FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

FAO defines agricultural innovation as:

the process whereby new or existing products, processes or ways of organization are used for the first time in a specific context in order to increase their effectiveness, competitiveness and resilience with the goal of contributing towards food security and nutrition, economic development, and sustainable natural resource management.

FAO Office for Asia and the Pacific has shifted its focus to the use of existing and potential innovations and technologies to support the sustainable transformation of food systems and the viability of smallholders' and family farmers' livelihoods in the region.

Leveraging innovation and technologies to accelerate the achievement of food security and nutrition in Asia and the Pacific

Innovation in agriculture cuts across all dimensions of the production cycle and along the entire value chain - from crop, forestry, fishery or livestock production to the management of inputs to market access. FAO assists member countries in unlocking the potential of innovation to drive socio-economic growth, ensure food and nutrition security, alleviate poverty and improve resilience to climate change, thereby helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Because innovation is a complex process where governments and other key stakeholders play different roles, FAO focuses on a system-wide approach.

 

This brochure highlights some of the many and varied types of innovations that are making success steps towards the SDGs. Agriculture needs to be profitable for smallholders, and access to online and physical markets and the incorporation of good practices, standards and infrastructure are critical for regional and international trade. Innovation, therefore, is central to achieving this multidimensional change.

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2020, 24 p.