Download or read book Farmer profiling Making data work for smallholder farmers written by Addison, C. and published by CTA. This book was released on 2017-11-28 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study presented in this report was commissioned by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) as a member of the Global Open Data for Agriculture & Nutrition (GODAN) initiative, and was conducted by SB Consulting (SBC4D). The objective of the research is to understand the role of farmer organisations (FO) and cooperatives in the agriculture data ecosystem. These organisations have long been recognised to play an important role in society that translates into the improvement of living conditions of their members, particularly the low-income earning population. More than 40% of households in Africa are member of a cooperative society ([ILO-2000]) and the cooperative movement is Africa’s biggest nongovernmental organisation. The key question this report explores is the role of these organisations in the emergent “data revolution.” How can they ensure that this data revolution benefits their members and the smallholder farmers in general, and at the same time contribute to the revolution by providing valuable information to policy makers or other stakeholders of the ecosystem?
Download or read book Farm data Serving smallholder farmers in a digital age written by CTA and published by CTA. This book was released on 2018-08-28 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spore magazine 190: Farm data: Serving smallholder farmers in a digital age Increasing amounts of agricultural data are being produced at faster speeds, using a greater variety of technologies and innovations than ever before. But what is the value of information sharing for smallholders, and what are the risks? SPORE is the quarterly magazine of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), offering a global perspective on agribusiness and sustainable agriculture. CTA operates under the Cotonou Agreement between the countries of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group and the European Union and is financed by the EU.
Download or read book Farm data management sharing and services for agriculture development written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2021-02-26 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book aims to strengthen the skills of professionals who use, manage data for the benefit of farmers and farmers organizations by exposing them to the topics of importance of data in the agriculture value chain and how new and existing technologies, products and services can leverage farm level and global data to improve yield, reduce loss, add value and increase profitability and resilience.
Download or read book Operational guidelines for the design implementation and harmonization of monitoring and evaluation systems for climate smart agriculture written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2019-09-24 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is recognized as critically important for tracking progress, whether it serves the purpose of accountability to donors, informs future improvements to CSA practices, or contributes to the aggregate global progress toward meeting the SDGs or the global stocktake under the Paris Agreement. There has been a growing chorus acknowledging the need to align the indicators and M&E frameworks of major donors with those of the three global agreements. Monitoring and reporting has begun on the SDGs, although the development of methodologies for various indicators is an evolving process. The development of specific indicators for the agriculture sector is also well underway for the Sendai Framework. The organizations conducting this work have recognized the need to streamline these processes. For example, they have already attempted to align several of the indicators between the SDGs and the Sendai Framework.These operational guidelines aim to address the core constraints and needs of FAO Member States on both the design and implementation of M&E systems that can simultaneously address CSA and sector reporting requirements for the 2030 Agenda, the Sendai Framework and the UNFCCC Paris Agreement. First and foremost, the guidelines acknowledge the principal need expressed by Member States that M&E systems and indicators be simple and not onerous. The challenges that have always existed with regard to M&E for CSA are still present, and are particularly pronounced for pillar 2, adaptation and resilience. These challenges to the development of indicators for pillar 2 have exhibited the greatest need for attention.
Download or read book Farms with a Future written by Rebecca Thistlethwaite and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2012 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you want to make your farm more dynamic, profitable, and-- above all-- sustainable? Thistlethwaite introduces readers to some of the country's most innovative farmers, in order to help you build a triple-bottom-line farming business focused on economic viability, social justice, and ecological soundness.
Download or read book ICT Update 89 written by CTA and published by CTA. This book was released on 2018-12-31 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In order to feed 9 billion people by 2050, sustainable agricultural growth in needed, supporting an agricultural sector which produces enough food, which is inclusive and resilient, and which makes optimal use of innovation and digital solutions. Smallholder and family farmers must play a key role in achieving this. About 80% of the world’s food supply is produced by small-scale and family farmers, yet their full production potential is hardly reached. To strengthen resilience and productivity of these smallholder farmers, they need an enabling environment that supports their access to critical resources such as finance, markets, inputs, information and technical solutions. This issue of ICT Update uncovers the power of organised smallholder farmers. Through a series of case studies, we explore how farmers’ organisations can make use of farmer data to enable access to resources, thereby strengthening the resilience, voice, or livelihoods of smallholder farmers.
