Organizing for our Collective Success Presented by the National Young Farmers...DiegoFooter
The National Young Farmers Coalition is a nonprofit organization with 26 chapters across the United States that advocates for and supports young and beginning farmers. The coalition focuses on addressing issues related to access to land, capital, markets, and other resources faced by young farmers through grassroots organizing, policy advocacy, and leadership development programs. Membership has grown in recent years and includes over 1,000 members across its email list, Facebook page, and dues-paying members.
A presentation by Cheryl Morden from the 2009 BASIS Conference on "Escaping Poverty Traps: Connecting the Chronically Poor to the Economic Growth Agenda."
1) Agricultural research is a key factor for agricultural development but is only one of many factors that influence rural prosperity. Understanding rural and territorial development as well as the rural-urban interface is important for rethinking agricultural research pathways.
2) Partnerships are needed for agricultural research to have impact on reducing rural poverty since pathways to impact are long, wide, and involve many other public, private, and civil society actors.
3) Agricultural research must be rethought to engage with national sustainable food systems at the rural-urban interface where many opportunities and challenges exist due to urbanization, diet changes, and food market transformations.
This document discusses pathways for reducing rural poverty in West and Central Africa through agricultural research and development. It outlines that agricultural growth can reduce poverty by raising farm incomes and generating employment. However, challenges remain, including barriers that can prevent the poor from benefitting from increased agricultural productivity. The document argues that multidimensional, multisector partnerships are needed to address the complex and diverse causes of rural poverty in sustainable ways. Agricultural research must work with other sectors and take smallholder farmers' needs into account to promote inclusive rural prosperity.
The document discusses BRAC's Targeting the Ultra Poor (TUP) program in Bangladesh, which aims to assist the country's 3 million ultra poor households living in extreme poverty. The TUP program provides enterprise development training, asset transfers, stipends, health support, and community mobilization to help ultra poor households improve their livelihoods and access development services. Evaluation data shows the program has helped increase income, savings, and food security while improving health, knowledge of rights, and social outcomes for over 400,000 households since 2002. However, the document also notes ongoing challenges in addressing diversity, providing health support, expanding the livestock sector, and securing further investment.
Agricultural research does not always clearly reduce poverty according to the evidence presented. While increasing food production could help reduce hunger, poverty is ultimately a problem of lack of income. The impact of new technologies on poor farmers and laborers depends on factors like access to inputs, land ownership, and effects on food prices. Past examples like the Green Revolution showed both benefits and unintended consequences that varied between individuals. The profile and economic context of the poor in Africa today is more diverse than in the past, requiring nuanced approaches from agricultural research that support broader economic transformation and growth.
Dr. James Kinyangi, the Regional Program Leader for CCAFS, presented the findings of the loss and damage study. In his preamble, James pointed out that Mozambique is unique in Eastern and Southern Africa especially when it comes to understanding climate change and climate variability.
Preliminary results focus on impacts on crop production but livestock and fisheries are also recognized as key production activities. Major findings from the study reveal that flood and drought severely affected the households surveyed, with 86% of the households severely affected by flood while 84% of the households were severely affected by drought. Furthermore, despite adopting coping strategies, 48% of households reported that they still suffered the negative effects of flood, while 77% indicated that their coping strategies did not prevent adverse effects of drought.
Mobilizing Youth within Phase 2 CGIAR CRPsIFPRI-PIM
Joint presentation by CIRAD Research Director Bruno Losch and PIM Director Karen Brooks at the CGIAR workshop on youth in agriculture and its role in the second phase of CGIAR. Research Programs (CRPs).
CGIAR Consortium Office, Montpellier, September 8-9, 2015.
Organizing for our Collective Success Presented by the National Young Farmers...DiegoFooter
The National Young Farmers Coalition is a nonprofit organization with 26 chapters across the United States that advocates for and supports young and beginning farmers. The coalition focuses on addressing issues related to access to land, capital, markets, and other resources faced by young farmers through grassroots organizing, policy advocacy, and leadership development programs. Membership has grown in recent years and includes over 1,000 members across its email list, Facebook page, and dues-paying members.
A presentation by Cheryl Morden from the 2009 BASIS Conference on "Escaping Poverty Traps: Connecting the Chronically Poor to the Economic Growth Agenda."
1) Agricultural research is a key factor for agricultural development but is only one of many factors that influence rural prosperity. Understanding rural and territorial development as well as the rural-urban interface is important for rethinking agricultural research pathways.
2) Partnerships are needed for agricultural research to have impact on reducing rural poverty since pathways to impact are long, wide, and involve many other public, private, and civil society actors.
3) Agricultural research must be rethought to engage with national sustainable food systems at the rural-urban interface where many opportunities and challenges exist due to urbanization, diet changes, and food market transformations.
This document discusses pathways for reducing rural poverty in West and Central Africa through agricultural research and development. It outlines that agricultural growth can reduce poverty by raising farm incomes and generating employment. However, challenges remain, including barriers that can prevent the poor from benefitting from increased agricultural productivity. The document argues that multidimensional, multisector partnerships are needed to address the complex and diverse causes of rural poverty in sustainable ways. Agricultural research must work with other sectors and take smallholder farmers' needs into account to promote inclusive rural prosperity.
The document discusses BRAC's Targeting the Ultra Poor (TUP) program in Bangladesh, which aims to assist the country's 3 million ultra poor households living in extreme poverty. The TUP program provides enterprise development training, asset transfers, stipends, health support, and community mobilization to help ultra poor households improve their livelihoods and access development services. Evaluation data shows the program has helped increase income, savings, and food security while improving health, knowledge of rights, and social outcomes for over 400,000 households since 2002. However, the document also notes ongoing challenges in addressing diversity, providing health support, expanding the livestock sector, and securing further investment.
