Aiming to evaluate the status of key agroecological and digital ecosystem aspects, this report presents a study on major livestock practices, the use of digital tools, and the flow of information that have been carried out among actors working in the region of Novo Repartimento, Anapú and Pacajá (Para-Brazil), whereby ATDT project plans to implement its year 2 activities (2023) in partnership with Solidaridad. This study was based on a previous assessment done by the Agroecological TRANSITIONS program’s Inclusive Digital Tools to Enable Climate-informed Agroecological Transitions (ATDT) Brazil implementation partner (Solidaridad) on farmer’s profile, the status of livestock practices adoption and use of digital tools of about 1,000 smallholders in the target region. A field activity was deployed to visit and interview a sample of Solidaridad’s extension agents (n=13) and farmers supported by Solidaridad (n=15) working in the region.
Tag: agriculture
Key actions to develop inclusive digital resources for smallholder cattle ranchers in Brazil
The digitization of food systems is well underway. The digital ecosystem and its actors have increasing influence over how food is produced, what food people buy, and flows of information among farmers, supply chain actors and consumers. Efforts to transform food systems towards sustainability, including climate change resilience and mitigation, similarly rely on digital resources and offer the opportunity to scale up best practices rapidly at lost cost. Yet differences in digital participation among farmers risk exacerbating inequities, and top-down digital information can lack local relevance and disempower farmers, especially smallholders. In this context, the Agroecological Transitions Program’s (TRANSITIONS) Inclusive Digital Tools project (ATDT) supports the use of inclusive digital resources and citizen science to stimulate the beef cattle chain in Brazil to create, adapt and innovate production practices based on agroecological principles. This brief presents results of a stakeholder consultation carried out in October and November 2022 with the objective of understanding key areas, principles and priority actions to guide the development of inclusive digital resources for smallholder cattle ranchers in Brazil.
Learning pathway: Course flows & blueprint
This course is a pivotal contribution to FAO’s vision of fostering a Better Environment, particularly focusing on Biodiversity for food and agriculture. Aligned with FAO’s strategic initiatives, the course is fortified by the approval of the FAO Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity Across Agricultural Sectors and the 2021-23 Action Plan, emphasizing the importance of targeted policies and practices for sustainable use, conservation, and restoration of ecosystems.
A Whole Earth Approach to Nature-Positive Food: Biodiversity and Agriculture
This rapid evidence review documents the best available evidence of agriculture’s relationships with biodiversity, drawing on the contributions of leading biodiversity experts, and recommends actions that can be taken to move towards more biodiversity/nature-positive production through the delivery of integrated agricultural solutions for climate, biodiversity, nutrition and livelihoods. The analysis, which takes a whole-of-food-system approach, brings together a large body of evidence. It accounts for aspects not typically captured in a stand-alone primary piece of research and indicates where there are critical gaps.
Learning pathway: Course flows & blueprint
This course is a pivotal contribution to FAO’s vision of fostering a Better Environment, particularly focusing on Biodiversity for food and agriculture. Aligned with FAO’s strategic initiatives, the course is fortified by the approval of the FAO Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity Across Agricultural Sectors and the 2021-23 Action Plan, emphasizing the importance of targeted policies and practices for sustainable use, conservation, and restoration of ecosystems.
Agricultural and Women in Pagar Alam
Gender equality in the agricultural sector in Pagar Alam is relatively good. Most agricultural-related decisions in households are made by both men and women farmers. However, women’s opinions/suggestions in these joint decision-making processes are less than men’s because women are disinclined to express them. To achieve gender equality, it is necessary to prioritise the development of women’s capacity and confidence in expressing their opinions, particularly in the agricultural sector. It is expected that family decisions will better reflect women’s voices and interests.
