Thumbnail Image

Innovative markets for sustainable agriculture

Year of publication 2016

Pages 390 p.

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Book (stand-alone)

ISBN 978-92-5-109327-6

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Between 2013 and 2015, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) undertook a survey of innovative approaches that enable markets to act as incentives in the transition towards sustainable agriculture in developing countries. Through a competitive selection process, 15 cases from around the world provide insights into how small-scale initiatives that use sustainable production practices are supported by mar ket demand, and create innovations in the institutions that govern sustainable practices and market exchanges. These cases respond to both local and distant consumers’ concerns about the quality of the food that they eat. The book evidences that the initiatives rely upon social values (e.g. trustworthiness, health [nutrition and food safety], food sovereignty, promotion of youth and rural development, farmer and community livelihoods) to adapt sustainable practices to local contexts, while creat ing new market outlets for food products. Specifically, private sector and civil society actors are leading partnerships with the public sector to build market infrastructure, integrate sustainable agriculture into private and public education and extension programmes, and ensure the exchange of transparent information about market opportunities. The results are: (i) system innovations that allow new rules for marketing and assuring the sustainable qualities of products; (ii) new forms of organ ization that permit actors to play multiple roles in the food system (e.g. farmer and auditor, farmer and researcher, consumer and auditor, consumer and intermediary); (iii) new forms of market exchange, such as box schemes, university kiosks, public procurement or systems of seed exchanges; and (iv) new technologies for sustainable agriculture (e.g. effective micro-organisms, biopesticides and soil analysis techniques). The public sector plays a key role in providing legitimate political and ph ysical spaces for multiple actors to jointly create and share sustainable agricultural knowledge, practices and products.

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Proceedings of the International Symposium on Agricultural Innovation for Family Farmers - Unlocking the potential of agricultural innovation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. 2019
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    Innovation is the process whereby individuals or organizations bring new or existing products, processes or ways of organization into use for the first time in a specific context. Innovation in agriculture cuts across all dimensions of the production cycle along the entire value chain - from crop, forestry, fishery or livestock production to the management of inputs and resources to market access. This book represents the proceedings of the first International Symposium on Agricultural Innovation for Family Farmers which FAO organized at its headquarters in Rome, Italy, on 21–23 November 2018. FAO convened the symposium to provide inspiration for innovation actors and decision makers to unlock the potential of innovation to drive socio economic growth, ensure food and nutrition security, alleviate poverty, improve resilience to changing environments and thereby achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It was attended by 540 participants, including 286 delegates from 92 member countries. The proceedings provide a record of the main highlights of the symposium, including the opening plenary session; high-level ministerial segment; innovation fair, with 20 success stories of agricultural innovation; and six highly interactive parallel sessions and two special events dedicated to youth and to chefs and family farmers. During these different sessions, participants shared their experiences, knowledge and examples of agricultural innovation in different sectors; they also discussed the drivers and key factors contributing to success, as well as the main constraints for agricultural innovation.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2020
    Agricultural markets and sustainable development: Global value chains, smallholder farmers and digital innovations
    2020
    Also available in:
    The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2020 (SOCO 2020) aims to discuss policies and mechanisms that promote sustainable outcomes – economic, social and environmental – in agricultural and food markets, both global and domestic. The analysis is organized along the trends and challenges that lie at the heart of global discussions on trade and development. These include the evolution of trade and markets; the emergence of global value chains in food and agriculture; the extent to which smallholder farmers in developing countries participate in value chains and markets; and the transformative impacts of digital technology on markets. Along these themes, SOCO 2020 discusses policies and institutions that can promote inclusive economic growth and also harness markets to contribute towards the realization of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.