Agricultural research does not always clearly reduce poverty according to the evidence presented. While increasing food production could help reduce hunger, poverty is ultimately a problem of lack of income. The impact of new technologies on poor farmers and laborers depends on factors like access to inputs, land ownership, and effects on food prices. Past examples like the Green Revolution showed both benefits and unintended consequences that varied between individuals. The profile and economic context of the poor in Africa today is more diverse than in the past, requiring nuanced approaches from agricultural research that support broader economic transformation and growth.
Dr. James Kinyangi, the Regional Program Leader for CCAFS, presented the findings of the loss and damage study. In his preamble, James pointed out that Mozambique is unique in Eastern and Southern Africa especially when it comes to understanding climate change and climate variability.
Preliminary results focus on impacts on crop production but livestock and fisheries are also recognized as key production activities. Major findings from the study reveal that flood and drought severely affected the households surveyed, with 86% of the households severely affected by flood while 84% of the households were severely affected by drought. Furthermore, despite adopting coping strategies, 48% of households reported that they still suffered the negative effects of flood, while 77% indicated that their coping strategies did not prevent adverse effects of drought.
Mobilizing Youth within Phase 2 CGIAR CRPsIFPRI-PIM
Joint presentation by CIRAD Research Director Bruno Losch and PIM Director Karen Brooks at the CGIAR workshop on youth in agriculture and its role in the second phase of CGIAR. Research Programs (CRPs).
CGIAR Consortium Office, Montpellier, September 8-9, 2015.
This document outlines a framework for developing a sustainable food system in Southwestern Ontario. It discusses outcomes such as new jobs, economic opportunities for entrepreneurs, and prosperity for rural communities. Research covered food distribution systems, purchaser demands, alternative models, and mapping of soil types and crop values by county. The proposed framework establishes sustainable food clusters in each county, aggregated distribution systems, and a network of clusters. Next steps include action planning teams in each county to create customized cluster plans leveraging existing initiatives. Support for the sustainable food system includes knowledge, facilitation, collaboration, and advocacy.
1) Ontario generates over 9 million tonnes of organic waste annually, much of which ends up in landfills.
2) Seacliff Energy processes 30,000 tonnes of organic waste through anaerobic digestion annually to produce renewable energy. This powers over 1,200 homes and heats greenhouses.
3) Expanding anaerobic digestion in Ontario could process organic waste from over 300 facilities to power 360,000 homes, provide nutrients for 500,000 acres of corn, and heat 1,600 acres of greenhouses. However, barriers like grid access and public opposition need to be addressed.
Strategies (beyond food charters) for developing meaningful food policy: Expe...BringFoodHome
Food systems thinking in Waterloo Region has focused on citizen engagement and participation in policy making through collaboration and adaptive governance. Key strategies have included establishing a regional food systems roundtable in 2007 for collaboration, incorporating food-related policies into the 2009 Regional Official Plan and 2013 Regional Food Charter through adaptive governance, and conducting policy gap analyses to identify supportive and unsupportive municipal policies regarding issues like access to healthy food, urban agriculture, and temporary farmers markets. Ongoing efforts focus on improving municipal policy and increasing community engagement around the food charter.
This document provides an overview of Everdale, an organic farm and educational organization located in Ontario, Canada. Everdale operates two farms totaling 63 acres and provides hands-on farming education programs to build healthy local communities. Key aspects of Everdale's operations include:
- Operating organic vegetable, greenhouse and livestock production on the farms
- Engaging 7500 local students through an 8-acre community farm and farm education programs
- Employing 8 full-time staff and 6 paid farmers to operate the farms and programs
- Hosting internships, farm camps and school programs that teach students about farming and food.
This document summarizes a project that aims to ensure the sustainability of forest food systems in northern Ontario. The project conducts research on the role of forest and freshwater foods (FFWF) in communities, educates on sustainable harvesting practices and food options, and advocates for the conservation of ecological systems that support FFWFs. A survey is being conducted to understand the nature and extent of FFWF use in northern Ontario, including what plants, animals and fish are used, how much and how often, and people's motivations. Preliminary results found that hunting, fishing and gathering are important community activities, and FFWFs provide income supplementation for over 70% engaged in hunting and fishing. Respondents also expressed concerns about habitat
This document discusses challenges and opportunities for increasing local food distribution in schools and other institutions. It outlines the complex decision-making structures that determine food purchasing in different organizational models like board of education systems, independent operators, and corporate chains. Successfully increasing local food requires making the ordering and supply process easier for these overburdened buyers by acting as a one-stop-shop distributor and helping customers who want locally-sourced options.
Growing Community Gardens in Waterloo RegionBringFoodHome
The document outlines the steps taken to grow community gardens in Waterloo Region, including holding a policy workshop in 1997, developing partnerships until 2009, adding provisions to the Regional Official Plan in 2009, and incorporating policies into municipal official plans between 2011 and 2014. It recommends policy implementations such as including gardens in new developments, updating zoning bylaws, creating an inventory, providing incentives, and education efforts. The overall goal was to build healthy and supportive communities through community gardens.
