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Science of scaling: Connecting the pathways of agricultural research and development for improved food, income and nutrition security

F&BKP Office — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 12:15:12 +0000

This special issue of Agricultural Systems takes stock of how the world of agricultural research for development (AR4D) is engaging with scaling in theory and practice in the context of increased pressure to demonstrate impact. The 10 publications cut agross three categories: 1) Understanding the scaling trajectory retrospectively form a longer term, systems perspective. The category includes two articles, showing how scaling of innovation cuts across different institutional, leadership, technological and organizational dimensions, and applying a systems perspective to draw programmatic lessons from a large scale investment in scaling. 2) Understanding scaling of innovation retrospectively as part of shorter term AR4D interventions. The five articles in the category focus on the scaling approaches employed by innovation platforms, on how multi-level innovation platforms served as the principle approach to scaling sustainable intensification, on approaching scaling from the viewpoint of ensuring access to material and social components of an innovation package, on research-development partnerships and partnership drivers and dynamics for scaling complex innovations, and on opportunities and challenges for scaling agricultural mechanization services. 3) Conceptual or methodological approaches aimed at guiding scaling prospectively. One paper builds a strong case for a systems approach to scaling, another operationalises complex systems concepts for assessing the scaling readiness of innovations, while the last paper demonstrates how the use of The Rural Household Multi-Indicator Survey (RHoMIS) for rapid characterization of rural households can support scaling partners to move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches to scaling of innovation. The editorial proposes three research domains for the Science of Scaling: ‘Understand the big picture of scaling innovation’; ‘Develop instruments that nurture efficient and responsible scaling’; and ‘Create a conducive environment for scaling innovation’.

Multi-actor initiatives in action: Lessons from the Sustainable Diets for All programme

F&BKP Office — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 15:42:29 +0000

This paper (PDF) by Hivos and IIED aims to strengthen the understanding of multi-stakeholder initiatives (MAIs) by showing what works and what does not, based on three MAIs that have come about through the Sustainable Diets for All programme, and also provides actionable recommendations for people designing MAIs. MAIs can serve to connect the various actors of the food system and bring about transformation. Each case briefly describes the MAI and how it works, and summarises the main outcomes and lessons. The programe has seen that inviting stakeholders such as decision makers and citizens to engage in these initiatives together encourages a deeper understanding of other perspectives and interests. And when decision makers take on challenges alongside other stakeholders, desired advocacy changes in agenda setting, policy making and practices are often achieved. In general, the case studies analysed in this report have shown the added value of MAIs in addressing food system problems. The complex nature of food systems, with their many moving parts and multiple actors, requires an approach that brings this diversity of views together in a meaningful and productive way. When designed to be flexible and to factor in learning moments and adjustments, and to consciously engage with stakeholders throughout every phase of the process, a MAI can be a useful approach for improving food systems. The paper concludes with a series of general recommendations drawn from these case studies: 1) Work flexibility into the process; 2) Clarify what you aim to change, define a desired change process, and monitor progress; 3) Be inclusive; 4) Conduct a stakeholder analysis; 5) Ensure strong facilitation; 6) Focus on everyday issues and discuss them in the local language; 6) Invest for the long term; 7) Understand people’s realities better; 8) Indentify the impact of strategies.

Agency of advocacy in the food systems of the majority

F&BKP Office — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 13:33:03 +0000

This paper (PDF) by Hivos and IIED highlights lessons and insights from the Sustainable Diets for All programme about the opportunities, dilemmas and tensions of putting (low-income) citizen agency at the centre of advocacy and interventions. Interventions to improve the sustainability and nutrition of food can be misdirected when based on assumptions about people’s priorities and level of knowledge. When citizens have agency, there is the potential to achieve better and more durable outcomes. The food systems for low-income citizens have characteristics that make citizen agency an important starting point for external interventions. These food systems of the majority operate largely through the informal and semi-formal economy without large-scale corporate structures. At the consumption end, these food systems meet a growing demand for prepared food, with the role of women and youth being particularly important throughout. The organisation of these systems are usually unclear to outsiders. Policy neglect is rife, as is a lack of trust. Local concepts of sustainable food systems may differ fundamentally from western framing of food and diets. External interventions therefore need to be grounded in realities of food systems of the majority. By understanding lived experience and by locating hotspots of organisation and energy, interventions have a chance to establish common cause with food producers, trades and consumers, especially in informal food economies. Reflections for citizen-centred interventions are: 1) Space and opportunity for agency should be designed from the beginning of an intervention. 2) Careful scoping in the food system of the majority and its organisation helps build around people’s priorities rather than an imposed agenda. 3) Ways of working need to be adapted to keep citizens at the centre of advocacy. 4) Advocacy at the local level and in the wider policy and market environment will not always be directed at public policy. 5) Effects on citizen capacities and agency can be monitored as outcomes in their own right.

The global institutional landscape of food and agriculture: How to achieve SDG2

F&BKP Office — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 16:11:53 +0000

This paper (PDF) by ECDPM describes the food and agriculture (F&A) global institutional landscape and its challenges and looks at ongoing reform efforts and their shortcomings. The world is not on track to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2. Achieving SDG 2 requires urgent action at country level, but also a more effective F&A global institutional landscape. The F&A institutional landscape grew over the past decades as a reaction to crises, identified needs, funding priorities, strategic considerations, humanitarian goals, and individual visions, to become the patchwork of interconnected institutions that it is today. One key feature today is the wide recognition that food is intrinsically linked, accompanied with a dizzying level of complexity, to many of humanities’ biggest challenges. Food, thus straddles almost all SDGs, yet it remains unclear whether or not the current fragmented F&A landscape can effectively coordinate across the whole spectrum of interrelated issues and goals. Renewed effort is urgently needed, but progress is hampered by high fragmentation, overlapping mandates, and budget shortages. Achieving SDG 2 requires stronger reform momentum and larger budgets, supported also by increased coordination across the F&A landscape. In the short term, the paper proposes to increase coordination through an inclusive consultative process to streamline SDG 2 actions across committed F&A institutions, which could culminate in an SDG 2 Leaders Alliance. A next phase of this consultative process could increase coherence, coordination, and accountability between the SDG 2 Alliance and other (F&A) institutions. For the long-term reforms necessary to address the challenge of increasingly complex food systems beyond 2030, a process aimed at delivering stronger food governance through a well-built institutional architecture is proposed. Current and upcoming challenges now necessitate a wider debate on the state of food security and the purpose of F&A governance, especially given its impact on the many related global issues outside the traditional purview of F&A institutions.

Food safety in low and middle-income countries: The evidence through an economic lens

F&BKP Office — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 15:08:01 +0000

This study in World Development explored food safety issues at each stage of the value chain to identify the economic questions, practical challenges, and knowledge gaps along the way. Foodborne disease is a significant threat to global health, and food safety is a growing concern among consumers in low- and middle-income countries as these countries develop and incomes increase. Ensuring access to safe food, however, is complicated by the fact that our food systems are increasingly complex, with foods traveling longer distances and passing through more stages between where it is grown and where it is eaten. Food safety is both a health issue and an economic one: foodborne disease carries a global health burden comparable to that of malaria or tuberculosis, and affects everyone who eats food – meaning all of us. Factors identified to contribute to food safety issues include: limited consumer awareness and ability to pay for food safety; the lack of incentives to invest in food safety along the food supply chain, from farmers to aggregators, processors, food service providers, and retailers; and weakness of the public institutions responsible for regulatory enforcement. Programs that engage midsize and larger firms in co-regulation and reward farmers and firms for investment in food safety suggest potential ways forward. One lesson that can be drawn from both developed and developing countries with regard to food standards is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach, and policymakers will need to consider the specific of the circumstances when working to make improvements along the value chain. Alongside these efforts, researchers can help fill evidence and knowledge gaps on a variety of questions that remain outstanding,

Read more on this related blog by Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (CGIAR)

Economic evaluations of multi-sectoral actions for health and nutrition

F&BKP Office — Thu, 12 Sep 2019 12:46:34 +0000

This brief (PDF) by the Agriculture, Nutrition and Health Academy focuses on the challenge of measuring and comparing health improvements from programmes and policies affecting agricultural production, farmers’ livelihoods and the food environment of urban and rural households. In the context of environmental uncertainty, competing funding demands, increasingly complex food systems and epidemiological transitions, meeting the challenges of malnutrition and public health calls for well-designed and implemented multi-sectoral interventions. However, planning effective agricultural policies and programmes that seek to improve nutrition requires knowledge and understanding of the costs and expected benefits; evidence of which is often scarce. Multi-sectoral interventions also involve different types of costs, incurred in diverse ways by a variety of agencies, meaning that a range of tools, methods and metrics are needed to adequately track and evaluate benefits and costs that transcend sectors. Tools do exist for measuring benefits and cost effectiveness, but which, and how many, are useful for agriculture-nutrition interventions? Just how far should we ‘climb up the tree of economic evaluation?’ Together, this complexity and lack of clarity inevitably hinders analysts’ ability to compare, measure and consistently budget for interventions. By creating a simplified framework and promoting best practices for estimating and reporting costs and benefits of multisectoral strategies that improved evidence and benchmarks will be available in the near future.

Reducing food loss and waste: Setting a global agenda

F&BKP Office — Mon, 02 Sep 2019 08:04:44 +0000

This report (PDF) by the World Resources Institute and the Rockefeller Foundation lays out a global action agenda that will help reduce food loss and waste. Reducing food loss and waste is an important strategy to help meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The benefits of reducing food loss and waste can be significant, it would for example close the gap between food needed in 2050 and food available in 2010 bij more than 20 percent. The underlying drivers of food loss and waste are closely interrelated. Among these drivers, some are more relevant in certain regions. The report identifies a three-pronged approach to halve food loss and waste by 2030. The report calls on governments, companies, farmers, consumers, and everyone in between to: 1) “Target-Measure-Act”: Set food loss and waste reduction targets, measure to identify hotspots of food loss and waste and monitor progress over time, and take action on the hotspots. Progress has been made toward implementing some aspects of Target- Measure-Act. In terms of setting targets, 50 percent of the world’s population now lives in a country that has set an explicit, public target; 2) Pursue a short “to-do” list per player in the food supply chain as “no regret” first steps toward taking action. 3) Collaborate on 10 “scaling interventions” to ramp up deployment of Target-Measure-Act and the to-do list to make sure the progress is going on faster. These scaling interventions include whole supply chain approaches, hotspot-specific approaches and enabling approaches.

Contract farming and public−private partnerships in aquaculture

F&BKP Office — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 14:43:19 +0000

This paper (PDF) from the FAO explores some aspects of contract farming with public–private partnerships that combine the expertise and profitability goals of the private sector with the enabling policies of governments. Contract farming (CF) has demonstrated its positive impact as an institutional innovation. Even smallholders can benefit: by reducing – if not eliminating –transaction costs, CF provides markets, finance and technology to smallholders. They can be competitive when there are diseconomies of scale in cultivation, but benefits from economies of scale in processing. Partnering with private companies or NGOs can provide time and resources for entrepreneurial attitudes to evolve and for projects to become financially viable. Sustainability requires that farmers and private partners benefit economically and that environmental and social conditions do not worsen. For projects that focus on food production there are societal benefits. These benefits accrue to society when young people are involved in the project. The extent of unemployment and underemployment of young people in rural sub-Saharan Africa is a personal and societal tragedy, so training and opportunities to engage in business activities is positive. A further societal benefit is the reduction of food insecurity thanks to a successful project. In the first place higher incomes and profits from entrepreneurial activities enhance purchasing power and thus food accessibility. In the second place it increases the availability of food. These benefits are particularly pertinent when a project expands the production of eggs, fish and poultry, given the micronutrients they provide.

United Nations decade of family farming 2019-2028: Global action plan

F&BKP Office — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 08:53:16 +0000

This action plan (PDF) by FAO and IFAD aims to mobilize concrete, coordinated action to overcome challenges family farmers face, strengthen their investment capacity and thereby attain the potential benefits of their contributions to transform out societies and put in place long-term and sustainable solutions. Putting family farming and all family-based production models at the focus of interventions for a period of ten years, will contribute to a world free of hunger and poverty, where natural resources are managed sustainably, and where no one is left behind. Family farming is the predominant form of food and agricultural production in both developed and developing countries, producing over 80 percent of the world’s food in value terms. The global action plan aims at accelerating actions undertaken in a collective, coherent and comprehensive manner to support family farmers. The action plan consists of five pillars: 1) An enabling policy environment needs to be in place to achieve an sustain progress in food security and nutrition; 2) Support youth and ensure the generational sustainability of family farming; 3) Promote gender equity in family farming and the leadership role of rural women; 4) Strengthen family farmers’ organizations and their capacities to generate knowledge, represent farmers’ concerns and provide inclusive services in rural areas; 5) Improve socio-economic inclusion, resilience and well-being of afmily farmers, rural households and communities; 6) Promote sustainability of family farming for climate-resilient food systems; 7) Strengthen the multidimensionality of family farming to promote social innovations contributing to territorial development and food systems that safeguard biodiversity, the environment and culture. An inclusive monitoring mechanism is developed with the aim to enhance coordination among the different actors involed, contributing to timely synergies, promoting accountability and sharing best practices at all levels.

Creating momentum for nutrition-sensitive agriculture: Experiences and lessons from the Australian aid program

F&BKP Office — Wed, 15 May 2019 09:52:43 +0000

This paper in the Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development takes a retrospective analysis of the shifts in the Australian aid program that made significant progress in aligning its agriculture policy and programming to be more nutrition-sensitive, and the broader policy environment which made these shifts possible. Global efforts to improve malnutrition have regained considerable momentum. Building the institutional capacity of donor countries to orient investments for enhancing nutrition outcomes is key to this overall vision. The lessons shared aim to support other donors and organizations to undertake similar organizational-level action towards greater nutrition-sensitivity. The Enabling Environment Framework (EEF) guided progress on the complex development agenda and identifies additional considerations for creating sufficient momentum for action. The frameworks consists of three pillars: 1) Knowledge and Evidence; 2) Politics and Governance; 3) Capacity and Resources. The three pillars provide a useful tool to guide thinking around the criteria essential to trigger institutional change. While the EEF outlines key pillars pivotal to creating and sustaining political momentum, lessons to inform how the pillars interact to enable (or hamper) progress to be made are yet to emerge. The processes that enable change will differ among countries and policy environments, which suggests that there may be additional mechanisms and actions required to create momentum. A readiness to learn and adapt accordingly enabled the Australian aid program to orient agricultural investments to improve nutrition outcomes. While the Australian aid program has been successful thus far in creating momentum, further work will be required to convert momentum into results.

