Poverty reduction through the development of inclusive food value chains

Propelled by urbanization,rising incomes,and changing diets,food markets have been expanding in Africa and South Asia,creating the vast potential for job and income opportunities along food supply chains and,hence,for poverty reduction.The novel coronavirus(COVID-19)that spread to a pandemic in early 2020 provokes enormous setbacks to this expansion.This,however,should provide lessons regarding the importance of resilient and inclusive food systems.Emergency responses to COVID-19 should consider interventions towards that end and leverage the opportunities provided by food markets growth as economies recover from the present economic recession.This paper assesses options of how this could be done by facilitating the better functioning and interconnectedness of the many small and medium-sized enterprises that are proliferating along the"hidden middle"of food value chains in storage,logistics,transportation,and wholesale and retail distribution.It also explores how policies can help smallholder farmers connect to this"hidden middle"in more gainful ways and help them climb out of poverty as well.

Status of Highly Hazardous Pesticides and Their Mitigation Measures in Asia

Pesticide is one of the major inputs in modern agriculture and its uses are increasing annually. Pesticides are seen as inherently benign, in the same way that medicines are. Many local languages even use the same word for “pesticide” and “medicine”. Along with the increasing consumption of pesticides, Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), which are more toxic are still in widespread use in Asia and constitute a substantial challenge to human health and the environment especially in low- and middle-income countries with less resources, training and capacities to deal with them. Reducing the risks posed by HHPs has become a priority in various international chemicals management policies, and many countries have started taking action accordingly. The objective of the paper is to establish the national status of the use of HHPs in Asia in line with FAO/WHO criteria for HHPs and encourage deliberate consideration of mitigation options for effective management of HHPs. This report is based on the nationally registered pesticide active ingredients and other related information obtained from Pesticide Registration Authorities of 13 Asian countries and research reports of different national and international journals. There are currently about 3557 pesticide products (active ingredients) registered in 13 Asian countries to control pests on crops and for public health uses, and 214 HHPs among the list of registered pesticides still in use in these Asian countries. An analysis of the list of registered formulated products revealed that 61 different active ingredients are included in these 214 registered HHPs in Asian countries. Considering the global concern of HHPs, there is thus every reason to develop mass awareness raising programmes based on knowledge, aptitude and practices and to disseminate them within the community in order to inform about the risks of HHPs and to replace HHPs and mitigate human risk and exposure to HHPs. It is concluded that detailed surveys and studies should be formulated with help of experts from academia and research organizations to construct a baseline data which may be helpful to tone down the HHP situation in the country.

Total Carbon Stock and Potential Carbon Sequestration Economic Value of Mukogodo Forest-Landscape Ecosystem in Drylands of Northern Kenya

Carbon sequestration is one of the important ecosystem services provided by forested landscapes. Dry forests have high potential for carbon storage. However, their potential to store and sequester carbon is poorly understood in Kenya. Moreover, past attempts to estimate carbon stock have ignored drylands ecosystem heterogeneity. This study assessed the potential of Mukogodo dryland forest-landscape in offsetting carbon dioxide through carbon sequestration and storage. Four carbon pools (above and below ground biomass, soil, dead wood and litter) were analyzed. A total of 51 (400 m2) sample plots were established using stratified-random sampling technique to estimate biomass across six vegetation classes in three landscape types (forest reserve, ranches and conservancies) using nested-plot design. Above ground biomass was determined using generalized multispecies model with diameter at breast height, height and wood density as variables. Below ground, soil, litter and dead wood biomass;carbon stocks and carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq) were estimated using secondary information. The CO2eq was multiplied by current prices of carbon trade to compute carbon sequestration value. Mean ± SE of biomass and carbon was determined across vegetation and landscape types and mean differences tested by one-way Analysis of Variance. Mean biomass and carbon was about 79.15 ± 40.22 TB ha-1 and 37.25 ± 18.89 TC ha-1 respectively. Cumulative carbon stock was estimated at 682.08 TC ha-1;forest reserve (251.57 TC ha-1) had significantly high levels of carbon stocks compared to ranches (209.78 TC ha-1) and conservancies (220.73 TC ha-1, P = 0.000). Further, closed forest significantly contributed to the overall biomass and carbon stock (58%). The carbon sequestration potential was about 19.9MTCO2eq with most conservative worth of KES 39.9B (US$40M) per annum. The high carbon stock in the landscape shows the potential of dryland ecosystems as carbon sink for climate change mitigation. However, for communities to benefit from bio-carbon funds in future, sustainable landscape management and restorative measures should be practiced to enhance carbon storage and provision of other ecosystem services.

