Hi everyone,

As we are over half-way into our e-conference, a short “housekeeping message” for everyone.

While at a “conventional” conference, we might have a panel of 5-6 people talking on the stage, and a thousand people listening in the room, our SALSA e-conference is different: We provide the opportunity for everyone to get onto the stage, and express his/her thoughts and inputs.

With our current 149 input from about 70 people, we are well on our way to make this an all-inclusive e-conference. But,… we want more! With over 800 e-conference participants, we are looking for ALL input from ALL of you! Your experience, examples and input, is what makes this e-conference really rich and useful.

So, if you have not provided your input yet, please do so now. And don’t be shy. Each of your experiences, examples and input is useful to us.

As a reminder, the main questions are listed below (you can find the full background document here: http://bit.ly/SALSA-background-doc ), so please do provide your input and email it to [log in to unmask] !

Questions: 

1.1.  What are different experiences of small farms’ cooperation in your regions? How has this changed over the past 10 years?
1.2.  Could you provide specific examples of the advantages and/or disadvantages of cooperation among small farms?
1.3.  Are there any forms of collaboration between small farms that work particularly well? Why? How does the size of the farm affect cooperation?
1.4    In what way does gender influence cooperation among small farms? Please share experiences from your region.

2.1.  What are the ways that small farms contribute to the resilience of the food system in your region? Please provide examples.
2.2  Have small farms been more resilient compared to large farms in your region? What were the main factors that determined their resilience? Please provide examples.
2.3  What examples can you share where having more diverse product ranges and diverse channels have contributed to the resilience of small farms.
 
3.1.  Identify the three main challenges which small farms, in your region, have faced in the recent past.
3.2.  Share specific examples of what types of adaptations and innovations have helped small farms to cope with these challenges.
 
4.1.  Within your region, what are the three main challenges that small farms face in the future? Why? Are these different from past challenges? If so, why?
4.2.  To cope with these future challenges, do small farms require new innovations and adaptation techniques?  And if so, which?

5.1.  What kind of food businesses are important to small farms in your region? Which of these are small food businesses? Please also explain how you define small food businesses.
5.2.  Do food businesses in your region play an important role within the food system? How? Please provide specific examples.

6.1.  What are the policies (international, national or local) in your region that affect the viability and development of small farms, and small farms’ decision making regarding the amount and type of food produced and their ambitions regarding market integration?
6.2.  Can you give specific examples of how these policies have affected small-farm decision-making?
6.3.  What are the most critical policies that are needed in your region to support small farm development and increase their role in food and nutrition security in the (regional) food system?

best,

Peter





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