Setting priorities to address the research gaps between agricultural systems analysis and food security outcomes in low- and middle- income countries

F&BKP Office — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 13:42:17 +0000

This working paper (PDF) by CGAIR assesses the current state of practice for the representation of food security indicators in agricultural systems models and provides recommendations for improvements in both model formulation and the empirical evidence base underlying it. The assessment found that there is broad agreement at conceptual level about linkages between agricultural systems and food security. However, the extant conceptual frameworks are often not specific enough. Moreover, the representations of food security indicators in empirical model analyses of both households and regions are diverse yet often inconsistent with the definitions more commonly emphasized by human nutritionists. Often, empirical models appear to equate measures of production or yields with “food security” when these are indicators only of the “availability” dimension of food security. It is recommended that agricultural systems models focus on incorporating three food access indicators: 1) food consumption expenditures; 2) experiene-based food insecurity scales; and 3) measures of household dietary diversity. The evidence base is currently insufficient to support robust and reliable integration of experience-based food insecurity scales and household dietary diversity into agricultural systems models. Collection of information, preferably using longitudinal data approaches, is needed so that model extensions can include these indicators. Additional study is needed to document and refine the general nature of relationships between common outputs of agricultural systems models and the other two indicators of food access. Priorities for application of agricultural systems models integrating improved representations of food security indicators could include assessment of shocks that could negatively affect production or incomes. The proof-of-concept analyses incorporating food access indicators at the household and regional levels have highlighted the empirical challenges of doing so, but also the benefits of doing so. Broad dissemination of the findings to the agricultural systems modeling and nutrition community is recommended.

One size does not fit all: Private-sector perspectives on climate change, agriculture and adaptation

F&BKP Office — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 15:40:15 +0000

This paper (PDF) in the The Climate-Smart Agriculture Papers assesses how private-sector actors across the supply chain manage climate smart agriculture (CSA), with an eye on how civil society can better engage companies in promoting CSA practices. Smallholder farmers around the globe are facing unstable productivity due to changing climate and weather patterns. The ways in which the private sector supports these farmers to build resilience to and/or engage in efforts to mitigate climate change can have significant impact on farmer livelihoods, security of supply of smallholder crops, and the reputation of the private sector actors drawing loyalty of end consumers and investors. Drawing on dialogue with 42 private firms working in coffee, cocoa and other commodity crops, we found that companies used a variety of climate information depending on their proximity to farm level, drivers for decision-making, and motivations for investing in climate smart practices. In order to successfully approach companies, tool/resource developers need to understand the role of climate smart agriculture within each company’s business model and sustainability strategy. By providing granular data to assist in risk management of specific supply chains, tailoring tools and resources to the companies’ needs, and making the business case for CSA investment, those promoting CSA practices can better engage the private sector to invest in climate resilience. The research highlights the need for the scientific community to provide more detailed, actionable information to incentivise companies’ investments in CSA. Understanding the role each company plays in the supply chain —as direct service providers, collaborators or catalysts—can help define the type of information needed. Insights and approaches that effectively connect long-term climate projections with short-term productivity and weather variability are still needed to increase alignment between existing productivity focused approaches and effective CSA investments.

Fair prices to achieve a living income for small farmers and its relation to local food purchase programs

F&BKP Office — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 10:17:45 +0000

This paper (PDF) in the Sociology and Anthropology journal aims to stimulate a discussion of how to raise the farmers’ income in a non-conventional way, namely by providing another way of looking at prices. For poverty alleviation as well as for food security with the agricultural producers, it is necessary to take a different look at producer prices, especially for small farmers. Since farmers do not earn a sufficient livelihood, alternative ways than market prices have to be looked at. An alternative application for market prices, are the ‘fair prices’. This fair price is the minimum price the farmer should receive in order to attain a living income and food security. The living income / fair price methodology takes as its point of departure the real local costs of living and the real production costs, and thus leads to different fair prices in different places. According to the author, this paradigm shift from the use of prices decided by the market with all its imperfections, to an approach founded on ethics is needed. The developments at both company and NGO level concerning living wage and living income give rise to the hope that the fair price concept will also be further developed soon. Fair prices are an important solution for the farmers’ problems, but are not the only solution. The Living Income / Fair Price methodology can be used in combination with other approaches, such as sustainable agricultural practices. As conditions are different in each country, more research is needed to analyze the consequences of the payment of fair prices for several groups of the population and to advise local governments about adequate accompanying measures.

Agriculture & food systems to 2050: Global trends, challenges and opportunities

F&BKP Office — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 10:55:34 +0000

This book (PDF) by World Scientific features a comprehensive foresight assessment, exploring the pressures — threats as well as opportunities — on the global agriculture and food systems between now and 2050. The overarching question it addresses is: “How should agricultural research and policy re-orient itself to address the ‘perfect storm’ of global threats and opportunities facing our planet?” It aims to help understand the context, by analyzing global trends and anticipating change for better planning and constructing pathways from the present to the future by focusing on the right questions and problems. The book has a number of key messages: 1) Rapid urbanization, income growth, and the consequent rising demand for food—in terms of both quantity and diversity—provide a new growth opportunity for the agricultural sector in developing countries. This implies a shift from ‘agriculture as a way of life’ to ‘agriculture as a business’ for smallholder farmers in developing countries. 2) The rise of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in developing countries needs urgent attention. Diversifying from the current focus on staple grains toward a nutrition-sensitive food system can help address the double burden of malnutrition. 3) Adaptation of transformative innovations and modern science tools with ‘big data’, ICT, and precision agriculture to smaller scales in developing countries is a major challenge for research and technology design, but has considerable potential to generate high returns towards sustainable intensification. 4) Food systems thinking can help identify synergies and trade-oﬀs between the SDGs, and indicate leverage points for policies and interventions.

A brief outlining some of the book’s key headlines can be found here.

A living income for small-scale farmers: Tackling unequal risks and market power

F&BKP Office — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 11:32:41 +0000

This paper (PDF) by Oxfam argues that closing the living income gap for small-scale farmer requires tackling the underlying imbalance in risk and market power that many of them face when engaging in global food value chains. The ability of small-scale farmers to earn a living income is critical to ensure their viability and economic success. The underlying imbalance is not accidental, but reinforced by structural barriers at the level of individual supply chains, commodity sectors, and public policy agendas. Disproportionate risk can represent a key deterrent for farmers to invest in their farms. Small-scale farmers are limited in their capacity to ensure predictable conditions and to buffer against potential shocks. Unequal market power is the second key barrier. The proliferation of global value chains has come with significant power asymmetries between global buyers and local farmers. Small-scale farmers could play a more active role in fulfilling their economic potential, by engaging in markets on more equal footing. Underlying these risk are structural barriers. At supply chain level, inequities in risk and power are manifested in the captive relationships between a large, fragmented group of farmers and a concentrated group of buyers. At commodity sector level, income prospects of farmers are significantly shaped by decision on commodity production an trade are made by powerful actors. At public policy level, imbalance between risk and market power faced by farmers is reinforced by a diverse set of policy areas ranging from land rights to access to inputs, market infrastructure, export policies, taxation and investment. Women face gender-specific income barriers. Entry point for overcoming these barriers exist. Four strategic shifts are recommended: from production to income as the benchmark for farmer-oriented support; from farmers’ participation in exports towards a holistic household-wide perspective; from resource-intensive interventions to exploring system-oriented strategies; from ‘creating’ to ‘contributing’ to change.

The Scaling Scan: a practical tool to determine the potential to scale

F&BKP Office — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 11:10:48 +0000

Impact at scale is needed to address critical global issues like water availability, sanitation, food security, access to clean energy and environmental concerns. But at the same time we all seem to wonder what scaling actually means in practice: how can our policy or project activities contribute to reach impact at scale? The PPPLab, studied to what it realistically takes to scale, and developed a practical tool that helps projects to identify strengths and weaknesses of their scaling strategies. The Scaling Scan is designed for anyone involved in pro-poor and sustainable development programs looking to scale impact. They are mandated to scale responsibly with minimal negative side effects on environmental, social and other systems. Project coordinators, managers and teams who direct project resources and priorities will be those most able to take advantage of the Scaling Scan. Still, technical experts and implementing staff will still find the scaling perspective useful, especially if applied before a pilot ends. Furthermore, the Scaling Scan can be applied within a range of sectors, though it is based on experience from the agriculture and the water sector. Several tests have been carried out in the Netherlands, Mexico, Kenya, India and Nepal with project managers, scientists, agricultural extension agents and other development practitioners working in the agrifood and rural water supply sectors. The final version was developed in cooperation with the International Wheat and Maize Improvement Centre (CIMMYT).

You can download the Scaling Scan here.

You can download an Excel version of the Scaling Scan here.

Delivering on the promise of transformational change: What does it take for Dutch-supported PPPs?

F&BKP Office — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 10:52:02 +0000

This paper (PDF) by PPPLab presents the main lessons from Dutch-supported public–private partnerships (PPPs) in food security and water, provides building blocks for making PPPs deliver on the SDGs, with fundamental implications for key partners in PPPs and policymakers. PPPs are expected to address complex issues in challenging placese. PPPLab found that Dutch-supported PPPs do rather well when it comes to pioneering innovative approaches, aligning interests, influencing the rules of the game, leveraging actors’ strengths and developing inclusive partnerships. However, the partnerships have to deal with high expectations form all sides and to deliver quickly on various policy goals. For Dutch-supported PPPs to deliver their promise of transformational change, they should: 1) Strategize for systemic change, which includes applying a long-term system lens, identifying scaling potential through local actors, engaging in issues that matter locally and becoming system players. 2) Improve parnerships’ fitness to enable change, which requires considering who to partner with, how to partner, what to do if circumstances change and how to work on locally embedding the partnership. 3) Rethink risk and combine resources, which implies mitigate risk, blended value proposition, plan financial graduation and get an in-country finance partner on board. Taking into account the lessons from Dutch-supported PPPs and their challenges, the Dutch PPP approach is in need of recalibration. There are some fundamental implications for the Dutch government on how to support PPPs best and unleash their transformational potential. Recalibrating the Dutch PPP approach implies: nurture system players, grants should exit responsibly and promote locally embedded partnerships.

The safe food imperative: Accelerating progress in low- and middle-income countries

F&BKP Office — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 15:52:54 +0000

This report (PDF) by the World Bank strengthens the economic case for increased public investment and other policy attention on food safety in developing countries. Among developing countries, there is limited understanding of the wider-ranging socio-economic costs of unsafe food and the benefits of remedial or preventative measures. Due to this, many countries underinvest in food safety or invest inefficiently in reaction to serious outbreak of foodborne illness, other food scares or trade interruptions. For many countries experiencing rapid urbanization and dietary challenges, the growing complexity of food safety hazards is outpacing if not overwhelming prevailing food safety management capacity – both in government and supply chains. A significant share of food safety problems and associated costs can be avoidable if a concerted set of preventive measures are put in place. Food safety needs to become a shared responsibility. The most crucial roles for governments is to be facilitative: induce investments and behaviour changes by actors that share the goal and responsibility for safer food. This inclusive concept of food safety management may require a paradigm shift in how emerging countries approach food safety regulation. Governments of low- and middle-income countries need to invest in food safety in a smart way: with clear purpose and tracking impact of interventions. Investments should also address environmental health issues and public health systems. Recommendations for national governments is a two-set: 1) Effective policy frameworks to govern food safety, emphasizing the adoption of both systems and inclusive concepts of food safety management. 2) For better implementation, guidance is offered for reforming food safety regulatory practices. The report also includes recommendations for different stakeholders, emphasizing core principless and reflecting what is most important and feasible for countries at different levels of economic development and food system modernization. More specific priorities and action plans will need to be determined and created by stakeholders at country or regional level.

The role of innovation brokers in agricultural innovation systems

F&BKP Office — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:13:34 +0000

This article, published by The World Bank, discusses the role of innovation brokers in bridging communication gaps between various actors of agricultural innovation systems. On the basis of recent experience in the Netherlands, it outlines the success of brokers in finding solutions adapted to the needs of farmers and industry, and thus their positive impact on innovation adoption. This section also examines some issues on how brokers function, particularly with regard to balancing interests, funding their activities, and the role of government. Innovation brokers purposefully catalyze innovation through bringing together actors and facilitating their interaction, from a relatively impartial third-party position. Brokering expands the role of agricultural extension from that of a one-to-one intermediary between research and farmers to that of an intermediary that creates and facilitates many-to-many relationships. Preliminary lessons from experience are that innovation brokers help build synergy in agricultural innovation systems, but their “behind-the-scenes” mode of operating conceals their impact and may limit financial support for their role. Their contributions to building capacity for collective innovation and preventing innovation-system failures offer a rationale for public investment in their activities. Innovation brokers need considerable room to maneuver in building and facilitating networks from a credible position. A context-specific design is required for innovation brokers to attain a credible position. The article comes with several recommendations for brokers, policy makers, project leaders and those who champion innovation brokering. A recommendation for brokers is to plan for the nature of the different innovation broker functions in the different steps of the innovation process, but be flexible at the same time. For policy makers it is recommended to assess innovation system failures and current innovation broker capacity to avoid duplication of effort. Project managers should coordinate actions of the innovation network partners and the innovation broker when forming the network to avoid confusion among the parties.

This article is a chapter of the book “Agricultural innovation systems: An investment sourcebook“.

Food systems for sustainable development: Proposals for a profound four-part transformation

F&BKP Office — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 13:59:56 +0000

This paper (PDF) in the Agronomy for Sustainable Development journal is calling on the need for a transformation of food systems – at scale – in order to achieve the SDGs and the Paris Agreement. Food systems are of importance for sustainable development: they are at the nexus linking food security, nutrition, human health, viability of ecosystems, climate change and social justice. However, agricultural policies tend to focus on food supply. Therefore, a transformation is needed to deliver multiple and simultaneous social, economic, and environmental outcomes, including poverty eradication and mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The food systems transformation that is needed has four parts, as argued by the international group of experts. First, food systems should enable all people to benefit from nutritious, healthy food. Second, they should reflect sustainable agricultural production and food value chains. Third, they should mitigate climate change and build resilience. Fourth, they should encourage a renaissance of rural territories. The implementation of the food system transformation relies on: (i) suitable metrics to aid decision-making; (ii) synergies of policies through convergence of local and global priorities, and (iii) enhancement of development approaches that focus on territories. There is a need for consistency between global actions for sustainable development and numerous local-level innovations. It emphasizes the challenge of designing differentiated paths for food systems transformation responding to local and national expectations. Scientific and operational challenges are associated with the alignment and arbitration of local action within the context of global priorities. In the end, the food system transformation depends on enlightened policies, well-adapted process, local to global integration and value systems based on justice and human rights principles for arbitrating trade-offs. The process should be accelerated through multi-stakeholder coalitions to encourage greater alignment among actors in the framework.

