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 agrifood transport sector in Latin America and the Caribbean is a key component of the food supply chain, making a significant contribution to gross domestic product in these countries. Well-developed, efficient food transport systems are crucial to the survival of thousands of people, and pivotal to the success or failure of key economic sectors such as agriculture and other major national and international commercial activities. This publication presents a detailed study of problems encountered, covering seventeen countries. The study focuses primarily on stumbling-blocks faced by small farmers, and suggests possible policy and programme interventions to improve the situation in the neediest areas, with repercussions for the population as a whole. (Also published in Spanish)

By 2030, 60 percent of the world's population are expected to be living in urban areas. Population growth is not solely in larger metropolitan centres - the mega cities. The numbers of small and intermediate-sized urban centres are also increasing and have an important role as links in the marketing system. This guide provides a simplified aid to understanding the physical implications of marketing linkages, based on a regional planning approach. The guide provides a simple planning methodology and framework that focuses on the issue of linking farmers to market outlets for their produce particularly identifying their marketing infrastructure needs. The users of the guide are likely to be at national, provincial or district levels and could include planners and engineers in ministries and departments of public works and transport, planning and marketing officers in ministries and departments of agriculture, local authority officers in planning, commerce and marketing departments and local authorities, communities, farmer groups and voluntary organizations, concerned to understand marketing constraints and with ensuring that rural producers have better access to markets for their products.

This manual provides information on freezing technology to preserve fruits and vegetables in small-scale operations. Practical examples demonstrating the application of the technology are given to provide a better understanding of the processes. Compared to other conventional methods used in the storage of fruits and vegetables, freezing is the most satisfactory method in terms of quality, process and overall cost. Currently, the frozen food market is one the largest sectors in the food industry. Industrialized countries dominate the trade in frozen food commodities, but developing countries can also develop their own frozen food industries. Introduction of adequate freezing technology is essential to meet the growing consumer demand for frozen foods in developing countries.

A brief introduction to the role of insurance as a risk management mechanism in livestock and aquaculture enterprises, exploring some of the complexities involved in the financial mechanism for risk sharing.

This publication is primarily concerned with risks to arable and horticultural crops, and the applicability of insurance to managing these risks. Its purpose is to provide an introductory overview of crop and forestry insurance. It begins by defining the boundaries for these types of insurance products in order to assist those interested in exploring and exploiting this financial mechanism. It then outlines how to proceed with planning for crop insurance within the established boundaries. While recognizing that classic, damage-based and yield-based insurance products account for the bulk of all crop insurance written globally, the booklet also points out the dynamism of research and development into new insurance mechanisms. It presents two fairly new insurance products: the first based on insuring a level of crop revenue, and the second where insurable damage is determined on the basis of an index derived from data external to the insured farm. While some of the example material is taken from agriculture and forestry in developed countries, the basic target group of readers is expected to be those concerned with crop and forest risk management in developing parts of the world. This publication will be of interest to farmer unions, producer/commodity groups, processors, marketing firms and others contracting with farmer producers, officials of Ministries of Agriculture, Planning and Commerce, and bankers and insurers with farming and forestry clients.

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.