Institution: Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
E-mail: Juan.izquierdo@fao.org
Biosummary:
Dr. Juan Izquierdo has been working as a Plant Production officer with the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean since 1988 and as Technical Secretary of the Latin-American Network on Plant Biotechnology (REDBIO/FAO) since 1991. Dr. Izquierdo graduated with an Msc in Horticulture from New Mexico State University and later obtained his Ph.D. in Crop Physiology from Michigan State University in the United States. He was also Associate Professor in Plant and Crop Physiology at the University of Concepcion, Chile, where he supervised 17 graduate and undergraduate theses on plant physiology, micropropagation, anther culture and in vitro mutagenesis, and worked on the development protocols for rapid plant propagation of small berry trees. Later he became Head of the Plant Research Biotechnology Laboratory of the University of Concepcion, Chlillán, Chile. Among various positions, Dr. Izquierdo has worked as Director at the Laboratorio CultiVitro Soc. Ltda. in Santiago, Chile, on the development of protocols for micropropagation of fruit species and on development projects and marketing of plant biotechnology products.
Title: "Heterogeneity of poverty as a factor of technology demand in Latin America and the Caribbean." Co-autors: A. Schejtman and F. Figuerola.
Theme: 1B
Basic contextual determinants exist that affect the orientation of the new research strategies of the CGIAR Centers and regional research and technology transfer institutions. The macroeconomic context implies that the "new rules of the game" for regional economies redefine the terms in which the problems of access to income and to assets must be addressed as a way of overcoming food shortage and poverty in rural and peri-urban areas. The sectoral context contemplates three important aspects when designing poverty relief strategies: bimodal agrarian structures (coexistence of traditional agriculture and commercial agriculture, each based on a different logic for resource management); the high degree of differentiation of rural sector itself and the growth of non-agricultural rural employment at rates that exceed, by far, agricultural employment, which is decreasing in several countries. The high heterogeneity of poverty demands greater diversity of ways to access employment or other sources of income. This implies the construction of typologies that allow differential policies to be formulated, especially regarding the diverse combinations of employment of tenant farmers with agricultural and non-agricultural rural employment, and with urban or peri-urban employment. These typologies are affected by both migration and agricultural subsidies, which can translate into new demands or old unsatisfied demands.
Institutional changes regarding resource management and technologies, at the small business level, must occur if the demand for highly diversified technology is to be satisfied for different scenarios. These scenarios could include, for example, agrosilvopastoral technology for hillsides, highlands rich in underexploited biodiversity, overexploited semiarid areas, rural areas with a combination of crops/cattle raising activities, areas with intensive peri-urban production of high-yielding, high-quality products. Strategies should take into consideration the growing urban or peri-urban agriculture that requires sustainable technologies. These conditions represent a great research challenge for the CGIAR: this demand should be identified and characterized, and appropriate technological solutions should be provided in the short term.
Juan Izquierdo
Institución: Organización para la Alimentación y la Agricultura de las Naciones Unidas (FAO)
Correo Electrónico: Juan.izquierdo@fao.org
Biosummary: Pendiente
Título: "Heterogeneidad de la pobreza como factor de demanda techológica en América Latina y el Caribe." Co-autors: A. Schejtman and F. Figuerola.
Tema: 1B
Resumen:
Existen determinantes contextuales basicos que afectan la orientacion de las nuevas estrategias de investigacion de los Centros CGIAR y de las instituciones de investigacion y transferencia de tecnologia de la Región. El contexto macroeconómico implica que las nuevas reglas de juego de las economías de la Región redefinen los términos en que es necesario abordar los problemas del acceso a ingresos y a activos como forma de superar la inseguridad alimentaria y la pobreza en las zonas rurales y peri-urbanas. El contexto sectorial comprende tres aspectos críticos para el diseño de estrategias de alivio de pobreza : el fenómeno de la bimodalidad de las estructuras agrarias (coexistencia de una agricultura campesina y una empresarial con lógicas diferentes en el manejo de sus recursos); el alto grado de diferenciación del propio segmento campesino y el crecimiento del empleo rural no agrícola a tasas muy superiores que el agrícola que decrece en varios países. La alta hetreogeneidad de la pobreza demanda una mayor diversidad de formas de acceso a empleo o a otras fuentes de ingreso. Ello pre- suponen la construcción de tipologías que permitan un diseño de políticas diferenciadas en función de dichas formas, en particular, las diversas combinaciones de empleo parcelario con empleo rural agrícola y no agrícola y con empleo urbano o peri-urbano. La cuestión de la migración y las remesas afectan estas tipologias que a su vez se traducen en nuevas o viejas demandas concretas e insatisfechas.
Satisfacer la demanda tecnológica, altamente diversificada para distintos escenarios: agrosilvopastorales de "ladera", zonas altiplánicas ricas en biodiversidad sub-explotada, zonas semia-áridas sobre-explotadas, areas con de combinacion de cultivos con cría de animales en zonas rurales, zonas donde imperan producciones intensivas peri-urbanas de productos que requieren alta productividad, calidad e inocuidados, requiere de cambios institucionales que implican la gestion de recursos y tecnologias a nivel micro-empresarial. El desarrollo de una creciente agricultura urbana o peri-urbana demandante de tecnologias sostenibles debe ser considerado en estas estrategias. Estas condiciones implican un alto desafió para la investigacion a nivel del CGIAR que deberia identificar y caracterizar dicha demanda y suplir a corto plazo con soluciones tecnológicas apropiadas.
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