A related news item by CIRAD can be found here.

Multi-stakeholder partnerships to finance and improve food security and nutrition in the framework of the 2030 Agenda

F&BKP Office — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 08:11:38 +0000

This report (PDF) by the High Level Panel of Experts on Food and Nutrition Security clarifies the concepts of multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) and identifies the challenges. There is a growing recognition that the food security issue requires a cross-sectoral and holistic approach, for example via MSPs. The growing importance of MSPs however raises questions about the benefits, limitations, performance and relevance of MSPs. The primary benefit of MSPs is the mobilization and coordinated use of complementary resources. MSPs can also improve mutual understanding among partners, facilitate policy convergence and consensus building. A major challenge is the tensions that can appear among partners in a MSP, for example generated by conflicts of interest. Thereby, MSPs can reproduce existing power asymmetries and strengthen the position of more powerful actors. MSPs can also be more time, energy and resource consuming than when acting separately. HLPE suggests eight qualities that shape MSPs’ performance. Three result-related: effectiveness, impact and capacity to mobilize resources. Five process-related: inclusiveness, accountability, transparency, reflexivity and efficiency. The links, synergies and trade-offs between these qualities have to be considered when assessing MSPs’ performance. The report comes with a number of pathways to improve MSPs and finishes with a number of recommendations. One recommendation is to establish a policy framework to ensure that MSPs effectively contribute to the progressive realization of the right to adequate food. Hereby, states should consider the role of MSPs when developing strategies for achieving national food and nutrition security (FNS) goals, and ensure that legal and regulatory frameworks promote transparency and accountability. Another recommendation is to improve mobilization, coordination and targeting of financing for FNS through MSPs. States and intergovernmental organizations should promote innovative ways to mobilize domestic and international public financing of MSPs through the use of various mechanisms.

A summary of the report can be found here.

Innovation platforms in agricultural research for development

F&BKP Office — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 12:53:34 +0000

This article (PDF) by the Experimental Agriculture journal describes when and for what purpose innovation platforms provide an appropriate mechanism for achieving development outcomes, and what kinds of human and financial resource investments and enabling environments are required. Innovation platforms are fast becoming part of the mantra of agricultural research for development projects and programmes. Their basic tenet is that stakeholders depend on one another to achieve agricultural development outcomes, and hence need a space where they can learn, negotiate and coordinate to overcome challenges and capture opportunities through a facilitated innovation process. However, as the implementation of innovation platforms can consume significant human and financial resource investments, research and development donors will require evidence on the return on investments. This requires investments in structure monitoring, evaluation and learning, which is missing in many innovation platform initiatives. Furthermore, the study makes clear that not all constraints will require innovation platforms and, if there is a simpler, more cost- and time-effective approach, that should be considered first. It also provides an incentive to better reflect whether development outcomes can be achieved by building on existing platforms and networks, rather than initiating new innovation platforms. Based on the review of critical design principles and plausible outcomes of innovation platforms, this study provides a decision support tool for research, development and funding agencies that can enhance more critical thinking about the purposes and conditions under which innovation platforms can contribute to achieving agricultural development outcomes.

Partnering for value: Lessons from Public Private Producer Partnerships (4Ps) in practice

F&BKP Office — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 14:13:29 +0000

This paper (PDF) by SNV outlines factors that are important for successful Public Private Producer Partnerships (4Ps) business cases. The first factor is size of the private enterprise. While large enterprises are more likely to reach scale, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are usually more impact driven. For pro-poor impact, it is recommended to set up 4Ps with SMEs that are locally rooted in the area where the producers are located. The second factor is the structure of the market. Some market dynamics are less suitable for a 4P, as is often the case with saturated, unregulated or unstable markets. When there is a stable market and clear investments are needed to meet a certain market demand, there is a clear rationale to build long-term 4Ps. The third factor is focusing on raw materials versus value adding activities. A strong motivator to start a 4P when partners are interested in taking up market functions related to value addition. In contract, when the focus is on raw materials without further value adding activities, there is usually less incentive to invest in each other and start a long-term cooperation. In such cases, it is recommended to look for more open, flexible set-ups where partners jointly explore in which they can still support each other. The last factor is the level of co-ownership and equal participation by all partners; which should be a continuous priority during 4P brokering for success. To achieve a real meaningful partnership, capacity building if often needed for all partners. A major conclusion is that there is a sound basis for the role of 4Ps in rural development. Long-term 4Ps can contribute to development of agricultural value chains. However, many factors should be take in into account to increase the likelihood of success and benefits for all partners.

Innovations in food systems: The key to human and planetary health

F&BKP Office — Sun, 06 May 2018 14:53:39 +0000

This blog by Shenggen Fan in GlobalDev argues that innovations in technologies, policies, and institutions will be critical in reshaping food systems for nutrition, health, inclusion and sustainability. Global cooperation is key to ensuring that innovations in food systems are widely disseminated and contribute positively to global development. Food systems have played a huge role in the progress of improving food security and nutrition, yet these systems are also at the heart of our global health and sustainability crises. However, food systems have the unique potential to fix these problems and help meet broader development goals. To do so, we need a new food system for which innovations are critical. First of all, technological innovations are key to achieving multiple wins and it will be critical to promote technologies with strong evidence of their benefits. The technologies should be scaled up, with careful consideration of their impact on smallholders, children’s nutrition and employment. Second, policy innovations are also critical as they can help to make priorities of both human health and environment. Examples of policy innovations are better targeting of agriculture and nutrition subsidies and innovations in financing. Third and last, institutional innovations can create an enabling environment for these policies and technologies to have broad, inclusive impact. Areas of institutional innovations are land reform, inclusive markes chains, institutional accountability and the promotion of science. So, conclusion is that food can fix many problems, but food systems must be fixed first with the help of innovations. To develop and implement these innovations to ensure no one is left behind, disciplines, countries, and sectors must work together. Global cooperation will be key to ensuring that innovations in food systems are widely disseminated and contribute positively to global development.

Relevance of informal institutions for achieving sustainable crop intensification in Uganda

F&BKP Office — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 14:17:36 +0000

This paper (PDF) in the Food Security journal analyzes the influence of informal institutions on farmers’ access to land resources, financial resources, and farm inputs to achieve Sustainable Crop Intensification (SCI). The analysis is based on qualitative and quantitative data in Eastern and Southwestern Uganda. Results indicate that informal institutions play a central role in enhancing farmers’ investment in SCI interventions by facilitating access to land through inheritance, land rentals, and labor sharing arrangements, although they are biased against non-clan members and female members of the communities. Informal institutions also enable access to financial resources by farmers at lower transaction cost compared to formal financial institutions. Yet, the informal institutions face challenges related to poor rule enforcement and limited financial reserves. The contribution of informal institutions in improving farmers’ access to (i) external farm inputs, (ii) serving as forums for knowledge sharing and (iii) regulating quality of farm inputs is minimal. Findings imply that development interventions could benefit from using informal institutions as entry points for investment in SCI and building on institutions’ strengths in influencing access to land and financial resources. Policies and programs that promote the SCI approach need to recognize the role of informal institutions for increased implementation and impact. Future research should focus on identifying and testing models to better link formal and informal institutions relevant to SCI in order to maximize potential synergies between both systems, to avoid parallel and sometimes conflicting institutional incentives, and to reduce the negative impact that both systems may have on the ‘weaker’ groups in the community that may have disadvantages preventing their adoption of SCI in either institutional system.

Scaling up innovations through adaptive research: An institutional analysis and lessons from farm science centers in India

F&BKP Office — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 12:32:27 +0000

This discussion paper (PDF) by IFPRI presents a case study and lessons learned from an attempt to scale up a set of aquaculture innovations through adaptive research trials involving small-scale fish farmers in Odisha, India. Scaling up and mainstreaming proven technologies remains a major challenge for extension and rural advisory systems throughout developing countries. The two-plot trial, comparing 6 new technologies with traditional farmer practices, indicates that the technologies are location specific and feasible. However, some of the required inputs are out of reach for a small-scale fish farmer. Furthermore, the case study reveals that constant institutional support is required to keep farmers using the new practices until an incubation period has been completed. Key part of the study was to document lessons learned about conducting adaptive trials and demonstrations. The first key lessons was that farmers’ preconceived opinion about new technologies was low, and convincing them to participate was a tough task for organizers. Second, the budget was inadequate providing supplies for only a few farmers to participate in each trial. Another striking lessons is that results will be incorporated into mainstream extension messages that promote these technologies, perhaps prompting a large number of farmers to adopt them. Furthermore, state extension workers are aware of these technologies but have not worked to disseminate them or pushed for wider adoption. So conclusion is that technological solutions to farmer’s problems alone will not boost the widespread adoption of innovations. The associated institutional constraints must be identified and removed through strategic approaches. The mainstream extension systems needs to address the constraint in order to promote more widespread adoption of new technologies among fish farmers.

Food and agricultural innovation pathways for prosperity

F&BKP Office — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 09:36:35 +0000

This paper (PDF) by the Agricultural Systems journal characterizes concisely the vast inter-related literature on agriculture research for development (AR4D) context, mechanisms, and impacts as a framework and foundation for the expert assessments of specific mechanisms. The paper starts with identifying where agricultural research investments are most likely to be an engine of poverty reduction. Changes in the context of the efforts in the developing world over the past three decades have fundamental implications for AR4D priorities. Structural transformation has significantly reduced the number of countries in which agriculture plays the dominant role in the economy. At the same time, a combination of structural change, better methods, and more nuanced understanding of chronic poverty has revealed the need for a more multifaceted approach to AR4D. These changes and urbanization necessitate to embrace a food systems perspective beyond farms and fields, to longer and increasingly complex food chains. Finally, uncertainty, vulnerability, and potential disruption in these food systems suggest that flexibility, adaptability, and resilience are important considerations in AR4D strategy. Thereafter, the paper focuses on identifies plausible impact pathways and the evidence that tests their plausibility. Poor farmers in the developing world are often the focus of public sector AR4D, while they are not the only potential beneficiaries. This paper identified 18 plausible interacting impact pathways through which agriculture research can contribute to reductions in poverty and associated livelihood vulnerabilities. A key lessons concerning measuring the impact of agriculture research is that poverty impacts are almost impossible to measure reliably unless the initial research design is structured around this goal. Without thoughtful research design at the early stages, there is no statistical technique that can provide convincing evidence after the fact.

How does institutional embeddedness shape innovation platforms? A diagnostic study of three districts in the Upper West Region of Ghana

Ati van der Honing — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 12:47:21 +0000

This article (PDF) in the NJAS – Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences examines the factors that enhance and constrain innovation platforms’ functionality by applying the concept of institutional embeddedness. Innovation platforms have emerged as a way of enhancing the resilience of agricultural and food systems in the face of environmental change. A case study is presented of sub-national platforms established in three districts of the climatically-stressed Upper West Region of Ghana. A different kind of organization − the traditional chief council, the agricultural extension service, and a local NGO − was chosen by members to convene and coordinate the platform in each district. The authors examine platform members’ accounts of the platform formation and selection of facilitating agent, their vision for platform roles, and their understandings of platform agenda and impacts. It is illustrated how the organizational position of facilitating agents contribute to shaping platform agendas, functions, and outcomes. This process hinges on the deployment of legitimacy claims, which may appeal to cultural tradition, technical expertise, community engagement, and dominant scientific narratives on climate change. Institutional embeddedness is thereby shown to be a critical aspect of agency in multi-actor processes, contributing to framing local understandings of the climate change and to channelling collective efforts towards select response strategies. In conclusion, the authors stress that the institutional identity of facilitating agents and their relationship to members of the platform and to powerholders in the broader context provides a useful diagnostic lens to analyse the processes that shape the platform’s ability to achieve its goals.

Value chain innovations for technology transfer in developing and emerging economies: Conceptual issues, typology, and policy implications

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 12:47:56 +0000

This article in the journal Food Policy addresses the question how value chain organization and innovations can have an important impact on modern technology adoption. The adoption of modern technologies in agriculture is crucial for improving productivity of poor farmers and poverty reduction. However, the adoption of modern technology has been disappointing. The authors argue that value chain organization and innovations can have an important impact on modern technology adoption, not just by downstream companies, but also by farmers. They systematically documented value chain innovations including smallholder contracting with interlinked technology transfer, triangular guarantee structures with technology suppliers or financial institutions, special purpose vehicles and vertical integration. Several conclusions can be drawn from the analysis and empirical cases. First, value chain technology transfer programs are often driven by a need for quality upgrading. Second, these technology transfer programs have been set up in complex environments. Successful programs create the right conditions for successful and self-enforcing contracting, and are based on extensive knowledge of the sector and of local conditions. Third, many institutional innovations for technology transfer use both a pull and push strategy. The push strategy consists of improving access to technology, while the pull strategy consists of providing better incentives for investments in technological upgrading. Fourth, access to finance by the initiator of the technology transfer program is essential. Fifth, the effects of these programs can be very substantial as they can move the entire value chain towards a higher equilibrium, with impacts for all agents.

The discussion paper, published in 2016, can be found here.

Societal effects of food: An exploration of a new methodology

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 10:01:13 +0000

This publication (PDF in Dutch, English summary) by Wageningen Economic Research and True Price discusses a method to map the societal effects of food production and consumption and the relative size of those effects. It uses six capital categories: financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, natural and social and relationship capital, which are subdivided to cover all relevant societal effects of food. The first step is the estimation of the size of an average food product’s societal effect in each impact category. An average food product is defined as a product that can be included in an average Dutch shopping basket. The second step is the determination of the societal effect of specific food products relative to the average food product. The method has been validated with tests for five products that are part of a typical traditional Dutch diet, namely fresh green beans, potatoes, full-cream milk, minced beef from Dutch dairy cows and plain chocolate made from cocoa beans cultivated in Ivory Coast. The method can be used to identify the opportunities for the improvement of the most important positive effects and the mitigation of the most important negative effects. The business community can implement the method in arriving at carefully-considered decisions on the approach to improvements to the societal effects. Consumers can use the method in making carefully-considered decisions on the products they buy as determined by the importance they attach, for example, to the environment or to animal welfare. The method also gives an insight into movements over the course of time.