Download or read book A Small Farm Future written by Chris Smaje and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2020-10-21 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A modern classic of the new agrarianism "Chris Smaje...shows that the choice is clear. Either we have a small farm future, or we face collapse and extinction."—Vandana Shiva "Every young person should read this book."—Richard Heinberg In a groundbreaking debut, farmer and social scientist Chris Smaje argues that organizing society around small-scale farming offers the soundest, sanest and most reasonable response to climate change and other crises of civilisation—and will yield humanity’s best chance at survival. Drawing on a vast range of sources from across a multitude of disciplines, A Small Farm Future analyses the complex forces that make societal change inevitable; explains how low-carbon, locally self-reliant agrarian communities can empower us to successfully confront these changes head on; and explores the pathways for delivering this vision politically. Challenging both conventional wisdom and utopian blueprints, A Small Farm Future offers rigorous original analysis of wicked problems and hidden opportunities in a way that illuminates the path toward functional local economies, effective self-provisioning, agricultural diversity and a shared earth. Perfect for readers of both Wendell Berry and Thomas Piketty, A Small Farm Future is a refreshing, new outlook on a way forward for society—and a vital resource for activists, students, policy makers, and anyone looking to enact change.
Download or read book Big data for smallholder farmers written by Pedrick, Clare and published by CTA. This book was released on 2019-02-01 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is massive scope for linking farmers to valuable knowledge and agricultural services through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as a pathway to driving improved productivity and market access, creating opportunities for higher incomes and better food security as a result. In Uganda, as in many sub-Saharan countries, lack of timely and accurate access to information about weather, financial services, crop management, markets and climate coping mechanisms is a serious obstacle for smallholder farmers, preventing them from achieving higher yields and selling their produce for better prices. To address these challenges, an innovative initiative is showcasing how ICTs can be used to capture satellite-based information on a wide range of agricultural indicators, packaging it into tailor-made messages for farmers in local languages.
Download or read book Farming Systems and Poverty written by John A. Dixon and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2001 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.
Download or read book Improving Data Collection and Measurement of Complex Farms written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2019-02-21 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America's farms and farmers are integral to the U.S. economy and, more broadly, to the nation's social and cultural fabric. A healthy agricultural sector helps ensure a safe and reliable food supply, improves energy security, and contributes to employment and economic development, traditionally in small towns and rural areas where farming serves as a nexus for related sectors from farm machinery manufacturing to food processing. The agricultural sector also plays a role in the nation's overall economic growth by providing crucial raw inputs for the production of a wide range of goods and services, including many that generate substantial export value. If the agricultural sector is to be accurately understood and the policies that affect its functioning are to remain well informed, the statistical system's data collection programs must be periodically revisited to ensure they are keeping up with current realities. This report reviews current information and makes recommendations to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and Economic Research Service (ERS) to help identify effective methods for collecting data and reporting information about American agriculture, given increased complexity and other changes in farm business structure in recent decades.
Download or read book Proceedings of the FAO Global Conference on Sustainable Plant Production written by Telemans, B. and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2023-06-13 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: FAO organized its first ever Global Conference on Sustainable Plant Production (GPC) (Rome, 2 to 4 November 2022), with a focus on Innovation, Efficiency and Resilience. Its main objective was to provide a neutral forum for FAO Members, farmers, scientists, development agencies, policy makers, extensionists, civil society, opinion leaders and the private sector to engage in dialogues around sustainable plant production. To achieve impact towards implementing the 2030 Agenda, the GPC developed 20 actionable recommendations. The recommendations encompass all the thematic areas highlighted in the GPC, with a focus on adaptation to local contexts, needs of small-scale farmers, and include cross-cutting issues to guide active innovation for global sustainable plant production systems. The recommendations clearly establish (i) priorities for targeted mobilization and pooling of scientific, technical and financial resources; (ii) evidence and knowledge sharing through the creation and management of functional technical networks; and (iii) testing and scaling evidence-based sustainable plant production practices, partnerships and policies.