Design and Implementation of the ZH/EN Bilingual Retrieval System Based on the CAT/AGROVOC Mapping

For the users＇ convenience of accessing the AGRIS resources quickly and using them fully, the paper decomposes the structure of AGRIS Search net, analyzes the users＇ requirement met for conducting a bilingual （ZH/EN） retrieval, the system function extensions based on AGRIS English retrieval system and the key issues which the core function module should resolve. Derived by the application requirement, the paper also puts forward to a bilingual retrieval model on the basis of CAT/AGROVOC mapping, designs and realizes the ZH/EN bilingual retrieval prototype system.

Capacities and Functionalities Assessment of Veterinary Laboratories in South-west Nigeria Using the FAO Laboratory Mapping Tool

Laboratories play significant roles in all the critical processes of detecting rapid infectious disease outbreaks,risk assessments,early warnings,early responses and notifications,and monitoring and surveillance[1,2].Veterinary Laboratories(VLs)that rapidly identify,respond to and control rapidly spreading and emerging(or re-emerging)infectious and zoonotic diseases is critical to:(1)the financial performance of animal agriculture and international trade;(2)livelihoods of animal related industries;and(3)nutritional status,food security,and the socio-economic well-being of a country[3].

Purchasing Patterns and Consumer Level Waste of Fruits and Vegetables in Urban and Peri-Urban Centers in the Philippines

Fruits and vegetables are inherently perishable hence they are considered as one of the most wasted categories of food. While several studies have been conducted to assess consumer level waste of fruits and vegetables, few have been conducted in developing countries like the Philippines. A survey, using a pre-tested questionnaire, and involving 500 respondents, was conducted in selected urban and peri-urban areas in the Philippines, to ascertain consumer level fruit and vegetable waste. The quantities of fruits and vegetables wasted by supermarket shoppers and those who purchased fruits in wet markets were comparably low at 3% - 4%. This low level of consumer fruit and vegetable waste was attributed to the small quantities (250 to 500 grams per purchase) purchased by consumers in both categories of markets. Consumer level fruit and vegetable waste, showed a positive correlation to household size. The level of fruit waste was positively related to household income, and negatively related to shopper’s age. Consumers who shopped in supermarkets, purchased larger quantities of fruit when compared to those who shopped in wet markets. Wet market shoppers on the other hand, purchased large quantities of vegetables. Decay, and quality loss manifested by shriveling, wilting, toughening, browning and softening were the main characteristics of fruits and vegetables discarded by consumers. The underlying causes of this waste, cited by respondents included “forgot to eat”, “poor quality”, “forgot to cook” and “overbuying”. Consumer efforts to minimize waste include buying enough for consumption, consuming or using immediately after purchase, planning their menus, improving storage and purchasing produce that is of good quality.

Rangelands of Central Asia:challenges and opportunities

Rangelands of Central Asia (referring to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in this study), the largest contiguous area of grazed land in the world, serve as an important source of livelihood for pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in this region. They also play an important role in absorbing CO2 as a global carbon sink. However, unsustainable management of rangelands has led to their degradation hugely by downgrading their potential agro-ecological, environmental and socio-economical roles. This paper reviewed the rangeland degradation in Central Asia, a topic which so far has received only scant coverage in the international scientific literature. It also provided examples of successful experiences and outlined possible options that land managers can adopt to enhance the sustainable management of these vast degraded rangelands. The experiences and lessons described in this paper may also be relevant for other degraded rangeland areas, especially in the developing countries. The causes of rangeland degradation within the Central Asian region are numerous, complex and inter-related. Therefore, while addressing the factors associated with improper rangeland management may shed some light on the causes of rangeland degradation, the scope of this paper would not be all-encompassing for the major causes of degradation. There is a need to develop and widely apply the viable and locally accepted and adapted packages of technical, institutional and policy options for sustainable rangeland management. Incentivizing the collective action of small-scale pastoralists who group together to facilitate access to remote pastures can reduce the degree of overgrazing within community pastures, such as those near the settlements. We also found that migratory grazing through pooling of resources among small-scale pastoralists can increase household income. After their independence, most Central Asian countries adopted various rangeland tenure arrangements. However, the building of enhanced capacities of pasture management and effective local rangeland governance structures can increase the likelihood, which will be sustainable and equitable. Finally, this paper presented several promising technical options, aiming at reversing the trend of rangeland degradation in Central Asia.

