Central America to assess priorities, capacities and needs in national agricultural innovation systems. This document provides a Regional synthesis report on capacity needs assessment for agricultural innovation in Africa. FARA was selected as Recipient Organization by FAO to facilitate TAP implementation in Africa. This is mainly due to its position as the umbrella organization bringing together and forming coalitions of major regional stakeholders in agricultural research and development.
Capacity development interventions in support of agricultural innovation are more effective when based on systematic and participatory assessments of existing skills and capacity needs. Recognizing that, an instrument has been developed in the context of the Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation Systems (CDAIS) project. It consists of a capacity scoring tool that allows assessing innovation capacities, identifying strengths and weaknesses and monitoring capacity changes over time. This paper describes the scoring tool and provides guidelines on how to apply it successfully.
Recently, a new approach to extension and climate information services, namely Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) has been developed. PICSA makes use of historical climate records, participatory decision-making tools and forecasts to help farmers identify and better plan livelihood options that are suited to local climate features and farmers’ own circumstances.
Funded by USAID’s Bureau of Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade and implemented by Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI), the RAISE SPS Project (“Assistance for Trade Capacity Building in Relation to the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures”) is Task Order 14 under the RAISE (“Rural and Agricultural Incomes with a Sustainable Environment”) Indefinite Quantity Contract with DAI as Prime Contractor.
La conférence sur « Agriculture écologique : atténuer le changement climatique, assurer la sécurité alimentaire et l’autonomie pour les sources de revenus ruraux en Afrique » s’est tenue à Addis – Abéba (Ethiopie) du 26 au 28 novembre 2008.
Dans le cadre de ce projet (2015-2018), la FAO a travaillé dans 21 pays (voir la carte ci-dessous) au travers de partenariats avec des OSC nationales pour la réalisation d’ateliers de sensibilisation et de renforcement des capacités afin de: Améliorer les connaissances et la compréhension des OSC par rapport aux DVGF; Accroître leurs compétences en matière de construction et connexion de réseaux et de plaidoyer pour défendre leurs droits fonciers et renforcer les partenariats pour une meilleure application des DVGF à tous les niveaux; Renforcer leurs capacités pour une participation e
Katalyst project has been facilitating awareness raising on the importance of balanced fertiliser application in Bangladesh since 2006.
The agriculture systems in Bangladesh face a growing number of climate-related vulnerabilities. Climate has become increasingly variable over the past few decades, with droughts, seasonal and flash flooding, and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently and the sea level rising. Going forward, it will be critical to have an understanding of how best to address the trade-offs and synergies between achieving agricultural and economic goals on one hand and preparing for emerging climate challenges on the other. The use of evidenced-based decision making is a key part of this process.