Food and agricultural innovation pathways for prosperity

This introduction to the special issue deploys a framework, inspired by realist synthesis and introduced in Section 1, that aims to untangle the contexts, mechanisms, and outcomes associated with investments that link poverty reduction and rural prosperity within a broad agri-food systems perspectiv...

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Autores principales: Tomich, Thomas P., Lidder, Preetmoninder, Coley, Mariah, Gollin, Douglas, Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S., Webb, Patrick, Carberry, Peter
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/91278
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author Tomich, Thomas P.
Lidder, Preetmoninder
Coley, Mariah
Gollin, Douglas
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.
Webb, Patrick
Carberry, Peter
author_browse Carberry, Peter
Coley, Mariah
Gollin, Douglas
Lidder, Preetmoninder
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.
Tomich, Thomas P.
Webb, Patrick
author_facet Tomich, Thomas P.
Lidder, Preetmoninder
Coley, Mariah
Gollin, Douglas
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.
Webb, Patrick
Carberry, Peter
author_sort Tomich, Thomas P.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description This introduction to the special issue deploys a framework, inspired by realist synthesis and introduced in Section 1, that aims to untangle the contexts, mechanisms, and outcomes associated with investments that link poverty reduction and rural prosperity within a broad agri-food systems perspective. Section 2 considers changes in contexts: Where are agricultural research investments most likely to be an engine of poverty reduction? Over the past 25 years, there have been profound changes in the development context of most countries, necessitating an update on strategic insights for research investment priorities relevant for the economic, political, social, environmental, and structural realities of the early 21st Century. Section 2 briefly surveys changes in these structural aspects of poverty and development processes in low-income countries, with particular attention to new drivers (e.g., urbanization, climate change) that will be of increasing salience in the coming decades. In Section 3, we turn to mechanisms: What are the plausible impact pathways and what evidence exists to test their plausibility? Poor farmers in the developing world are often the stated focus of public sector agricultural research. However, farmers are not the only potential beneficiaries of agricultural research; rural landless laborers, stakeholders along food value chains, and the urban poor can also be major beneficiaries of such research. Thus, there are multiple, interacting pathways through which agricultural research can contribute to reductions in poverty and associated livelihood vulnerabilities. This paper introduces an ex ante set of 18 plausible impact pathways from agricultural research to rural prosperity outcomes, employing bibliometric methods to assess the evidence underpinning causal links. In Section 4, we revisit the concept of desired impacts: When we seek poverty reduction, what does that mean and what measures are needed to demonstrate impact? The papers in this special issue are intended to yield insights to inform improvements in agricultural research that seeks to reduce poverty. History indicates that equity of distribution of gains matters hugely, and thus the questions of “who wins?” and “who loses?” must be addressed. Moreover, our understanding(s) of “poverty” and the intended outcomes of development investments have become much richer over the past 25 years, incorporating more nuance regarding gender, community differences, and fundamental reconsideration of the meaning of poverty and prosperity that are not captured by simple head count income or even living standard measures.
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spelling CGSpace912782025-11-12T04:48:55Z Food and agricultural innovation pathways for prosperity Tomich, Thomas P. Lidder, Preetmoninder Coley, Mariah Gollin, Douglas Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S. Webb, Patrick Carberry, Peter agricultural research for development agri-food systems development strategy impact pathways poverty economic development agricultural research urbanization development policies agrifood systems rural development resilience food systems climate change This introduction to the special issue deploys a framework, inspired by realist synthesis and introduced in Section 1, that aims to untangle the contexts, mechanisms, and outcomes associated with investments that link poverty reduction and rural prosperity within a broad agri-food systems perspective. Section 2 considers changes in contexts: Where are agricultural research investments most likely to be an engine of poverty reduction? Over the past 25 years, there have been profound changes in the development context of most countries, necessitating an update on strategic insights for research investment priorities relevant for the economic, political, social, environmental, and structural realities of the early 21st Century. Section 2 briefly surveys changes in these structural aspects of poverty and development processes in low-income countries, with particular attention to new drivers (e.g., urbanization, climate change) that will be of increasing salience in the coming decades. In Section 3, we turn to mechanisms: What are the plausible impact pathways and what evidence exists to test their plausibility? Poor farmers in the developing world are often the stated focus of public sector agricultural research. However, farmers are not the only potential beneficiaries of agricultural research; rural landless laborers, stakeholders along food value chains, and the urban poor can also be major beneficiaries of such research. Thus, there are multiple, interacting pathways through which agricultural research can contribute to reductions in poverty and associated livelihood vulnerabilities. This paper introduces an ex ante set of 18 plausible impact pathways from agricultural research to rural prosperity outcomes, employing bibliometric methods to assess the evidence underpinning causal links. In Section 4, we revisit the concept of desired impacts: When we seek poverty reduction, what does that mean and what measures are needed to demonstrate impact? The papers in this special issue are intended to yield insights to inform improvements in agricultural research that seeks to reduce poverty. History indicates that equity of distribution of gains matters hugely, and thus the questions of “who wins?” and “who loses?” must be addressed. Moreover, our understanding(s) of “poverty” and the intended outcomes of development investments have become much richer over the past 25 years, incorporating more nuance regarding gender, community differences, and fundamental reconsideration of the meaning of poverty and prosperity that are not captured by simple head count income or even living standard measures. 2019-06 2018-03-06T05:43:23Z 2018-03-06T05:43:23Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/91278 en Open Access application/pdf Elsevier Tomich, T. P.; Lidder, P.; Coley, M.; Gollin, D.; Meinzen-Dick, R.; Webb, P.; Carberry, P. 2018. Food and agricultural innovation pathways for prosperity. Agricultural Systems.
spellingShingle agricultural research for development
agri-food systems
development strategy
impact pathways
poverty
economic development
agricultural research
urbanization
development policies
agrifood systems
rural development
resilience
food systems
climate change
Tomich, Thomas P.
Lidder, Preetmoninder
Coley, Mariah
Gollin, Douglas
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.
Webb, Patrick
Carberry, Peter
Food and agricultural innovation pathways for prosperity
title Food and agricultural innovation pathways for prosperity
title_full Food and agricultural innovation pathways for prosperity
title_fullStr Food and agricultural innovation pathways for prosperity
title_full_unstemmed Food and agricultural innovation pathways for prosperity
title_short Food and agricultural innovation pathways for prosperity
title_sort food and agricultural innovation pathways for prosperity
topic agricultural research for development
agri-food systems
development strategy
impact pathways
poverty
economic development
agricultural research
urbanization
development policies
agrifood systems
rural development
resilience
food systems
climate change
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/91278
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