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This document represents a collaborative effort by the Secretariat of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) and the Regional Forums to agree on a common policy for advocacy on Information and Communication Management. The recognition of knowledge as a critical resource for practising efficient farming and developing agriculture makes sharing and exchange of knowledge globally vital for agricultural development. Since agricultural research is a major source of new agricultural knowledge, this is a key strategic area of focus and intervention by GFAR whose mandate is to promote and facilitate agricultural research for development (ARD).
The purpose of this publication was to identify “good practices” within different agricultural extension and advisory service institutions that have used new agricultural innovations, in order to improve rural livelihoods and, to educate farmers to use sustainable natural resource management practices in different countries. The publication reviews the four major objectives of extension systems in the agricultural development process: 1) technology dissemination; 2) human capital development; 3) building social capital and 4) educating farmers to manage natural resources sustainably.
22 March is World Water Day. Its international observance is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. Coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), on behalf of the 24 Agencies and Programme Members of UN-Water, the theme of World Water Day for 2007 was “Coping with water scarcity”. The day provided an opportunity to reflect on the challenges posed by the unsustainable increase in water use and its degradation across the world and it also served as a spur to action.
As part of the former Soviet Union, Belarus was a major food producer, particularly of meat and dairy products. However, since gaining independence in 1991, it hardly instituted any structural reforms in the agricultural sector, largely retaining the former system of subsidised collective and state farms. Agricultural production generally declined following independence, but over the last six years, yields have stabilised and even increased in some instances. Private smallholdings contribute significantly to agricultural production. Following the nuclear accident at Chernobyl in 1986, a sizeable area of the productive agricultural land and forest remains contaminated with radioactive fallout.
The regional stakeholder consultation “Building Partnerships for Technology Generation, Assessment and Sharing in Agriculture amongst West Balkan Countries” was jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food of the Ss Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia from 27 to 29 June 2007. The workshop was attended by 35 selected representatives from research, extension and agricultural technology centres, Ministries and FAO consultants and including 28 representatives from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia.