The report is excellent, it is very comprehensive with an enormous amount of information. The draft recommendations certainly lay out what needs to be done but I think the report should include some indications of how these various recommendations could be put into practice. A couple of concrete examples are given below:
The report mentions in several places that care must be taken in making generalisations across different geographies whereas the environmental issues are frequently local. Some of our on-going work integrates models of environmental impact, nutritional output and economic value of various combinations of crops and livestock on a local or regional level. This can allow scenarios to be evaluated where the maximum nutritional value can be produced for the minimum environmental impact whilst ensuring higher income for smallholder farmers. In this way specific solutions can be identified.
The report mentions the issue that the average age of farmers is increasing in many parts of the world and the difficulty of attracting young people to agriculture and to remain in rural areas. Some very encouraging work is being done at IITA in Nigeria where they have started a programme called Youth Agripreneurs which aims to educate and attract young graduates with a range of backgrounds towards agriculture as a business opportunity. Beginning with intensive training in agricultural techniques and business, the IITA facilitates partnerships between students and other parties including the private sector, local government and international organisations.
Anne Roulin