Sustainable Agriculture Resource Hub

Abstract:

The purpose of the FAO Diversification booklets is to raise awareness and provide decision support information about opportunities at farm and local community level to increase the incomes of small-scale farmers.

Abstract:

Ce manuel de formation est le fruit d’une longue collaboration entre des spécialistes du marketing, des économistes et des ingénieurs agronomes. L’idée d’un manuel destiné aux aspirants entrepreneurs de services de mécanisation a germé au sein de l’ancienne Division des infrastructures rurales et des agro-industries (AGS) de la FAO. Pour la rédaction d’une première ébauche aux fins de consultation, Alexandra Röttger a collaboré avec Bill Hancox, Kathleen Charles, Lawrence Clarke, Richard Shetto et Brian Sims, sous la direction de Geoffrey Mrema. Par la suite, le concept original a été affiné dans le cadre d’un projet collaboratif entre la Division de la production végétale et de la protection des plantes (AGP) de la FAO, dirigée par Josef Kienzle, responsable du groupe de travail sur la mécanisation, et le Centre international d’amélioration du maïs et du blé (CIMMYT), coordonné par Bruno Gérard, directeur du Programme d’intensification durable.

Abstract:

Agriculture is crucial to Africa’s development, but the sector is performing well below its potential. Today, about 60 percent of Africa’s population depends on agriculture for jobs and livelihoods, yet its contribution to the gross domestic product was a paltry 21 percent in 2016. While Africa has the highest area of uncultivated arable land (202 million ha) in the world, which is about 50 percent of the global total, its productivity lags far behind other developing regions. Yields are only 56 percent of the international average (AfDB, 2016; Jerome, 2017). Crop yields must increase substantially over the coming decades to keep pace with food demand driven by population growth and rapid urbanization in Africa. Mechanization directly and indirectly affects yield gap: it reduces both harvest and post-harvest losses and is the low-hanging fruit that can bridge the gap between actual and potential yield in Africa. Reducing the yield gap is essential if Africa is to reach its goal of Zero Hunger by 2025.

Abstract:

Agricultural mechanization is an important symbol and main component of agricultural modernization, and a leading factor in the process. The Chinese Government attaches great importance to the development of agriculture and agricultural mechanization, promotes the transformation of agricultural production and organizational methods, strengthens policy support and industry guidance, greatly supports the extension and application of green and sustainable mechanization technologies, and continuously improves the agricultural ecological environment to achieve sustainable development.

Abstract:

This Training Aid booklet compliments learning from the “Hire Services as a Business Enterprise, a Training Manual for Small-Scale Mechanization Service Providers” published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) in 2018. The learning approach places huge emphasis on the technical and the management aspects of the small scale mechanization business and better their understanding of Conservation Agriculture technologies and other climate smart practices.

Abstract:

This training of trainers (ToT) manual is intended for prospective trainers of hire service providers. It provides trainers at country level with materials covering the basic principles of the use and management of mechanization for smallholder farmers. Trainers may be ministry of agriculture personnel, staff of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or people attached to the private sector. Hire service providers may lack formal training in the selection and maintenance of small-scale mechanization technologies and the management of their businesses. This ToT programme is designed to provide hire service providers – whether already in the business or intending to start their own hire service business – with skills and competencies in both the technical and the management aspects of the small- scale mechanization business.

Abstract:

This Training of Trainers (ToT) manual aims to provide insights into the operation, maintenance and basic repair of farm machinery. It provides an overview of the main concepts of equipment that can facilitate sustainable agriculture practices, with examples and guidelines on the topic. Its objective is to provide extension officers, technicians, mechanics, and youth with the necessary information and skills to become trainers and deliver technical capacity sessions on this topic. There is a mix of theory and practice in this training. Participants must have the time to individually perform the different tasks described in the modules with close supervision.

Abstract:

This publication discusses the role information and communications technology (ICT) plays in agricultural mechanization, which has the potential to transform and improve smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Although mechanization levels tend to be low in African countries, there is still evidence of demand for mechanization services from smallholder farmers, especially tractor hire services. Where such demand exists, tractor owners have formed private hiring markets to provide the required services. The main challenge is related to high transaction costs – incurred by farmers due to information distortion concerning the availability of tractor hire services and how to access them, and by tractor owners due to the difficulties locating farmers in need of their services and aggregating demand over distant, scattered, smallholder farm plots.

Abstract:

in Africa is an urgent matter and an indispensable pillar for attaining the Zero Hunger vision by 2025, as stated in the Malabo Declaration of 2014, the Sustainable Development Goals - Goal 2, and the Prosperous Africa We Want of Agenda 2063. Doubling agricultural productivity and eliminating hunger and malnutrition in Africa by 2025 will not be realized unless mechanization is accorded utmost importance. Understanding this situation, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through an Africa-wide consultative process, developed the Framework for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (F-SAMA) in response to the request of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment.