Paper

This paper (PDF) by Aidenvironment, NewForesight and IIED presents the value proposition of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) and the challenges they face in obtaining scale and impact in sectors dominated by unorganized smallholders. It explores their potential role in scaling sustainability within a more holistic sector transformation model. »

Financial cooperatives and microfinance institutions (MFIs) are the two major sources of rural finance in Ethiopia. Whereas MFIs are relatively new, financial cooperatives have existed for centuries in various forms. The coexistence of two different institutions serving the same group of people, and delivering the same financial services, raises several policy questions. Those questions have become particularly relevant, as the government has embarked on developing a new strategy for improving rural financial services delivery. This study serves as an input to that policy discussion. »

This white paper (PDF) from AIRCA elaborates on the benefits of a landscape approach to manage synergies and trade-offs of sustainable intensification in agriculture. Landscapes encompass a diversity of interactions between people and environment, and between agricultural and non-agricultural systems. Healthy landscapes not only exhibit healthy ecosystems, but also sustain productive agriculture and communities. This paper sets »

The risk management factsheet (PDF) elaborated by Cordaid presents four categories of risk mitigating measures that microfinance institutions (MFIs) can adopt to enhance safe opportunities for agricultural lending, in terms of: preparation, product risk alleviation, operations and collaborations. »

This paper explores to what extent voluntary certification schemes are able to deliver on no deforestation commitments. Certification schemes play an important role in improving the environmental and social sustainability of supply chains. Yet, this report highlights a number of their limitations which form a barrier to delivering on no deforestation targets. »

This paper (PDF) in the European Journal of Business and Management, compiles and synthesizes existing and emerging knowledge on major aspects of livestock enterprises and support services including practical skills and information needs among self-employed graduates. Implications for further investigation and interventions and informing institutional policies development on livestock enterprises as a growing employment option are also highlighted. »