Scalable Agricultural Technologies Inventory

As USAID Administrator Shah announced in his December 7, 2012, speech at the International Food Policy Research Institute, Feed the Future is deepening engagement with U.S. Government bilateral missions, country partners, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, Feed the Future Innovation Laboratories, and other research and development organizations around expanded efforts to drive widespread adaptation, dissemination and adoption of  critical agricultural technologies in Feed the Future countries and beyond.

USAID and USDA staff and research partners in the CGIAR and Innovation Labs have contributed to the technology inventory, housed on Agrilinks.org, in seven thematic tables linked to below. This inventory is intended to provide U.S. Government staff and collaborating partners with a technical evidence base as they work to scale up appropriate technologies to greater numbers of smallholder farmers.

While the list primarily describes component technologies, it is very important to recognize that most were developed and/or will be taken up within a systems context. For example, while we are seeking to introduce or enhance the role of legumes in cereal-based systems, and the table emphasizes the yield gains of the legume varieties themselves, we note that such component technologies have broader impacts for total system productivity, nutrition and sustainability.

This inventory is very much a work in progress. It was developed by the USAID Bureau for Food Security and USDA, with the input of research partners, to provide examples of technologies that may be good candidates for widespread adaptation and adoption, but it is not intended to be comprehensive. It does not represent an “approved” or exclusive list, and inclusion or exclusion in this inventory is not intended to be taken as a statement of policy. Nothing here is meant to imply endorsement of any product or company or of the suitability of any given technology in any given context. Feedback and technical contributions are welcomed via the Agrilinks comment facility.

Technology Inventory Tables:

• ICT and Insurance
• Post-Harvest Losses
• Cereals
• Sustainable Intensification
• Vegetables, Fruits, Roots and Tubers
• Livestock and Aquaculture
• Legumes

This post originally appeared on the Agrilinks blog. To provide feedback on these tables, please visit Agrilinks.org. 

These tables were announced by USAID Administrator Shah at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ 2013 Global Food Security Symposium.