Study Tour on No-Till Agriculture for
Sustainable Rural Development
AGSP participated in the
4th World Bank No-Tillage Agriculture Study Tour in Brazil. The tour focused
on cereal-legume cropping systems and small farmers in three southern states
of Brazil (Goiana, Santa Catarina and Paraná). A range of crop rotations,
cover crops and hand and animal drawn implements was demonstrated. The
objectives of the tour was to demonstrate the role and impacts of no tillage
system approach, the process of adoption by Brazilian farmers and farmers'
organisations, different strategies of technology generation and its dissemination,
including the social, environmental, organisational, institutional and
policy aspects, with emphasis on small-farmers. The specific objectives
were to show and convince the participants that the goals of sustainable
rural development can be met through the adoption of No Tillage Systems.
It highlighted that significant financial returns can be combined with
environmental improvements and better way of life. The tour also tried
to verify why, how and when these systems could be adopted and to discuss
the potential of application of the Brazilian experience to other countries.
(Dec. 2001)
For further information: Walter
de Oliveira
Developing accounting and budgeting modules
for Farmer Field Schools
Didactic material for farm
business management specifically book-keeping and accounting is developed
by the Regional Office for Africa for Farmer Field Schools. The aim is
to make farmers not only aware of the benefits and costs in producing field
tested crops but also to enhance the farmers' knowledge of costs and benefits
of adopting new technologies offered by FFS. The modules address illiterate
and semi-literate farmers and consist of a bookkeeping module as well as
two analytical methods with examples in tomato and rice production. (Dec.
2001)
For further information: Dagmar
Kunze
First Launching Workshop on the Methodology
"Integrating Environmental and Economic Accounting at the Farm Level" in
Latin America
The first workshops, conducted jointly by AGSP and the Royal Tropical
Institute (KIT), for launching the methodology "Integrating Environmental
and Economic Accounting at the Farm Level" in Latin America were held respectively
in Costa Rica and Colombia in November 2001. Interdisciplinary professional
teams from the National Corporation for Agriculture Research (CORPOICA)
in Colombia and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAGA), Cartago
Region, Costa Rica, attended the respective workshops which each had a
duration of three days. The aim was to implement compilation studies that
would allow evaluating the effectiveness, cost-efficiency and applicability
of the methodology. Conceptual and practical aspects of the methodology
were analysed putting emphasis on interpretation and use of available information.
For further information: Pilar
Santacoloma
XII PRODAR Hemispheric Meeting and Third
National Meeting of Rural Agroindustry in Guatemala
This XII PRODAR Hemispheric Meeting, sponsored by IICA, CIID, FAO, CIAT
and CIDAR, was held from 5 to 8 November 2001 in Antigua, Guatemala, with
the slogan "New Approaches to Strengthen Rural Agroindustry in Latin America
and the Caribbean". Participants were composed of approximately 110 experts,
technicians and farmers from 12 Latin American countries, plus France,
Canada and Italy. Three thematic areas were approached: Rural Development
and Territory, Quality and Technology for Development of Competitiveness,
and Opportunities and Challenges to Access to Markets. AGSP presented a
paper entitled "Rol de las Organizaciones de Agricultores como Proveedores
de Servicios" for the third thematic area.
For further information: Pilar
Santacoloma
Stakeholder Appraisal of Participation
in Field Project and Programmes
A workshop was held in Harare
in Sept. 2001 to review FARMESA Project countries (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya,
Uganda, Tanzania).
For further information: John Dixon
Training of Trainers Course on Rural
Development and Agricultural Economics
Walter de Oliveira delivered a 2-day module on Traditional
versus Participatory Economic Analysis in the Agricultural Sector at the
University of Trento, Italy. This was part of a Training Course on Agrarian
Problems in Developing Countries organised by The Province of Trento (Italy),
the Forum per la Pace (Italian ONG) and the University of Trento. The target
audience included agricultural economists, sociologist and anthropologist
from Italy and Brazil. (Sep. 2001)
For further information: Walter
de Oliveira
The Southern and Eastern African Association
for Farming Systems Research-Extension (SEAAFSR-E) Regional Conference
- Nairobi, Kenya, 20-24 August 2001
The Conference was organised
in five sessions: Poverty alleviation; Commercialisation and globalisation;
Sustainability and environmental impact; Capacity building and communication;
and policy development and implementation.
For further information: Dr.
A.W. Kamau, Mr. H.N. Ondatto
or SEAAFSR-E Secretary.
Farmer-Centred Development Approach Receives Recognition
by South West Pacific Ministers of Agriculture
Farmer-Centered Development approach has been developed
specifically for the Pacific Island countries. It is based on experiences made
in applying the Farming Systems Approach to Development (FSD) in other countries
in the South and takes into account the latest developments in sustainable livelihoods.
The focus is on improving community planning techniques and decision-making processes.
Communities are supported to develop self-help actions on improving productivity,
income and food security. Main action areas also include improving human capital;
supporting group- and community initiatives and strengthening farmer and community
support systems. Main beneficiaries are farmers and their communities through improved
incomes and employment. Indirect beneficiaries are trainers, researchers, policy makers,
development specialists, service providers
as well as the public and private sectors.
The approach was presented on the Fourth Ministerial Conference of Ministers for
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry of FAO member countries from the South West
Pacific in Vanuatu, 23 and 24 July, 2001. The approach will be evaluated in the region
and its replication in other communities and countries encouraged.
For further information: FAO-SAPA or Heiko
Bammann
Farmers' Organisations in Central and Eastern Europe
There is large scope in CEE countries to develop an understanding
of the role and potential of farmers' co-operations at grass root level. Farmers
in most CEE countries are increasingly reliant on private sources of input supply
and marketing services which have previously been provided by the state sector
or other government-controlled co-operatives or state farms. The private sector
has to develop and assistance is required to set up an enabling policy environment.
Grassroots initiatives are needed to encourage and to develop producer groups
and associations in order to enhance their position on the
markets with respect to the increasingly concentrated processing sector. The workshop
"Farmers' Organisations in CEECs - Their Role in Provision of Input-Output
Services in the Context of Accession to the EU" held in July 2001 in Budapest
identified key constraints on the development of co-operation
and identified entry points for potential technical assistance and support in
the region.
For further information: Stjepan Tanic
Röttger in Rome
Alexandra Röttger has been appointed as Agricultural
Economist, Post-Production Systems in July 2001. Trained in economics and in agrarian
development overseas in Germany and the UK, she brings with her six years of consultancy
experience in agro-processing and business development in Ghana. Alexandra also
worked as a lecturer at the Scottish Agricultural College in Aberdeen and in research
in the Centre for European Agricultural Policy in Wye, Kent, UK. (Jul. 2001)
Impact monitoring of irrigation project in the
New Valley of Egypt
Various parameters for impact monitoring in improved
irrigation were reviewed during a technical backstopping mission to the New Valley
Irrigation Project which is part of the Special
Programme for Food Security, in the Southern Regions of Egypt. (Apr. 2001)
.
For further information: Dagmar Kunze
Participatory community planning in northern Ghana
A number of participatory community planning training
sessions have recently taken place in 28 communities of 5 districts of northern
Ghana. The aim is to assist communities in improving their skills in planning
and implementing communal activities, to improve communication between communities
and
district authorities as well as to empower communities to link-up with other supporting
civil society institutions. (Feb. 2001)
For further information: Dagmar Kunze
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