This publication was discussed during the seminar on true cost accounting and true pricing. This related report (PDF) discusses true cost accounting in the UK.

The European Union, agriculture, and the tropics: Public financial incentives to enhance food security and expansion of production contracts

Ati van der Honing — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 13:57:29 +0000

This article (PDF) in the journal Tropical Conservation Science frames two rapidly moving issues in the EU’s multifaceted relationship with agriculture in the tropics: 1) use of the public development funds to drive agricultural productivity and market access and 2) the adoption of private production contracts for sourcing products destined for EU markets. Member States of the European Union have strong historical ties to agriculture in tropical regions based on colonial history and accompanying trade flows. Attempts to reverse the extractive nature of these relationships through public finance investments in sustainable intensification and the linking of smallholders to new markets could enhance food security and rural development. Public sector financing of public–private partnerships to support these efforts, however, may create dominant positions for large agricultural companies. Moreover, the expanded use of agricultural production contracts by these firms may give rise to a variety of legal and social issues, especially when one party to the agreement lacks economic bargaining power. On the other hand, production contracts can enable small-scale farmers to mitigate risk, establish more predictable income streams, and access new market opportunities. Public development funds promoting reformation of smallholder farming operations need to consider the consequences of the expanded use of production contracts.

External influences on agro-enterprise innovation platforms in Benin, Ghana and Mali: Options for effective responses

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 09:34:26 +0000

This article (PDF) in the journal Cahiers Agricultures discusses external influences on innovation platforms (IPs) and the options for effective responses. The platforms examined in this paper were conceived as vehicles for facilitating institutional change in support of innovation that benefits smallholders, in selected agro-enterprise domains in Benin, Ghana and Mali. They were designed and implemented in a manner that enabled experimentation with processes of change in the selected domains. A Research Associate in each case facilitated the work of the IPs and applied Theory-Guided Process Tracing (TGPT) methodology to document the innovation processes pursued by platform members. The main influences were found to emanate from global, sub-regional and national levels. The authors identified five main types of external influences on the work of the IPs: political, economic, socio-cultural, technological and environmental. The IPs’ responses were diverse but generally included reconstitution of the membership, lobbying, capacity-building among smallholders, and empowerment of smallholders by organizing provision of new knowledge, skills or financial resources. IPs must necessarily assess the options for responses – politically, economically, socio-culturally, technologically and environmentally to address institutional constraints. Whilst some options can be very effective in meeting the respective constraints, others may be limited in providing solutions. The authors concludes that external influences are important in determining the direction of socio-technical and institutional innovation.

Voluntary standards and institutional innovations – the right path to sustainable and inclusive food systems?

Ati van der Honing — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 08:16:30 +0000

This article, published by the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), reflects upon efforts to link sustainable production with responsible consumption both within global value chains and within domestic markets in developing countries. Most approaches towards making food systems sustainable look at production practices as the main entry point into system change. However, the authors argue, enabling consumers to identify products as being produced sustainably is fundamental to incentivizing farmers to market their products in this way. The authors found that a wide range of actors in developing countries are inventing new forms of interaction and organisation to supply local markets with sustainable agricultural products. These ‘institutional innovations’ are the new rules and forms of interaction that help actors from civil society, the private sector and even civil servants to redefine sustainable practices for the local level and bring together food systems actors that have not traditionally worked together. Three types of innovations deserve particular attention by policy makers: participatory guarantee systems, multi-actor innovation platforms and community-supported agriculture. Overall, the authors found that autonomy, reciprocity and recognition of the diverse types of knowledge fostered through institutional innovations all serve as incentives for producers to adopt and adapt sustainable practices. In sum, social and institutional innovations are as essential as technological innovations in transitions to sustainable food systems, and they require policy support.

This article is published in the Greats Insights magazine with a thematic focus on sustainable food systems.

Do theories of change enable innovation platforms and partnerships to navigate towards impact?

Ati van der Honing — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 14:30:58 +0000

This working paper (PDF) by the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) examines how theories of change (ToCs) enabled practitioners to navigate towards impact in settings characterized by a multiplicity of views on issues of joint concern. ToCs are increasingly used to articulate pathways for interventions and to support learning. This responds to the recognition of the complexity of agricultural development challenges and the non-linear process of achieving innovative and sustainable solutions. Two cases discuss how intervention programs test the ToCs. In the first case MAIZE, based on the experiences of the CGIAR Research Program, innovation platforms are essential for directing technology development and arranging exchange between key actors. In the second case, based on the experiences of the 2SCALE programme, business-led partnerships arrange sourcing by companies from associated farmers and induce collaborations with small and medium enterprises in low income food markets. The cases reveal that one cannot predict the route to impact, but one can compose plausible story lines explicating the assumptions. Rather than looking for a generic ToC, the authors propose a more systematic comparison of the situations of different interventions within similar programs, thus including the context. Connecting practitioners with researchers makes it possible to use more intermediate theorizations tailored to situated and specific impact pathways. However, the dynamics captured by ToCs may contrast with the donors’ consistent reliance on a rigid log-frame approach. Therefore, it is relevant to make explicit choices about how to relate ToCs to M&E efforts.

This working paper is part of a series, which are a result of the seminar “Agricultural Innovation Systems: reality check”. Another paper in this series (PDF) aims to develop and test a generalizable complexity-aware theory of change of how agricultural research for development fosters innovation.

Bringing farmers into the game: Strengthening farmers’ role in the innovation process through a simulation game

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 13:19:08 +0000

This article in the journal Agricultural Systems discusses the participation of farmers in knowledge co-production within multi-stakeholder settings. While farmers are recognized as equally weighing sources of innovation in the Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) framework, their participation in knowledge co-production within multi-stakeholder settings such as innovation platforms is still often limited. Farmers participate more in implementing than in designing innovations or in shaping innovation process. Drawing on the companion modeling approach and critical companion posture, we designed a simulation game based method that we tested with dairy farmers in the irrigation scheme in the North-West Tunisia. The objectives were to engage farmers in a research project as equal knowledge producers, to support the process of collective construction of improved farm strategies and to create conditions for farmers to get empowered to pursue their innovation ambitions. The LAITCONOMIE game, based on the self-design principle, creates conditions for farmers to mobilize their knowledge and knowledge of others to respond to their local innovation needs. Despite a modest scale, the game experiment brought results in terms of knowledge co-production and of change in farming practice of the participants.

To find out more about guidelines for innovation platforms in agricultural research for development, please click here.

Systems analysis in Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS): potentials and pitfalls

Ati van der Honing — Mon, 07 Aug 2017 14:34:13 +0000

This working paper (PDF) by the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) provides examples of ‘systems analysis’. Agricultural innovation systems (AIS) are complex, multi-layered, and can be difficult to define and analyse. The five cases describe analyses of: i) agricultural systems in North-West Vietnam; ii) household food security in Central Vietnam; iii) agricultural innovation systems in Central Africa; iv) wheat commodity systems in Sub-Saharan Africa, and v) the national agricultural research system in Papua New Guinea. For each case the context is described, what was done, and how the outcomes informed broader research and development activities. These cases show that there is no single best method to conduct systems analysis within a broader AIS approach. The choice of systems analysis depends on the specific needs of the AIS being addressed, the perceived knowledge and practice gaps that need to be filled, and the interests and mandates of the partners facilitating the AIS process, among other factors. However, ‘good’ systems analysis demonstrates several common characteristics, like a clearly defined ‘system of interest’; inclusive and participatory; an analysis of the linkages between different domains; and making use of and integrating different ‘types’ of knowledge. Suggestions for system analysis in practice include: clarifying objectives and expectations; balancing breadth and depth; paying attention to power dynamics; avoiding an assumption of predictability; careful mixing of quantitative and qualitative methods; and a keeping a focus on informing action.

This working paper is part of a series, which are a result of the seminar “Agricultural Innovation Systems: reality check”. Another paper in this series (PDF) focuses on the contribution of AIS approaches to achieving impact at scale.

Feeding Dar es Salaam: A symbiotic food system perspective

F&BKP Office — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 10:29:10 +0000

This dissertation (PDF) of Marc Wagerif from Wageningen University and Research is a sociological analysis of the agri-food system of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, that feeds most of the over four and a half million residents of this fast-growing city. It is based on qualitative research that has generated a picture of the food system that supplies the important foods for the majority of residents of the city. The research takes an actor orientated approach and starts from urban eaters and follows the food back through retailers, processors and transporters to the primary producers. Instead of dismissing what has been found as ‘informal’ or trying to fit it into structuralist paradigms, from orthodox economic or political economy perspectives, the authors tries to understand the core ordering principles and rationality of this system that has shown a remarkable resilience over many years. Of particular interest are various forms of collaboration, instead of competition. This study comes at a time when global food production and distribution is dominated by powerful transnational corporations through an agro-industrial food system that is widely critiqued for its negative environmental and social impacts. Many argue that this industrial food system is unsustainable, yet its expansion can seem inevitable and alternatives are seen by many as incapable of feeding the world’s growing and increasingly urban population. ‘Value chain’ interventions have become popular among ‘development’ practitioners and policy makers seeking to integrate more producers into the global industrial food system rather than challenging that food system. Wagerif however presents in this thesis a ‘symbiotic food system’ made up of multitudes of small-scale and interdependent actors that produce the food and get it to urban eaters at a city feeding scale.

For those with an interest in food systems, please also check recent discussions on the website of the Food & Business Knowledge Platform: https://knowledge4food.net/transforming-food-systems-improved-nutrition/

Public-public development cooperation

Ati van der Honing — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 13:03:43 +0000

This report (PDF) by the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency explores the potential added value of public-public cooperation between Dutch sub-national actors and their Sub-Saharan African counterparts. Over the past years, development cooperation policy in the Netherlands has become increasingly oriented towards facilitating private sector development and public-private partnerships (PPPs). As opposed to PPPs, decentralized public development cooperation has received relatively little attention. The rationale behind decentralized public development cooperation is that public goals are best achieved by public institutions. Overall, the main motivation for Dutch sub-national public actors to engage in development cooperation is to share knowledge and contribute to capacity building to strengthen public institutions in the global South. In general, however, there seems to be a discrepancy between the motivations and the practices as they actually occur. Although the general intention of Dutch sub-national public actors is to develop long-standing partnerships based on equality and reciprocity, this is in many cases not realized in practice. The potential added value of decentralized public development cooperation in contributing to food security lies in long-term, mutually beneficent cooperation based on an integrated approach to the governance of public goods. In order to realize this potential, decentralized public development cooperation should be adapted to its context and aimed at enhancing integrated governance, thus stimulating synergies between public goods such as land, water and food security.

Guidelines for innovation platforms in agricultural research for development

Nynke — Tue, 20 Jun 2017 09:39:35 +0000

This publication (PDF) from IITA, WUR, and CGIAR-RTB provides guidelines for creating successful innovation platforms in agricultural research for development (AR4D). Innovation Platforms are an increasingly popular approach to enhancing multi-stakeholder collaboration in AR4D programmes. As the name indicates, Innovation Platforms have an innovation objective, that is, the introduction and utilization of any new knowledge (technological or other) in an economic or social process. Although innovation platforms have been successful in addressing agricultural challenges, there is a risk that they are promoted as a panacea for all problems in the agricultural sector. These guidelines support development funders and project developers in thinking about when and in what form innovation platforms can contribute effectively to achieving research and development objectives. The guidelines aim to support actors in: 1) Reflecting on when and under what conditions Innovation Platforms are an appropriate mechanism to foster collective action and innovation for resolving agricultural development problems and capitalizing on opportunities; 2) Designing Innovation Platforms, including the definition of realistic goals, facilitation mechanisms, timelines, responsibilities, and how to measure outcomes and impact; 3) Allocating necessary resources, creating the enabling conditions required for the effective implementation of Innovation Platforms, and developing metrics to assess their impact. The guidelines also contain reference materials, Frequently Asked Questions and a decision support tool for research, development and funding agencies.

Please also have a look at the blog of lead author Marc Shut on the publication.

The political economy of cardamom farming in eastern Nepal: Crop disease, coping strategies, and institutional innovation

Ati van der Honing — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 12:40:11 +0000

This article (PDF) in the SAGE Open Journal investigated the impact of crop disease on cardamom farmers’ livelihoods, as well as both individual and institutional efforts to combat the disease in Nepal. Strategies varied by household circumstances, like size of landholding, alternative income sources, and access to supporting institutions. They included burning fields, changing land use patterns, diversifying crops, and seeking institutional support. During a crisis, farmers expect government institutions to help, especially when customary practices have not solved the problem. However, due to weak capacity, local government support was limited to providing training and distributing new varieties of cardamom. Despite acquiring substantial revenue from cardamom, the national government has failed to appoint adequate crop experts at the local level. Local institutions hence cannot meet the demands of farmers dealing with the cardamom crisis. This calls for institutional innovation at the micro level. Therefore, to protect and improve farmers’ livelihoods, institutional innovation at the community level is needed, along with policies that provide immediate and sustainable support during crises. These policies should be focusing strictly on preventing or combating disease through research. Additionally, the government’s institutional capacity and support for innovation is crucial. Institutions should be formed to support farmers taking alternative measures. These institutions should formulate proper innovation methods and reach out to farmers of diverse groups.

Compositional dynamics of multilevel innovation platforms in agricultural research for development

F&BKP Office — Mon, 01 May 2017 08:11:17 +0000

Innovation platforms (IPs) form a popular vehicle in agricultural research for development (AR4D) to facilitate stakeholder interaction, agenda setting, and collective action toward sustainable agricultural development. This article in the Science and Public Policy Journal, aims to systematically research the dynamics of stakeholder composition throughout IPs and tries to analyze how seven ‘key functions’ of the innovation process are fulfilled. Data are gathered from experiences with interlinked community and (sub)national IPs established under a global AR4D program aimed at stimulating sustainable agricultural development in Central Africa. The findings show that all innovation systems functions required multilevel action, but that fulfillment of specific functions demands for strategic involvement of specific stakeholders at specific levels. It was observed that a research- and dissemination-oriented sequence in the functions was prioritized in AR4D IPs and argue that such a sequence may be different in other types of (business) IPs. The authors question the sustainability of many of the existing AR4D IPs and their ability to function as a business incubator, as the sequencing of innovation systems functions in AR4D IPs tend to undermine market formation and entrepreneurial capacity development. These findings provide an incentive to think function oriented about compositional dynamics (stakeholder groups * levels) in innovation processes, rather than striving for equal stakeholder participation. In addition to having multi-actor platforms at different levels, joint agenda setting and reflection, participatory action research, and careful networking and problem solving by (contracted) innovation champions can facilitate stakeholders connectivity across levels.

