Agricultural Advisors and Food Supply Assessors

Mission Statement

AA International Ltd is a private company dedicated to providing effective and timely agricultural advice and rural assessments for the better understanding and promotion of food security in rural communities.

AA International Ltd was created in 2005 by our Director, Dr Ian Robinson. It was formed as a University of Wales spin-out company, utilising the knowledge and experience of Ian and other consultants, inter alia from the CAZS-NR (formerly Centre for Arid Zone Studies) University of Wales, Bangor; the University of Wales, Aberystwyth; ACORD (formerly Euro Action Acord) and Dulas Ltd.

Our staff and associates have a broad range of experience and skills that lend themselves to the design, management and appraisal of a diversity of agricultural / food security projects and programmes in developing countries. Our staff have, over the years, worked on a far reaching variety of projects across the globe. This experience includes:

 Emergency and post-emergency support programmes in Africa and Europe; seed and tool supply support programmes; seed multiplication in situ; veterinary support supply and analytical support projets; rapid implementation of innovative tetchnology to improve production/ lower risks

Project / programme identification, implementation, management and appraisal throughout Africa and the Middle East. These have included a wide variety of rural and peri-urban community based projects, covering agriculture, socio-economic issues, micro-finance, gender, HIV/AIDS, and small business / co-operative development.

Extension / training advice and technology transfer to agricultural projects (including crop and livestock production as well as bee keeping) throughout Africa, the Middle East and Caribbean.
Livestock production and management systems in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Irrigated fodder and cereal production systems in the Middle East and Africa. 
Economic analysis of agricultural and beekeeping projects. 

Capacity building, management of and liaison between research departments, universities, international organisations (NGOs) and rural communities worldwide.

It is this wealth, diversity and quality of experience that allows us to offer such a broad range of services to our clients. 

Although we are involved in all aspects of natural resources/ agricultural development, Crop and food supply assessment is one area in which we are highly specialised. Since 1994, our director has led or been the senior agronomist in 40 UN Crop and Food Supply Assessment Missions(CFSAMs) across the world and participated as the senior agronomist in a further 10 UN missions.  We have also conducted two studies of regional grain markets in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

CFSAM crop assessing relies on a combination of imaginative and objective techniques that are based on an in-depth knowledge of the localities and the agricultural systems involved, to provide the information needed to justify and plan food aid programmes.

CFSAMs are undertaken by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and  UN  World Food Programme (WFP) in marginal, disaster prone and conflict zones. In the UN FAO component, they ascertain existing levels of food supply and therefore are used to determine the need for external food aid. At the same time the WFP element identifies where, how and by how much the population needs support. Thus, the UN FAO/WFP Special Reports and Alerts that follow, issued by UN FAO, are critical to the food security of many developing countries.

Much of our recent work has also involved the development of Pictorial Evaluation Tools (PETs) for use in crop assessment at harvest time . In recognition of the need for improved accuracy of rapid crop yield assessments, AA International Ltd staff, in conjunction with the CAZS-NR, have compiled and tested area specific field manuals for this purpose. The field manuals are now being used by extension staff in Ethiopia and South Sudan. 

We would be very happy to discuss developing such manuals for you and in training your staff in their use  


By clicking onto the Regular Clients page, you can find out more about the organisations we have worked with. You can also find out more by looking at the cvs of our Staff and Associates and at our Projects page.