//  Enhancing the Role of Commodities and Improving Agricultural Productivity

How can as many LDCs as possible graduate from the LDC category? This is one of the core questions the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) analysed in light of the recent triple-F crises (fuel, food and financial). The resulting report 'Enabling the Graduation of LDCs: Enhancing the Role of Commodities and Improving Agricultural Productivity' points specifically to the importance of the agricultural sector. The policy recommendations for the least developed countries include boosting investment in agriculture, research and private sector involvement. Development partners can help with this by supporting investment and strengthening agricultural development aid.

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UNCTAD

//  Turning point for agricultural biodiversity

Apart from their Rio+20 Conference, the UN also declared 2011-2012 the "Decade on Biodiversity". This alone shows the marked realisation that agricultural biodiversity can help increase food security and attain sustainable development, authors of the anuual report suggest. Bioversity International, therefore, attempts to advance research in this field to ensure that the topic of biodiversity is taken into account when discussing food security or nutrition issues.

The non-profit research organisation utilised different tools to achieve its goals, including e-learning courses, knowledge sharefairs or the creation of a database management system for plant genetic resources. Projects took place mostly in Africa, Asia and South America.

//  Four key research themes

Bioversity exemplifies the importance of agricultural biodiversity in four main areas:

• Sustainability: promoting research and understanding about agricultural biodiversity because current food production systems contribute to the loss of biodiversity and smallholder farmers are heavily affected by climate change.
• Nutrition: exploring the value of agricultural biodiversity for food security in light of problematic access to nutritious food for many.
• Livelihoods: trying to increase market access for rural poor by diversifying farming systems and thus achieving income stability.
• Conservation: conserving seeds and plants to secure genetic resources for future generations.

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Bioversity International

// Cluster approach to boost agri-food sector

The report Agricultural Trade Facilitation in the Greater Mekong is directed to both, policy makers and the private sector, and asks for poverty reduction by reducing trade barriers, lower transaction costs, and greater efficiency along supply chains. For doing so it proposes a cluster approach for the Greater Mekong Region for the development of regional hubs of the agri-food trade.

// Four pillars to facilitate agricultural trade

ADB’s plan is based on the analysis of prior selected agri-food products as well as a range of policy options and is built on four pillars:

•    Policy measures on country as well as subregional levels such as agricultural plans
•    Cooperation measures like technical assistance training
•    Delineation of priority programs and projects
•    Further studies to measure progress

Building on these steps the report’s plan aims to lay out systemic ways to increase the flow of agri-food products within the Greater Mekong Region but also from the Greater Mekong Region to the rest of the world.

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Asian Development Bank

//  Priority policy issues and interventions

The first document "Regional Agricultural Policy" (RAP) articulates policy issues and formalises priority areas for policy intervention. It states the following:

• The Southern African region has globally remained food insecure with stunted agricultural growth
• The region has become less resilient to environmental factors particularly climate change and variability
• Agricultural sector has over the years become less attractive to investment
• Agricultural development has a strong potential to serve as an engine of economic growth and an instrument for poverty reduction and improved food security
• To achieve full agricultural potential, SADC member states need to engage and invest more in the agriculture sector within the context of regional economic integration.

The document examines the form of the RAP and its implications; an operationalisation mechanism and its implications while a final section is entitled "Towards the Regional CAADP Compact". Support for formulating RAP was provided by FAO, the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the World Bank, USAID, DFID and other partners.

//  Working papers on food security in SADC

The second document contains five working papers commissioned in support of the policy process, which examine key aspects of food security in SADC.

The papers are aimed to:

• Strengthen the rationale of relevant policy issues, including by identifying potential gaps from the earlier process (e.g., on climate change)
• Identify possible interventions (broad terms), including by taking into consideration existing formal commitments made by SADC (e.g., protocols) and current interventions
• Prioritise the policy issues and proposed interventions.

//  Southern African Development Community

Consisting of 15 member states, SADC aims to promote sustainable and equitable economic growth and socio-economic development through efficient productive systems, deeper co-operation and integration, good governance, and durable peace and security, so that the region emerges as a competitive and effective player in international relations and the world economy.

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RAP__Priority Policy Issues and Interventions

RAP__Working papers

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TMSA Daily News

//  "Breadth and diversity of achievements and potential"

According to Kostas Stamoulis, director of the FAO Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA), which launched the FSN Forum, the publication "reflects the breadth and diversity of the FSN Forum's most recent achievements, as well as its future potential". The goal of this book is not to reproduce the discussions themselves, or even to summarise their most important points, but instead, to provide a taste of what happens on the FSN Forum, and what can happen beyond it, Stamoulis says in the introduction.

//  Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition

The FSN Forum was launched in 2007 by FAO's Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA) as a means to improve dialogue with the academic community and with FAO country offices.

The Forum aims at achieving its vision by:

• Strengthening the interaction and knowledge exchange within the community;
• Providing a an accessible, transparent and inclusive link between relevant stakeholders and Food Security policy making;
• Bridging the knowledge divide through the dissemination of achievements, research outputs and best practices in the area of Food Security and Nutrition.

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FSN Forum