Le Congrès Mondial sur Le Génie Rural pour un Monde Meilleur s'est tenu en septembre 2006 à Bonn (Allemagne) et a été organisé en collaboration avec la Division des infrastructures rurales et des agro-industries de la FAO, avec la Commission Internationale de Génie Rural (CIGR), avec la Société Européenne des Ingénieurs Agricoles (EurAgEng), et avec l'Association Max-Eyth pour le Génie Rural dans le cadre de l'association des ingénieurs allemands (VDI-MEG). Afin de se préparer aux défis du 21ème siècle, la FAO a dirigé 2 ateliers lors de ce Congrès. Le premier avait pour thème principal défis pour une mécanisation agricole dans l'Afrique Subsaharienne et le deuxième s'attachait à l'utilisation de la technologie dans un souci de valorisation et d'amélioration de la qualité. La FAO est un médiateur expert de l'industrie agro-alimentaire, ainsi que des technologies de production et de transformation. Il est à noter en particulier, que le programme des agro-industries de la FAO insiste de plus en plus sur l'approvisionnement pertinent d'intrants sur l'innovation et sur le développement des chaînes de valeur. Dans ces secteurs, les améliorations ont le potentiel de faciliter l'accès des producteurs aux marchés, et d'augmenter les possibilités de soutenir et d'améliorer la vie et le bien-être à quelque niveau que ce soit dans le monde. Ce Rapport Technique contient les résultats du Congrès, et encourage les lecteurs, ainsi que les personnes amenées à prendre des décisions, à tenir compte du rôle important des technologies dans le secteur technique pour le développement et bien entendu pour un monde meilleur.
Experience has shown that a basic prerequisite for successful mechanization of the agricultural sector requires a well-functioning supply chain. To draw lessons for achieving this goal, the FAO Rural Infrastructure and Agro-Industries Division commissioned three mechanization supply chain case studies. The studies were conducted in Kenya, Paksitan and Brazil, and the information contained in them has been used as the basis for the analysis presented in this Technical Report. The main recommendations of this title are aimed at policy-makers in the public sector, although there is plenty to interest other stakeholders, especially machinery suppliers and mechanization service providers. However, the ultimate beneficiaries are small- and medium-scale farmers who are the recipients of the services provided.
FAO is a global knowledge broker for the agri-food industry, including technologies for production and processing. In particular, the Agro-Industries Programme of FAO is increasingly tending to focus on appropriate input supply, innovation and value chain development. Improvements in these areas have the potential to sustain and improve livelihoods and well-being at whatever scale and in whatever region of the world. Within the World Congress on Agricultural Engineering for a Better World, as a preparation for the challenges of the twenty-first century, FAO conducted two workshops. The first targeted the subject of challenges for agricultural mechanization in sub-Saharan Africa, and the second focused on using technology to add value and increase quality. This report contains the results of the Congress, and encourages both readers and decision-makers to consider the important role of engineering technologies for development and, indeed, for a better world.
Many previous publications on farm mechanization, draught animal power, hand tool technology, etc. have tended to be narrowly focused. They dealt with tractors, or with draught animal, or with intermediate technology. The topic of farm power and mechanization also tended to be separated from the actual process of growing crops. As a result, there was a widespread lack of understanding of the topic and there were many widely held misconceptions regarding the essential contribution of farm power and mechanization to small farmers' livelihoods and living conditions. This manual breaks away from this rather narrow approach by putting the different sources of farm power, mechanization, machines, equipment and tools in a much broader context. Farm power requirements need to be viewed with reference to rural livelihoods and to farming systems as well as to the critical area of labour saving in HIV/AIDS-hit populations. No one particular type of technology is advocated.