Tracking domestic ducks:A novel approach for documenting poultry market chains in the context of avian influenza transmission

Agro-ecological conditions associated with the spread and persistence of highly pathogenic avian inlfuenza （HPAI） are not well understood, but the trade of live poultry is suspected to be a major pathway. Although market chains of live bird trade have been studied through indirect means including interviews and questionnaires, direct methods have not been used to identify movements of individual poultry. To bridge the knowledge gap on quantitative movement and transportation of poultry, we introduced a novel approach for applying telemetry to document domestic duck movements from source farms at Poyang Lake, China. We deployed recently developed transmitters that record Global Positioning System （GPS） locations and send them through the Groupe Spécial Mobile （GSM） cellular telephone system. For the ifrst time, we were able to track individually marked ducks from 3 to 396 km from their origin to other farms, distribution facilities, or live bird markets. Our proof of concept test showed that the use of GPS-GSM transmitters may provide di-rect, quantitative information to document the movement of poultry and reveal their market chains. Our ifndings provide an initial indication of the complexity of source-market network connectivity and highlight the great potential for future telemetry studies in poultry network analyses.

Challenges in the implementation of food safety and quality assurance systems in small-scale fisheries

Ninety percent of the world’s fishers are directly involved in small-scale fisheries(SSFs),and many food safety and quality issues along the food value chains may be both irreversible and cumulative.Ensuring safe,high-quality aquatic products are key to sustaining life,promoting good health,and avoiding adverse health effects.Objective This paper aimed to highlight factors preventing the implementation of safety and quality assurance systems in SSFs by analysing the results from surveys on the implementation of Article 11 of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO)Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries(2017,2019,and 2022).Materials and methods The analysis considered responses to 15 closed-ended questions on food safety and quality obtained from 143 FAO Members and the European Union,and 87 open-ended replies addressing challenges in SSFs.Results The major factors preventing the implementation of the Code’s food safety and quality provisions were lack of sanitation and monitoring programmes,lack of infrastructure(particularly refrigeration facilities)lack of technical capacities and limited management of food safety risks along the value chains.Safety and quality assurance efforts were focused on international markets,resulting in less attention being paid to domestic markets where a high degree of informality was reported.Conclusions Improved implementation of safety and quality assurance systems will lead to safer food with higher nutritional quality,extended shelf-life and reduced post-harvest loss.Increased awareness of food safety issues in SSFs is a prerequisite for achieving several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Trees as hotspots:Using forests,trees,and agroforestry to foster diverse sustainable landscapes

Forests,trees,and agroforestry(FTA)are ecosystem hotspots.They exemplify the contributions of biodiversity to sustainable and resilient landscapes,green circular economy and to sustainable agriculture and food systems for healthy diets.However,most research on these topics have been performed separately and lack comparison.The International FTA-Kunming Conference'Forests,trees and agroforestry for diverse sustainable landscapes'22nd–24th June 2021,focused on these contributions,brought together scientists NGOs,and policy makers to further the understanding of tree diversity;provided a communication platform for scientists to share their research results;evaluated the role of tree diversity in agroecology and circular agriculture;assessed benefits of landscape restoration;and explored applied research in mountain ecosystems and food security.The goals were to gather evidence that ground the design of solutions that can contribute to the implementation of the post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and towards the UN Food Systems Summit,and the overall implementation of the SDGs.This paper summarizes the outcomes of the international FTA Conference in Kunming 2021 and points out the highlights of research involved in six major themes.

Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) update: What we know and what is unknown

The year 2020 was welcomed and characterized with a report of pneumonia of unknown etiology,which occurred primarily in Wuhan City of Hubei Province of China.Between 31 December 2019 and 3 January 2020,a total of 44 cases in human was reported to the World Health Organization(WHO)by the Chinese Health Authorities[1].By 3 February 2020,a total of 17391 cases have been confirmed globally with 2838 new cases(China:17238;2831 new cases and 361 deaths;Outside China:153 with 7 new cases and 1 death from 23 countries)[1].

The AGROVOC Concept Scheme-A Walkthrough

The Food and Agriculture Organization is developing a concept based multilingual vocabulary management tool to manage thesauri, authority lists and glossaries expressed as concept schemes ready to be used in a linked data environment. In this paper, we described the evolution of the AGROVOC thesaurus to AGROVOC Concept Scheme based on OWL （web ontology language） model and now shifting to SKOS （simple knowledge organization system） model. The paper explained why and how it evolved highlighting the key differences between different models. The system architecture and significant set of features available in the VocBench was discussed in the paper.

Fatal cases of animal-mediated human rabies: Looking beyond sectoral prism to One Health

This issue of Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine has published a case report[1].This report detailed an atypical fatal case of fox-mediated human rabies.It once again reemphasized the importance of zoonotic disease transmission by animals(including wildlife),and a need to look introspectively in order to consider innovative solutions aimed at reducing the burden of zoonoses.Rabies continues to significantly impact human lives.