The Centre for Social Innovation is a non-profit organization in Toronto, Canada that provides shared workspace, resources, and community for other non-profits and social ventures. It started in 2004 with 5,000 square feet of space and has since expanded multiple times, reaching over 300 members by 2010 and over 625 organizations as members currently. In 2010, the Centre became the first non-profit in Canada to issue community bonds, raising $2 million to purchase a 36,000 square foot building. The bonds are an accessible form of investment open to unaccredited investors. The Centre uses this community bond model and other programs like crowdfunding and microloans to support social entrepreneurs and help them access funding to grow
Food in the Curriculum Ontario Agri-Food Education Inc.BringFoodHome
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive functioning. Exercise boosts blood flow, releases endorphins, and promotes changes in the brain which help enhance one's emotional well-being and mental clarity.
The Unemployed Help Centre runs a Food Rescue Program that collects unsold food from farms and businesses that would otherwise go to waste. The program has three key components: 1) a refrigerated truck to collect fresh produce, 2) a state-of-the-art community kitchen to prepare and package the food, and 3) a mobile food bank to distribute the food. Since starting in 2012, the program has rescued over 2 million pounds of food. Through partnerships with schools and organizations like the Victorian Order of Nurses, the rescued food is used to prepare meals and snacks for food banks, after-school programs, and seniors. The program has been recognized with several awards for its innovative approach to reducing hunger and
Impact: A Social Enterprise Strategy for OntarioBringFoodHome
Ontario launched its Impact social enterprise strategy to support the growth of its 10,000 social enterprises and create 1,600 new jobs. The $25 million strategy has four pillars: 1) connecting social enterprises through a new Office for Social Enterprise; 2) building their brand; 3) creating a vibrant social finance marketplace; and 4) delivering innovative supports. This includes new funding, legislation, procurement programs, and promoting platforms like Social Venture Connexion to help social enterprises access capital and scale their impact.
Toronto Food Strategy: Food Access MappingBringFoodHome
The Toronto Food Strategy aims to foster a healthy and sustainable food system. It takes a multi-pronged approach, including building networks, leveraging resources, and using both top-down and bottom-up strategies. Food environment mapping is being used to better understand relationships between income, food access, and other factors. Initial findings show lower income areas tend to have less healthy food retail environments and schools are more likely to have fast food nearby. The research is informing policies like the new Residential Apartment Commercial zone to support healthier food options in apartment communities.
Homestead Organics is an integrated organic grain processor and farm supply business that has been operating since 1988. It includes a feed mill, grain handling, and supplies for farms. The business has experienced continuous growth of 10-20% annually but has faced challenges of being undercapitalized initially and the high ongoing costs of growth, which require reinvesting profits before revenues arrive. To finance expansion, the company has utilized government lending programs, grants, promissory notes from individuals, and preferred shares from accredited investors. The owner remains the sole common shareholder while welcoming special preferred shareholders who provide fixed capital.
Fresh from the Farm, Healthy Fundraising for Ontario SchoolsBringFoodHome
The Fresh from the Farm project is a collaborative initiative between the Ontario Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Dietitians of Canada, and Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association to provide healthy fundraising options for Ontario schools. It involves schools selling bundles of fresh Ontario produce to raise money. In its pilot year, 70 schools participated, distributing over 115,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables and raising $128,000, with 40% going to schools and 50% to Ontario farmers. Pending a positive evaluation, the program aims to expand to more schools across Ontario.
The evaluation of an intermediate impact on organizational performance allows to explain a program’s success or failure, which can be more important than identifying ultimate outcomes at the farm-household level (as in this case).
The Imperative of Extension: Lessons from Recent MEAS ExperienceMEAS
This document summarizes the key points from a presentation on lessons learned from recent experiences strengthening agricultural extension services. It argues that investing in extension is critical to reducing rural poverty and increasing agricultural productivity. It highlights several country examples where strengthened extension contributed to agricultural growth, poverty reduction, and improved nutrition outcomes. It also identifies some common challenges facing extension systems, such as weak research linkages, low and unpredictable financing, and lack of coordination among actors. Overall it advocates for continued efforts to strengthen extension through policies that enable pluralism, improve human and institutional capacity, and foster partnerships.
This document outlines a framework for developing a sustainable food system in Southwestern Ontario. It discusses outcomes such as new jobs, economic opportunities for entrepreneurs, and prosperity for rural communities. Research covered food distribution systems, purchaser demands, alternative models, and mapping of soil types and crop values by county. The proposed framework establishes sustainable food clusters in each county, aggregated distribution systems, and a network of clusters. Next steps include action planning teams in each county to create customized cluster plans leveraging existing initiatives. Support for the sustainable food system includes knowledge, facilitation, collaboration, and advocacy.
1) Ontario generates over 9 million tonnes of organic waste annually, much of which ends up in landfills.
2) Seacliff Energy processes 30,000 tonnes of organic waste through anaerobic digestion annually to produce renewable energy. This powers over 1,200 homes and heats greenhouses.
3) Expanding anaerobic digestion in Ontario could process organic waste from over 300 facilities to power 360,000 homes, provide nutrients for 500,000 acres of corn, and heat 1,600 acres of greenhouses. However, barriers like grid access and public opposition need to be addressed.
Strategies (beyond food charters) for developing meaningful food policy: Expe...BringFoodHome
Food systems thinking in Waterloo Region has focused on citizen engagement and participation in policy making through collaboration and adaptive governance. Key strategies have included establishing a regional food systems roundtable in 2007 for collaboration, incorporating food-related policies into the 2009 Regional Official Plan and 2013 Regional Food Charter through adaptive governance, and conducting policy gap analyses to identify supportive and unsupportive municipal policies regarding issues like access to healthy food, urban agriculture, and temporary farmers markets. Ongoing efforts focus on improving municipal policy and increasing community engagement around the food charter.
