Why invest in Participatory Guarantee Systems?

Why invest in Participatory Guarantee Systems? PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251318735
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 61

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Book Description
The increasing demand for more nutritious and safe food in Asia is creating both market opportunities and challenges for organic farmers. Obtaining access to this market requires certification, and many smallholder farmers lack the capacity to differentiate their organic products from the conventional products. This prevent smallholder farmers from profiting from these new markets. Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) are one option to get around this problem. PGS provide an alternative to certify organic production supplying local markets. This certification is based on trust, social interaction and peer-reviews. Drawing on the findings of FAO pilot project on PGS covering Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, this publication presents the opportunities and limitations of PGS as a tool for transitioning towards sustainable local food systems. This publication aims to raise awareness of PGS among governments, local authorities, development partners, donors, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to encourage them to invest in PGS. Among the reasons for investing in PGS are that they are suitable for smallholder farmers; allow market access; bring opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurs; make available fresh and locally produced food; bridge the extension gap in rural communities and contribute towards empowerment for smallholder farmers. General recommendations to guide PGS efforts by national governments and local partners include to enhance public–private collaboration; support consumer education and awareness-raising; create Participatory Guarantee System friendly policies and regulatory frameworks; monitor the impact in the field; strengthen capacities of stakeholders; make realistic and cost-effective planning for long-term sustainability.

Why invest in Participatory Guarantee Systems?

Why invest in Participatory Guarantee Systems? PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251318735
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 61

Get Book Here

Book Description
The increasing demand for more nutritious and safe food in Asia is creating both market opportunities and challenges for organic farmers. Obtaining access to this market requires certification, and many smallholder farmers lack the capacity to differentiate their organic products from the conventional products. This prevent smallholder farmers from profiting from these new markets. Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) are one option to get around this problem. PGS provide an alternative to certify organic production supplying local markets. This certification is based on trust, social interaction and peer-reviews. Drawing on the findings of FAO pilot project on PGS covering Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, this publication presents the opportunities and limitations of PGS as a tool for transitioning towards sustainable local food systems. This publication aims to raise awareness of PGS among governments, local authorities, development partners, donors, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to encourage them to invest in PGS. Among the reasons for investing in PGS are that they are suitable for smallholder farmers; allow market access; bring opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurs; make available fresh and locally produced food; bridge the extension gap in rural communities and contribute towards empowerment for smallholder farmers. General recommendations to guide PGS efforts by national governments and local partners include to enhance public–private collaboration; support consumer education and awareness-raising; create Participatory Guarantee System friendly policies and regulatory frameworks; monitor the impact in the field; strengthen capacities of stakeholders; make realistic and cost-effective planning for long-term sustainability.

Transition to Agro-Ecology

Transition to Agro-Ecology PDF Author: Jelleke de Nooy van Tol
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1524633836
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
Our global agricultural and food system is broken and needs to transition to one that is more sustainable and beneficial to the worlds population. This seems hard in the face of the linked challenges of climate change, natural resource depletion, and worldwide economic and social upheaval. At the same time, farmer-led social movements are growing, and there is increasing recognition that agroecology and food sovereignty are key solutions for both nutritious food security and climate change adaptation. This book takes you along in the transition to agroecology, which is already happening, worldwide! The author shows us the as of yet dispersed but growing movement of many smallholder farmers, projects, programs, research, and policy agendas that are making the change. Since the daily news prevents us from noticing, Jelleke shows us the most beautiful and intriguing examples of ground-breaking people and projects. She gives you the keys for transition. She makes us look back from 2030. What have we done by thenyou and I, your friends and colleagues, investors and politiciansto have arrived in a changed food-secure world where agroecology is the new normal? This book is a must-read for researchers, politicians, students, and consumers alike.

Policies for High Quality, Safe, and Sustainable Food Supply in the Greater Mekong Subregion

Policies for High Quality, Safe, and Sustainable Food Supply in the Greater Mekong Subregion PDF Author: Thomas R. D. Weaver
Publisher: Asian Development Bank
ISBN: 9292613219
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
This book presents research into the production of safe, high-quality, and environmentally friendly agriculture products in the Greater Mekong Subregion. It also explores the actions and policy options that could be pursued. Three themes are examined: Improving Food Safety and Quality; Inclusive and Sustainable, Safe and Environment-Friendly Agriculture Products; and Value Chains for Safe and Environment-Friendly Agriculture Products. This aligns with the ASEAN Economic Community blueprint, which calls for the creation of a single market and production base for food, agriculture, forestry; and integration of the region into the global economy.

Urban and peri-urban agriculture sourcebook

Urban and peri-urban agriculture sourcebook PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251361118
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
The purpose of this book is to set out the key lessons learned and to provide recommendations and guidance based on existing cases and examples for a wide range of actors involved in urban food systems. In particular, the aim is for this publication to serve as a sourcebook for local decision-makers, policy advisors, urban planners, specialists, practitioners and others involved in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA). The sourcebook is also for those involved in the design and implementation of production schemes, planning of urban food strategies, and policies concerning agriculture in urban and peri-urban areas.

