Food security has always been a major concern for China's government. Up until recently that meant ensuring that enough food was produced in China to feed the entire population, and this task fell almost entirely to China's peasant farmers. Over the past couple of decades, however, the government has shifted its...

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is one of the best examples of a successful, alternative food distribution system, providing real income to producers and affordable healthy food for consumers. Food continues to be grown in peri-urban areas and trust between producers and consumers is strengthened. And China has not been left...

El universo de la agricultura familiar comprende varias formas de organización social del trabajo (que corresponden a múltiples identidades culturales), todas estructuradas a partir del control sobre los principales recursos empleados para la reproducción de los medios de vida. 

How to replace HHPs with ecosystem-based approaches to pesticide and crop management

Researchers estimate that between 44% and 57% of all greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) come from the global food system. Agriculture and deforestation caused by agriculture account for 26-33% of total emissions, is making it one of the major contributors of climate change.Chemical fertilisers are the main source of climate-changing gases. No country uses them more...

Conscious of the need to embed agroecology within local and regional socio-ecological realities, the first Multistakeholder Consultation on Agroecology for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok in November 2015 assessed the contributions of agroecology in a context of climate change, the need to transform knowledge building and research, and made...

Milk and dairy products are crucial for the daily food security and income generation of Afghan families, and women play an important role in the related activities. Since 2005, FAO is implementing the Integrated Dairy Schemes (IDS) Project, with financial support of the Afghan, German and Italian Governments and IFAD....

More than two decades ago in the Irrawaddy delta in Myanmar, farmers began planting two rice crops each year. Rice production increased, but for how long? Depleted organic matter and acidification are now affecting soil health, and farmers who can’t afford fertilizer are seeing their rice yields declining. This is...

Abhijit Mohanty brings us the story of certain tribal villages in Koraput district of southern Odisha that have successfully overcome the challenges posed by denudation and inadequate irrigation and have etched out a path towards food security and well-being.

During a support partnership with the Royal Agriculture University, AVSF conducted in May 1992 in Cambodia, a study showing how high animals’ morbidity and mortality rates were in the villages. Traditional farming practices, sometimes not really adapted, were an important factor, but beyond, the main reason for such a situation...

In the past 50 years, about a quarter of Japan’s cultivated land has been lost, threatening food production, cultural landscapes and biodiversity. One of Japan’s most valued cultural landscapes includes rice terraces. In order to prevent them from abandonment, an innovative concept known as the Ownership System, was devised almost...

This publication is about the work of FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) and its decades-long struggle to eradicate hunger throughout the region. For more than 60 years RAP has cooperated with member countries to help them produce enough safe and nutritious food for people living in...

The brochure provides an overview of sustainable land management and climate change Adaptation in Central Asia and how they relate to the partnership between ADB and ICARDA.

China’s push for more intense farming has kept its city dwellers well-fed and helped lift millions of rural workers out of poverty. But it has come at a cost. Ecosystems in what should be one of the country’s most fertile regions have already been badly damaged – some beyond repair...

With over 230 researchers working in more than 80 countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America, the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) responds to the urgent need for a strong and sustained research focus on the management of forests and trees. Trees on farms and in forests play a crucial role...

Rising temperatures are sure to have a big impact on China’s grain output and food security over the next 20 to 50 years. My research identifies some benefits, but at present the negative impacts will outweigh them, leading to lower harvests unless urgent measures are taken.   Climate change has two main positive...

Amongst the various models for sustainable livelihoods being tried and tested in the tribal areas of India, the Wadi model has shown a lot of promise. Abhijeet Mohanty, Kieran Robson and Rosie Clarkson, find out why and how the Wadi model is doing in the tribal areas of Koraput district...

This research aims to provide the evidence required to help put dryland issues firmly on the development agenda at national, regional, and global levels. Dryland Systems research informs the interventions required by providing international public goods – tools, methods, practices, policies, and technologies – to enhance the economic and social...

November 2015: The AgriCultures Network presents ten inspiring agroecological initiatives throughout Asia and the Pacific. Some have long existed, other have just started. They connect the rural and urban worlds, improve soils, and nourish farmers and citizens with healthy food. They ensure that production can be maintained for the generations...

There is growing interest from the global development community in the role of agricultural research and extension (AR&E) systems to achieve development targets. Despite this interest, many smallholders in developing countries continue to lack access to updated agricultural information and reliable services. In an effort to increase the effectiveness, impact,...