OPEN ACCESS REPOSITORY
Results
Report
2023
Sustainable agricultural mechanization in China. A comprehensive review
Sustainable agricultural mechanization covers all levels of farming and processing technologies, and takes into consideration technological, economic, social, environmental and cultural aspects when contributing to the sustainable development of agrifood systems. This publication strives to comprehensively and systematically summarize the status and strategies of China's agricultural mechanization development, its impacts, experiences and practices, and business models.
Furthermore, the publication investigates the related investment and policy recommendations to reach the goal of agricultural and rural modernization by 2035, to drive smallholder farmers to enter modern agriculture, and to achieve sustainable development. It is estimated that by 2035, agricultural production in China will [...]
Tool
2022
Comprehensive analysis of the disaster risk reduction system for the agricultural sector in Uzbekistan
This report aims to highlight the current strengths of the institutional disaster risk reduction (DRR) system for agriculture in Uzbekistan as well as indicate existing gaps and capacity needs to further enhance it.
A comprehensive assessment is conducted, which includes a general overview of the country’s agricultural sector and outlines the most frequent natural hazards that are impacting the sector.
It is followed by an analysis of the existing legal, policy and institutional structure and discusses various components of the system, including the functioning of early warning systems, assessments of disaster risks, post-disaster needs assessments, including damages and losses assessments and the [...]
Report
2022
Leveraging COVID-19 recovery strategies to build climate-smart agrifood systems in developing countries
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has jeopardized the stability of agrifood systems and the welfare of the rural households that are actively engaged in the different components of these systems, particularly in developing countries. Efforts are underway to redress the negative impacts of the pandemic through investments to ‘build back better’. These efforts represent an enormous opportunity to make significant and lasting contribution to the longer-term resilience and sustainability of agrifood systems in the context of climate change.
The objective of this report is to provide an overview of the current opportunities for harnessing short-term response and recovery efforts to address longer-term [...]
Issue paper
2022
The Global Action on Green Development of Special Agricultural Products: One Country One Priority Product. Action plan 2021–2025
The Action Framework (2021-2025) for the Global Action on Green Development of Special Agro-Products: “One country – One Priority Product” (OCOP) presents the rationale, main pillars, key principles, thematic areas, results framework, budget, and activity planning, coordination and implementation, and guidelines for country project application for implementation of the Global Action.Special agricultural products (SAPs) are agricultural products with unique qualities and special characteristics associated with geographical locations, farming practices and cultural heritages. They are important examples of underutilized resources, which have not received the same attention as commonly known agricultural products, but which can significantly contribute to ensuring food security [...]
Case study
2022
Leveraging automation and digitalization for precision agriculture: Evidence from the case studies. Background paper for The State of Food and Agriculture 2022
Digital and automation solutions for precision agriculture can improve efficiency, productivity, product quality and sustainability. Nevertheless, barriers to adoption of such solutions – including their cost, lack of knowledge and skills, and the absence of an enabling environment and infrastructure – can prevent producers from realizing these benefits.Building on findings from 22 case studies worldwide, this study finds that national data policies and infrastructure are key enablers of adoption, as is investment in connectivity (e.g. internet) and electricity in rural areas. Further research and information on the economic, environmental and social impacts of the solutions are also needed to provide [...]
Case study
2022
Agricultural digitalization and automation in low- and middle-income countries: Evidence from ten case studies. Background paper for The State of Food and Agriculture 2022
Digital and automation solutions can solve labour bottlenecks, increase agricultural productivity, resilience and efficiency, and improve environmental sustainability. However, access is limited in low- and lower-middle-income countries, especially for small-scale producers. Based on ten case studies in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia, this study investigates the suitability of digital and automation solutions for small-scale producers, the main drivers and barriers to their adoption and the role of policies and regulations in creating an enabling environment.Findings show that technologies in the study countries are largely limited to smartphones and tablets, and related software tools (e.g. mobile applications). Most digital and automation solutions [...]
Case study
2022
Agricultural policy monitoring for eight countries in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia
This study reviews the agricultural policy environment and provides quantitative indicators for policy incentives and disincentives to agricultural producers for key commodity value chains in the eight study countries in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), utilizing the methodology aligned with the approach of the International Organizations Consortium for Measuring the Policy Environment for Agriculture (Ag-Incentives Consortium). This report describes the methodology and approach taken for these eight countries covered by this study and presents the key results and their interpretation in the policy and market contexts of [...]
Issue paper
2022
Distributional impacts of agricultural policies in Zambia: A microsimulation approach
This paper examines the distributional impacts of agricultural policies versus those of cash transfers using a tax–benefit microsimulation model for Zambia for the policy year 2020. The analysis also considers the behavioural impacts of input subsidies and social cash transfers. The results indicate that Zambian agricultural policies reduce headcount poverty by 3–5 percentage points, depending on whether only their direct impacts or also behavioural impacts that lead to changes in agricultural production are taken into account. The paper also considers policy reforms where the goal is to achieve similar, or even greater, poverty reduction with smaller government net expenditure.
The results [...]
Report
2022
Dairy Market Review – Emerging trends and outlook 2022
The December issue of the publication summarizes the salient trends and market outlook in 2022. International dairy prices eased in recent months due to subdued import demand. Moreover, global milk production is forecast to expand slightly, sustained by growth in Asia. Meanwhile, world dairy trade may contract for the first time in two decades.
Report
2022
The State of Food and Agriculture 2020
Automation has been shaping world agriculture since the early twentieth century. Motorized mechanization has brought significant benefits in terms of improved productivity, reduced drudgery and more efficient allocation of labour, but also some negative environmental impacts. More recently, a new generation of digital agricultural automation technologies has appeared, with the potential to further enhance productivity, as well as resilience, while also addressing the environmental sustainability challenges driven by past mechanization.The State of Food and Agriculture 2022 looks into the drivers of agricultural automation, including the more recent digital technologies. Based on 27 case studies, the report analyses the business case [...]