policy dialogue

The FAO Food Outlook is a biannual publication (May/June and November/December) focusing on developments affecting global food and feed markets. This report (PDF) from October 2014 highlights that food markets are more stable and prices for most agricultural commodities are sharply lower than they have been in recent years. »

This paper (PDF) by UNU-WIDER examines the current interest in addressing the problem of young people’s unemployment in Africa through agriculture. It aims to address what role policy and associated programmes and projects can play in re-aligning rural young people’s engagement with agriculture. By use of two overarching concepts, transition and mobility, a conceptual framework is introduced that could be used as a lens for the analysis of policies, programmes and projects involving young people and agriculture in Africa. »

This publication (PDF) by The Landscapes for People, Food and Nature Initiative is focused on how agriculture provides important and reciprocal benefits to the sustainable development of both rural and urban communities. The paper provides short examples of cities, initiatives and projects from around the world with key lessons learned and good practices. »

This book published in the African Dynamics Series of the African Studies Centre Leiden with contributions of a large group of researchers, attempts to ‘dig deeper’ into what is currently happening in Africa’s agricultural and rural sector and to convince policymakers and others that it is important to look at the current African rural dynamics »

An expert meeting was organised in September 2014 by Agri-ProFocus to clarify different perspectives on agro-ecology and other approaches to promote sustainable agriculture, in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on achieving food and nutrition security for all by 2030. Meeting outcomes were aimed to inform the Food Security policy note of Dutch Minister Ploumen and Dutch Secretary of State Dijksma, as well as the own practice of different stakeholders. »

In July 2014, a regional dialogue on “Strengthening African Seed Systems: Technical, Economic and Policy Challenges” took place in Nairobi, hosted by Future Agricultures and the Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development. The workshop aimed to examine the institutional, social and political dimensions of getting seed technologies into use and to highlight the challenges of increasing access to improved seeds for poor farmers through both formal and informal channels. This blog highlights lessons learned from the event, such as the need for re-framing of public policy so that it opens up opportunities for donors, civil society, researchers and farmers to investment in plural seed sector development. »