A multi-purpose National Forest Inventory in Bangladesh:design,operationalisation and key results

Background:National forest inventory and forest monitoring systems are more important than ever considering continued global degradation of trees and forests.These systems are especially important in a country like Bangladesh,which is characterised by a large population density,climate change vulnerability and dependence on natural resources.With the aim of supporting the Government’s actions towards sustainable forest management through reliable information,the Bangladesh Forest Inventory(BFI)was designed and implemented through three components:biophysical inventory,socio-economic survey and remote sensing-based land cover mapping.This article documents the approach undertaken by the Forest Department under the Ministry of Environment,Forests and Climate Change to establish the BFI as a multipurpose,efficient,accurate and replicable national forest assessment.The design,operationalization and some key results of the process are presented.Methods:The BFI takes advantage of the latest and most well-accepted technological and methodological approaches.Importantly,it was designed through a collaborative process which drew from the experience and knowledge of multiple national and international entities.Overall,1781 field plots were visited,6400 households were surveyed,and a national land cover map for the year 2015 was produced.Innovative technological enhancements include a semi-automated segmentation approach for developing the wall-to-wall land cover map,an object-based national land characterisation system,consistent estimates between sample-based and mapped land cover areas,use of mobile apps for tree species identification and data collection,and use of differential global positioning system for referencing plot centres.Results:Seven criteria,and multiple associated indicators,were developed for monitoring progress towards sustainable forest management goals,informing management decisions,and national and international reporting needs.A wide range of biophysical and socioeconomic data were collected,and in some cases integrated,for estimating the indicators.Conclusions:The BFI is a new information source tool for helping guide Bangladesh towards a sustainable future.Reliable information on the status of tree and forest resources,as well as land use,empowers evidence-based decision making across multiple stakeholders and at different levels for protecting natural resources.The integrated socioeconomic data collected provides information about the interactions between people and their tree and forest resources,and the valuation of ecosystem services.The BFI is designed to be a permanent assessment of these resources,and future data collection will enable monitoring of trends against the current baseline.However,additional institutional support as well as continuation of collaboration among national partners is crucial for sustaining the BFI process in future.

Investment Requirements in Extension to Achieve Zero Hunger and Adapt to Climate Change

The study reflects on previous World Bank and FAO reports that made the general recommendation to set both research and extension investment targets in developing countries at 1% of agricultural gross domestic product （AgGDP）. In order to define proxies for country-specific extension investment targets, authors developed an extension investment model （EIM） based on socio-economic macro-indicators （poverty, undernourishment, access to information and population density） and a method to define estimates for cost increases related to climate change. These parameters helped estimating the demand for agricultural extension and investments required for it. Results showed that about half of the 94 developing and emerging countries should spend more than 1% of their respective share of GDP derived from agriculture and about a quarter of the countries, mostly in Africa and South East Asia, need to spend more than 2% of their AgGDP. The paper reveals significant differences in average investment requirements in different regions and shows the additional extension costs related to climate change and other areas that currently lack investment.

Mapping tree species distribution in support of China's integrated tree-livestock-crop system

The primary challenge of the contemporary world is to meet accelerating requirements for food.Limited land,competition between crop and livestock farming and climate change are major challenges.Agroforestry offer a form of sustainable agriculture through the direct provision of food by raising farmers’incomes and through various ecosystem services.The first essential step in adopting agroforestry is the selection of appropriate tree species that fit local climates.In this paper,we mapped 20 fodder trees and important crops in China using the multi-model ensemble and Ecocrop modelling approach.Relying on the intersectional concept of set theory,the fuzzy logic technique was applied to identify regions where candidate trees could be grown with appropriate crops and livestock.The resulting models provide important insights into the climatic suitability of trees and crops and offer knowledge critical to the proper integration of trees with crops and livestock at specific locations.The results offer support for developing appropriate strategies regarding potential land-use within agroforestry systems in order to maximize ecosystem services and the benefits of sustainable agriculture.Model outputs could easily convert into conventional maps with clearly defined boundaries for site-specific planning for tree-crop-livestock integration.The next step for actualizing an integrated system is to investigate specifically what these different species may contribute to the existing farming systems,quantify the benefits and estimate any possible tradeoffs.