Innovative markets for sustainable agriculture

Innovative markets for sustainable agriculture PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 925109327X
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 390

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Book Description
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 market 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 creating 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 organization 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 physical spaces for multiple actors to jointly create and share sustainable agricultural knowledge, practices and products.

Resources, Partnerships – Impact 2020

Resources, Partnerships – Impact 2020 PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251327769
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 98

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Book Description
The Resources, Partnerships, Impact – 2020 report elucidates who FAO is, what it has done, and how it has worked in collaboration with multiple stakeholders in 2019. Also, it highlights the way FAO has been adapting to changes in the development aid landscape, specifically by leveraging different kinds of funds and seeking innovative partnerships, in order to accelerate the attainment of the SDGs. The report takes a closer look at the challenges and strategies that guided FAO’s activities at the regional and global levels in 2019, while showcasing selected interventions that delivered critical results on the ground.

Socio-Environmental Regimes and Local Visions

Socio-Environmental Regimes and Local Visions PDF Author: Minerva Arce Ibarra
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030497674
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 462

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Book Description
This book presents oral histories, collective dialogues, and analyses of rural and indigenous livelihoods facing global socio-environmental regime change in Latin America (LA). Since the late twentieth century, rural and indigenous producers in LA, including agriculturists, coffee-growers, as well as small-scale farmers/fishers, and others, have had to resist, cope with, or adapt to a range of neoliberal socio-environmental regimes that impact their territories and associated resources, including water, production systems and ultimately their cultural traditions. In response, rural producers are using local visions and innovation niches to decide what, when, and how to resist, cope with uncertainty, and still be successful in using their customary laws to retain their land rights and livelihoods. This book presents a range of ethnically diverse case studies from LA, which addresses socio-environmental, educational, and law regimes’ effects using transdisciplinary research approaches in rural, traditional and indigenous production systems. Based on both, the results and insights gained into how producers are resisting and adapting to these regimes, as well as decades of research carried out in LA rural territories by the participating authors, the book puts forward a baseline for devising new public policies that are better suited to the real challenges of livelihoods, poverty, and environmental degradation in LA. These recommendations are rooted in post-development thinking; they promote territorial public policy with social inclusion and a human’s rights approach. The book draws on over 20 years of research carried out by LA’s academics and their undergraduate and graduate students who have addressed collaborative work, participatory research, and transdisciplinary approaches with rural commons and communities in LA. It features 19 case studies, with contributions from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, and Mexico.

Organic Farming, Prototype for Sustainable Agricultures

Organic Farming, Prototype for Sustainable Agricultures PDF Author: Stéphane Bellon
Publisher: Springer Science & Business
ISBN: 9400779275
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description
Stakeholders show a growing interest for organic food and farming (OF&F), which becomes a societal component. Rather than questioning whether OF&F outperforms conventional agriculture or not, the main question addressed in this book is how, and in what conditions, OF&F may be considered as a prototype towards sustainable agricultures. The book gathers 25 papers introduced in a first chapter. The first section investigates OF&F production processes and its capacity to benefit from the systems functioning to achieve higher self-sufficiency. The second one proposes an overview of organic performances providing commodities and public goods. The third one focuses on organics development pathways within agri-food systems and territories. As well as a strong theoretical component, this book provides an overview of the new challenges for research and development. It questions the benefits as well as knowledge gaps with a particular emphasis on bottlenecks and lock-in effects at various levels.

Dynamic development, shifting demographics and changing diets

Dynamic development, shifting demographics and changing diets PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251302480
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
Asia and the Pacific is experiencing major demographic shifts and urbanizing rapidly. E-agriculture technologies (remote sensing, drones, sensors) are emerging, with potentially profound implications for the entire food system and management of the natural resource base. Structural transformation of the economy has also changed the nature of the food security problem. Earlier, many governments thought that producing more staple food was sufficient to improve food security. However, today’s economy, increasingly based on human capital and less on physical strength, requires that policies and programmes promote healthy diets for healthy people. This need for improved nutrition will require shifts in agricultural production and trade patterns. Solving the malnutrition problem in urban areas will also require different solutions than in rural areas, due to the difference in urban and rural food environments. In line with the structural transformation of the economy, farm households also increasingly rely on non-farm income to support their livelihoods and risk management strategies, which has implications for the uptake of new technologies. The demographic shifts, urbanization and structural changes in the economy, coupled with climate change, have made the food security and nutrition problem more complex than it was in the past. Solutions require input from different stakeholders, both public and private, as well as a range of government ministries, including Health, Finance, Education, Environment, Trade and Social Welfare in addition to Agriculture.

Investing in Natural Capital for a Sustainable Future in the Greater Mekong Subregion

Investing in Natural Capital for a Sustainable Future in the Greater Mekong Subregion PDF Author: Asian Development Bank
Publisher: Asian Development Bank
ISBN: 929257146X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
This report aims to demonstrate the compelling need to increase investments in natural capital in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and identifies actions now being taken regionally and nationally to manage natural capital. It also proposes a guiding framework for promoting investments and actions by GMS countries to secure natural capital and thus ensure sustainable and inclusive growth in the subregion.