Value chain research and development: The quest for impact
For decades, governments, donors, and practitioners have promoted market-based development approaches (MBDA), most recently in the form of value chain development (VCD), to spur economic growth and reduce poverty. Changes in approaches have been shaped by funders, practitioners and researchers in ways that are incompletely appreciated. We address the following questions: (1) how have researchers and practitioners shaped discussions on MBDA?; and (2) how has research stimulated practice, and how has practice informed research? We hypothesize that stronger exchange between researchers and practitioners increases the relevance and impact of value chain research and development. We adopt Downs’ (1972) concept of issue-attention cycles, which posits that attention to a particular issue follows a pattern where, first, excitement builds over potential solutions; followed by disenchantment as the inherent complexity, trade-offs, and resources required to solve it become apparent; and consequently attention moves on to a new issue. We review the literature on MBDA to see how far this framing applies. We identify five cycles of approaches to market-based development over the last 40 or more years: (1) non-traditional agricultural exports; (2) small and medium enterprise development; (3) value chains with a globalization perspective; (4) value chains with an agri-business perspective; and (5) value chain development. The shaping and sequencing of these cycles reflect researchers’ tendency to analyse and criticize MBDA, while providing limited guidance on workable improvements; practitioners’ reluctance to engage in critical reflection on their programmes; and an institutional and funding environment that encourages new approaches. Future MBDA will benefit from stronger engagement between researchers, practitioners, and funders. Before shifting attention to new concepts and approaches, achievements and failures in previous cycles need to be scrutinized. Evidence-based practice should extend for the length of the issue-attention cycle; preferably it should arrest the cycling of attention. Funders can help by requiring grantees to critically reflect on past action, by providing “safe spaces” for sharing such reflections, and by engaging in joint learning with practitioners and researchers.
Sustainable Peatland Management Model-A Case of Kalampangan Village, Palangka Raya City, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
18 kilometers from Palangka Raya City, the capital of Central Kalimantan, Borneo’s part of Indonesia, Kalampangan is populated by farming communities who primarily produce important tropical crops. This former transmigrant village was occupied in the early 1980s, is located on peatland with a depth of approximately 4 meters. Peat is a vulnerable, spongy and acid soils. Recently, pressure from regulation and market demands for low carbon products has forced some local farmers to stop burnt and over-drainage and adapt their agricultural practices to more sustainable practices. The adoption rate, however, is still low. This study identifies the challenges and efforts towards sustainable management in Kalampangan’s agricultural communities, based on the information collected during a field visit, soil sampling and the discussion sessions, held with the selective farming and its community. The roles of the stake-holder through transformative leadership were shown to be very important for the shift from conventional to environmentally-friendly practices.
Ecosystem-Based Adaption Project PABE – Benin Consolidated Baseline Study
The objective of PABE project is to buffer communities against the effects of climate change by adapting agricultural livelihoods and investing in land stewardship. The project implements key EbA and climate-resilient agricultural interventions in the following seven municipalities of central and north Benin: Dassa, Tchaourou, Djougou, Ouaké, Cobly, Boukoumbé and Banikoara. As part of the overall Monitoring and Evaluation Framework of PABE, this report presents the consolidated baseline study conducted in Benin from September to December 2022 using the multi-year Learning-Oriented Real-Time Impact Assessment (LORTA) approach. the Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU) of the GCF started LORTA programme with the main goal of strengthening the capacities in assessing the impact of GCF intervention. The LORTA uses impact evaluation (IE) techniques to help understanding which activities are working, which are most efficient, and which approaches to scale up. Empirical evidence on impacts of climate-related projects is rather scarce.
Do farmers’ socioeconomic status determine the adoption of conservation agriculture? An empirical evidence from Eastern and Southern Regions of Cameroon
The African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Malabo Declaration recognize agricultural development as one of the most effective means of combating extreme poverty. Conservation Agriculture Practices (CAP) have been asserted to have the potential to boost agricultural output, improve livelihood and contribute to the conservation of natural resources. This study thus seeks to advance knowledge about Conversation Agriculture by assessing the factors determining the adoption and intensity of CAP among Cameroon’s smallholder farmers. Data collected from 351 farmers in the South and East regions of Cameroon were used to study the social, economic, ecological and biophysical factors that determine the adoption of CAP. The study considered agroforestry, intercropping, crop rotation, cover crop, mulching, and zero-tillage as the CAP under investigation. According to the multivariate probit analysis employed, the results showed that gender, age, family size, extension services, use of modern farm technology, distance from house to farm, livestock owned, and infertile soil all significantly influenced CAP adoption. Results on adoption intensity revealed that gender, distance from house to farm, and the number of livestock owned were critical drivers of CAP adoption intensity. Promoting the adoption of CAP, policymakers and concerned stakeholders should consider farmer, institutional, socio-economic, ecological, biophysical aspects as well as relational values. However, already existing extension services need to be improved upon.