Between 2001 and 2012, Latin America and the Caribbean’s (LAC) agriculture saw its best performance of the last 30 years. What were the implications of this growth for family agriculture (FA) in the region? This study contributes to answer this question by looking at the case of Paraguay, a country with one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors in the region during this period. At the center of the development challenges faced by this country is the debate on the role of family agriculture and smallholders in a future growth strategy. Between 1991 and 2008 the number of family workers in agriculture decreased significantly, while the total area of FA crops decreased to only 48 percent of its level in 1991. As some authors argued in the past, the 2000s represent a turning point for FA development in Paraguay, given that until 2002, the total area of farms of less than 20 hectares was still increasing, a trend that reversed after this year. Are these changes, part of a process of impoverishment of the rural population resulting from displacement of FA by the commercial sector as is normally assumed in previous studies? Evidence from this study shows that rural poverty decreased almost by half between 2003 and 2015; that the reduction of output of crops traditionally produced by FA was not the result of competition with the commercial sector, but mostly a consequence of the collapse of cotton production, a failure of a government program for FA; and that in regions with high proportion of FA, commercial crop production expanded by displacing inefficient extensive livestock farmers and not FA agriculture. We conclude that the situation of FA in Paraguay is much more diverse and complex than the simple claims of decomposition and disappearance as the result of the expansion of capitalist farmers. In this context, there are options for the government to promote the development of FA with the goal of increasing employment opportunities in rural areas while achieving a much-needed diversification of agricultural production and exports.

A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.

The Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA) Guidelines were developed for assessing the impact of food and agriculture operations on the environment and people. The guiding vision of SAFA is that food and agriculture systems worldwide are characterized by all four dimensions of sustainability: good governance, environmental integrity, economic resilience and social well-being.

This framework presents ten interrelated principles/elements to guide Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (SAMA). Further, it presents the technical issues to be considered under SAMA and the options to be analysed at the country and sub regional levels. The ten key elements required in a framework for SAMA are as follows: The analysis in the framework calls for a specific approach, involving learning from other parts of the world where significant transformation of the agricultural mechanization sector has already occurred within a three-to-four decade time frame, and developing policies and programmes to realize Africa’s aspirations of Zero Hunger by 2025. This approach entails the identification and prioritization of relevant and interrelated elements to help countries develop strategies and practical development plans that create synergies in line with their agricultural transformation plans. Given the unique characteristics of each country and the diverse needs of Africa due to the ecological heterogeneity and the wide range of farm sizes, the framework avoids being prescriptive.

The Agricultural Outlook 2021-2030 is a collaborative effort of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. It brings together the commodity, policy and country expertise of both organisations as well as input from collaborating member countries to provide an annual assessment of the prospects for the coming decade of national, regional and global agricultural commodity markets. The publication consists of 11 Chapters; Chapter 1 covers agricultural and food markets; Chapter 2 provides regional outlooks and the remaining chapters are dedicated to individual commodities.

This book takes forward our understanding of agricultural input subsidies in low income countries.