Download or read book Perilous Bounty written by Tom Philpott and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2020-08-11 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice An unsettling journey into the disaster-bound American food system, and an exploration of possible solutions, from leading food politics commentator and former farmer Tom Philpott. More than a decade after Michael Pollan's game-changing The Omnivore's Dilemma transformed the conversation about what we eat, a combination of global diet trends and corporate interests have put American agriculture into a state of "quiet emergency," from dangerous drought in California--which grows more than 50 percent of the fruits and vegetables we eat--to catastrophic topsoil loss in the "breadbasket" heartland of the United States. Whether or not we take heed, these urgent crises of industrial agriculture will define our future. In Perilous Bounty, veteran journalist and former farmer Tom Philpott explores and exposes the small handful of seed and pesticide corporations, investment funds, and magnates who benefit from the trends that imperil us, with on-the-ground dispatches featuring the scientists documenting the damage and the farmers and activists who are valiantly and inventively pushing back. Resource scarcity looms on the horizon, but rather than pointing us toward an inevitable doomsday, Philpott shows how the entire wayward ship of American agriculture could be routed away from its path to disaster. He profiles the farmers and communities in the nation's two key growing regions developing resilient, soil-building, water-smart farming practices, and readying for the climate shocks that are already upon us; and he explains how we can help move these methods from the margins to the mainstream.
Download or read book Innovate for agriculture written by Fong, J.; Rahman, R. and published by CTA. This book was released on 2016-12-31 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The report introduces 30 young innovators, 21 featured with full stories, and nine other "innovators to watch". They come mainly from countries including Barbados, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Jamaica, Senegal, Tanzania. The publication presents a multidimensional picture of the emerging field of ICT entrepreneurship in agriculture in developing countries. It describes challenges but also successes already achieved. It contains advice for aspiring agtech entrepreneurs as well as recommendations from youth on how to support their ventures.
Download or read book E agriculture in action written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2019-07-15 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to Forbes, we generate almost 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. The next generation of agriculture heavily depends on data. The ability to capture, sort, analyze and extract actionable intelligence from large data sets to reveal patterns (human, climate, market) and related trends is an important emerging field. The increase in the use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices would only add to this data deluge. The Economist rightly called data as the world’s most valuable resource , while some calling data the new oil . Agriculture would be one of the major users of IoTs. How can individuals, organizations and governments build capacities and processes in place to take advantage of this huge influx of data. This coupled with existing data streams (weather, satellite imagery, markets etc.,) would create an ecosystem which if managed efficiently would provide rich dividents especially in the agriculture sector where the right information at the right time will make a great influence in the livelihoods of people involved in agriculture and allied activities. This publication looks at how various initiatives are leveraging data, related to agriculture value chains, to influence decision making and efficient service delivery together with addressing key building blocks such as interoperability, data sharing, data security and the necessary policies and regulations that are needed to be implemented to sustain the data ecosystem.
Download or read book Making the connection written by Pye-Smith, C. and published by CTA. This book was released on 2013-12-31 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ‘Making the Connection’ conference on developing value chains for smallholder agriculture was the largest ever held on the topic. It focused on how to create efficient, market-led value chains that will ensure greater food security and improve the welfare of tens of millions of smallholder farmers. Participants discussed a wide range of policy issues, the most important of which are summarised here. These include ways of improving linkages between small farmers and buyers, the development of intra-regional trade, promoting an enabling environment and improving value chain finance.
Download or read book Smallholder Agriculture and Market Participation written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2018-08-09 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Smallholder Agriculture and Market Participation discusses the evolution of policies for smallholder development, including the role of value chains, and the linkages that exist with the Sustainable Development Goals. New, innovative financial mechanisms and linked initiatives are outlined, and their potential to improve the availability of financial services and reduce market transaction costs. Risk management for agricultural smallholders is covered, together with the increasing role of insura nce as a mechanism for risk management among smallholders. Empirical data are used to illustrate the more conceptual work. The last part of the book provides case studies of selected commodity value chain investments involving smallholders in Africa (Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe) and South America (Peru), implemented by FAO. The lessons concern project design and targeting, product and market analysis, regulatory issues, sustainability and improved natural resources management.
Download or read book From subsistence to profit written by Fan, Shenggen and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2013-07-25 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This food policy report presents a typology of the diverse livelihood strategies and development pathways for smallholder farmers in developing countries, and offers policy recommendations to help potentially profitable smallholders meet emerging risks and challenges. Main Findings Smallholder farmers in developing countries play a key role in meeting the future food demands of a growing and increasingly rich and urbanized population. However, smallholders are not a homogeneous group that should be supported at all costs. Whereas some smallholder farmers have the potential to undertake profitable commercial activities in the agricultural sector, others should be supported in exiting agriculture and seeking nonfarm employment opportunities. For smallholder farmers with profit potential, their ability to be successful is hampered by such challenges as climate change, price shocks, limited financing options, and inadequate access to healthy and nutritious food. By overcoming these challenges, smallholders can move from subsistence to commercially oriented agricultural systems, increase their profits, and operate at an efficient scalethereby helping to do their part in feeding the worlds hungry.