Making the case for institutional demand: Supporting smallholders through procurement and food assistance programmes

Ati van der Honing — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 09:14:39 +0000

This paper in the Global Food Security Journal focuses on the rationale for supporting market interventions for smallholders through what the authors call Institutional Demand. This consists of different interventions that target procurement from smallholder farmers and distribute their surplus to vulnerable populations. This policy intervention links the goals of both agricultural development and social protection through three key areas: price stabilization; income generation and; food security. It is argued that Institutional Demand should be a key policy intervention as it can directly address both rural poverty and malnutrition. It does this by linking the productive capacity of smallholder farmers with populations living in situations of food insecurity. Impact evaluations and assessments of Institutional Demand programmes are limited in scope and depth. Therefore, while this paper outlines much of the evidence thus far, the primary purpose of this paper is to push forward a new research agenda that looks at the ways in which Institutional Demand can promote policy synergies between the goals of social protection and agricultural development. There are few key elements of the procurement system that must be considered when designing Institutional Demand policies: the objectives; the scale of the demand; the modalities to reach the most vulnerable producers and farmer organizations; rules and regulations which might restrict smallholders ability to participate in procurement processes; and food safety and quality management, which might be very strict, making smallholders unable to comply. The issues outlined in this paper present fruitful areas for more qualitative and quantitative assessments of Institutional Demand programmes.

Solving ‘wicked’ problems: Can social learning catalyse adaptive responses to climate change?

F&BKP Office — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 13:55:42 +0000

Social learning approaches can catalyse knowledge co-creation and action, so have the potential to help solve complex ‘wicked’ problems such as climate change and food insecurity. This working paper (PDF) by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) synthesises evidence from five diverse initiatives employing social learning approaches in response to such problems using the Climate Change and Social Learning initiative’s monitoring and evaluation framework. This tool is structured to track the processes that are more likely to foster social learning across four key dimensions: engagement, iterative learning, capacity development and challenging institutions. Complex or ‘wicked’ problems often cannot be adequately addressed using traditional ‘top-down’ approaches. Social learning oriented approaches offer a potential solution by calling on the knowledge of multiple stakeholder groups, and encouraging knowledge sharing and integration and the co-creation of new knowledge. Social learning is more than just group learning; it has an agenda for wider change. It encourages stakeholders to work together to implement and test solutions through iterative cycles of learning, action and reflection. Spreading the learning from this iterative process to wider stakeholder groups and networks allows for change on a larger scale. Institutional openness and support for such approaches is crucial for realising the potential for change, according to the authors. This working paper highlights initial evidence that key factors in social learning approaches can lead to clear learning outcomes with resulting positive changes in values and practice. Links to longer-term development outcomes are also evident in several completed initiatives. The analysis indicates that programmes and projects employing approaches that incorporate key factors from each social learning dimension are most likely to see positive changes among stakeholders in relevant understanding, relationships and norms. Programmes and projects that emphasise all four dimensions are most likely to see the crucial changes in values and practice across stakeholders and wider groups that can lead to improved development outcomes.

Agricultural research organisations’ role in the emergence of agricultural innovation systems

Ati van der Honing — Thu, 30 Mar 2017 09:25:33 +0000

This paper by CIMMYT argues that successful agricultural interventions require social shifts, not just technological. Traditionally, agricultural research organizations measured impact by the number of technologies developed, with less attention given to whether or not these technologies were adopted by farmers and the impact they had in communities. However, poor farmers seldom benefit from new agricultural technologies. So today organizations must clearly demonstrate impact in farmers’ fields. In response, research and extension approaches based on agricultural innovation systems are popular. An agricultural innovation system is a web of dynamic interactions among researchers, input suppliers, extension agents, farmers, traders, and processors engaged in the creation, diffusion, adaptation, and use of knowledge relevant to agricultural production and marketing. This shift represents a new focus on innovation as a social process, as opposed to a research-driven process of technology transfer. Despite growing interest worldwide in agricultural innovation systems, little is known about the most effective ways to operationalise these systems, especially within short and medium timeframes. The study claims that external input is often needed to generate an agricultural innovation system, and that network brokers – actors like NGOs and others, who catalyze collective action by enhancing farmers’ access to information and technical assistance – play a crucial role. Based on an analysis of the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) initiative in Mexico, this viewpoint suggests that such organisations are more often suitable network brokers when the objective is the development and scaling out of a technology by itself. When the objectives are multi-faceted and include extension and education, other actors are better placed to be the network broker.

Sustainable intensification in smallholder agriculture: An integrated systems research approach

F&BKP Office — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 10:23:45 +0000

Sustainable intensification has recently been developed and adopted as a key concept and driver for research and policy in sustainable agriculture. It includes ecological, economic and social dimensions, where food and nutrition security, gender and equity are crucial components. This book on Routledge describes different aspects of systems research in agriculture in its broadest sense, where the focus is moved from farming systems to livelihoods systems and institutional innovation. Much of the work represents outputs of the three CGIAR Research Programs on Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics, Aquatic Agricultural Systems and Dryland Systems. The chapters are based around four themes: the conceptual underpinnings of systems research; sustainable intensification in practice; integrating nutrition, gender and equity in research for improved livelihoods; and systems and institutional innovation. While most of the case studies are from countries and agro-ecological zones in Africa, there are also some from Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Find also the blog on sustainable intensification by Bioversity International here.

Social network analysis of multi-stakeholder platforms in agricultural research for development: Opportunities and constraints for innovation and scaling

F&BKP Office — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 10:17:22 +0000

This article in PLOS ONE, analyses the role of multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) for agricultural innovation and scaling. Multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) are seen as a promising vehicle to achieve agricultural development impacts. By increasing collaboration, exchange of knowledge and influence mediation among farmers, researchers and other stakeholders, MSPs supposedly enhance their ‘capacity to innovate’ and contribute to the ‘scaling of innovations’. The objective of this paper is to explore the capacity to innovate and scaling potential of three MSPs in Burundi, Rwanda and the South Kivu province located in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In order to do this, we apply Social Network Analysis and Exponential Random Graph Modelling (ERGM) to investigate the structural properties of the collaborative, knowledge exchange and influence networks of these MSPs and compared them against value propositions derived from the innovation network literature. Results demonstrate a number of mismatches between collaboration, knowledge exchange and influence networks for effective innovation and scaling processes in all three countries: NGOs and private sector are respectively over- and under-represented in the MSP networks. Linkages between local and higher levels are weak, and influential organisations (e.g., high-level government actors) are often not part of the MSP or are not actively linked to by other organisations. Organisations with a central position in the knowledge network are more sought out for collaboration. The scaling of innovations is primarily between the same type of organisations across different administrative levels, but not between different types of organisations. The results illustrate the potential of Social Network Analysis and ERGMs to identify the strengths and limitations of MSPs in terms of achieving development impacts.

Improving the resilience of agricultural systems through innovation platforms: creating space for farmer participation in research

F&BKP Office — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 10:19:15 +0000

This article in the Ghana Journal of Science, Technology and Development, highlights the role of innovation platforms for resilience thinking. Responding to global food crisis, such as imposed by climate change, requires resilient food systems that are able to respond to shocks. Resilience thinking, as an approach to agriculture development, focuses on enhancing the capacity of both the human and ecological systems inter alia. In this paper, the concept of resilience is approached from the perspective of socio-ecological systems dynamics. In particular, the study examined the contribution of farmers to research towards enhanced resilience of traditional African vegetable production systems in northern Ghana. An Innovation Platform was set up as a ‘knowledge space’ that provided an enabling environment for the interaction between farmers’ indigenous and researchers’ scientific knowledge in agricultural research. The study revealed that indigenous knowledge can be invaluable to building resilient food systems. However, ensuring that farmers participate effectively and contribute to research effort requires good community mobilization and facilitation skills by scientists as farmers need to be assured that their knowledge and other contributions are valued and their views respected by scientists. Good communication skill is necessary for effective knowledge brokering by researchers. Beyond the farmer, building a good relationship with the community is important in ensuring buy-in by farmers.

Innovation systems: Towards effective strategies in support of smallholder farmers

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 14:49:07 +0000

This book (PDF) by CTA examines ‘innovations systems’ – a concept suggested as underpinning industrial development – as a strategy for agricultural development. Innovation systems approaches conceptualise change as a long-term, socially-embedded process, and recognise the important role policy plays in shaping the parameters within which decisions are made. Providing a collection of papers and commentaries from the world’s top scholars and practitioners, this book looks at the strengths – but also the weaknesses and challenges – of the innovations systems approach and how it may be applied to benefit smallholder farmers. The debate generally converge around the role of research and development and science and technology in the innovation process, the levels of public investment required and the innovation pathways to be pursued. And, more critically, what policies and institutional mechanisms are needed to sustain agricultural innovation and how governments can ensure that smallholder farmers are not marginalized in a competitive global trading environment. While several chapters provide the theoretical underpinning to support the discourse, others feature concrete experiences drawn primarily from sub-Saharan Africa as well as other regions; Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific. This body of knowledge does not provide a blueprint for agricultural innovation in developing countries or emerging economies, however, the lessons learned can be useful in guiding the design, implementation and evaluation of future policies, programmes and research on agricultural innovation systems.

New horizons for the transitioning of our food system: connecting ecosystems, value chains and consumers

F&BKP Office — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 15:07:47 +0000

This report (PDF) by NewForesight and Commonland and with contributions from the Boston Consulting Group, presents the complex challenges we face in our current food system, and highlights opportunities to forge a path towards a more sustainable future. The authors sketch an initial outline of holistic approaches that offer long term solutions while capturing net positive business opportunities with multiple returns. The main aim of this paper is to trigger decision makers in business, government, and society to form coalitions, apply such holistic approaches and drive systemic change in our food systems at scale using an ecosystem approach. These coalitions are the key to convening representative stakeholders from all levels, unlocking collaborative learning within food systems, and identifying and pursuing the opportunities for growth and value creation offered by this transition. They argue that there is tremendous, as yet untapped value in fixing our food systems, from soils to plate. This offers significant opportunities for businesses, farmers, society and the planet. Front running organizations that appreciate the urgency; recognize these far-reaching opportunities; and get this transition right, will be rewarded with faster growth and value creation. A key message of the report is that there is a need to form coalitions of committed frontrunners on the path towards net positive food systems using an ecosystem approach. These coalitions need to focus on transforming specific combinations of interrelated agrilandscapes, value chains and consumer markets. It is crucial that these coalitions appreciate the importance of – and invest in – collaborative learning as a first step to identify and capture the opportunities for growth and value creation. A presentation presenting the key points of this report can be found here.

Transformation in governance towards resilient food systems

F&BKP Office — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 14:56:22 +0000

This research paper (PDF) by The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) is the result of a joint effort among a small group of researchers to identify pathways for transformation towards sustainable food systems, which are resilient towards shocks and towards climate change in particular. Using empirical studies, both transformations in governance systems and governance of transformations were investigated. These cases served as a preliminary analysis to identify some of the trends and patterns that warrant further investigation. Not surprisingly, transformational change in food systems is often triggered by a shock to the system, or by increasing pressure to that system. But that alone is not enough to bring about a transformation. A number of preconditions and conditions need to be present including sufficient ‘wealth’ or economic and social capital in the system with resources that can be mobilized, and sufficient flexibility in the institutional context to allow innovation to emerge and gain strength. A particular area of interest that appears to stimulate transformations is collective action, which often involves collaboration across geographical scales and interest groups. The outcomes of transformations are complex and typically multifaceted, and can take years to emerge. However, broadly speaking, the cases explored demonstrate that governance is central to food system transformation both in terms of pre-conditions and provoking processes as well as in the outcomes of the transformation itself. Food system transformations in general appear to entail fundamental shifts in social relations and institutions – in other words, the governance of the food system.

Towards a shared vision: action plans for adapted advisory services in West Africa’s rice irrigation schemes

F&BKP Office — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 11:31:09 +0000

This briefing (PDF) by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) highlights how farmer organisations and government agencies managing large scale irrigation systems in West Africa need to collaborate to agree on a vision for agricultural services that increases scheme viability while meeting the needs of different types of farmers. Currently however, there is no institutional mechanism in place that enables different groups of actors – with different levels of power – to engage at a strategic level or to negotiate and take forward such a common position. The briefing describes a process piloted in three large scale irrigation schemes in the region and draws lessons from this for future investments in irrigation.

Find also this IIED report “Towards a shared vision: Advisory services that work for smallholders and government in West Africa’s large irrigation schemes“, which summarises three years of action research on the institutional and governance aspects of Agricultural Advisory Services (AAS) in three government-managed largescale irrigation schemes in West Africa – Niandouba/Confluent in Senegal, Sélingué in Mali and Bagré in Burkina Faso. The report offers practical recommendations on how improved services can better respond to farmers’ needs, and how the empowerment of farmer organisations is essential if they are to effectively represent the interests of their members.

Can sub-Saharan Africa feed itself?

Ati van der Honing — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 10:11:51 +0000

This article (PDF), published by the PNAS Journal, presents a study that provides insight about the challenge in meeting the projected tripled cereal demand by 2050 due to expected population growth and modest changes in diets in 10 sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, through scenarios of yield gap closure. Recent studies indicate that the global increase in food demand by 2050 can be met through closing the gap between current farm yield and yield potential on existing cropland. however, the authors of this article estimate that it will not be feasible to meet future SSA cereal demand on existing production area by yield gap closure alone. The agronomically robust yield gap analysis for 10 countries in SSA, using location-specific data and a spatial upscaling approach, reveals that in addition to yield gap closure, other more complex and uncertain components of intensification are also needed, that is to say, increasing cropping intensity (the number of crops grown per 12 mo on the same field) and sustainable expansion of irrigated production area. If intensification is not successful and massive cropland expansion is to be avoided, SSA will depend much more on imports of cereals than it does today.