This document provides an overview of Everdale, an organic farm and educational organization located in Ontario, Canada. Everdale operates two farms totaling 63 acres and provides hands-on farming education programs to build healthy local communities. Key aspects of Everdale's operations include:
- Operating organic vegetable, greenhouse and livestock production on the farms
- Engaging 7500 local students through an 8-acre community farm and farm education programs
- Employing 8 full-time staff and 6 paid farmers to operate the farms and programs
- Hosting internships, farm camps and school programs that teach students about farming and food.
This document summarizes a project that aims to ensure the sustainability of forest food systems in northern Ontario. The project conducts research on the role of forest and freshwater foods (FFWF) in communities, educates on sustainable harvesting practices and food options, and advocates for the conservation of ecological systems that support FFWFs. A survey is being conducted to understand the nature and extent of FFWF use in northern Ontario, including what plants, animals and fish are used, how much and how often, and people's motivations. Preliminary results found that hunting, fishing and gathering are important community activities, and FFWFs provide income supplementation for over 70% engaged in hunting and fishing. Respondents also expressed concerns about habitat
This document discusses challenges and opportunities for increasing local food distribution in schools and other institutions. It outlines the complex decision-making structures that determine food purchasing in different organizational models like board of education systems, independent operators, and corporate chains. Successfully increasing local food requires making the ordering and supply process easier for these overburdened buyers by acting as a one-stop-shop distributor and helping customers who want locally-sourced options.
Growing Community Gardens in Waterloo RegionBringFoodHome
The document outlines the steps taken to grow community gardens in Waterloo Region, including holding a policy workshop in 1997, developing partnerships until 2009, adding provisions to the Regional Official Plan in 2009, and incorporating policies into municipal official plans between 2011 and 2014. It recommends policy implementations such as including gardens in new developments, updating zoning bylaws, creating an inventory, providing incentives, and education efforts. The overall goal was to build healthy and supportive communities through community gardens.
The Centre for Social Innovation is a non-profit organization in Toronto, Canada that provides shared workspace, resources, and community for other non-profits and social ventures. It started in 2004 with 5,000 square feet of space and has since expanded multiple times, reaching over 300 members by 2010 and over 625 organizations as members currently. In 2010, the Centre became the first non-profit in Canada to issue community bonds, raising $2 million to purchase a 36,000 square foot building. The bonds are an accessible form of investment open to unaccredited investors. The Centre uses this community bond model and other programs like crowdfunding and microloans to support social entrepreneurs and help them access funding to grow
Food in the Curriculum Ontario Agri-Food Education Inc.BringFoodHome
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive functioning. Exercise boosts blood flow, releases endorphins, and promotes changes in the brain which help enhance one's emotional well-being and mental clarity.
The Unemployed Help Centre runs a Food Rescue Program that collects unsold food from farms and businesses that would otherwise go to waste. The program has three key components: 1) a refrigerated truck to collect fresh produce, 2) a state-of-the-art community kitchen to prepare and package the food, and 3) a mobile food bank to distribute the food. Since starting in 2012, the program has rescued over 2 million pounds of food. Through partnerships with schools and organizations like the Victorian Order of Nurses, the rescued food is used to prepare meals and snacks for food banks, after-school programs, and seniors. The program has been recognized with several awards for its innovative approach to reducing hunger and
Impact: A Social Enterprise Strategy for OntarioBringFoodHome
Ontario launched its Impact social enterprise strategy to support the growth of its 10,000 social enterprises and create 1,600 new jobs. The $25 million strategy has four pillars: 1) connecting social enterprises through a new Office for Social Enterprise; 2) building their brand; 3) creating a vibrant social finance marketplace; and 4) delivering innovative supports. This includes new funding, legislation, procurement programs, and promoting platforms like Social Venture Connexion to help social enterprises access capital and scale their impact.
Toronto Food Strategy: Food Access MappingBringFoodHome
The Toronto Food Strategy aims to foster a healthy and sustainable food system. It takes a multi-pronged approach, including building networks, leveraging resources, and using both top-down and bottom-up strategies. Food environment mapping is being used to better understand relationships between income, food access, and other factors. Initial findings show lower income areas tend to have less healthy food retail environments and schools are more likely to have fast food nearby. The research is informing policies like the new Residential Apartment Commercial zone to support healthier food options in apartment communities.
Homestead Organics is an integrated organic grain processor and farm supply business that has been operating since 1988. It includes a feed mill, grain handling, and supplies for farms. The business has experienced continuous growth of 10-20% annually but has faced challenges of being undercapitalized initially and the high ongoing costs of growth, which require reinvesting profits before revenues arrive. To finance expansion, the company has utilized government lending programs, grants, promissory notes from individuals, and preferred shares from accredited investors. The owner remains the sole common shareholder while welcoming special preferred shareholders who provide fixed capital.
Fresh from the Farm, Healthy Fundraising for Ontario SchoolsBringFoodHome
The Fresh from the Farm project is a collaborative initiative between the Ontario Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Dietitians of Canada, and Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association to provide healthy fundraising options for Ontario schools. It involves schools selling bundles of fresh Ontario produce to raise money. In its pilot year, 70 schools participated, distributing over 115,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables and raising $128,000, with 40% going to schools and 50% to Ontario farmers. Pending a positive evaluation, the program aims to expand to more schools across Ontario.
The evaluation of an intermediate impact on organizational performance allows to explain a program’s success or failure, which can be more important than identifying ultimate outcomes at the farm-household level (as in this case).
