Research and development programs to develop and promote DMC (Direct Sowing, Mulch-based and Conservation agriculture) technologies exist in more than 40 countries, and some of these programs are several decades old. Yet despite all of the efforts that have been made to promote the technology, extensive adoption by small-scale farmers is still limited because of a large number of interacting technical, economic and institutional constraints can block the development and diffusion process.

This report presents the results of a workshop organized by IICA-PRODAR in the framework of the Global Initiative on Post-Harvest (GIPh), sponsored by FAO and implemented in cooperation with the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR). The Workshop was conducted in Quito, Ecuador during the period 19 to 22 March, 2002.
Five sub-regional reports were prepared as background papers to the consultation, covering: the Southern Cone; Andean Sub-region; Mexico; Central America and the Caribbean. Sixteen stakeholder presentations were made by representatives from governments,

The proposal is a study-project type which aims to address issues confronting the coconut industry in the Philippines: demand and supply magnitudes (projections); trade and global competitiveness issues; price determination in domestic and foreign markets; market structures; management practices; and determination of credit requirements and arrangements for the coconut sector, among others

The need for an appraisal of the current status of the post-harvest sector from both institutional and stakeholder perspectives in developing countries is of paramount importance in identifying the problems, potentials and constraints of that sector. This was the rationale for the conduct of five technical regional workshops (Workshops) by FAO in cooperation with the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR).

This report describes the outcome of a Regional Workshop on the proposed Global Initiative on Post-Harvest (GIPh), funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and executed in cooperation with the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR). The Workshop was organised and hosted in Los Banos, Philippines by the SEAMEO Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Post Harvest Technology Center (PHTC), Vietnam, during the period 5-7 December 2001.
Inputs to the Workshop were:

Given the changes that the Post-harvest sector is undergoing, the Strategic Plan brings together and
integrates the parallel initiatives of the three groups:
¿ The Global Initiative on Post-harvest, sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
and implemented in collaboration with the GFAR Secretariat;
¿ The ¿Linking farmers to markets¿ initiative of the Global Post-harvest Forum (PhAction) and
¿ The outcomes of the Sub-plenary Session on ¿Agro based SMEs and markets in Developing