Family farming in sub-Saharan Africa: its contribution to agriculture, food security and rural development

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 10:02:11 +0000

This paper (PDF) by the International Policy Centre for inclusive growth (IPC) elaborates on the strategic role of family farms to accelerate agricultural transformation towards achieving food security and nutrition, as well as sustainable and inclusive rural development. Considering that 75% of the SSA population is involved directly or indirectly in farming and related employment, the strategic role of family farms in such a transformation is increasingly being recognized by key actors. However, there is less agreement on the nature of and prospects for family farms in SSA, the scope of their contributions to agriculture, food security and rural development, and the measures required to address their most critical challenges. This paper finds that family farms are pervasive in the economic life of the largely agrarian SSA region, and shape the social organisation and play a key role in social protection. The authors argue that the scramble for control over agricultural land in SSA threatens the reproduction of family farming, without offering alternate sources of employment, income and food for poor household. The authors argue that the capabilities and markets that serve family farms, need to be enhanced to transform agricultural productivity towards reducing food insecurity and malnutrition, limiting costly food imports and enhancing social protection in the context of sustainable rural development. Realizing this goal requires inclusive policymaking processes that recognize the role of women and young people in agriculture, and build the organisational capabilities of small-scale family farms. There appears to be some ambivalence over focusing on promoting family farms versus the potential role of corporate farming.

Changing agro-food systems: The impact of big agro-investors on food rights

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 11:34:48 +0000

This book (PDF) by PLAAS presents case studies on changing agro-food systems in Southern Africa within the context of large-scale land-based and agri-business investments. By capturing the testimonies of local people in rural settings, with a particular focus on small-scale farmers, it aims to provide vivid accounts of the micro-level changes underway in agro-food systems in Southern Africa, and to reflect on the experiences and perspectives of local people. This project is a response to the need to understand, and generate knowledge and effective partnerships to respond to the rapid changes underway in African agro-food systems. The case studies show the growing food insecurity for poorer households in the context of increasing levels of agro-investment. In Mozambique and Zambia, both at national and district level, governments view the promotion of new crops and new seed varieties by agro-investors as a means of improving food security and livelihoods, under the assumption that cash crops bring substantial wage and employment opportunities to the rural economy. However, the case studies in both countries reveal that specialisation in cash crops by small-scale farmers is also associated with the depletion of natural resources, the disappearance of traditional foods due to the growing use of agro-chemicals like herbicides, and the reduction of the range of diversity of seed varieties as a result of the growing prominence of hybrid seeds that offer small-scale farmers higher yields.

Recent trends in the global governance of food and nutrition security: Policy implications for the EU

Nynke — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 13:59:47 +0000

The paper (PDF) published by IDDRI examines the complexity and fragmentation of the governance regime for FNS and the policy implications for the European Union and the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS). It shows that the current governance regime is still highly fragmented and tends to privilege the best resourced actors and specific (political) approaches to FSN, and hence, risks impairing the input legitimacy of governance. The fragmentation is mainly linked to the existence of two types of arenas: multilateral ones and multistakeholder ones. Different international platforms that were set up show this fragmentation and other difficulties. The first difficulty relates to the issue of inclusiveness of international processes. Often civil society organisationss are not included in the platform as well as small private companies, or least developed countries. A second set of difficulties lies in the existing of overlapping and conflicting rules/norms (both formal and informal) that emanate from these platforms. The ways in which food security issues are framed indeed differ significantly from one platform to the other, along with the solutions that are proposed, which raises at least the question of which platform is to rule over which others when competing interpretations and policy options are on the table. This results in a lose control of the CFS over international policies and negotiations that impacts FSN. Against this backdrop, this policy brief concludes with two main recommendations for EU policies.

The effect of education on household food security in two informal urban settlements in Kenya: a longitudinal analysis

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 10:18:19 +0000

This article (PDF), published in the Food Security journal, investigates the effect of household education attainment on food security among poor urban households, using longitudinal data collected between 2007 and 2012 in Kenya. Poverty and food insecurity continue to feature prominently in the global agenda, with particularly close attention being paid to the determinants of food insecurity. However, the effect of education is mixed and remains understudied in low income countries. In this study household food security was constructed from a set of four key items while education was the average years of schooling for individuals aged 18 years and above in a household. The prevalence of severe food insecurity ranged from 49 % in 2008 to 35 % in 2012. The ordered probit results showed a significant effect of education on food security. The probability of being food insecure decreased by 0.019 for a unit increase in the average years of schooling for a given household. The effect of education, remained significant even after controlling for household wealth index, a more proximate determinant of food security in a cash-based economy such as the urban slums. The findings highlight the need to focus on the food security status of the urban poor. Specifically, results suggest the need for programs aimed at reducing food insecurity among the urban poor and enhancing household livelihoods. In addition, investment in the education of the slum households may, in the long term, contribute to reduction in the prevalence of food insecurity.

Innovative markets for sustainable agriculture: How innovations in market institutions encourage sustainable agriculture in developing countries

Ati van der Honing — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 11:29:32 +0000

This book (PDF) written by the FAO and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) is about innovative approaches that enable markets to act as incentives in the transition towards sustainable agriculture in developing countries. It is based on a survey study done between 2013 and 2015. 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 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 study concludes with four results on how market based solutions can help with the transition towards sustainable agriculture: 1) System innovations that allow new rules for marketing and assuring the sustainable qualities of products; 2) New forms of organization that permit actors to play multiple roles in the food system; 3) New forms of market exchange, such as box schemes, university kiosks, public procurement or systems of seed exchanges; and 4) new technologies for sustainable agriculture.

Quality and innovation in food chains

Ati van der Honing — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 14:02:17 +0000

This book (PDF), published by Wageningen Academic, presents a set of case studies on food quality improvement and innovation in food chains, with cases from South Africa, Ethiopia, Benin, Uganda and Senegal. The book is based on interdisciplinary collaborative research projects. An interdisciplinary approach leads to better insights in the opportunities and constraints for quality improvement, and helps public and private actors in seizing the opportunities and removing the constraints. This publication shows how a co-innovation perspective can be developed and applied. Co-innovation entails the combination of technical, organisational and institutional changes, the involvement of various chain actors, and the introduction of complementary innovations at different levels of the food chain. Quality and innovation in food chains: lessons from Africa is an essential read for anyone involved in studying, supporting and implementing quality improvements and innovations in food chains.

Africa Agriculture Status Report 2016

Ati van der Honing — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 13:29:44 +0000

This status report (PDF) by AGRA is the fourth volume of the Africa Agriculture Status Report series focusing on progress towards African agricultural transformation. The series has the objective of producing an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of emerging issues and challenges being faced by Africa’s smallholder farmers (see also the 2014 and 2015 report). The 2016 report has tracked the progress made in the last decade with the MDGs and the Maputo Declaration as critical benchmarks, and analyses the current status of agriculture in Africa with consideration of the Malabo Declaration and the SDG agenda. According to the report Africa is making steady progress towards agricultural transformation. There is a noticeable upward shift in expenditure on agriculture by national governments in African countries. There is evidence of faster growth in agricultural productivity, improved nutrition, and greater job creation even in the non-farm segments of their economies. The private sector is increasingly investing in agriculture, and the foundations have been laid for a renaissance in Africa’s agriculture. The authors state that these glimpses of success offer an inspiring new vision of a future Africa in which farming as a struggle to survive gives way to farming as a business that thrives. Much more remains to be done to sustain these gains and truly drive the agricultural transformation needed for Africa’s development, and to ensure better life for all of its people.

GODAN Success stories issue 1

F&BKP Office — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 08:40:11 +0000

Global Open Data for Agriculture & Nutrition (GODAN) published its first issue of the Success Stories brochure (PDF). In this issue, fifteen success stories are shared on the use of open data for agriculture and nutrition. GODAN supports the proactive sharing of open data to make information about agriculture and nutrition available, accessible and usable to deal with the urgent challenge of ensuring world food security. They argue that the next level of global efficiency in agriculture can be reached through open data. Open data allows governments, private sector and civil society to work together in a true participative manner. The cases share insights from Asia and Africa as well as global initiatives. For example, orchard water management in South Africa through a satellite based service that extracts open data to help improve irrigation and water management. Another example is connecting soil sensor technology to the knowledge of experienced growers and open data for a better control of water and improved irrigation and the fine-tuning of growing environments for all participating farms. Other success stories can be found here.

From uniformity to diversity: A paradigm shift from industrial agriculture to diversified agroecological systems.

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 14:13:54 +0000

This report (PDF) by IPES-Food is about the changes that the agricultural sector should make to move towards a diversified agroecological system. Today’s food and farming systems have succeeded in supplying large volumes of food to global markets, but are generating negative outcomes on multiple fronts: widespread degradation of land, water and ecosystems; high GHG emissions; biodiversity losses; persistent hunger and micro-nutrient deficiencies alongside the rapid rise of obesity and diet-related diseases; and livelihood stresses for farmers around the world. The uniformity at the heart of these systems, and their reliance on chemical fertilizers, pesticides and preventive use of antibiotics, leads systematically to negative outcomes and vulnerabilities. To change this type of agriculture, and the food system that goes with it, the agricultural sector needs a fundamentally different model of agriculture based on diversifying farms and farming landscapes. Changes are already happening but are not big and fast enough. Therefore, political incentives must be shifted in order for these alternatives to emerge beyond the margins. The authors conclude with 7 recommendations that can collectively shift the centre of gravity in food systems. Such as, more support for short supply chains & alternative retail infrastructures.

Food security, food systems, and environmental change

F&BKP Office — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 15:28:22 +0000

In this article in Solutions (volume 7 issue 3), it is argued that with limited global resources, and in the face of environmental changes, meeting future food security challenges will first require a shift in thinking from just ‘producing food’ (and other sectoral interests) to ‘food systems.’ Solutions will need to be applied at local and regional levels, but still be interlinked through dialogue and alliances between all food system actors, including producers, processors, retailers and consumers, policy makers, NGOs, and other food system ‘influencers’ such as civil society groups. Though progress is being made, the current level of thinking around cross-sectoral dialogue and solutions is far from adequate. Policy strategies are required at all points in the system—on both the demand and supply side. While constructive engagement with industry and individuals is crucial, change is essentially being left up to voluntary actions. Future solutions should aim to find synergies between climate mitigation and adaptation and between health and environmental goals, with inevitable trade-offs that will need careful management. However, a holistic approach should also create opportunities that may help to smooth the transition from business-as-usual to a more sustainable food system.

Sustainable intensification of agricultural systems in the Central African Highlands: The need for institutional innovation

F&BKP Office — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 12:43:17 +0000

This study in the Agricultural Systems Journal identifies entry points for innovation for sustainable intensification of agricultural systems. An agricultural innovation systems approach is used to provide a holistic image of (relations between) constraints faced by different stakeholder groups, the dimensions and causes of these constraints, and intervention levels, timeframes and types of innovations needed. The data shows that constraints for sustainable intensification of agricultural systems are mainly of economic and institutional nature. Constraints are caused by the absence, or poor functioning of institutions such as policies and markets, limited capabilities and financial resources, and ineffective interaction and collaboration between stakeholders. Addressing these constraints would mainly require short- and middle-term productivity and institutional innovations, combined with middle- to long-term Natural Resource Management (NRM) innovations across farm and national levels. Institutional innovation (e.g. better access to credit, services, inputs and markets) is required to address 69% of the constraints for sustainable intensification in the Central Africa Highlands. This needs to go hand in hand with productivity innovation (e.g. improved knowhow of agricultural production techniques, and effective use of inputs) and NRM innovation (e.g. targeted nutrient applications, climate smart agriculture). Constraint network analysis shows that institutional innovation to address government constraints at national level related to poor interaction and collaboration will have a positive impact on constraints faced by other stakeholder groups. We conclude that much of the research for development (R4D) investments and innovation in the Central Africa Highlands remain targeting household productivity at farm level. Reasons for that include (1) a narrow focus on sustainable intensification, (2) institutional mandates and pre-analytical choices based project objectives and disciplinary bias, (3) short project cycles that impede work on middle- and long-term NRM and institutional innovation, (4) the likelihood that institutional experimentation can become political, and (5) complexity in terms of expanded systems boundaries and measuring impact.

Shrimp, prawn and the political economy of social wellbeing in rural Bangladesh

F&BKP Office — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 13:15:27 +0000

This paper (PDF) in the Journal of Rural Studies operationalizes the concept of social wellbeing (comprised of interlinked material, subjective and relational dimensions) as a framework for understanding the effects of agrarian change, as experienced by inhabitants of two villages in rural Southwest Bangladesh. Production of two ostensibly similar high value export crops (tiger shrimp and freshwater prawn) resulted in radically different trajectories of agrarian change and social wellbeing outcomes in the two villages. These were broadly positive in the village producing prawn, but broadly negative in the village producing shrimp. The paper links these divergent wellbeing outcomes to the ways in which peasant livelihoods became commodified in each village. Different patterns of commodification are shown to be linked to differences in the biological characteristics of the two organisms farmed. The paper demonstrates the theoretical, methodological and analytical utility of integrating social wellbeing and political economy of agrarian change perspectives in the study of rural development.

A new politics of development cooperation? Chinese and Brazilian engagements in African agriculture

F&BKP Office — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 12:08:00 +0000

This paper in the World Development Journal, introduces a Special Section on Chinese and Brazilian engagements in African agriculture. The paper asks if a new paradigm for development cooperation is emerging, and argues that we must move beyond the simplistic narratives of either “South–South” collaboration or “neo-imperial” expansion of “rising powers” to look at the dynamic and contested politics of engagement, as new forms of capital and technology enter African contexts. Historical experiences in Brazil and China, as well as domestic political and economic debates, affect how interventions are framed, and by whom, and so influence what technologies are chosen, which investments are funded, and who gets trained. There are both political and economic drivers at the heart of these choices, but these are not uniform or uncontested, either in Brazil and China or in Africa. The Special Section argues for a focus on the encounters on the ground, moving beyond the broader rhetoric and generic policy statements. A key feature of Brazilian and Chinese engagements in African agriculture is the role of state–business relations in shaping and steering development, suggesting new forms of developmentalism. The paper concludes that there is a growing opportunity for learning from the Brazilian and Chinese experience, as this will be a long-run feature of African agricultural development.