The Imperative of Extension: Lessons from Recent MEAS ExperienceMEAS
This document summarizes the key points from a presentation on lessons learned from recent experiences strengthening agricultural extension services. It argues that investing in extension is critical to reducing rural poverty and increasing agricultural productivity. It highlights several country examples where strengthened extension contributed to agricultural growth, poverty reduction, and improved nutrition outcomes. It also identifies some common challenges facing extension systems, such as weak research linkages, low and unpredictable financing, and lack of coordination among actors. Overall it advocates for continued efforts to strengthen extension through policies that enable pluralism, improve human and institutional capacity, and foster partnerships.
The document discusses obesity rates and consequences in Utah, with over half of adults being overweight and one-fifth being obese, and proposes a community program to address this issue through education on healthy eating and exercise, support groups, and incentives to encourage lifestyle changes and weight loss. The program aims to reduce obesity rates in Ogden by 50% by the end of 2014 through these community classes, resources, and support.
The National Young Farmers Coalition represents and supports young and beginning farmers. It works to change policies that benefit young farmers through advocacy, provides business services and resources, and builds networks among young farmers. The Coalition has chapters across the country and has conducted surveys that show most young farmers grow vegetables, have diversified operations, and identify with sustainable practices, though few are certified organic. It advocates for provisions in the farm bill that promote urban agriculture initiatives and research.
Natureview Farm, a yogurt manufacturer faces a challenging situation. The management team should come up with the right verdict for the company to thrive in the future.
This document summarizes a presentation on policies that promote healthy food and strong local economies. It discusses how the Farm Bill and other policies shape the food system and access to nutritious foods. Key points included exploring the impacts of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), SNAP incentive programs like Double Up Food Bucks, and the Healthy Food Financing Initiative in strengthening local food systems and rural economies. Featured speakers discussed their organizations' work supporting beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers, regional food infrastructure, and increasing access to healthy affordable food.
This document summarizes research on factors associated with direct marketing of agricultural products in the Northeastern U.S. Regression analysis found higher population levels and median incomes at the county level were associated with higher percentages of direct farm sales and direct sales per farm. However, some direct sales farms were also found in lower income areas, indicating direct sales serve more than just higher income customers. Future research could explore motivations and economic impacts of direct marketing in different income areas.
The impact of lean season food transfers on food security, diets and nutritio...IFPRIMaSSP
This study was presented by Dr. Noora-Lisa Aberman (Country Program Manager, International Food Policy Research Institute) at the Agriculture nutrition event on " Improving Food Security, Diets and Nutrition through Multisectoral Action" on 30 May, 2017 at Capital Hotel, Lilongwe
Natureview Farm is a yogurt manufacturer seeking to grow revenues by over 50% in the next 23 months. They are considering three options: 1) Expanding their 8oz product line into selected supermarket regions, 2) Expanding their 32oz line nationally in natural food stores, or 3) Expanding their children's multi-pack into natural food stores. Option 1 has the highest financial potential but also the highest risks due to competition in supermarkets. Option 2 has steady growth through natural food stores but misses the supermarket opportunity. The recommendation is Option 1 to gain visibility in supermarkets and take market share before competitors.
The document discusses farm loan waivers in India. It provides background on agricultural issues like declining GDP share but high dependency, marginalization of land holdings, and monsoon dependence. It then summarizes the history of farm loan waivers in India since 1990, their large costs, and inclusion/exclusion errors. Critics argue waivers undermine credit culture and have adverse economic impacts. Alternatives proposed include risk mitigation measures, formalizing informal credit, and increasing investment in rural infrastructure and agriculture.
Coaxing profits from your farm - ellen polishukEllen Polishuk
This document discusses ways for farmers to increase profitability by analyzing costs and revenues. It emphasizes the importance of keeping detailed records on expenses, sales, labor hours, and yields in order to understand which crops and market channels are most profitable. With data on costs of production, sales prices, and labor efficiency, farmers can identify ways to boost profits, such as increasing yields, raising prices, selling more volume, or reducing operating costs without impacting quality. Keeping good records provides the information needed to make informed decisions about improving whole-farm profitability.
Transforming the food environment_ Nutrition Resource CentreBringFoodHome
Built environment elements supportive of healthy eating in rural, remote and northern communities by Kim Bergeron, Health Promotion Consultant-Nutrition Resource Centre
Students stepping up to the plate_BFH 2015BringFoodHome
This document summarizes a presentation given by Katie German of FoodShare Toronto about a program called School Grown. The presentation included an introduction, agenda, icebreaker, and overview of how School Grown works. It is a paid work and school credit program where youth are hired as farmers. They learn farming skills and sell produce at a farmers market, to restaurants, and neighbors. The presentation discussed what has been learned, including how youth wrote their own curriculum instead of having it imposed by adults. This empowered students and showed they are already experts in some areas. The presentation concluded with breakout activities and a call for questions.
In 4 Toronto elementary schools, a school garden educator runs garden programs and outdoor lessons linked to the curriculum. At each school, she works with teachers, students, and the local community to design, plant, and maintain the garden. Lessons cover topics like biodiversity, composting, plant cycles, and math/science skills, with a focus on hands-on learning and cooking activities to connect students to where their food comes from. The educator aims to inspire curiosity and learning through engaging lessons in the school gardens.
