Located in the center of Niger, Keita Department is a 4,860 sq km plateau with rocky slopes and valleys forming a complex system of watersheds subject to strong winds and water erosion. Plateau slopes covered by forests in 1962 were completely deforested by 1984. As in other Sahelian nations, droughts...

Burkina Faso has few natural resources and a weak industrial base. Approximately 90 percent of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture. Food insecurity is commonplace in many parts of the country.1 During the 1960s, Burkina Faso’s rainfall averaged 700 mm/year. Along with other countries in West Africa’s Sahel, the...

Agroecology is the application of ecological principles to the interactions between human beings and their environment, as well as to their consequences, with the goal of minimising the negative effects of certain human activities. It aims at protecting the environment, ensuring the sustainable renewal of the natural resources (water, soil,...

Senegal, like all Sahelian countries, suffers from the combined effects of population growth and climate disturbances that affect its productive bio- system and induce degradation. This is manifested in different forms depending on the physical environment and production systems in different eco-geographic areas. Several factors are responsible for the degradation...

British colonial rule and the white Rhodesian Government made Zimbabwe one of the world’s most inequitable countries. The Land Apportionment Act of 1930 gave white settlers control of more than 51 percent of the country’s land, leaving areas less fertile and more arid to the native population. Despite the land...

Smallholder farmers in Kenya grow most of the country's food, vegetables and fruit. These farmers face formidable challenges in increasing production, preserving natural resources and addressing the impact of climate change in food production systems. Meeting these challenges is vital to sustained livelihoods and reduction of poverty, especially in the...

The paper reports work aimed at improving livelihoods of smallholders by providing investors, policymakers and implementers with concrete knowledge and tools to make informed investment decisions on small-scale irrigation water management interventions. The projects reported assessed promising irrigation interventions and their ‘market potential’, analyzed which technologies ‘fit’ in major agroecological...

This report is based on extensive research and interviews with several hundred farmers, the majority of them women, carried out by ActionAid staff and consultants in Uganda, Kenya and Malawi throughout the last third of 2009. It is complemented by an extensive global literature review, and our study also benefited...

Global food production has increased by 20% in the past decade – but food insecurity and poverty remain widespread , while the natural resource base continues to decline. International research centers, which have helped drive previous improvements, must continue to deliver new technologies to support sustainable growth in agriculture; and...

ZATAC was requested by FAO to identify participants from Africa and facilitate a 3 day roundtable meeting on voluntary standards and schemes for specific quality products. The aim of the roundtable was to consult with key stakeholders and build consensus on intervention strategies related to voluntary standards and schemes for...

Rural producer organizations, such as farmers' organizations or rural cooperatives, offer a means for smallholder farmers in developing countries to sell their crops commercially. They hold particular promise for Sub-Saharan Africa, where small-scale farming is the primary livelihood but commercialization of food-crops is very limited. Using the experience of smallholders...

Based on the premise that smallholders often get excluded as markets become more commercial, this paper draws lessons from the Cassava: Adding Value for Africa (C:AVA) Project by exploring the main issues and challenges facing extension service partners in five African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi). These lessons...

Peu de travaux ont considéré la construction et le développement d'un contrat comme un processus d'apprentissage des acteurs. Des agriculteurs individuels de São Tomé ont dû s'organiser et avancer collectivement, en réponse aux demandes d’un industriel pour un nouveau contrat de cacao biologique et équitable. Cette construction relationnelle entre les...

Dimitra Newsletter 19 highlights FAO’s strong interest in the exchange and capitalisation of good agricultural practices and in the methods that enable rural populations to access information and communication. The Knowledge Management and Gender programme, which organised a Knowledge Share Fair in Niamey in June 2010, illustrates the innovative methods...

Women farmers grow, buy, sell, cook food and feed their children. They produce 60 – 80%1 of food in most developing countries and, as such, it is women that hold the key to tackling hunger and malnutrition. Yet their needs are often not recognised or understood. As a result, policy...

In the past decade a political and economic crisis has unfolded in Zimbabwe, resulting in two-digit negative growth rates, sky-rocketing inflation, decline in the rule of law and a disintegration of markets, notably rural input, output and labour markets. There has been little or no primary data collection to document...

This report was submitted to SNV Zimbabwe in December 2007, revised in 2009, and documents the experiences of twenty-five companies contracting smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe to produce cotton, tobacco, paprika, sugar cane, vegetables, sorghum and various seed and legume crops in a hyperinflationary environment. The only company contracting farmers to...

This study is a response to a request from those developing the Second Economy Strategy to help identify the key elements of an implementable programme to support the smallholder sector. At the core of the exercise was a set of case studies of ‘best practice’ – that is, of smallholders...

In Djibouti, the agricultural sector contributes just 3% of GDP, and only a few people work in farming. Due to the Djibouti climate (arid to semi-arid) and the scarcity of fresh water resources (~150 mm rainfall/year), only irrigated and seasonal agriculture is possible. Djibouti farmers use diesel engine water pumps,...

The Eastern Caprivi region in Namibia has the highest adoption rates of draught ox power in Namibia. It is also one of the most well watered areas, with high concentrations of people, crops and livestock. The published research documenting the use of oxen in this region is limited, despite the...