A case study of health and agriculture social enterprises in Kenya

F&BKP Office — Fri, 27 May 2016 15:02:00 +0000

This case study (PDF) by the Overseas Development Institute reviewed social enterprises (SEs) operating in the agriculture and health sectors in Kenya to examine how the lack of a widely-accepted social enterprise definition influences activity in Kenya, identify niches within which agriculture and health sector social enterprises are operating and summarise key findings from discussions with key informants. The study confirmed the assumption that social enterprise in Kenya is a dynamic space at the moment, but that there is a lack of common terminology and understanding of how SEs fit into wider sectoral contexts. SE Models have filled gaps between government, NGOs and mainstream private sector goods and service provision. Yet their interrelations with other sectors, and self-identification as a coherent sector themselves, remains nascent. At a sectoral level, SEs have found niches within which their entrepreneurial and social skills and focus are enabling them to tackle intractable problems. Stakeholders are seeing a shift in mindset, towards seeing people in the lowest economic groupings as consumers of goods and services. Obstacles that SEs in Kenya are facing include recruiting and retaining staff who are talented and sufficiently commited to the social vision of the SE. Recommendations for governments are to differentiate SEs from regular businesses and incentivise SEs efforts. Furthermore, government engagement could be increased through the establishment of an advisory body that could encourage mutual government-SE understanding. For support organisations it is of importance that they do not provide readymade solutions but that hey evaluate and understand needs before offering solutions. Instruments for providing finance are important in order for SEs to be able to develop and scale. Cross-organisational best practice and knowledge sharing might be beneficial. SE engagement can be best driven by SEs. Lastly, SE engagement can be best driven by SEs as well as engagement with necessary stakeholders.

Multifunctionality and agrarian transition in alternative agro-food production in the global South: The case of organic shrimp certification in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

F&BKP Office — Mon, 16 May 2016 13:44:43 +0000

Processes of globalisation in the conventional food provision system have had widespread negative impacts on small-scale farmers. Yet, alternative food networks, which are characterised by more sustainable production/consumption practices and fairer trade relations, have increasingly been ‘going global’ and, in the process, have been integrating small-scale farms in the South. One such high-value export-led commodity is certified organic shrimp. International third-party certification schemes are becoming popular as a tool to verify the intangible attributes of such commodities. Using concepts of multifunctionality and agrarian change, this paper examines the implications of introducing an international environmental certification programme to a site where the ‘peasantry’ has been preserved and has limited integration in the global agro-food system. Drawing on a case study that examines the first certified organic shrimp production project in Vietnam, this paper concludes that the current movement towards post-productivism in the global North has potential to keep local farming practices in the global South by justifying the value of peasant-like production methods through international certification. As a result, the development path of agrarian transition might be reshaped into a form not necessarily pursuing industrialisation. This leads to the new interpretation of pre- and post-productivism beyond the North and South divide.

Cooperatives, economic democratization and rural development

Babs — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 14:00:27 +0000

This recent book by Jos Bijman from Wageningen University, Roldan Muradian from Universidade Federal Fluminense and Jur Schuurman, formerly Agriterra, focuses on agricultural cooperatives and producer organizations as institutional innovations which have the potential to reduce poverty and improve food security. This book presents a raft of international case studies, from developing and transition countries, to analyse the internal and external challenges that these complex organizations face and the solutions that they have developed. The contributors provide a greater understanding of the transformation of traditional community organizations into modern farmer-owned businesses. They cover issues including: the impact on rural development and inclusiveness, the role of social capital, formal versus informal organizations, democratic participation and member relations, and their role in value chains. Students and scholars could find the book’s multidisciplinary approach useful in their research. It can also be of interest to policy-makers seeking to understand the wide diversity of organizational forms and functions. NGOs, donors and governments seeking to support rural developments can benefit from the discussions raised in this book.

Unleashing rural economies

F&BKP Office — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 09:03:06 +0000

This publication by the The Economist Intelligence Unit, highlights the overlooked value of rural economies for food security and poverty reduction. The authors state that rural economic development holds the key to ensuring that the nutritional needs of a growing global population are met, and poverty in rural areas is eased, narrowing the gaps between rural and urban populations. The focus of this research project is a better understanding of the macro- and microeconomic conditions that would enable rural economies to deliver a more significant contribution to economic growth. The research modelled how global GDP, rural GDP and rural populations could evolve up to 2030, according to various scenarios. This includes rural growth being unleashed as policymakers implement measures to stimulate development and overcome underlying barriers. Getting the right drivers in place could boost rural growth by over 13% above its current trajectory. Rather than from a mere poverty alleviation or food security perspective, rural economies have the potential to significantly improve the long-term economic growth of nations around the world. To achieve this growth, the report identifies several main obstacles: 1) Policy. Many of the world’s rural areas are not adequately supported by their own governments. A lack of focus on rural development could be addressed through increased attention from political leaders, stronger rule of law and enhanced enforcement of rural policies; 2) Operational infrastructure. Transportation, telecommunication, power and water infrastructure need significant investment. This would boost the productivity of rural supply chains and have positive spill over effects across sectors and 3) Social infrastructure. Improvements are needed in healthcare and education system to make rural areas more attractive as places to live, work and invest.

Local food for global future : Classification, governance and knowledge for sustainable food security

F&BKP Office — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 08:48:21 +0000

A critical analysis of the post World-War II industrial agriculture and food system showed a number of drawbacks. To overcome these difficulties a new paradigm is needed: sustainable food security that requires a focus on local resources. Starting from recently published articles and new research the book presents a structured approach, which offers opportunities and challenges for local and regional food systems, that we see re-emerging globally. Based on a new classification of local food systems the book goes into adequate governance structures. This is demonstrated by a number of examples chosen from all over the world. Special attention is given to developments in The Netherlands and in Russia. A thorough overview is presented of the specific types of knowledge and innovation that is needed for a strong development of the local food systems. The book uncovers the power of local food beyond the local territory. Questions are answered about the consequences when developing regional food systems worldwide. A clear vision is presented on local and regional food and its significance and potential impact on global future, with a fascinating perspective for all people involved.

Food Wars: The global battle for mouths, minds and markets, 2nd edition

Babs — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 13:40:28 +0000

A new edition of Food wars, a book written by Tim Lang and Michael Heasman, was published by Routledge. Food wars can be understood as a war declaration against nowadays food-world. This new edition brings new developments since the first edition fully up to date within the original analytical framework of competing paradigms or worldviews shaping the direction and decision-making within food politics and policy. The authors place more emphasis on the tricky task of how to address cross-cutting issues. Their core argument remains that the food system is in trouble, but it is possible to make sense of this situation and to unpick the barriers to profess. The evidence for system change has grown stronger. The authors propose quite concrete solution for a new food policy and draw a new frame for food policy and public health.

The New Harvest: Agricultural Innovation in Africa

F&BKP Office — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 13:52:36 +0000

The New Harvest, written by Calestous Juma, is a product of the Agricultural Innovation in Africa Project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The book argues that Africa can feed itself in a generation and help contribute to global food security despite its history of persistent food shortages and the rising threat of climate change. To achieve this, the continent must harness scientific and technological advances, invest in infrastructure, foster higher technical training, and create regional markets. It must also produce a new crop of entrepreneurial leaders dedicated to the continent’s economic improvement. This new edition provides ideas on how to place agriculture at the center of the continent’s long-term economic transformation. It demonstrates how policy coordination can help realize agriculture’s full potential as a motherboard for other economic activities. Incorporating lessons from academia, government, civil society, and private industry, The New Harvest outlines how African countries can work together at regional levels to generate new knowledge and resources, harness technological advancement, encourage entrepreneurship, increase agricultural output, create markets, and improve overall economic performance.

Innovation platforms: expriences with their institutional embedding in agricultural research for development

Babs — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 12:42:04 +0000

This article in the Experimental Agriculture Journal highlights ‘Innovation Platforms’ (IPs) as a promising vehicle to foster a paradigm shift in agricultural research for development (AR4D). By facilitating interaction, negotiation and collective action between farmers, researchers and other stakeholders, IPs can contribute to more integrated, systemic innovation that is essential for achieving agricultural development impacts. However, successful implementation of IPs requires institutional change within AR4D establishments. The objective of this paper is to reflect on the implementation and institutionalisation of IPs in present AR4D programmes. Experiences from sub-Saharan Africa are used to demonstrate how the adoption and adaptation of IPs creates both opportunities and challenges that influence platform performance and impact. Niche-regime theory is used to understand challenges, and anticipate on how to deal with them. A key concern is whether IPs in AR4D challenge or reinforce existing technology-oriented agricultural innovation paradigms. For example, stakeholder representation, facilitation and institutional embedding determine to a large extent whether the IP can strengthen systemic capacity to innovate that can lead to real paradigm change, or are merely ‘old wine in new bottles’ and a continuation of ‘business as usual’. Institutional embedding of IPs and – more broadly – the transition from technology-oriented to system-oriented AR4D approaches requires structural changes in organisational mandates, incentives, procedures and funding, as well as investments in exchange of experiences, learning and capacity development.

Transforming a broken food system: an interview with Raj Patel

Babs — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 08:14:32 +0000

In its ‘Social justice in the food sector’ series, Fairfood International is interviewing experts on their views on how to create fair and sustainable food supply chains. Raj Patel is an award-winning British academic, journalist, activist and writer. He is known for his book Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, he also wrote New York Times bestseller The Value of Nothing, an analysis of the financial crisis and critique of the neoliberal, free-market economics that caused it. He is currently working on a new documentary, book and multimedia project, called Generation Food, which documents a broken food system and highlights better ways of growing food, and feeding the world. In this interview with Fairfood’s Richard Glass, he shares his view on corporate control of the food system and the systemic change needed to create a fairer future.

Social protection and agriculture: breaking the cycle of rural poverty

Babs — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 15:08:24 +0000

This edition of FAO‘s “The State of Food and Agriculture 2015″ (PDF) makes the case that social protection measures will help break the cycle of rural poverty and vulnerability, when combined with broader agricultural and rural development measures. The report finds that in poor countries, social protection schemes – such as cash transfers, school feeding and public works – offer an economical way to provide vulnerable people with opportunities to move out of extreme poverty and hunger and to improve their children’s health, education and life chances. The report stresses that the notion that social protection reduces people’s work effort is a myth. Rather, recipients often respond to social protection positively, including improving the nutrition and education of their children, relying more on home production rather than poorly paid wage work and also increasing their participation in existing networks such as funeral societies, a common form of risk management in many traditional communities. Still, the report stresses how social protection alone cannot sustainably eradicate hunger and rural poverty. It therefore underscores the importance of combining and coordinating public investment in social protection with public and private investments in the productive sectors of agriculture and rural development.

Ending rural hunger: Mapping needs and actions for food and nutrition security

Babs — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 12:41:58 +0000

The Ending Rural Hunger project was created by the Global Economy and Development division of the Brookings Institution. This report “Ending Rural Hunger: Mapping Needs and Actions for Food and Nutrition Security” (PDF) argues that a new approach is needed to achieve Global Goal 2: Zero Hunger: the international community must shift from a pattern of erratic political attention and inadequate measurement of the underlying issues to a sustained, strategic, and evidence-based commitment to food and nutrition security (FNS). This implies systematic and quantitative review of how well individual countries are doing in FNS, the strategies being undertaken, and the investments being made, especially in the developing world. In turn, this information needs to be aligned with an assessment of what developed countries are doing to contribute to—or detract from—progress. Such a mapping can help identify priorities and promote actionable follow-up at global, regional, and national levels. This report focuses on one core element of the new global goal for 2030: ending rural hunger. The report is accompanied by an interactive website, www.endingruralhunger.org, – that presents the full results of the analysis alongside all the underlying data.

The role of knowledge in building food security resilience across food system domains

Babs — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 13:30:47 +0000

This paper in the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences compares knowledge generation, transmission, access, and use in four food system domains (global industrial, independent commercial, local and sustainable, and fair trade) discriminated on dimensions of globalization and multifunctionality. The objective of these comparisons is to understand connections among the resilience of food systems, food security, and knowledge systems. The paper concludes with a case study of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), hosted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. The CFS embodies and facilitates many of the attributes of resilient knowledge generation and access; some of the tensions within the CFS reflect whether knowledge used by the Committee will have attributes of resilient knowledge. The author argues that forms of knowledge generation, transmission, and access must be participatory, multi-actor, iterative, and transparent in order to build food security resilience. It is also argued that knowledge at multiple scales must be resilient and interlocking in order to protect social organizations from food shortages and impaired food security.

Global or local food chains? Uncovering the dilemmas in Senegal and Peru

Babs — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 14:26:37 +0000

This paper (PDF) by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), examines whether local or global food chains are better at delivering food security and safety, decent employment, protecting the environment and contributing to economic growth. Using case studies from Senegal and Peru, the authors show a new and complex reality that challenges ideological views about re-localising food production and consumption. It points to the dilemmas but also to the potential and limits of national policies and food chain practices in a context of market globalisation. Despite many differences, both country case studies show that changes in domestic consumption, business and policy strategies are contributing to reshaping global trade. The paper highlights that international food trade is a key component of world food security. According to the authors, global and local food-chain performance must be assessed against national and global concerns related to food security and safety, employment, natural resource constraints and environmental impact to make markets work for the many and in the long term.

Rural and agricultural mechanization

Babs — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 15:46:34 +0000

The past 50 years witnessed a remarkable spread of smaller-scale rural mechanization in some regions of South Asia, mostly characterized by the spread of single-cylinder diesel engines. These engines have been used for multiple purposes, such as providing power for shallow tubewell pumps, riverboats, two-wheel tractors, road and track transport vehicles, harvesters, threshers, grain mills, timber mills, and processing equipment. Diverse local market institutions for the buying and selling of water, tillage, transport, and many other services have been associated with the spread of smaller-scale rural equipment. Alongside these smaller-scale patterns of rural mechanization there have been significant increases in the intensity of agricultural production and in broader-based rural development. Despite this evidence, international and local policy debates do not reflect the significance of these patterns of rural mechanization for agricultural and rural development. This paper by IFPRI starts with a discussion of three main generalizations arising from the spread of smaller-scale technology. This is followed by policy issues and starts by identifying four themes that explain why this smaller-scale mechanization transformation remained below the horizon in policy debates outside the regions where these changes have been taking place. The paper ends by discussing five ways forward in policy analysis.