From System to Strategy in Institutional Procurement_Kathy Berger, Phil Mount...BringFoodHome
'From System to strategy in Institutional Procurement: Reflecting on past success and designing for future' presented by Kathy Berger, Phil Mount and Hayley Lapalme during 'Local Food Economies' session at Bring Food Home 2015
Eat think Vote story_Amanda Sheedy and Francois ZellerBringFoodHome
Presentation highlighting advocacy activities and campaigns of Food Secure Canada, presented by Amanda Sheedy and Francois Zeller, Food Secure Canada, during 'Advocating for Success' session at Bring Food Home 2015
Advocating for Success_Federal Healthy Candidates Campaign_ Amanda Sheedy and...BringFoodHome
Presentation highlighting advocacy activities and campaigns of Heart & Stroke Foundation presebted by Amanda Sheedy and Francois Zeller, Food Secure Canada, during 'Advocating for Success' session at Bring Food Home 2015
"Animals on the landscape - sustainable meat on the plate" presented by Abra Brynne during "Role of Livestock in the Agricultural Ecosystem" session at Bring Food Home 2015.
Canadian Food and Wine Institute Research Centre at Niagara CollegeBringFoodHome
The Canadian Food and Wine Institute Research Centre at Niagara College works with small and medium food and beverage enterprises to provide services including product development, regulatory compliance, food safety management, and access to testing facilities. Through a collaborative process, they help entrepreneurs launch new products and gain technical skills to create jobs in the sector. Students also benefit by interacting directly with industry and gaining work experience, while the program aims to empower entrepreneurs and fuel economic growth.
The document discusses three community garden programs - Hillcrest Community Garden, The Global Roots Garden, and Yes In My Back Yard (YIMBY) - and how they differ in their impact on food security and level of facilitation. Hillcrest has little impact on food security and is heavily facilitated, while YIMBY has the most meaningful impact through providing land and resources with less facilitation required from gardeners. The document also covers considerations around ensuring access to community gardens, including physical access, access to food produced, and access to gardening itself.
The Toronto Food Strategy aims to foster a healthy and sustainable food system in the city. It takes a multi-pronged approach, including building networks among stakeholders, leveraging resources, and using both top-down and bottom-up strategies for change. One focus is improving food access in low-income neighborhoods through initiatives like mobile good food markets, working with corner stores to offer healthier options, and skills training programs. The strategy also explores policies around access to land and infrastructure to better support local food production and distribution.
Cultivating Vibrant & Resilient Communities, One Garden at a TimeBringFoodHome
The document summarizes the history and operations of the Peterborough Community Garden Network (PCGN) and the City of Peterborough Community Garden Policy. The PCGN was established through a collaboration between four partner organizations to establish and support community gardens. The City of Peterborough worked with the PCGN to create a Community Garden Policy in 2010 to define roles and support for community gardens on municipal land, including providing land, materials, and grants. The policy has helped establish new gardens but challenges remain around long-term water access and stable funding sources.
An award winning local food distribution company called 100km Foods Inc. was founded in 2008 to provide a dedicated sales, marketing, and distribution channel for Ontario producers to access over 200 restaurants, institutions, hotels, and small retailers. It acts as a single channel for customers to access products from over 50 Ontario producers through single ordering, invoicing, and delivery. There is increasing demand from consumers and organizations for local food due to factors like freshness, taste, quality, known origin, and environmental benefits. However, distributing local food and meeting institutional procurement requirements presents challenges for small farms around distribution, food safety, approved vendors, reliability, and cost. The 100km Foods model aims to provide a full-service distribution solution
This document discusses adapting agriculture to address climate change and other challenges through holistic management. Holistic management is a decision-making process that considers people, land, and profit by mimicking natural ecosystems. It uses a holistic goal and seven testing questions to plan production in a way that improves land and resource health over time. The document provides examples of holistic management from Meeting Place Organic Farm, including developing a holistic goal, understanding ecosystem processes, applying the testing questions, financial planning, and adapting plans through monitoring.
Generating privacy-protected synthetic data using Secludy and MilvusZilliz
During this demo, the founders of Secludy will demonstrate how their system utilizes Milvus to store and manipulate embeddings for generating privacy-protected synthetic data. Their approach not only maintains the confidentiality of the original data but also enhances the utility and scalability of LLMs under privacy constraints. Attendees, including machine learning engineers, data scientists, and data managers, will witness first-hand how Secludy's integration with Milvus empowers organizations to harness the power of LLMs securely and efficiently.
Fueling AI with Great Data with Airbyte WebinarZilliz
This talk will focus on how to collect data from a variety of sources, leveraging this data for RAG and other GenAI use cases, and finally charting your course to productionalization.
5th LF Energy Power Grid Model Meet-up SlidesDanBrown980551
5th Power Grid Model Meet-up
It is with great pleasure that we extend to you an invitation to the 5th Power Grid Model Meet-up, scheduled for 6th June 2024. This event will adopt a hybrid format, allowing participants to join us either through an online Mircosoft Teams session or in person at TU/e located at Den Dolech 2, Eindhoven, Netherlands. The meet-up will be hosted by Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), a research university specializing in engineering science & technology.
Power Grid Model
The global energy transition is placing new and unprecedented demands on Distribution System Operators (DSOs). Alongside upgrades to grid capacity, processes such as digitization, capacity optimization, and congestion management are becoming vital for delivering reliable services.
Power Grid Model is an open source project from Linux Foundation Energy and provides a calculation engine that is increasingly essential for DSOs. It offers a standards-based foundation enabling real-time power systems analysis, simulations of electrical power grids, and sophisticated what-if analysis. In addition, it enables in-depth studies and analysis of the electrical power grid’s behavior and performance. This comprehensive model incorporates essential factors such as power generation capacity, electrical losses, voltage levels, power flows, and system stability.
