As the unabating drought in Kenya persists, pastoralists in the region are struggling as millions of their livestock perish and vast swaths of crops die. About 4.4 million people in the country are food insecure. International food agencies are calling it a dire humanitarian situation and highlight the vital need to...

The Family Farming Knowledge Platform (FFKP) Monthly Digest showcases the latest contents uploaded in the FFKP to provide its readers with relevant and up to date information on family farming main themes such as agroecology, smallscale fisheries, pastoralism, indigenous people, and more.

A webinar titled « Ressources disponibles sur l'agriculture biologique en langues locales » (Organic agriculture knowledge resources available in local languages) was organised on 14 September 2023 by Access Agriculture Local Engagement team for Francophone partners, especially from the Knowledge Centres for Organic Agriculture (KCOA) in Africa project funded by...

Problem The need for suitable management options in terms of nutrient input, erosion and biodiversity. Solution The use of cover crops in the inter-row can provide several ecosystem services including the provision of nutrients and organic matter to the soil and the fruit crop, reduction of soil erosion or increase of biodiversity Description The video...

La cacaoculture demeure l’une des principales causes de déforestation en Afrique de l’Ouest. Aujourd’hui, via l’agroforesterie, la filière participe à la réintroduction des arbres dans le paysage. Une transition nécessaire, mais qui s’appuie sur des programmes coûteux. En Côte d’Ivoire, des scientifiques ont passé 240 hectares de cacaoyères au peigne...

The systemic approach of organic farming contributes to climate mitigation, supports the adaptation of farmers to the consequences of climate change and increases the resilience of farming systems, while protecting and enhancing biodiversity.  Common practices in organic farming, such as crop rotations and using organic fertiliser, and the fact that organic...

“The Access Agriculture smart projector can transform farmer learning by allowing them not only to gain knowledge about good agricultural practices, but also to put into practice what they see in the videos,” said Blessings Mtembo from CARE International in Malawi, when he visited the Access Agriculture booth at the...

Family-run ruminant grazing systems in the Mediterranean and tropical areas contribute directly to eight of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. For a long time, these livestock systems have been on the fringe of agricultural investment efforts. However, they have undeniable assets to meet...

Carbon Farming is the new hype in agriculture. A proposal for a Certification Framework of Carbon Removals was proposed back in November by the Commission and there is a strong push by the Swedish presidency and French government to make it happen quickly. But can a Europe-wide Carbon Farming program...

Les agriculteurs africains, aussi bien les petites exploitations que les plus grandes fermes, recourent très largement à toute une palette de pratiques agroécologiques. Cette observation controversée vient d'être révélée dans un nouveau document de travail de l'équipe du projet Viabilité.Une réalité qui s'applique à un large éventail de contextes sociopolitiques...

This video explains the organic approach to plant health care, gives insights into the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR), and explains what policy makers need to do to reach the reduction goals set by the EU Green Deal's Farm to Fork strategy.

Fourteen representatives from five Community Skills Development Centres (CSDCs) participated recently in a hands-on training session organised by Access Agriculture in Zomba, Malawi, as part of an AFC/GOPA consulting group project under the GIZ-Empowering Youth in Agribusiness (EYA) initiative.

In Latin America, hegemonic development strengthens agribusiness, whose model follows the Green Revolution with its technological packages. An alternative arises from the growing convergence of two social movements: agroecology and Solidarity Economy (EcoSol), here called EcoSol-agroecology. Their networks build short circuits, bringing producers and consumers closer together and strengthening their...

Research by the Food and Agriculture Association found women are essential to small-scale agriculture, farm labour and day-to-day family subsistence. Slow Food, a worldwide organisation promoting traditional cooking, is celebrating women who grow food and preserve food cultures in their daily lives. According to the FAO, women produce between 60 and...

Here is some excellent advice on how to write clearly, especially for smallholder farmers. Steven Pinker writes charming books on language and on the mind, where he manages to explain complex ideas clearly. He is so well read that he branched out and wrote an optimistic book on violence, explaining...

This year’s Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC) felt more necessary than ever. Gathering in person for the first time since January 2020, the great and the good of agroecology turned their attention to the pressing matters of the day: the intersectional crises of biodiversity, climate, energy and cost of living....

On 25 April, the Food Policy Coalition (FPC) held its first in person-meeting in Brussels to launch its report “Sustainable Food Systems Law: Policy recommendations for a meaningful transition“. The FPC urged the need for a new legal framework for Sustainable Food Systems that looks at the whole food system: from production to...

From the steppes of Kyrgyzstan to the vast plains around Mount Kenya, the Agroecology Fund is proud to support pastoralist initiatives demonstrating that agroecology is an approach that can be applied to different food systems. An age-old, traditional way of life for Indigenous communities across the world, pastoralism upholds many...

Cocoa production has been one of the main drivers of forest loss in West Africa. In the resulting post-forest landscapes, agroforestry has often been recognised as a solution to reconcile the preservation of trees and agriculture. Thus, a large number of tree plantation programs have been carried out in cocoa...

Sustainable public procurement has countless benefits that make it a strategic lever to trigger a change in the food system. Indeed, increasing the share of organic food products in public procurement makes it more sustainable and can generate a positive impact on kitchen staff training, waste reduction, health, canteen budgets,...