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DocumentConsultative Meeting on Mechanization Strategy: New Models for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in sub-Saharan Africa 2017
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No results found.Sustainable agricultural mechanization (SAM) is an essential input for the development of the smallholder farm sector in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The benefits of SAM range from drudgery reduction to improved timeliness of agricultural operations, increased input use efficiency, facilitating sustainable production intensification, ensuring environmental protection, and contributing to make agriculture more ‘climate-smart’. SAM is also important at other levels of the food supply system, for exam ple in post-harvest operations, processing, marketing and transportation. Previously in SSA, mechanization efforts were largely been driven by the public sector. Today there is a need, with appropriate social and natural environmental considerations, to adopt a more holistic view of what mechanization is and learn from the errors made in the past. A cornerstone of SAM is the importance of involving the private sector (especially machinery manufacturers, suppliers and service providers). It needs to be brought to the forefront in SAM development and provision, but without neglecting the important role that the public sector and its institutions can also play. The Consultative Meeting provided a platform to discuss SAM in general, SAM strategies and implementation options, experiences and recommended concrete lines of future action for SSA. Lessons learned from Asia and past experiences in SSA were presented, as well as various models for SAM collaboration and diffusion in SSA. This plat form allowed to better understand appropriate policies that may be required to support and promote the implementation of SAM at regional and national level within SSA. A special focus was placed on three key areas which were the subject of debate and discussion in three working groups. These were: (i) new collaborative models of public-private partnerships; (ii) modalities and approaches for establishing a global SAM knowledge exchange platform and; (iii) the establishment of regional centres or networks for SAM in SSA. The Meeting also received feedback on the on-going FAO-African Union Commission technical cooperation project that is seeking to develop a SAM strategy framework for SSA. -
Book (stand-alone)Expert meeting on rural information networks in Asia-Pacific: Innovative practices and future directions 2006
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No results found.The past decade has witnessed a dynamic and rapid growth in information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the Asia-Pacific region, bringing enormous benefits to society at large. The challenge, however, is to get relevant information and technologies to the millions of poor living in rural areas. It is here where information and communication technologies can play a useful role in bridging the rural digital divide and empowering rural communities. The goal of this expert meeting was to a dvance knowledge about the use of ICT for agricultural development and rural poverty reduction in Asia and the Pacific by bringing together a cross-section of leading thinkers from organizations and countries active in ICT for rural development. The meeting provided a unique opportunity to exchange the latest information on development trends and provide a means of moving forward from an accumulated body of case studies, through the development of a programme framework, to the validation of mode ls of ICT for agriculture and rural development with the aim of extending the application of successful innovations and innovative practices more widely. These proceedings give an account of the presentations and discussions of the meeting as well as of the recommendations. -
Book (stand-alone)Africa-Ireland building inclusive and sustainable food value chains
Workshop report
2018Also available in:
No results found.The profile of Irish agriculture holds particular interest for developing countries intending to invest in the agri-food sector as a pathway for poverty reduction and employment generation for young people. Until the 1970s, the Irish farming sector held a number of similarities to that of many developing countries today: with over a quarter of the population employed on small farm holdings with little access to value addition opportunities and mass emigration from rural areas. During the 1990s, Ireland’s food sector began a rapid transformation process. Today, it is a world-leader in food-safety, traceability and environmental sustainability, penetrating high-value food markets in the EU, Asia and the US. While the transformation of the Irish sector holds a number of valuable lessons for developing countries, there are also a number of common challenges related to sustainability, gender and nutrition where knowledge exchange on respective initiatives can potentially lead to synergies. Against this background, the ‘Building Inclusive and Sustainable Food Value Chains’ workshop was hosted by the Department of Food, Agriculture and the Marine (DAFM), Ireland at their main offices in Dublin from 7 to 9 of February 2018. The high-level policy meeting, organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and DAFM, was designed to exchange lessons on building sustainable and nutritious agri-food sectors and identify how FAO and the AUC can contribute to knowledge exchange on the topic. Ten African countries represented the Africa region at the workshop with various thought leaders from the public and private sector participating. This report represents a summary of workshop findings by the FAO organizers.
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