Power Grid Model is currently being applied in a wide variety of use cases, including grid planning, expansion, reliability, and congestion studies. It can also help in analyzing the impact of renewable energy integration, assessing the effects of disturbances or faults, and developing strategies for grid control and optimization.
What to expect
For the upcoming meetup we are organizing, we have an exciting lineup of activities planned:
-Insightful presentations covering two practical applications of the Power Grid Model.
-An update on the latest advancements in Power Grid -Model technology during the first and second quarters of 2024.
-An interactive brainstorming session to discuss and propose new feature requests.
-An opportunity to connect with fellow Power Grid Model enthusiasts and users.
Have you ever been confused by the myriad of choices offered by AWS for hosting a website or an API?
Lambda, Elastic Beanstalk, Lightsail, Amplify, S3 (and more!) can each host websites + APIs. But which one should we choose?
Which one is cheapest? Which one is fastest? Which one will scale to meet our needs?
Join me in this session as we dive into each AWS hosting service to determine which one is best for your scenario and explain why!
Main news related to the CCS TSI 2023 (2023/1695)Jakub Marek
An English 🇬🇧 translation of a presentation to the speech I gave about the main changes brought by CCS TSI 2023 at the biggest Czech conference on Communications and signalling systems on Railways, which was held in Clarion Hotel Olomouc from 7th to 9th November 2023 (konferenceszt.cz). Attended by around 500 participants and 200 on-line followers.
The original Czech 🇨🇿 version of the presentation can be found here: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/hlavni-novinky-souvisejici-s-ccs-tsi-2023-2023-1695/269688092 .
The videorecording (in Czech) from the presentation is available here: https://youtu.be/WzjJWm4IyPk?si=SImb06tuXGb30BEH .
Building Production Ready Search Pipelines with Spark and MilvusZilliz
Spark is the widely used ETL tool for processing, indexing and ingesting data to serving stack for search. Milvus is the production-ready open-source vector database. In this talk we will show how to use Spark to process unstructured data to extract vector representations, and push the vectors to Milvus vector database for search serving.
Monitoring and Managing Anomaly Detection on OpenShift.pdfTosin Akinosho
Monitoring and Managing Anomaly Detection on OpenShift
Overview
Dive into the world of anomaly detection on edge devices with our comprehensive hands-on tutorial. This SlideShare presentation will guide you through the entire process, from data collection and model training to edge deployment and real-time monitoring. Perfect for those looking to implement robust anomaly detection systems on resource-constrained IoT/edge devices.
Key Topics Covered
1. Introduction to Anomaly Detection
- Understand the fundamentals of anomaly detection and its importance in identifying unusual behavior or failures in systems.
2. Understanding Edge (IoT)
- Learn about edge computing and IoT, and how they enable real-time data processing and decision-making at the source.
3. What is ArgoCD?
- Discover ArgoCD, a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes, and its role in deploying applications on edge devices.
4. Deployment Using ArgoCD for Edge Devices
- Step-by-step guide on deploying anomaly detection models on edge devices using ArgoCD.
5. Introduction to Apache Kafka and S3
- Explore Apache Kafka for real-time data streaming and Amazon S3 for scalable storage solutions.
6. Viewing Kafka Messages in the Data Lake
- Learn how to view and analyze Kafka messages stored in a data lake for better insights.
7. What is Prometheus?
- Get to know Prometheus, an open-source monitoring and alerting toolkit, and its application in monitoring edge devices.
8. Monitoring Application Metrics with Prometheus
- Detailed instructions on setting up Prometheus to monitor the performance and health of your anomaly detection system.
9. What is Camel K?
- Introduction to Camel K, a lightweight integration framework built on Apache Camel, designed for Kubernetes.
10. Configuring Camel K Integrations for Data Pipelines
- Learn how to configure Camel K for seamless data pipeline integrations in your anomaly detection workflow.
11. What is a Jupyter Notebook?
- Overview of Jupyter Notebooks, an open-source web application for creating and sharing documents with live code, equations, visualizations, and narrative text.
12. Jupyter Notebooks with Code Examples
- Hands-on examples and code snippets in Jupyter Notebooks to help you implement and test anomaly detection models.
Skybuffer SAM4U tool for SAP license adoptionTatiana Kojar
Manage and optimize your license adoption and consumption with SAM4U, an SAP free customer software asset management tool.
SAM4U, an SAP complimentary software asset management tool for customers, delivers a detailed and well-structured overview of license inventory and usage with a user-friendly interface. We offer a hosted, cost-effective, and performance-optimized SAM4U setup in the Skybuffer Cloud environment. You retain ownership of the system and data, while we manage the ABAP 7.58 infrastructure, ensuring fixed Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and exceptional services through the SAP Fiori interface.
How to Interpret Trends in the Kalyan Rajdhani Mix Chart.pdfChart Kalyan
A Mix Chart displays historical data of numbers in a graphical or tabular form. The Kalyan Rajdhani Mix Chart specifically shows the results of a sequence of numbers over different periods.
