Renforcer la sécurité alimentaire par l’amélioration de l’offre variétale et des pratiques agricoles : tel est l’objectif d'un récent projet de collaboration "Réunion-Comores". Une délégation réunionnaise, composée de membres du Conseil Général de La Réunion, de l’ARMEFLHOR, du CIRAD et de France Volontaires, s'est ainsi rendue en Grande Comore du...

The celebration of the IYFF (International Year of Family Farming 2014) gave impetus to a group of foundations to launch the European Foundations for Family Farming (E4F) initiative, with the support of the European Foundation Centre (EFC). This initiative seeks to raise the visibility of the family farming agenda among...

Conservation agriculture (CA) is promoted as a cropping system that has potential to alleviate poor crop yields in smallholder farming while protecting the environment. It involves maintenance of permanent soil cover, diverse crop rotations and/or interactions; and minimum soil disturbance. CA is associated with crop residue management challenges due to...

Les agricultures familiales reflètent une très grande diversité sous de nombreux aspects. Elles sont caractérisées par une multitude de techniques, une richesse des savoirs et, bien souvent aussi, par une savante combinaison d'espèces et de variétés, volontairement agencées dans l'espace et dans le temps en fonction des sols, des usages...

In this 15 minute film on homestead design, Jacob encourages us to start at the beginning, and to consider the layout of our homesteads - thinking carefully about the resources we have and need, in order to optimise our productive potential with a more integrated design. Key aspects include human...

Le Conseil National de Concertation et de Coopération des ruraux (CNCR) au Sénégal a donné mandat dans les années 1990 à l’une de ses fédérations, la Fédération des organisations non gouvernementales sénégalaises (Fongs), pour mener des travaux de recherche-action sur les méthodes et les outils de suivi des exploitations familiales....

In this 16 minute film on composting and natural fertility, Sibonikaliso encourages us to consider wasting nothing, and reinvesting our surplus to build soil structure and fertility. He takes us through simple steps for making thermal compost which will break down quickly and effectively. With his cheeky all-girl scout group,...

In this 17 minute film on plant and seed propagation, Tholina shares her lifelong knowledge and skills on how to set up an efficient nursery. She tells us about her techniques for seed selection, storage and propagation. And shows us some tricks on taking vegetative cuttings for vegetables, herbs and...

Etude réalisée dans le Nord-Est du Gabon, qui est couvert par une forêt équatoriale dense relativement intacte. C'est une zone peu peuplée avec des villages regroupés le long des principaux axes routiers, dont les habitants vivent d'activités agricoles et forestières traditionnelles, telles que l'agriculture sur abattis-brûlis avec des champs associant entres autres...

CLIMATE CHANGE with uncertain weather conditions constitute one of the main challenges for small-holder farmers in the East African region. Vi Agroforestry works with farmers and farmers’ organisations to increase their environmental awareness, helping farmers to adapt to climate change, increasing the use of sustainable energy and prevent and reduce...

Cette vidéo a été réalisée dans le cadre du projet Cirad "Filmez 2014 Année Internationale des Agricultures Familiales". Descriptif du projet : carte blanche a été donnée à des étudiants partant sur leur terrain de stage  pour y faire un reportage et livrer leur vision de l'agriculture familiale avec leurs propres moyens techniques. Ici il s'agit de...

Implementation Guidance for Policymakers and Investors

The combination of increasingly globalizing agricultural markets, rapidly modernizing local value chains, and urbanizing distribution channels presents African smallholders with considerably more complex challenges than those faced by Asian producers during the Green Revolution era. African smallholders today not only need to produce more efficiently but also need to contend with far more logistically...

Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) has helped people address the challenges of food insecurity and environmental degradation while conserving wildlife and other natural resources. COMACO is one of the few programs that operate at the scale of an entire ecosystem—contributing to increased wildlife numbers, better protected habitats, improved food security,...

Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS) are a simple methodology for teaching vulnerable children and young people about farming, entrepreneurial skills and how to take care of themselves. These schools follow a “living classroom” approach in which the students or children out of school observe the crops throughout the...

The Traoré family in West Africa is prevented from realising its full potential. Reasons are poorly functioning markets, insufficient opportunities for education, training and information, the effects of climate change and poor access to land and water.

The International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) has uncovered well-grounded resolve to place family farmers as protagonists in addressing a number of challenges we face, from eradicating hunger and poverty to conserving natural resources. Nothing comes closer to the sustainable food production paradigm than family farming. The diverse set of...

The weaknesses in the financial and technical capacity of Nigeria’s agrodealers came to light when many of them could not provide the financial backing for their role in distributing inputs under the growth enhancement support scheme. They are also not adequately equipped, organized, or buoyant enough to be able to...

The United Nations declared 2014 the International Year of Family Farming. Although many forms of production were once family-based, agriculture is now one of the few that are still dominated by families. Because family farms are so prevalent, making them more productive could help combat poverty and hunger in many...

The primary objective of this project has been to promote a shift to agroecological farming. This involves rebuilding soil organic matter and protecting it from further depletion, and promoting are turn to productive diversity through intercropping and rotation. By increasing biodiversity and habitats, farmers are restoring the balance between pests...