Scaling up inclusive innovations in agrifood chains in Asia and the Pacific
Scaling up inclusive innovations in agrifood chains in Asia and the Pacific

Author: Gálvez, E.

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2022-06-21

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 9251356297

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The publication looks at innovations happening at all stages of the food value chain: from production to manufacturing and retailing. This also includes the extended value chain, for example input supply, financial services and agribusiness support services. Yields are improving and primary production is becoming more resilient as a result of digital technologies such as precision agriculture, agricultural drones, and digital farming services and marketplaces; and novel business models such as plant factories, crowdsourcing for farmers. Data and robotics help lift productivity and food safety in the manufacturing process. Online grocery commerce and food delivery services are revolutionizing the way consumers purchase food. Distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain, allows making payments and tracing back food products along the chain in order to increase transparency and trust. New business models are springing up to shorten the chain by removing or shifting stages and to make it fairer and greener, stimulated by enabling technologies and changing customer behaviours. Innovations such as these are discussed and illustrated by almost 200 practical examples from 21 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, across various types of firms and commodities. By observing emerging trends and providing concrete examples, the book discusses the nature of these innovations, how they are affecting food systems and value chains, positively or negatively, and how to deal with trade-offs. It concludes with a reflection on the impacts of these innovations, the policy solutions identified, and lessons learned to future-proof the region’s food systems, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

FAO publications catalogue 2023
FAO publications catalogue 2023

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2023-10-10

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 9251380570

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This catalogue aims to improve the dissemination and outreach of FAO’s knowledge products and overall publishing programme. By providing information on its key publications in every area of FAO’s work, and catering to a range of audiences, it thereby contributes to all organizational outcomes. From statistical analysis to specialized manuals to children’s books, FAO publications cater to a diverse range of audiences. This catalogue presents a selection of FAO’s main publications, produced in 2023 or earlier, ranging from its global reports and general interest publications to numerous specialized titles. In addition to the major themes of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, it also includes thematic sections on climate change, economic and social development, and food safety and nutrition.

Promoting the digitalization of small and medium-sized agrifood enterprises in Asia and the Pacific
Promoting the digitalization of small and medium-sized agrifood enterprises in Asia and the Pacific

Author: Gálvez Nogales, E.

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2023-12-11

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 9251384061

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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute the large majority of businesses both globally and in Asia and the Pacific. Despite their undeniable importance, the literature on SMEs in general, and agrifood SMEs in particular, is relatively limited. One specific area that deserves deeper consideration is the extent of digital engagement of agrifood SMEs along the agrifood value chain, from farm to retail and food services, in countries in Asia and the Pacific. The goal of this publication is to understand the current status of digitalization of agri-SMEs in Asia and the Pacific, what this process looks like and how to improve it. A value-chain approach was adopted to evaluate the digital maturity of all types of agri-SMEs across previously siloed categories – from farm to fork, and in the core and the extended value chain. The report analyses the benefits of digital transformation for agri-SMEs and the challenges they face in this process. Next, the report outlines practical and actionable measures that governments and other stakeholders may undertake to help agrifood SMEs stay ahead in the digital age. Special attention is given to the creation of a digital environment that enables agri-SMEs to increase the efficiency of their operations and allow them to grow. This is particularly important given that many agri-SMEs are located in rural agricultural areas, (where more than half of the population in Asia and the Pacific still resides), but where the environment is less favourable to digital transformation.

Linking agriculture and tourism to strengthen agrifood systems in Asia and the Pacific
Linking agriculture and tourism to strengthen agrifood systems in Asia and the Pacific

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2023-08-03

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 9251380260

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Agrifood systems in Asia and the Pacific can be strengthened by tapping on agrifood-tourism linkages. When tourism and agrifood systems interact, both synergies and competition appear. Agriculture and tourism compete between themselves and other sectors for land, water, labour, capital, and transport and logistics services. Cross-sectoral synergies arise when agriculture and tourism influence each other through their respective demand conditions and changes in the enabling environment. These cross-sectoral synergies can be instrumental in strengthening agrifood systems in the region and addressing interlinked crises in the post-pandemic era.Governments across Asia and the Pacific have acknowledged the potential of tapping into agrifood- tourism linkages to advance sustainable development in both urban (food tourism) and rural areas (mostly agricultural tourism), and are implementing efforts to develop this subsector.Agrifood-tourism linkages can create income-generating opportunities for farmers and tourism operators, boost employment and stimulate overall economic growth, promote the development of sustainable agrifood systems, prevent rural youth outmigration and help preserve culinary and agricultural heritage.This publication guides policymakers in the region in the preparation of a strategic plan aimed at developing agrifood tourism and the tourism food value chain as drivers of sustainable development. The successful positioning of a country or location as a culinary or agricultural tourism destination and the creation of synergies between the agriculture and tourism sectors requires a shared vision and coordination between policymakers, destination managers, tourism and agrifood businesses, chefs, farmers and other key stakeholders.

