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MeetingScaling up inclusive digitalization in agricultural value chains
Thirty-sixth Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC 36)
2022In Asia and the Pacific, digital transformation occurs at all stages of the value chains, from food production to consumption. The ongoing food e-commerce revolution is happening at the same time that mobile-based business models are emerging to provide advisory, marketing and financial services at scale to smallholder farmers. A parallel revolution in Industry 4.0 technologies is taking agro-industries to new levels of efficiency. Digitalization offers great potential for improving the efficiency and sustainability of value chains, and achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 2 and 13 (No Poverty, Zero Hunger and Climate Action). There are, however, several risks associated with digitalization, from potential job losses to environmental degradation and data governance concerns. Different value chains, and actors within them, digitalize at varying speeds and would therefore require tailored digitalization strategies to leave no one behind. Policymakers in the region need to facilitate the scaling up of digital innovations along agricultural value chains in an inclusive and sustainable manner, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Members are invited to provide guidance on how FAO can best support them in fostering the inclusive digitalization of agricultural and food value chains. -
Book (stand-alone)Scaling up inclusive innovations in agrifood chains in Asia and the Pacific 2022
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No results found.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. -
Policy briefInnovative contract farming arrangements in Asia and the Pacific 2022
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No results found.Although informal transactions are still the norm in Asia and the Pacific, contractual agreements are on the rise, especially for high-value agricultural commodities. As contract farming arrangements grow in number and become more sophisticated, a series of innovations are emerging to enhance their inclusion and efficiency. The nature of these innovations can range widely – from the adoption of digital technologies, to new governance mechanisms and novel regulations. Governments in the region face the challenge to further mainstream contract farming while ensuring inclusiveness and fairness. Recent government interventions are targeting areas such as introducing gender sensitive regulations leading to the increased participation of women in economic transactions, facilitating insurance to reduce contract farming risks related to weather-based agriculture or natural disasters, utilizing third-party verification systems to combat power abuse, and promoting sustainable public-private partnerships that enhance inclusion and equity. The discussed policy measures can contribute to facilitating the shift towards more structured market channels that provide farmers the opportunity to integrate into modern and more complex agrifood value chains that serve remunerative markets. Nonetheless, governments should ensure that those interventions are able to create a suitable enabling environment to potentially lead to contractual arrangements that are fair to all value chain actors, including smallholder farmers.
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