Effects of the nitrification inhibitor nitrapyrin and tillage practices on yield-scaled nitrous oxide emission from a maize field in Iran

Nitrification inhibitors can effectively decrease nitrification rates and nitrous oxide(N_(2)O)emission while increasing crop yield under certain conditions.However,there is no information available on the effects of nitrification inhibitors and tillage practices on N_(2)O emissions from maize cropping in Iran.To study how tillage practices and nitrapyrin(a nitrification inhibitor)affect N_(2)O emission,a split factorial experiment using a completely randomized block design with three replications was carried out in Northeast Iran,which has a cold semiarid climate.Two main plots were created with conventional tillage and minimum tillage levels,and two nitrogen(N)fertilizer(urea)management systems(with and without nitrapyrin application)were created as subplots.Tillage level did not have any significant effect on soil ammonium(NH_(4)^(+))and nitrate(NO_(3)^(-))concentrations,cumulative amount and yield-scaled N_(2)O emission,and aboveground biomass of maize,whereas nitrapyrin application showed significant effect.Nitrapyrin application significantly reduced the cumulative amount of N_(2)O emission by 41%and 32%in conventional tillage and minimum tillage practices,respectively.A reduction in soil NO_(3)^(-)concentration by nitrapyrin was also observed.The average yield-scaled N_(2)O emission was 13.6 g N_(2)O-N kg^(-1)N uptake in both tillage systems without nitrapyrin application and was significantly reduced to 7.9 and 8.2 g N_(2)O-N kg^(-1)N uptake upon the application of nitrapyrin in minimum tillage and conventional tillage practices,respectively.Additionally,nitrapyrin application increased maize biomass yield by 4%and 13%in the minimum tillage and conventional tillage systems,respectively.Our results indicate that nitrapyrin has a potential role in reducing N_(2)O emission from agricultural systems where urea fertilizers are broadcasted,which is common in Iran due to the practice of traditional farming.

Earth Map:A Novel Tool for Fast Performance of Advanced Land Monitoring and Citation:Morales C,DiazAS,Climate Assessment Climate Assessment

Earth Map(https://earthmap.org/)is an innovative and free application developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that was designed in the framework of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations-Google partnership and facilitates the visualization,processing,and analysis ofland and climate data.Earth Map makes petabytes of multitemporal,multiscale,multiparametric,and quasi-real-time satellite imagery and geospatial datasets available to any user thanks to the power of Google Earth Engine(https://earthengine.google.com/)and a point-and-click graphical user interface.These are further complemented with more planetary-scale analytical capabilities so that global and local changes and trends on Earth's surface can be easily detected,quantified,and visualized.It does not require users to master coding techniques,thereby avoiding bottlenecks in terms of technical capacities of nonexpert users.It ultimately paves the way for countries,research institutes,farmers,and members of the general public to access critical knowledge to develop science-based policy interventions,leverage investments,and sustain livelihoods.We provide a full overview of Earth Map's software architecture,design,features,and datasets.To illustrate the possible applications of the tool,different examples are presented including a few case studies that show how quick historical analysis of environmental and climate parameters can be performed and research questions answered.The examples demonstrate that Earth Map is a comprehensive and user-friendly tool for land monitoring and climate assessment and that it has the potential to be used to assess land use,land use change,climate change impacts,and natural disasters.

An Operational Assessment Framework for Near Real-time Cropland Dynamics:Toward Sustainable Cropland Use in Mid-Spine Belt of Beautiful China

Cropland monitoring is a crucial component for a broad user community from Land Use and Land Cover Change study to food security policy making.Faced with the rich natural ecological environment and variable agricultural production conditions of Mid-Spine Belt of Beautiful China(MSBBC),this study developed a novel operational assessment framework that combined the near real-time land cover mapping platform(i.e.,FROM-GLC Plus),the FAO Agricultural Stress Index System,and the land degradation monitoring method suggested by United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification for the timely monitoring of cropland extent change,cropland conditions,and cropland degradation.With integrated monitoring system,this framework can provide convenient access to high-spatiotemporalresolution cropland maps(30 m,dekadal)and instant(near real time)cropland dynamics.According to the monitoring results,we found that the abnormally high temperatures of summer 2022 adversely affected crop health in the southwest of MSBBC.Besides,our results suggested that China’s ecological restoration projects made remarkable achievement in MSBBC.The productivity of more than 70% of cropland in MSBBC has improved,and only~6% cropland(~3.69×104 km^(2))has degraded since 2000,mainly distributed in cropland with steep slope,insufficient precipitation,and intensive use.Site-specific measures,such as conservation tillage,improved tillage systems,and cropland ecological projects,should be adopted for sustainable cropland use and further increase in land carrying capacity of MSBBC to achieve balanced east-west development in China.