One of the five point priority agenda of the Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) is to build and strengthen farmers’ cooperatives and their enterprises that will give farmers a stronger involvement in value chains and increase their market power. Thus, AFA has established a Cooperative Development Program...

This issue of Farming Matters is about food sovereignty. Food sovereignty is a self-organised, grassroots response to today’s problematic food and farming system. Diverse people, such as producers, consumers, peasants, migrant farm workers and urban citizens, to name a few, are uniting around initiatives to regain control over their food...

Climate change resulting in flooded lands, droughts, water shortages and poor water quality has a direct impact on farming in Europe. Farmers need to manage the water on their farms, without compromising farm viability. Concrete on-farm solutions ranging from active cooperation to water sensing systems, multi-functional wetlands and rain harvesting,...

Urgenci, the international network of Local Solidarity Partnerships for Agroecology between producers and consumers (LSPA) and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). As part of the 3-year mutual commitment, the Mediterranean network, including members...

The study (336 pages) contains reports, authored by experts, on the organic sector and emerging trends in all regions and selected countries. The statistics are supported with graphs and tables. In addition, background information on issues such as standards and legislation is provided. New additions to this edition are an...

Número 264 de la revista oficial de UPA “La Tierra del agricultor y ganadero'' -  UPA elabora un documental sobre la difícil convivencia entre ganadería y lobos ; UPA insiste ante el Gobierno y la Unión Europea en exigir más presupuesto para la PAC del futuro y ayudas directas prioritarias a...

Ms. Shazada Begum, President of Kendrio Krishak Moitree (KKM) and Vice President of the Asian Farmers’ Association (AFA), has been honoured with the “RTV Alokito Nari 2017″ (Enlightened Woman) award. This is one of the most prestigious awards in Bangladesh that honours change makers like Shazada.

Between November 22 - 25, 2017 Lebanon hosted the 2nd Learning Journey on LSPA: Local Solidarity Partnerships for Agro-ecology between producers and consumers. Around 20 facilitators from 11 Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia, Turkey, Syria) participated and shared their experiences through meetings and site...

The Toek Thla Samaki saving group Toek Thla Village, Trapaing Krosaing Commune, Prey Kabas District Takeo Province was established in 2008 with 16 members and a saving capital of $40. With the support of AFOSP-MTCP2 through the Farmer and Nature Net in Cambodia starting 2014, the group conducted training and...

How to strengthen producers-consumers relationships ? This activity is one of the numerous exercises to be tried out during Urgenci's learning journeys. The latest of these journeys took place in Turkey 4-8 October, thanks to the support from the Civil Society Team of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Some tasks...

Non-timber forest products such as bamboo shoots are a very important food and source of income for farmers in rural areas of Laos. Sustainable management of bamboo is important for food security, and improvement of the bamboo value chain can help increase incomes for rural people. That is why the...

This document elaborates the outcomes of the Addis Ababa Conference on “Changing Food Systems in Africa: Agroecology and Food Sovereignty and their Role in Nutrition and Health”. The three-day conference brought together representatives of civil society organizations, farmers, fisherfolk, pastoralists, indigenous peoples, consumers, youth networks, women’s networks, food processors, practitioners,...

Les difficultés de commercialisation entravent le bon fonctionnement de la filière dattes en Algérie, particulièrement pour les cultivars à faible valeur marchande. Afin de tirer profit des expériences extérieures, et notamment de celles des agriculteurs des pays européens et des pays voisins (Maroc et Tunisie), de nombreux mécanismes et outils...

Sustainably feeding the growing world population and preventing dangerous climate change are two of the major challenges facing society today. While there is a growing understanding of the complexity of the links between these challenges and of the global degradation of the environment, the contribution of food and farming to...

Civil society organizations, farmers, fisherfolk, pastoralists, indigenous peoples, consumers, youth networks, women’s networks, food processors, practitioners, government, academics and researchers, recognizing that food systems in Africa have dramatically changed over the last century, gathered in Addis Ababa in November 2016 to deliberate the theme, “Changing Food Systems in Africa: Agroecology...

The Agriculture and Farmers Federation of Myanmar (AFFM) saw low participation of youth in agribusiness, which is attributed to the limited access to key resources, such as land, start-up capital, business mentors, and increasing number of youth moving from rural to urban areas as well as to other countries to...

El agua es uno de los componentes fundamentales en la productividad de los ecosistemas. El suelo desde el punto de vista agrícola constituye la principal reserva de agua para el crecimiento de las plantas, por lo tanto debe asegurar el abastecimiento de este recurso en la cantidad y momento en...

A new project, supported by the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) and led by the FAO, is going to give fish exporters in the Solomon Islands an added boost to access the EU market. Solomon Islands’ fish exporters stand to benefit under a new project going live supported by the...

Europe and Central Asia is a vibrant region of nearly one billion people, living in more than 50 countries across 13 time zones, and speaking more than 300 languages. Chronic hunger has been all but eradicated from this part of the world, but pockets of food insecurity continue to exist,...

Formed in 2007, Food Plant Solutions Rotary Action Group (FPS) creates science-based educational materials, which: identify highly nutritious local food plants, explain how to grow them in a sustainable, agroecological way, detail the nutritional value of the plants and describe why human bodies require those nutrients. The resources created by FPS allows people to better...