Farm Data Systems Review
The main objective of the
review and design study of the farm data system is to help the generation
of a sustainable country based data and decision support system for developing
and utilizing farm and household information in planning, monitoring and
evaluation of the agricultural development programs. The farm data information
is also used in addressing the food security, poverty alleviation, small
farm development and gender issues. The farm data system provides essential
information on farm production, gross margins, requirements of land, labour,
capital including seasonal labour requirements of inputs such as fertilizers,
manure, pesticides etc. and net farm incomes. The farm data system also
helps the extension personnel, farmers, planners and research workers in
developing enterprise / crop budgets, farm plan, input-output coefficients,
production elasticity and estimation of production functions to help the
farmers in better decision marking.
Case studies in Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Ethiopia, Ghana,
Kenya, Swaziland and Tanzania are available.
For further information contact: Susan
Minae
Farm Management in Extension
Farm management advice helps
farmers to make the right choice between crop enterprises according to
individual levels of financial, labour and land endowments and at their
level of risk adversity. As farmers become more market-oriented producers,
extension needs are changing and extension workers face new challenges
in providing appropriate advise.
Twelve country studies have been launched in various African regions
to analyse the scope and importance of farm business management in the
provision of extension services. Special emphasis is placed on whether
new extension needs are addressed by service providers.
Participating countries include Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire,
Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Swaziland, Zambia and
Zimbabwe.
The analysis includes assessing the position of public and private service
providers, and identifies formal education institutes and in-service training
opportunities. A participatory approach is taken involving stakeholders
such as farmers, middle-level extension service providers and decision-makers
with the ultimate goal to improve the provision of advise particularly
in support of commercially-oriented farmers.
For further information contact: Dagmar
Kunze
Country reviews in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and Mexico
will be conducted in conjunction with The International Network for Farming
Systems Research to characterise the emerging trends and dynamics of agricultural
production systems and their extension and training service needs.
For further information contact: Pilar
Santacoloma
Strengthening Farm-Agribusiness Linkages
Strengthening farm-agribusiness linkages is vital
for agribusiness development. Successful linkages lead to adding value
in agricultural sectors, they can help to create employment and increase
income levels. Small farmers cannot remain only producers of foodstuffs
but have to take on the additional role of entrepreneurs in order to improve
their livelihoods and move beyond subsistence farming. Agribusiness companies
are in need of reliable domestic raw material supplies to improve their
international competitiveness.
The linkage initiative concentrates on how to develop and reinforce
equitable and efficient linkages between all players along the food value
chain. The main output is to create an awareness of the importance of farm-agribusiness
linkages and finally to develop guidelines for policy makers and planners
on how to formulate strategic programmes and overall strategies that would
assist in building and maintaining successful farm-agribusiness linkage
programmes.
The activity builds on experiences in South East Asia. Specific country case study material on farm-agribusiness
linkages have been developed for Latin America and Africa. A workshop for Latin America was held in Peru in November 2002 and an expert consultation for Africa in Kenya in March 2003.
Synthesis Results for Latin America ; Synthesis Results for Africa ; Proceedings of Workshop in Peru ;
Proceedings of Expert Consultation in Kenya
For further information contact: Alexandra
Röttger, Pilar Santacoloma
Adjustments in Export Oriented Production
following Trade Liberalisation-
The Case of the Pacific Island Region
Trade liberalisation has also exposed this Sub-Region
to more global competition. There is the need to support farmers in becoming
not only more market-oriented in producing traditional agricultural crops
but also to diversify their production to correct the heavy reliance on
few export crops. Five country case studies have been carried out in the
Pacific Island Region focusing on constraints and opportunities for export
and market-oriented production. A wide spectrum of topics related to diversification
and marketing, including research and extension needs as well as implications
on profitability at farm level have been covered. A micro-level perspective
on policy and technology options has been developed focusing on farmer's
enterprise choice and diversification.
A workshop held in July 2001, attended by senior officials of the various
Ministries of Agriculture, developed an action plan to improve market-oriented
production to be taken up by governments, the private sector and donor
agencies.
For further information contact: Heiko
Bammann
FAO SAPA Publication 1999/2 Linking
Market Development to Farming Systems In the Pacific Islands
Integrated Economics and Environmental
Accounting
Many of the small resource-poor farmers around the
world rely on soils already low in natural fertility. Farming techniques
often result in further land degradation and deforestation. Conventional
farm accounts do not account for such man-caused land degradation since
natural environment inputs are valued at zero price. A methodology for
incorporating environmental accounts into conventional farm accounts has
been developed in conjunction with the Royal
Institute of Tropical Agriculture. Special emphasis is put on evaluation
techniques for soil mining (soil depletion) and erosion to arrive at an
environmentally adjusted farm income.
The methodology has successfully been tested in Bangladesh and China
and was presented at a workshop on Nutrient Balances for Sustainable Agricultural
Production and Natural Resource Management in South East Asia in Thailand
in February 2001. "Integrating Soil Resources into Economic Accounting at the
Farm Level: An Overview", a paper presented at the IFSA Symposium in Florida, USA, November 2002 can be downloaded here.
Two countries in Latin America collaborate in the adoption of the FAO
methodology. Collaborating institutes are the National
Agricultural Research Institute in Colombia and Conservationist Agriculture
Branch in the Ministry of Agriculture in Costa Rica.
For further information contact: Felix
Moukoko-Ndoumbe, Pilar Santacoloma
Farmer's Record Keeping and Accounts
Bookkeeping and accounting are essential sources of
data for sound management decision making and farm-business planning purposes.
Techniques, methods and adoption rates vary considerably across regions
and have to be fully understood in order to develop support strategies
for a consistent co-operative record keeping system. Case studies are carried
out in Ghana, Thailand and India focusing on reviewing the current status
of farmer's adoption of bookkeeping and accounting. The case studies also
include a review of relevant institutional aspects including the assessment
of the special roles of household members, research and extension services
and educational institutions. Preliminary findings from Ghana show and
emphasise the need of developing a co-operative farm record keeping and
accounting development strategy.
For further information contact: Felix
Moukoko-Ndoumbe
Gender Impact of Commercialisation
Working in collaboration with FAO's Gender and Development Service (SDWW), AGSP is conducting a comparative study in Asia, Africa and Latin America on how intra-household gender relationships are affected by small farm commercialization.
The gender impacts of commercialization study started with a review of relevant literature. We are now working on a distance survey addressing professionals involved in the implementation of enterprise change and commercialization projects. The third stage of the study will be a set of participatory and farm-household case studies designed to increase understanding of inter-and intra-household patterns and local stakeholders perspectives.
Started in 2001, the gender impacts study will be completed by mid-2003. Expected outputs include a monograph characterizing findings on gender impacts of commercialisation, and a set of guidelines for project designers and managers on what steps can be taken to mainstream gender equity in small farm commercialization projects.
For further information contact: Doyle Baker
Approaches and Experiences in Livelihoods Diversification
Despite the attention given to diversification and enterprise development by FAO and other organizations, there remain many unanswered questions with respect to effective approaches for sustainably enhancing the livelihoods of poor people.
Under the recently started FAO-DFID Livelioods Support Programme (GCP/INT/803/UK), an inter-disciplinary team drawn from all departments of FAO will be appraising and pilot testing innovative approaches for addressing the needs and interests of poorer people in diversification and enterprise development projects.
For further information contact: Doyle Baker
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