Agriculture has become increasingly dependent on the use of herbicides and of pesticides, which has helped boost agricultural yield and food production. As a result, herbicides have become the foundation of weed management in today’s arable cropping systems. At the same time, herbicides can have effects on the environment, non-target...

For centuries, beeswax was appreciated as the best material for making candles. Before the advent of cheap petroleum-based waxes, tallow (rendered animal fat) was used for cheap candles and for the adulteration of beeswax. Ancient jewellers and artisans knew how to form delicate objects from wax and cast them later...

This practice describe how cover crops can help to improve the resilience of the crop system against weather variability and climate hazards; and minimize soil nutrient losses. This, in the long run, will benefit the soil quality and hence, all the aspects of farmers' livelihoods related to better crop yields....

This technology describes the introduction of early maturing purple cassava varieties in the Bolivian eco-region of the Beni river watershed. In this area, farmers are used to cultivate white cassava, which has a growing cycle of more than 90 days. Given the long growing period, traditional white cassava often cannot...

Growing mango is full of challenges and farmers should know about them to succeed in the mango production. The more farmers know, the better they will succeed. This guide and short film shows four farmers from the Eastern Region of Ghana sharing their experiences with fruit fly control in mango...

This technology describes different methods on how to better prepare the area for planting crops and manage weeds so that they cannot interfere with crop development. In conservation agriculture systems, this management should facilitate the penetration of direct seeding equipment into the soil and into a favourable environment for seed...

Rice fallows offer a huge potential niche for legume cultivation in South Asia. For example, chickpea yields in the High Barind Tract of Bangladesh normally remain below 1 tonne per ha due mainly to crop establishment problems and terminal drought and heat stress. At this level, the crop remains a...

Na República Dominicana a ocorrência de chuvas de elevada intensidade e de inundações é frequente no período dos furacões, causando estragos significativos nos sistemas de produção de banana. De entre estes, pode destacar-se o aumento da incidência de doenças como a Sigatoka negra. Esta doença causa a necrose e morte...

This practice describes indoor mushroom (Pleurotus spp.) cultivation as a means to diversify livelihoods and strengthen the resilience of farmers in Uganda. Indoor mushroom cultivation was promoted by the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) project on Agriculture Adaptation to Climate Change in the central cattle corridor of Uganda. Mushrooms can be...

This guide was published by the 'Competitive African Cotton Initiative' (COMPACI) in collaboration with other partners as such as Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), AISP II. It is a powerful tool for linking farmers to buyers, in an increasingly concentrated agri-food sector, and buyers to supply sources in ever-more...

This practice describes how small-scale farms can use oxen-drawn for soil ripping in Kenya. This practice improves water storage capacity and the productivity of the land. Conservation Agriculture (CA) is an approach to managing agro-ecosystems for improved and sustained productivity, increased profits and food security while preserving and enhancing the...

The main challenges for farmers in semi-arid and arid areas of the tropics and subtropics are poor food security, yield instability and risk of crop failure. These are associated with the biggest physical constraint to crop production in these areas:erratic and unreliable rainfall resulting in shortages of water. Under these...

This technology describes the introduction of livestock refuge mounds in the sub-Amazonian eco-region of Bolivia (Department of Beni). It is a good practice to increase the resilience of cattle raisers to recurrent floods as well as to ensure water availability in the canals during dry spells. Livestock refuge mounds are...

A seed source is a group of trees growing together from which one can collect seed for multiplication. This may be an identified number of trees in a landscape-farmland/natural forest or a group of trees from which you obtain seeds. A good seed source for trees should provide fast-growing healthy,...

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is an approach to managing agro-ecosystems for improved and sustained productivity, increased profits and food security while preserving and enhancing the resource base and the environment. The three fundamental principles of CA are: direct planting of crop seeds; permanent soil cover; and crop diversity. This practice encourages crop rotation for its...

Conçue au Benin par le projet Programme de Promotion de l’Agriculture (ProAgri), dans le cadre de la mise en œuvre du programme COMPACI chargé de la promotion du secteur du coton en Afrique, la fichier présent illustre les différentes étapes préalables à la lutte étagée ciblée (LEC). La technologie expose...

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is an approach to managing agro-ecosystems for improved and sustained productivity, increased profits and food security while preserving and enhancing the resource base and the environment.Keeping the soil covered is a fundamental principle of CA. Crop residues are left on the soil surface, but cover crops may...

Crop establishment is often poor in the semi-arid tropics. However, good crop stand establishment is essential for the efficient use of water and light, and a uniform stand is a pre-requisite for cropping success. Seeds that germinate quickly produce viable seedlings that are not dependent on rapidly declining moisture in...

Traditional vegetation based bamboo production of four villages of Meung districts in Lao PDR, are being shifted to industrial processing oriented bamboo production. This is being done with the technical and operational support from ForInfo, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland. The project allowed for improved management practices, participatory decision...

Aerobic rice is a production system in which rice is grown under non-flooded, non-puddled, and non-saturated soil conditions. Because aerobic rice needs less water at the field level than conventional lowland rice, the system is targeted at relatively water-short irrigated or rain-fed lowland environments. Irrigation can be applied through flash-flooding,...