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El presente estudio aporta un marco analítico que describe las principales barreras a la inversión y financiación agropecuaria, las cuales se pueden agregar en la gestión de riesgos financieros, de producción, mercadeo, climáticos e institucionales, y en modelos de negocio que reduzcan costos de transacción para brindar de manera viable productos mejor adaptados a las necesidades de una diversidad de clientes rurales. A su vez, se presenta cómo las tendencias en los mercados agropecuarios han influenciado en la región latinoamericana el sistema financiero rural en general, y el sistema financiero agropecuario en particular, sugiriendo un auge en modelos de negocio [...]

The Government’s Green Morocco Plan (Plan Maroc Vert) underlines agriculture’s important role and sets strategies to promote the sector’s development. Despite these efforts, however, important challenges remain. An important one refers to the availability of appropriate financial services for rural actors engaged in agriculture. The average capital required yearly to finance agriculture is estimated at 30 billion Dirhams. The Moroccan banking sector finances only 17 percent of such demand and Credit Agricole du Maroc is responsible for about 80 percent of this share of financing to agriculture. A significant part of the rural population composed of poorer households continues to [...]

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through its Investment Centre (IC) Division, is assisting the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in its goal to improve the impact of future EBRD agribusiness investments regarding water efficiency. To this end, in 2013, a joint FAO/EBRD project entitled “Water along the food chain” was initiated in four pilot countries – Ukraine, Turkey, Jordan and Kyrgyz Republic. The specific objectives of this project are four-fold: (i) conduct selected analyses of water efficiency along the food chain to inform EBRD’s agribusiness investment decisions; (ii) identify potential agribusiness clients for [...]

These FAO/IFAD guidelines are designed as a sourcebook to address recurrent problems faced by practitioners to prepare Economic and Financial Analysis (EFA) during design, supervision and ex-post evaluation of projects. This volume offers practical, short and well-referenced EFA guidance notes built on actual cases from EFA of various development projects. It aims to offer methodological "hints", guidance and inspiration for EFAs of a wide array of development interventions, including: nutrition, climate-smart agriculture, natural resource management, livestock production, land tenure security, water and sanitation, rural finance, irrigation, rural roads, value chains and demand-driven investments.  The target audience comprises consultants working for governments, IFAD [...]

Empirical evidence on the role of forests in food security, poverty reduction through income and employment generation, and addressing the challenges of climate change is increasingly being generated and documented. For the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region where forest resources are scarce and the potentials for timber production are limited, non-wood forest products (NWFPs) are becoming ever more important. Local people use these products to meet their daily needs; as a source of food, fodder and medicine, and to generate income. However, current production of NWFPs represents a small fraction of what it could actually be in most countries in [...]

This policy brief is based on the proceedings of the Regional workshop on the use of the cold chain in the development of agriculture and agroindustries in sub-Saharan Africa, organized in Yaoundé (Cameroon) in June 2012. The workshop brought together speakers from diverse backgrounds to analyse findings from case studies conducted in food supply chains that included meat, fruits and vegetables, fish and seafood, milk and dairy products.

More and more people are becoming overweight and obese, with increasing diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Behind the global shifts in malnutrition and NCDs are unhealthy diets and a sedentary lifestyle. Our food systems and the food environments are not delivering on the diets needed to promote and sustain optimum health. This publication focuses on influencing food environments for healthy diets and offers suggestions on suitable interventions to address that environment. Countries will find the information useful as they develop policies and programmes to make healthy diets an easier choice for their citizens.

Women play key roles in rural economies. However, compared to men, rural women often experience greater constraints in accessing resources, services and opportunities. Brave Ndisale, Director Ad Interim of the FAO Social Policies and Rural Institutions Division together with Illaria Sisto, Gender and Development Officer explain the importance of empowering women and achieving gender equality to ensure food security and reduce rural poverty. They describe the FAO policy work, including key policy messages, to achieve this. See all videos in the Policy and Governance series :  AR  CH  EN   FR  RU  SP

One in five people in developing countries live on less than $1.9 dollars a day. Seventy-five percent of these people live in rural areas. They depend directly on small-scale farming, forest resources, livestock and fishing for their subsistence. Philippe Ankers, Senior Programme Advisor of the FAO Strategic Programme on Rural Poverty Reduction together with Susan Kaaria, Senior Officer of the FAO Social Policies and Rural Institutions Division explain how empowering people and strengthening rural institutions including small-scale producer organizations can significantly contribute to reducing rural poverty and eradicating hunger. They describe the FAO policy work, including key policy messages.  See all [...]

Small-scale producers provide over 70% of the world’s food needs, while agribusinesses are one of the main generators of employment and income worldwide. Improving the sustainability of food value chains can massively benefit the rural poor. Florence Tartanac, Senior Officer of the FAO Nutrition and Food Systems Division together with Eva Gálvez Nogales, Agribusiness Economist of the FAO Agricultural Development Economics Division explain the importance of Integrating smallholders into food value chains to reduce poverty and improve food security for millions of poor households in developing countries. They describe the FAO policy work, including key policy messages.  See all videos in [...]