The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) shut down its activities in December 2020 at the end of its mandate. The administrative closure of the Centre was completed in November 2021.
Leading image

Trends

by and

For over 34 years, CTA’s flagship magazine, Spore, has offered guidance to smallholder farmers across the ACP, enabling greater productivity and income generation. As a tool contributing to sustainable agricultural transformation, its influence has been widely felt and is well recognised. In this final Trends article, as Spore comes to an end, we review its legacy and how the magazine has evolved from a short technical bulletin to a comprehensive online and print magazine.

Multinational corporations in the agrifood sector are increasingly including social and environmental aspects as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, although significant progress has been achieved in favour of farmers, more needs to be done.

In ACP countries, the use of smart ‘connected’ devices in agriculture is still at an experimental stage. Yet new projects are emerging, and global trends show how this new technology offers vital development opportunities.

Over the last decade, remittance flows from diaspora communities to their countries of origin have been steadily increasing. With government support and agriculture-friendly legislation, agriculture could benefit from this substantial source of funding and expertise.