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Fruit and vegetables

Opportunities and challenges for small-scale sustainable farming










FAO and CIRAD. 2021. Fruit and vegetables – Opportunities and challenges for small-scale sustainable farming. Rome. 





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    Promoting fruit and vegetable value chains to improve supply and consumption 2021
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    Policies with a focus on fruits and vegetables (F&Vs) need special consideration because of the high perishability and susceptibility of F&Vs to waste and loss, high labour demand, yield variations, and high consumer prices. Factors that limit the availability and affordability of F&Vs include low production and productivity, the loss of agrobiodiversity, inadequate technology, logistics and infrastructure, weak organizational, business and technical skills, and inefficient market linkages across the supply chain. Many value chains for F&Vs need improvements, investments and shortening as well as gender-responsive approaches, including gender-sensitive investments, to achieve better producer prices, lower risk and higher quality, especially for small farmers.
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    Food loss prevention and reduction analysis in Indonesia
    A case study on chili, cabbage and shallot
    2024
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    Food loss and waste within Indonesia's supply chains present significant challenges to both environmental sustainability and efficient natural resource utilization. This pervasive issue spans from food production to retail, affecting the ability of supply chain stakeholders to invest in essential infrastructure improvements. Food waste, in particular, accumulates at various stages, including retail, catering services, and households, further straining natural resources and exacerbating climate change impacts.In Indonesia, the reduction and prevention of food losses assume strategic importance as it directly impacts food availability, accessibility, and the well-being of consumers. Additionally, it alleviates pressure on natural resources, supports the growth of agribusiness, and enhances the livelihoods of farmers and other actors along the supply chains. Key factors closely linked to addressing food losses in Indonesia include finance, technology, knowledge, and market dynamics. Alarmingly, horticultural commodities, especially vegetables, experience losses exceeding 60 percent. Minimizing food losses not only bolsters productivity for agripreneurs but also improves food security and nutrition for all, from vulnerable smallholder farmers to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).To address these challenges, Indonesia has enacted national law No. 13/2020 on horticulture, encompassing fruits and vegetables, with the aim of creating jobs, enhancing production, productivity, quality, added value, competitive advantage, and market share. In a recent study conducted between June and December 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Center of System, a logistics research institution, analysed food losses in chili, cabbage and shallot supply chains. These commodities, predominantly cultivated by smallholder farmers, play a vital role in stabilizing food prices, controlling regional inflation, and ensuring food availability and accessibility. The study not only identifies the extent of quality and quantity losses but also provides practical solutions for their reduction.Crucially, enhancing the implementation of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP), good manufacturing practices (GMP), and good hygiene practices (GHP) is emphasized, particularly during harvest, transportation, handling and storage. Recommendations include establishing post-harvest technical assistance facilities, agrologistic centres, and value-added processing facilities to mitigate losses due to quality degradation. Furthermore, the abstract underscores the need for innovation in technology, private-sector investment, and raising public awareness as decisive elements in substantially reducing food loss. In conclusion, addressing food loss is paramount for enhancing food security, supporting sustainable livelihoods, and fortifying the overall food system in Indonesia.
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    Livestock country reviews - Poultry sector: Nepal 2014
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    The poultry sector continues to grow and industrialize in many parts of the world. An increasing human population, greater purchasing power and urbanization have been strong drivers of growth. Advances in breeding have given rise to birds that meet specialized purposes and are increasingly productive, but that need expert management. The development and transfer of feed, slaughter and processing technologies have increased safety and efficiency of poultry production, but favour large-scale units rather than small-scale producers. These developments have led the poultry industry and the associated feed industry to scale up rapidly, to concentrate themselves close to input sources or final markets, and to integrate vertically. One element of the structural change has been a move towards contract farming in the rearing phase of boiler production, allowing farmers with medium-sized flocks to gain access to advanced technology with a relatively low initial investment. A clear division is de veloping between industrialized production systems of large and medium size, feeding into integrated value chains, and extensive production systems supporting livelihoods and supplying local or niche markets. The primary role of the former is to supply cheap and safe food to populations distant from the source of supply, while the latter acts as a livelihood safety net, often as part of a diverse portfolio of income sources. Extensive small-scale, rural, family-based poultry systems continue to play a crucial role in sustaining livelihoods in developing countries, supplying poultry products in rural but also periurban and urban areas, and providing important support to women farmers. Small-scale poultry production will continue to offer opportunities for income generation and quality human nutrition as long as there is rural poverty. In order to develop appropriate strategies and options for poultry sector development, including disease prevention control measures, a better understandi ng is required of the different poultry production systems, their associated market chains, and the position of poultry within human societies. This review for Nepal is part of a series of Country Reviews commissioned by the Animal Production and Health Division (AGA). It is intended as a resource document for those seeking information about the poultry sector at a national level, and is not exhaustive. The statistical data that are included from FAOSTAT are partly unofficial data or FAO estimat ed data. For details the reader is advised to consult the official FAOSTAT database at http://faostat.fao.org/. Some topics of the review are only partially covered or not covered at all and this document is subject to ongoing updating. The author and FAO/AGA1 welcome your contributions and feedback.

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