PR | IFPRI3; ISI | MTID

This study analyses the welfare and poverty effects of the 2007–08 food-price crisis on households in Guatemala. Estimates reveal that the price increases negatively affected 96.4 per cent of households and resulted in a 1.1 per cent increase in the national poverty rate. On average, households lose 2.3 per cent of their expenditure capacity, and high food prices have a regressive negative effect. The total welfare loss for all households in the country is estimated to be nearly 2 per cent of national aggregate expenditure, but the cost of compensating the poorest households would be only 0.5 per cent of national aggregate expenditure.

The core objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) are the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources. The ITPGRFA links these goals explicitly to farmers’ rights. Although farmers’ rights have been debated intensely at international level, their effective implementation at national level remains a major challenge. Community seed banks are good examples of effective implementation of those rights, but have received little attention in scientific literature and policy circles. Case studies in this article from Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire, India and Zimbabwe illustrate how this knowledge gap can be filled.

The core objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) are the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources. The ITPGRFA links these goals explicitly to farmers’ rights. Although farmers’ rights have been debated intensely at international level, their effective implementation at national level remains a major challenge. Community seed banks are good examples of effective implementation of those rights, but have received little attention in scientific literature and policy circles. Case studies in this article from Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire, India and Zimbabwe illustrate how this knowledge gap can be filled.

publishedVersion | The core objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) are the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources. The ITPGRFA links these goals explicitly to farmers’ rights. Although farmers’ rights have been debated intensely at international level, their effective implementation at national level remains a major challenge. Community seed banks are good examples of effective implementation of those rights, but have received little attention in scientific literature and policy circles. Case studies in this article from Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire, India and Zimbabwe illustrate how this knowledge gap can be filled.

Livestock productivity for pastoralist households, who depend upon their livestock as a source of livelihood, is constrained by infectious diseases among other factors. Pastoralists in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of the Horn of Africa lack access to livestock health inputs and services. To assess the profitability of private animal health service delivery, mobile veterinary clinics were piloted in three ASAL counties in Kenya. Our findings reveal the positive impact of the clinics on animal health provision as well as policy and regulatory factors that affect its viability.

Livestock productivity for pastoralist households, who depend upon their livestock as a source of livelihood, is constrained by infectious diseases among other factors. Pastoralists in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of the Horn of Africa lack access to livestock health inputs and services. To assess the profitability of private animal health service delivery, mobile veterinary clinics were piloted in three ASAL counties in Kenya. Our findings reveal the positive impact of the clinics on animal health provision as well as policy and regulatory factors that affect its viability.

Local gender norms constitute a critical component of the enabling (or disabling) environment for improved agricultural livelihoods – alongside policies, markets, and other institutional dimensions. Yet, they have been largely ignored in agricultural research for development. This viewpoint is based on many years of experience, including a recent major comparative research initiative, GENNOVATE, on how gender norms and agency interact to shape agricultural change at local levels. The evidence suggests that approaches which engage with normative dimensions of agricultural development and challenge underlying structures of inequality, are required to generate lasting genderequitable development in agriculture and natural resource management.

Local gender norms constitute a critical component of the enabling (or disabling) environment for improved agricultural livelihoods – alongside policies, markets, and other institutional dimensions. Yet, they have been largely ignored in agricultural research for development. This viewpoint is based on many years of experience, including a recent major comparative research initiative, GENNOVATE, on how gender norms and agency interact to shape agricultural change at local levels. The evidence suggests that approaches which engage with normative dimensions of agricultural development and challenge underlying structures of inequality, are required to generate lasting genderequitable development in agriculture and natural resource management.

Local gender norms constitute a critical component of the enabling (or disabling) environment for improved agricultural livelihoods – alongside policies, markets, and other institutional dimensions. Yet, they have been largely ignored in agricultural research for development. This viewpoint is based on many years of experience, including a recent major comparative research initiative, GENNOVATE, on how gender norms and agency interact to shape agricultural change at local levels. The evidence suggests that approaches which engage with normative dimensions of agricultural development and challenge underlying structures of inequality, are required to generate lasting gender-equitable development in agriculture and natural resource management.

Local gender norms constitute a critical component of the enabling (or disabling) environment for improved agricultural livelihoods – alongside policies, markets, and other institutional dimensions. Yet, they have been largely ignored in agricultural research for development. This viewpoint is based on many years of experience, including a recent major comparative research initiative, GENNOVATE, on how gender norms and agency interact to shape agricultural change at local levels. The evidence suggests that approaches which engage with normative dimensions of agricultural development and challenge underlying structures of inequality, are required to generate lasting gender-equitable development in agriculture and natural resource management. | 541-547

Building inclusive businesses with small-scale producers in the agro-food sector presents challenges, most notably in terms of governance and sustainability. These issues were explored through a Danone Egypt Ecosystem Project that sought to promote a replicable business model of milk collection centers to secure a dairy plant's sourcing while contributing to the socio-economic development of smallholders. Quality management was used to link a value chain approach and a localised agri-food system approach. The study showed that an inclusive business relying on non-inclusive coordination had limited efficiency. Decreasing power asymmetries and distances between partners seems central to ensuring sustainability.

Building inclusive businesses with small-scale producers in the agro-food sector presents challenges, most notably in terms of governance and sustainability. These issues were explored through a Danone Egypt Ecosystem Project that sought to promote a replicable business model of milk collection centers to secure a dairy plant’s sourcing while contributing to the socio-economic development of smallholders. Quality management was used to link a value chain approach and a localised agri-food system approach. The study showed that an inclusive business relying on non-inclusive coordination had limited efficiency. Decreasing power asymmetries and distances between partners seems central to ensuring sustainability.

Building inclusive businesses with small-scale producers in the agro-food sector presents challenges, most notably in terms of governance and sustainability. These issues were explored through a Danone Egypt Ecosystem Project that sought to promote a replicable business model of milk collection centers to secure a dairy plant’s sourcing while contributing to the socio-economic development of smallholders. Quality management was used to link a value chain approach and a localised agri-food system approach. The study showed that an inclusive business relying on non-inclusive coordination had limited efficiency. Decreasing power asymmetries and distances between partners seems central to ensuring sustainability.