Transforming Africa’s agriculture for sustainable inclusive growth, improved livelihoods and shared prosperity.

Babs — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 15:37:01 +0000

This Background Note (PDF) by AGRA was intended for the High-Level Side Event on African Economic Transformation held in the margins of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, 13-16 July, Addis Ababa Ethiopia. It highlights potentials and challenges for transformation of African agriculture for sustainable growth. The performance of African agriculture has been encouraging. Nonetheless, the vast potential of African agriculture remains largely untapped. African agriculture attracts very little commercial lending, a strong signal that the majority of investors are not yet buying into the potential of the sector. There are a number of reasons for this anemic interest, but agriculture policies and institutions that exist at all levels have been named among the most critical deficiencies. The note highlights that there are examples in several countries where targeted reforms and a focus on attracting private sector investment to commercial agriculture opportunities have achieved rapid results. Concluding that it is critical for governments, business and international institutions to pursue policies, incentives and interventions that direct a greater share of this financing to African farmers and agriculture businesses. Making the right investment and policy decisions now will determine whether the fruits of Africa’s enormous agriculture potential are harvested for the benefit of the majority of the African people who depend on agriculture for food and incomes.

Farmers’ strategies as building block for rethinking sustainable intensification

Babs — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 15:36:24 +0000

Agricultural intensification, now commonly referred to as sustainable intensification, is presented in development discourse as a key means to simultaneously improve food security and reduce rural poverty without harming the environment. Taking a village in Laos as a case study, we show how government agencies and farmers could perceive the idea of agricultural intensification differently. The study illustrates how farmers with the opportunities for groundwater use typically choose to grow vegetables and high valued cash crops rather than intensify rice production. This contrasts with government and donor supported efforts to promote rice intensification as a means to increase food security and reduce rural poverty. This article’s main message is that farmers’ differing strategies are related to a variety of household characteristics and that farmers’ strategies should be central to the current discussion on sustainable intensification.

Africa-EU research collaboration on food security: A Critical Analysis of the Scope, Coordination and Uptake of Findings

Babs — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 12:10:16 +0000

This report (PDF) by CAAST-NET Plus presents the key findings from an analysis of research cooperation between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Two issues were investigated: first, the extent to which joint EU-SSA research cooperation has impacted on Africa-EU joint FNS priorities; and, second, the extent to which research outputs have been used in policy-making and implementation, are contributing to knowledge generation, and supporting innovation in products, processes and markets for increasing impact on FNS outcomes. The report has identified gaps in the capacities and funding for Africa-Europe food security research collaborations, and the need to strengthen such networks and research uptake. An important finding is that there is little involvement in research of large businesses and small-scale farmers, which hinders research adaptation. Important recommendations include: 1) Strengthen research networking and priority setting by establishing a high-level Africa-EU think tank; 2) Scientific publications should not only be published in peer-reviewed journals but also converted into policy briefs and working papers for wider dissemination to other stakeholders so as to better influence policies and programmes; and 3) Joint research priorities should be co-funded and co-owned.

Catalysing innovation: from theory to action

Babs — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 12:16:39 +0000

This paper (PDF) by KIT looks at the process of agricultural innovation and the realistic contribution agricultural research can make. To be able to analyse the process of agricultural innovation, three elements are distinguished: 1) opportunity assessment to identify ‘entry points for change’; 2) experimentation, leading to ‘tested and tried promising new practices’; and 3) bringing into routine use, for ‘impact at scale’. The authors comment that any intervention aiming at impact at scale would do well to work on these three elements simultaneously. Attention should be given to building the ‘capacity to innovate’ to contribute to future results. Based on the analysis of the agricultural innovation process, a number of recommendations are formulated on how agricultural research can contribute to impact at scale, such as: i) Avoid the notion of ‘research results ready to use; and ii) Be open to good ideas from as many diverse sources as possible and draw on the expertise and opinions of many actors.

Changing the food game: Market transformation strategies for sustainable agriculture

Babs — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 12:50:10 +0000

In his book “Changing the Food Game”, author Lucas Simons argues that the challenge of feeding the world’s population can only be solved by effective market transformation to achieve sustainable agriculture and food production. In the first part of the book, Simons explains about system dynamics and system failures. Lucas Simons explains clearly how we have created a production and trading system that is inherently unsustainable. In the second part of the book, Simons describes the steps through which a market transformation strategy must pass. Several case studies of transformations in process are explained. A key message in the book on dealing with system complexity is overcoming fragmentation and isolation in the system, creating transparency about everyone’s role and contribution, and having actors work together. The book clearly lays out the power of systems for understanding and addressing problems, the challenges in doing so, and the analytical framework for seeing the key phases and important pressure points to understand and encourage market transformation in agriculture. The first chapter of the book can be read here. Read a report of the F&BKP of a presentation by Simons on his book here.

Source: Lucas Simons, November 2014

Challenging food governance models: Analyzing the food citizen and the emerging food constitutionalism from an EU perspective

Babs — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 08:16:17 +0000

Critical analyses of current food systems underline the need to respond to important challenges in questions of nutritional health, environmental sustainability, socio-economic development and protection of the cultural wealth. A wide range of perspectives and methodologies were used to carry out those analyses yielding a significant variety of proposals to undertake the challenges. In most of those analyses, the need to transform our current food systems both from the local to the global level is emphasized, paying attention to food chain processes as well as to decision-makers. The analysis presented in this paper (PDF) in the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, reflects specifically on those proposals based on a common aspect: the need to transform the governance of the EU present-day food system, that is, who makes decisions, how are those decisions made, and which changes need to be made to empower food consumers. The introduction of reforms to change these models is proposed.

The New Science of Sustainable Food Systems: Overcoming Barriers to Food Systems Reform

Babs — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 09:10:01 +0000

The report of IPES-Food, entitled The New Science of Sustainable Food Systems: Overcoming Barriers to Food Systems Reform (PDF), makes the case for reaching beyond the traditional bounds of the scientific community in conducting this analysis. According to the authors, to accelerate the shift towards sustainable food systems, a new science of sustainable food systems is needed. This paper traces out the contours of a new analytical framework for sustainable food systems (Section 1). It then describes the principles of transdisciplinary science that must be applied in order to generate the types of knowledge that can support the transition to sustainable food systems (Section 2). Finally, it considers previous and ongoing attempts to address sustainable food systems at the interface of science, policy and practice, in order to identify where initiatives have succeeded, where challenges remain, and how these energies can be harnessed and combined to support the transition to sustainable food systems (Section 3). The sustainable food systems framework proposed here enables an understanding of specific food systems problems as the component parts of wider systemic problems, and as functions of particular logics and dynamics running all the way through a food system. Such a framework can help to identify synergies and leverage points for implementing solutions aimed at strengthening the resilience and sustainability of food systems as a whole.

Food Security Governance Empowering Communities, Regulating Corporations

Babs — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 08:26:51 +0000

This book by Nora McKeon explores the global food governance at a crossroads. It proceeds to explain how actors link up in corporate global food chains and in the local food systems that feed most of the world’s population. It unpacks relevant paradigms – from productivism to food sovereignty – and highlights the significance of adopting a rights-based approach to solving food problems. The author describes how communities around the world are protecting their access to resources and building better ways of producing and accessing food, and discusses the reformed Committee on World Food Security, a uniquely inclusive global policy forum, and how it could be supportive of efforts from the base. The book concludes by identifying terrains on which work is needed to adapt the practice of the democratic public sphere and accountable governance to a global dimension and extend its authority to the world of markets and corporations. Besides being a contribution to re-thinking the theorizing of the messiness of scales and how global paradigms are being contested and shaped, the book provides empirical proof that transformations are underway. The book can be of interest to students of food security, global governance, development studies and critical security studies in general.

Stuck on the road to the market: Why Kenya suffers from stunted innovations

Babs — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 12:48:59 +0000

This discussion paper (PDF) by Scinnovent Centre, sought to interrogate the challenges facing innovators in Kenya with a view to making recommendations to the various actors within the national innovation system on the various kinds of support required to ensure Kenyan innovators meet their full potential. A research survey was conducted to capture views on a range of issues including intellectual property rights; financing; market access; receptivity of the market to local innovation; policy support; role of the private sector and role of universities and other training institutions. The paper recommends the need for government to (i) fast-track the establishment of venture capital to fund innovation and provide tax credits for investments in R&D; (ii) spearhead preferential purchasing of locally manufactured products through its procurement policies; (iii) entrench technology and business incubation centres in all the technical training facilities; and (iv) enhance awareness, sensitization, and support for intellectual property rights protection.

Sustainable sector transformation: How to drive sustainability performance in smallholder-dominated agricultural sectors?

Babs — Mon, 18 May 2015 15:23:49 +0000

This paper by Aidenvironment, NewForesight and IIED (PDF) presents a sustainable sector transformation model for smallholder dominated agricultural commodity sectors which takes a holistic approach to transformation. It begins with an explanation of some of the dynamics of sector transformation. It then presents the limits of purely public or market-driven models, before finally presenting the five building blocks that make up the model. The research conducted took place in two phases. Phase 1 of the project reviewed the scope and impact of Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) to date and asked how VSS are best scaled up, given that most agricultural sectors in developing countries are dominated by small-scale farmers who are typically unorganized and lack access to inputs, credit, and technical assistance. Phase 2 of the research took a more comprehensive look at how to scale up sustainability in smallholder-dominated agricultural sectors by developing a model for sustainable sector transformation. The model was developed and tested using a number of country-sector case studies: cocoa in Ivory Coast and Ghana; coffee in Vietnam; cotton in Mali; and palm oil in Indonesia. The model consists of five building blocks: sector alignment and accountability, strengthening of market demand, public sector governance, organization of the production base, and organization of the service sector. The extent to which the building blocks need to be strengthened is context specific, but a focus on only one or two dimensions is bound to lead to a failure to completely transform sectors where there are many smallholders. This model is intended as a framework for policy-makers, donors and the private sector to develop roadmaps for sustainability for specific countries and sectors.

Global food security governance: Civil society engagement in the reformed Committee on World Food Security

Babs — Mon, 18 May 2015 07:40:01 +0000

Drawing on data collected from policy documents, interviews and participant observation, this book by Jessica Duncan examines the re-organization and functioning of a UN Committee that is coming to be known as a best practice in global governance. Framed by key challenges that plague global governance, the impact and implication of increased civil society engagement are examined by tracing policy negotiations within the CFS, in particular, policy roundtables on smallholder sensitive investment and food price volatility and negotiations on the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, and the Global Strategic Framework for Food Security and Nutrition. The author shows that through their participation in the Committee, civil society actors are influencing policy outcomes. Yet analysis also reveals that the CFS is being undermined by other actors seeking to gain and maintain influence at the global level. By way of this analysis, this book provides empirically-informed insights into increased participation in global governance processes.

Making Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) work for development in tropical countries

Babs — Thu, 14 May 2015 09:15:14 +0000

This paper (PDF) in Sustainability aims to identify gaps in current capacities and the development needs as perceived by stakeholders involved in national and regional Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS). Three regional needs assessments undertaken by Tropical Agricultural Platform (TAP) and its partners. The surveyed tropical regions were Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Central America. The paper reports the main findings of the needs assessment study, draws some general lessons on the current status of the Capacity Development (CD) initiatives and hypothesizes corrective measures to improve their impact. The findings reveal a mismatch in all three regions between the external supply of primarily individual CD and the actual demand for institutional CD. The misalignment might be addressed by strengthening south-south and triangular collaboration and by improving the institutional capacities that would render national AIS more demand-oriented and responsive to the needs of smallholders in domestic agriculture.

The need for institutional change in capacity development of tertiary agricultural education organisations

Babs — Mon, 04 May 2015 13:06:04 +0000

This publication (PDF) by KIT, ICRA and the Centre for Development Innovation (CDI), argues that Dutch-funded capacity development projects in developing countries for tertiary agricultural education organisations as they are currently carried out are not able to successfully achieve the sustained changes required. The authors suggest that long-term institutional change is needed. The report specifically analyses six case studies of capacity development projects in East and Southern Africa, and Afghanistan. Four concrete necessary conditions for institutional change were identified, namely: 1) Team building based on trust and good communication is essential to change processes; 2) Continuity is necessary to keep up the momentum for change; 3) Flexible administrative procedures are crucial for changes to take root; and 4) Institutional change is a process that takes a long time.

Institutional change towards sustainable agriculture in West Africa

Babs — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 13:23:00 +0000

This paper in the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability describes why inter- and trans-disciplinary research, accompanied by innovation platforms, is essential in the context of agricultural development in West Africa. The authors argue that an enabling institutional context is necessary to achieve an increase in agricultural production. This will have consequences for setting priorities of agricultural research and the way research should be organized in order to have impact. Within the framework of two consecutive programmes, attempts were made to create such an enabling context. The first programme, focusing on participatory technology development, showed that smallholders can capture only limited benefits from technologies because of their constrained opportunities. The point of departure for the second programme was that institutions explain a large portion of variance in agricultural output and that multi-stakeholder innovation platforms at local, district, and national levels are needed to create change. The paper concludes with an overview of this special issue, which provides nine case studies of institutional factors that influence smallholder innovation. Each of these case studies identifies and analyses institutional mechanisms at aggregation levels higher than the household, farm, or village.

Innovating organizational systems of agricultural extension in China

Babs — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 08:35:48 +0000

This paper (PDF) in the International Journal of Agricultural Extension comprehensively examines the organizational systems of agricultural extension in China. The organizations of agricultural extension in China have been gradually diversified over 30 years’ reform and adjustment. Currently, the dominant agricultural extension organizations can be categorized into 5 types: government-run organizations, education-oriented organizations, research-oriented organizations, enterprise-run organizations and self-service organizations. Suggestions on how to optimize the internal organizational structures, how to encourage the interaction and coordination among different types of organizations, and how to coordinate the relationships between organizations and external environment are proposed.

Developing sustainable food value chains. Guiding principles

Babs — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 15:17:59 +0000

Aimed at policy-makers, project designers and field practitioners, this publication (PDF) by FAO provides the conceptual foundation for a new set of FAO handbooks on sustainable food value chain development. It defines the concept of a sustainable food value chain, presents a development paradigm that integrates the multidimensional concepts of sustainability and value added, highlights ten guiding principles, and discusses the potential and limitations of the approach. By doing so, this handbook makes a strong case for placing sustainable food value chain development at the heart of any strategy aimed at reducing poverty and hunger in the long run.