Knowledge Portal

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. »

IIED, ODI and IDS have published a series of papers addressing agricultural and rural development debates in sub-Saharan Africa. They aim to improve the understanding of agricultural and rural development in Africa in the context of both long-standing and new drivers of change, so as to stimulate debate and research, and contribute to improved policy »

In this article by ILRI, a method is introduced that is being tried out in Senegal to measure the social impacts of dairy supply chain innovation in pastoralist societies. To collect and add value to milk from local herders and to help meet increasing demand for milk products in Dakar, a dairy plant has adapted its supply chain to the social customs of the Fula herders of this region. »

In this study (PDF) by FAO, authors analyse the linkages between property rights and adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA). First, they discuss key characteristics of four CSA practices related to sustainable land management. Then, they lay out a conceptual framework for evaluating the pathways by which expanding property rights and strengthening tenure security affects incentives to adopt technologies broadly, and finally apply the framework to each of the four CSA practices. »

This study in the Small Ruminant Research, aimed to maximize the amount (kg) of high value meat arising from surplus males and females per kilogram of the goat population and, maximize weight gains to turnoff age. Subsequently, the study aimed to decrease turnoff age, maximization of reproduction rates and minimization of the mature weight of »

From 2011 to 2013, ASARECA and the National Livestock Resources Research Institute (NaLIRRI) implemented a project “Harnessing crop-livestock integration to enhance food security and livelihoods resilience to effects of climate change in Eastern and Central Africa”. The aim of the project was to enhance productivity and value of smallholder crop-livestock systems in Uganda. This was »