One of the main objectives of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) negotiated under the Uruguay Round is to improve the access of developing countries to foreign markets. Constraints in the domestic supply chains of many countries, along with weak marketing support and trade facilitation services, have prevented them, however, from exploiting the opportunities provided by the AoA and by other agreements to improve market access. The aim of this guide is to inform policy analysts on issues that should be considered while developing policies and measures to break the main processing and marketing constraints that prevent their countries from fully exploiting their agrifood export potential.
This publication sets out a detailed systems analysis approach to the small and medium agro-food industries sector in Latin America and the Caribbean region, in order to promote food safety and quality as well as enterprise productivity and competitiveness. The issues are discussed from food engineering and technology perspectives, in light of the complex issues faced by small food industries in the current trading system.
The purpose of this bulletin is to introduce beekeepers, people considering keeping bees and those interested in processing and marketing to the large diversity of products that can be derived from beekeeping for income generation. Each product category, includinng cosmetics, derived from basic bee products such as honey, pollen, wax, propolis, royal jelly, venom, adult and larval honeybees, is presented in this publication, providing history, description, product quality, marketing aspects and a few selected recipes. A detailed bibliography, a list of suppliers of equipment, conversion of weights and Codex Alimentarius Standards for Honey are given in the annexes.
In most countries, wholesale markets remain an essential link between production and consumption. That they should be well managed is essential as higher marketing costs lead to lower prices for producers and higher prices charged to consumers. Inefficient markets also increase the risk of problems of hygiene, environmental degradation and transport congestion, among others. With rapid urban growth, wholesale markets will continue to channel a wide variety of produce to urban consumers, despite the development of new distribution techniques, such as direct supply from farmers to supermarkets. This manual analyses the political, legal, economic and commercial aspects of the management and operations of wholesale markets. The European experience in Spain, France, Germany, Britain and Italy is presented; as well as in Japan, Hong Kong, the USA, South Africa, Australia and Argentina.
The problem of collateral is a daily issue for lenders and causes much debate in the development finance community. Given the difficulties experienced in arranging traditional forms of loan security, such as land or chattel mortgages, various collateral substitutes have been proposed. Among the substitutes for traditional collateral is the loan guarantee. Guarantee systems for loans have been proposed, planned and implemented in various countries. The assumption made by proponents of such a service is that the guarantee organization is either better informed about the risk of the loan than the lender or it is better structured financially to be able to manage the risk. Despite the apparent attractiveness of a loan guarantee, the empirical evidence available gives little encouragement. Nevertheless, interest in guarantees continues.
Interest in contract farming is growing, especially in countries that previously had a central planning policy. The purpose of this guide is to provide advice to existing contract farming companies on how they can improve their operations and to those thinking of starting such companies on the preconditions of success.
Since the liberalization of agricultural marketing systems, private traders frequently do not have ready access to finance for purchasing and storing the produce. Inventory credit is a solution to this problem. Drawing on case studies this paper examines the requirements for inventory credit.
Basic approaches to maintaining the safety and quality of horticultural produce are the same, regardless of the market to which this produce is targeted. This bulletin reviews the factors which contribute to quality and safety deterioration of horticultural produce, and describes approaches to assuring the maintenance of quality and safety throughout the post-harvest chain. Specific examples are given to illustrate the economic implications of investing in and applying proper post-harvest technologies. Criteria for the assessment of post-harvest needs, the selection of post-harvest technologies appropriate to the situation and context, and for extending appropriate levels of post-harvest information are also discussed.