Developing Sustainable Food Value Chains
Developing Sustainable Food Value Chains

Author: David Neven

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13:

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Using sustainable food value chain development (SFVCD) approaches to reduce poverty presents both great opportunities and daunting challenges. SFVCD requires a systems approach to identifying root problems, innovative thinking to find effective solutions and broad-based partnerships to implement programmes that have an impact at scale. In practice, however, a misunderstanding of its fundamental nature can easily result in value-chain projects having limited or non-sustainable impact. Furthermore, development practitioners around the world are learning valuable lessons from both failures and successes, but many of these are not well disseminated. This new set of handbooks aims to address these gaps by providing practical guidance on SFVCD to a target audience of policy-makers, project designers and field practitioners. This first handbook provides a solid conceptual foundation on which to build the subsequent handbooks. It (1) clearly defines the concept of a sustainable food value chain; (2) presents and discusses a development paradigm that integrates the multidimensional concepts of sustainability and value added; (3) presents, discusses and illustrates ten principles that underlie SFVCD; and (4) discusses the potential and limitations of using the value-chain concept in food-systems development. By doing so, the handbook makes a strong case for placing SFVCD at the heart of any strategy aimed at reducing poverty and hunger in the long run.

Asia and the Pacific – Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition, 2022
Asia and the Pacific – Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition, 2022

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2023-03-10

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 9251375518

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This is the fifth edition of the Asia and the Pacific Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition annual report. This publication is led by FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) and jointly contributed to by United Nations' partner agencies (UNICEF, WFP, WHO), on the region’s progress (or lack thereof) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (in particular SDG 2 – Ending Hunger) and the World Health Assembly (WHA) 2030 targets on food security and nutrition. In recent years, previous editions reported that progress was stalling, then regressing and then more recently pushing us further off track. This reverse was evident even before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in 2020. The decline continued and worsened during the pandemic and the data is captured in this report. Updated estimates on the cost and affordability of a healthy diet show that nearly 45 percent of the region’s population cannot afford one. Reducing the cost of a healthy diet and making it more affordable is a critical element for achieving ending hunger (SDG2) and also the other SDGs. This year’s report also looks closely at food security and nutrition in urban areas which will increasingly contribute to the progress in SDG indicators as the proportion of the urban population across the region is set to cross 50 percent in this decade.

Agricultural Innovation in Developing East Asia
Agricultural Innovation in Developing East Asia

Author: Riikka Rajalahti

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2021-12-29

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 1464816816

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Agricultural innovation has played a critical role in the economic transformation of developing East Asian countries over the past half century. The Green Revolution—in the form of modern seed varieties, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and modern machinery—has contributed to increased crop yields and farm incomes, and decreased poverty across the region. Although policy makers’ traditional focus on expanding and intensifying agricultural production has brought many benefits, the focus on productivity has come at a rising cost. The environmental sustainability of agricultural production is increasingly under threat. Moreover, as countries in the region have become more urbanized and demand for processed foods has risen, inadequate food safety systems and related food safety hazards have created a new form of food insecurity. As detailed in Agricultural Innovation in Developing East Asia: Productivity, Safety, and Sustainability, a new generation of innovation in agriculture has the potential to address the challenges of productivity, sustainability, and food safety to deliver a “triple win.†? To make the most of this promising wave of agricultural innovations, policy makers in the region will need to act to strengthen countries’ agricultural innovation systems. This effort will require a cross-cutting approach, including policy and institutional reforms, improved governance of countries’ agri-food systems, and efforts to build farmers’ and firms’ capacities to adopt new technologies and to innovate.

Regoverning Markets
Regoverning Markets

Author: Bill Vorley

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2016-04-08

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1317068920

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The internationalisation of food retailing and manufacturing that has swept through the agri-food system in industrialised countries is now moving into middle- and low-income countries with large rural populations, causing significant institutional changes that affect small producer agriculture and the livelihoods of rural communities the world over. Farmers and policy-makers are struggling to keep up with the wave of new demands being made on their supply chains by food manufacturers and retailers. In the process, new questions and challenges are arising: Can small-scale farmers organise to meet the demands of corporate giants? Should governments liberalise Foreign Direct Investment in the retail sector and expose numerous small shops to competition from multinationals? Can distribution systems be adapted to make markets work better for the poor? This book offers a contemporary look at what happens when the modernisation of food supply chains comes face to face with the livelihoods of rural and poor people. The authors are drawn from eighteen countries participating in the 'Regoverning Markets' programme, which aims to not only improve our understanding of the way modernisation and re-structuring of food supply chains is affecting food production and distribution systems, but also identify best-practice in involving small-scale producers in supermarket supply chains, and ascertain the barriers to inclusion which need to be removed. The book is aimed primarily at academics but will also appeal to practitioners in developing countries, civil servants, policy-makers and NGOs.

Proceedings of the International Symposium on Agricultural Innovation for Family Farmers
Proceedings of the International Symposium on Agricultural Innovation for Family Farmers

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)

Published: 2019-08-15

Total Pages: 119

ISBN-13: 9789251315040

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This first International Symposium on Agricultural Innovation for Family Farmers called for inclusive research and education systems to facilitate innovation; robust bridging institutions; support to family farmers; and integrated policies and increased investments to create an enabling environment for innovation and scaling up. Innovation is the process whereby individuals or organizations bring new or existing products, processes or ways of organization into use for the first time in a specific context. Innovation in agriculture cuts across all dimensions of the production cycle along the entire value chain - from crop, forestry, fishery or livestock production to the management of inputs and resources to market access. The symposium provided inspiration for innovation actors and decision makers to unlock the potential of innovation to drive socio-economic growth, ensure food and nutrition security, alleviate poverty, improve resilience to changing environments and thereby achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.