La collaboration de la FAO avec l'Université de Bologne (Italie) concernant un projet de recherche bibliographique a débouché sur un partenariat à long terme. Maurizio Aragrande, économiste agricole et professeur associé à la faculté d'agronomie de l'université, a passé six mois à la FAO à la fin de 1995, où il a travaillé à la Division des systèmes de soutien à l'agriculture et conduit une enquête bibliographique dans le domaine de l'approvisionnement alimentaire des villes, en particulier dans les pays africains francophones.
Le projet vise à répondre aux besoins de la population urbaine malgré sa croissance exponentielle. M. Aragrande a mis au point une méthode interdisciplinaire pour étudier les systèmes d'approvisionnement alimentaire des villes, et développer le programme de la FAO. Cela a entraîné des échanges de visites d'experts entre l'Institut sénégalais de recherche agricole (ISRA) et l'Université de Bologne. Grâce à sa collaboration avec la FAO, l'Université de Bologne projette à présent de créer un centre informatique sur les systèmes d'approvisionnement et de distribution alimentaires des villes.
La colaboración de la FAO con la Universidad de Bolonia, Italia, en un proyecto de investigación bibliográfica ha resultado en una asociación de trabajo a largo plazo. A finales de 1995, el profesor Maurizio Aragrande, economista agrícola y profesor asociado en la Facultad de Ciencias Agrícolas de la universidad, estuvo seis semanas trabajando en la Dirección de Sistemas de Apoyo a la Agricultura (AGS) de la FAO. Hizo una revisión bibliográfica en el campo de la distribución urbana de alimentos, con especial referencia a los países africanos francófonos.
El estudio es una respuesta al crecimiento exponencial de las poblaciones urbanas en el Africa occidental. El profesor Aragrande desarrolló una metodología interdisciplinaria para estudiar los sistemas de distribución de alimentos en las ciudades. Esto significó el intercambio de visitas de expertos del Instituto Senegalés de Investigación Agrícola y de la Universidad de Bolonia. Como resultado de esta colaboración con la FAO, la Universidad de Bolonia está programando la creación de un centro de información virtual sobre sistemas de mercadeo urbano de alimentos.
Collaboration on a bibliographic research project has resulted in a complementary and mutually beneficial partnership between FAO and the University of Bologna, Italy. Maurizio Aragrande, agricultural economist and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Agricultural Science at the university, spent six weeks working with the Agricultural Support Systems Division of FAO. He conducted a bibliographic survey in the field of urban food distribution, with special reference to French-speaking African countries.
This activity was one output of an FAO project on urban food supply and distribution in French-speaking Africa. The project is a response to the exponential growth of urban populations in West Africa. Whereas in 1950, 10 percent of West Africans were city dwellers, it is expected that by the year 2020, 50 percent will be living in urban centres. As Olivio Argenti, agricultural economist with FAO, stresses: "Systems of food supply and distribution that are both dynamic and efficient are indispensable in order to increase the food security of urban consumers, and particularly of the most deprived." In its initial, information-gathering phase, the project has benefited from the cooperation of research institutions in Africa, Europe and Canada.
The first phase of Aragrande's work was a comprehensive general review of the existing literature on the wide range of topics connected to urban food supply and distribution. Aragrande then moved on to a second phase, identifying the many disciplines that contribute to this complex field; economics of production and distribution, sociology and demography are among the most important. Also important are the effects of structural adjustment policies on the distribution sector in West African countries; among the outcomes were the rise of an informal sector in production and distribution and a change in the role of the private sector.
The document resulting from the second phase of Aragrande's work was presented at a subregional seminar in Dakar, Senegal in April 1997, organized by the Senegalese Agricultural Research Institute (Institut sénégalais de recherches agricoles, ISRA), which brought together experts in the field of urban food distribution from sub-Saharan Africa and the developed world.
The third stage of Aragrande's collaboration with FAO involved the development of an interdisciplinary methodology for studying systems of urban food distribution, as a basis for programme development. This stage involved exchange visits of experts from ISRA and the University of Bologna.
As a result of the collaboration with FAO, the University of Bologna is now planning to set up a virtual information centre on urban food marketing systems. The centre will be an invaluable reference resource accessible by researchers and experts worldwide.
Italian visiting expert Maurizio Aragrande
Maurizio Aragrande, expert italien
Maurizio Aragrande, experto italiano