C4a. Upstream Global Research Policy

Engagement in Global Research-Policy Debates 


mechanical_threshingC4 work addresses the entire agrifood system, including “upstream” policy issues that affect on-farm production and practices (C4a), and “downstream” policy issues that affect players along the value chain, from the farmgate to the plate (C4b).

C4a: Agrifood System Transformation in the Upstream: Land Dynamics, Land Governance, Fertilizer and Soil Fertility, Mechanization and Implications for Rural Employment

The topics addressed in this sub-activity are highly inter‐related. They range from changing farmland ownership and use structure, implications of rising land prices in many areas of Africa, shifts in technologies (e.g., mechanization), fertilizer promotion strategies, sustainable intensification issues, youth employment, and market responses to these changing dynamics.

Photo: Mechanical threshing in Burma (credit: Benjamin Belton)