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The Palestinian economy is severely hampered by trade-related restrictions, high logistics costs, cumbersome procedures and institutional inefficiencies. Operating within an uneven customs union arrangement with Israel, the Palestinian economy has accumulated an enormous trade deficit and overdependence on Israel's economy and has neither could develop dynamic export-oriented sectors nor to tap into larger and more competitive third markets. Over the years, this situation has contributed to slow growth, high unemployment, and stubborn persistence of poverty in the Palestinian economy. A bold reform agenda is urgently required to improve the Palestinian economy's trade outcomes. Immediate steps should be taken to reduce the burden of existing trade-related restrictions and transaction costs. The Palestinian economy should also begin the transition toward an autonomous trade regime, and can exercise control over its own customs territory, in line with its long-term economic interest. It should retain an open trade regime and develop its links with overseas markets. The economic relationship with Israel should be recast in a manner that is comprehensive and exploits the large synergies that exist between the two economies. Such a course will provide the Palestinian Authority with some of the tools and incentives to undertake far-reaching structural reforms. The reform agenda will neither be a simple endeavor nor will it alone determine the success or failure of the Palestinian economy. This note proposes ideas that could, in the fullness of time, and with the assistance of international donors help overcome existing dysfunctions and improve trade-related economic outcomes in the Palestinian economy.

Export Competitiveness --- Trade Facilitation --- Trade Policy

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What is the future for agriculture in Peru? Once the principal source of employment and income for much of the population, Peru's agricultural sector has declined in importance as the national economy has grown and urbanized. Economic activity in the sector has continued to grow, but economic activity in other sectors has grown more rapidly, leaving agriculture to make up an ever smaller share of the overall economy. The future of Peruvian agriculture should concern policy makers, for at least five reasons. First, agriculture makes up an important part of the economy, so if agricultural growth decelerates, overall growth will suffer. Second, an expanding agricultural sector diversifies Peru's economy and reduces dependence on extractives, so if the agricultural sector contracts relative to other sectors, economic growth could become more volatile. Third, agriculture-led growth is good for the poor, so if agricultural growth slows, an important means of reducing poverty will be lost. Fourth, Peru relies on food imports to make up production shortfalls, so if agricultural production fails to keep pace with population growth, national food security could be threatened. Fifth, climate-smart agricultural practices can play a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sequestering carbon, so if future agricultural practices are not climate smart, an important opportunity to help mitigate climate change will be missed. This report synthesizes current knowledge about the ongoing transformation of Peru's agriculture and food system, assesses the recent performance of the agriculture sector with an emphasis on productivity and competitiveness, and highlights opportunities for enhancing the future contribution of the agriculture sector toward meeting the country's development challenges.

Agricultural Sector Economics --- Agricultural Trade --- Agriculture --- Export Competitiveness --- Trade Facilitation

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Help them make the most out of every meeting. Rambling group discussions, tangential concerns, difficult attendees, and unclear objectives can all derail a facilitated event—and often do. But more than just learning how to avoid the pitfalls, effective facilitators ease the way for groups to achieve desired outcomes, redirect them to constructive paths, and rally commitment to action plans. Expert trainer and facilitator Kimberly Devlin has designed interactive half-day, one-day, and two-day workshops to develop the essential skills of facilitating meetings that inspire, engage, and get results. Complete with all the activities, handouts, assessments, and presentation slides you will need to accelerate learning, these programs make planning your next workshop easy, whether you are new to facilitation or a seasoned pro. About the Series The ATD Workshop Series is written for trainers by trainers, because no one knows workshops as well as the practitioners who have done it all. Each publication weaves in today’s technology and accessibility considerations and provides a wealth of new content that can be used to create a training experience like no other.

Employees --- Group facilitation. --- Facilitation, Group --- Social facilitation --- Interpersonal relations --- Employee development --- Employee training --- Employees, Training of --- In-service training --- Inservice training --- On-the-job training --- Training of employees --- Training within industry --- Vestibule schools --- Occupational training --- Employer-supported education --- Training of. --- Group facilitation --- Training of --- E-books

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Competitiveness describes a key ability important for plants to grow and survive abiotic and biotic stresses. Under optimal, but particularly under non-optimal conditions, plants compete for resources including nutrients, light, water, space, pollinators and other. Competition occurs above- and belowground. In resource-poor habitats, competition is generally considered to be more pronounced than in resource-rich habitats. Although competition occurs between different players within an ecosystem such as between plants and soil microorganisms, our topic focusses on plant-plant interactions and includes inter-specific competition between different species of similar and different life forms and intra-specific competition. Strategies for securing resources via spatial or temporal separation and different resource needs generally reduce competition. Increasingly important is the effect of invasive plants and subsequent decline in biodiversity and ecosystem function. Current knowledge and future climate predictions suggest that in some situations competition will be intensified with occurrence of increased abiotic (e.g. water and nutrient limitations) and biotic stresses (e.g. mass outbreak of insects), but competition might also decrease in situations where plant productivity and survival declines (e.g. habitats with degraded soils). Changing interactions, climate change and biological invasions place new challenges on ecosystems. Understanding processes and mechanisms that underlie the interactions between plants and environmental factors will aid predictions and intervention. There is much need to develop strategies to secure ecosystem services via primary productivity and to prevent the continued loss of biodiversity. This Research Topic provides an up-to-date account of knowledge on plant-plant interactions with a focus on identifying the mechanisms underpinning competitive ability. The Research Topic aims to showcase knowledge that links ecological relevance with physiological processes to better understanding plant and ecosystem function.

conservation --- Global Warming --- Climate Change --- invasion --- plant-plant interactions --- competition --- facilitation --- Allelochemicals

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Afghanistan possesses a rich horticultural history, with a number of unique products, such as dried fruit, that are still renowned in various parts of the world. The period of conflict that has plagued Afghanistan for the past 40 years has, however, severely disrupted supply chains and markets for horticultural products and, in particular, hindered the ability of traders and producers to export products to high-value markets. The following sections provide an overview of the horticultural sector in Afghanistan and its various components. Section 1.1 describes the history and economic importance of horticulture in Afghanistan; section 1.2 describes the endowments and infrastructure that support the production and trade of horticultural crops in Afghanistan; section 1.3 presents an overview of the nature of horticultural inputs in Afghanistan and details methods for producing horticultural crops; section 1.4 describes the structure of post-harvest activities; section 1.5 reviews the processing and marketing of horticultural products in Afghanistan; section 1.6 presents and overview of the recent performance of the horticulture sector in Afghanistan; and section 1.7 describes recent and current policies and programs focusing on the horticulture sector in Afghanistan. The report is organized as follows: chapter one summarizes the recent literature on the horticulture sector; chapter two presents the results of the Survey undertaken for this report; and chapter three lists recommendations and next steps.

Agribusiness --- Agricultural Productivity --- Agricultural Sector Economics --- Agricultural Trade --- Agriculture --- Export Competitiveness --- Trade Facilitation