GraphRAG for Life Science to increase LLM accuracyTomaz Bratanic
GraphRAG for life science domain, where you retriever information from biomedical knowledge graphs using LLMs to increase the accuracy and performance of generated answers
Ivanti’s Patch Tuesday breakdown goes beyond patching your applications and brings you the intelligence and guidance needed to prioritize where to focus your attention first. Catch early analysis on our Ivanti blog, then join industry expert Chris Goettl for the Patch Tuesday Webinar Event. There we’ll do a deep dive into each of the bulletins and give guidance on the risks associated with the newly-identified vulnerabilities.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of technologies, XML continues to play a vital role in structuring, storing, and transporting data across diverse systems. The recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) present new methodologies for enhancing XML development workflows, introducing efficiency, automation, and intelligent capabilities. This presentation will outline the scope and perspective of utilizing AI in XML development. The potential benefits and the possible pitfalls will be highlighted, providing a balanced view of the subject.
We will explore the capabilities of AI in understanding XML markup languages and autonomously creating structured XML content. Additionally, we will examine the capacity of AI to enrich plain text with appropriate XML markup. Practical examples and methodological guidelines will be provided to elucidate how AI can be effectively prompted to interpret and generate accurate XML markup.
Further emphasis will be placed on the role of AI in developing XSLT, or schemas such as XSD and Schematron. We will address the techniques and strategies adopted to create prompts for generating code, explaining code, or refactoring the code, and the results achieved.
The discussion will extend to how AI can be used to transform XML content. In particular, the focus will be on the use of AI XPath extension functions in XSLT, Schematron, Schematron Quick Fixes, or for XML content refactoring.
The presentation aims to deliver a comprehensive overview of AI usage in XML development, providing attendees with the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions. Whether you’re at the early stages of adopting AI or considering integrating it in advanced XML development, this presentation will cover all levels of expertise.
By highlighting the potential advantages and challenges of integrating AI with XML development tools and languages, the presentation seeks to inspire thoughtful conversation around the future of XML development. We’ll not only delve into the technical aspects of AI-powered XML development but also discuss practical implications and possible future directions.
Programming Foundation Models with DSPy - Meetup SlidesZilliz
Prompting language models is hard, while programming language models is easy. In this talk, I will discuss the state-of-the-art framework DSPy for programming foundation models with its powerful optimizers and runtime constraint system.
Salesforce Integration for Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Solutions A...Jeffrey Haguewood
Sidekick Solutions uses Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Solutions Apricot) and automation solutions to integrate data for business workflows.
We believe integration and automation are essential to user experience and the promise of efficient work through technology. Automation is the critical ingredient to realizing that full vision. We develop integration products and services for Bonterra Case Management software to support the deployment of automations for a variety of use cases.
This video focuses on integration of Salesforce with Bonterra Impact Management.
Interested in deploying an integration with Salesforce for Bonterra Impact Management? Contact us at sales@sidekicksolutionsllc.com to discuss next steps.
Skybuffer AI: Advanced Conversational and Generative AI Solution on SAP Busin...Tatiana Kojar
Skybuffer AI, built on the robust SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP), is the latest and most advanced version of our AI development, reaffirming our commitment to delivering top-tier AI solutions. Skybuffer AI harnesses all the innovative capabilities of the SAP BTP in the AI domain, from Conversational AI to cutting-edge Generative AI and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). It also helps SAP customers safeguard their investments into SAP Conversational AI and ensure a seamless, one-click transition to SAP Business AI.
With Skybuffer AI, various AI models can be integrated into a single communication channel such as Microsoft Teams. This integration empowers business users with insights drawn from SAP backend systems, enterprise documents, and the expansive knowledge of Generative AI. And the best part of it is that it is all managed through our intuitive no-code Action Server interface, requiring no extensive coding knowledge and making the advanced AI accessible to more users.
Ocean lotus Threat actors project by John Sitima 2024 (1).pptxSitimaJohn
Ocean Lotus cyber threat actors represent a sophisticated, persistent, and politically motivated group that poses a significant risk to organizations and individuals in the Southeast Asian region. Their continuous evolution and adaptability underscore the need for robust cybersecurity measures and international cooperation to identify and mitigate the threats posed by such advanced persistent threat groups.
Taking AI to the Next Level in Manufacturing.pdfssuserfac0301
Read Taking AI to the Next Level in Manufacturing to gain insights on AI adoption in the manufacturing industry, such as:
1. How quickly AI is being implemented in manufacturing.
2. Which barriers stand in the way of AI adoption.
3. How data quality and governance form the backbone of AI.
4. Organizational processes and structures that may inhibit effective AI adoption.
6. Ideas and approaches to help build your organization's AI strategy.
1. CSAs are growing in number
•
•
•
•
Compiled list of 144 CSAs
Conducted 91 interviews (63%)
Primarily produce
32% supplement their own
production
• Evenly distributed around the
province
• 66% increased shares since 2010
• Only 7% report decreasing shares
2.
3.
4. CSAs are Diverse
•
•
•
•
•
Operate an average of 22 weeks/yr
Average size is 5 acres
range between 3 – 335 shares
58% sell fewer than 30 shares
Average of 19 shares per acre (range of 4-60 shares per
acre)
• Varied approaches to pricing
• Average cost is $29 per week for a full share
10. GFB Overview
• 37 responding GFB
programs
• 57% - rural/urban split
populations
• 27% - mostly rural
• 16% mostly urban
• Fewest numbers of
programs in Western part of
Ontario
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17. CSA
GFB
Economic
Sustainability?
Significant Growth
Concerns
Ecologically
Sustainable?
Based on organic
production
Not clear from the
scan
Supports from?
limited
Public Health,
CHCs, churches,
community
organizations
Market based?
Reliance on sales
Mixed revenues
Staffing?
Sole proprietorship
model
Most have at least
part time staff
Size?
Most programs –
120 ‘boxes’ per
month
Most programs –
less than 250 boxes
per month
Who buys them?
Wide range of people