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...

Gender is seminal to agrobiodiversity management, and inequities are likely to be exacerbated under a changing climate. Using in-depth interviews with farmers and officials from government and non-government organizations in Nepal, we explore how gender relations are influenced by wider socio-economic changes, and how alterations in gender relations shape responses to climate...

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,...

The death of the family farm has long been mooted, with the number of family-run properties in Australia dropping by three quarters, over the past 70 years.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13 September 2007. Since then, the importance of the role that indigenous peoples play in economic, social and environmental conservation through traditional sustainable agricultural practices has been gradually recognized. Consistent with the...

Fewer clients, more private partnerships, more cooperative business development, more strenghtened and new groups, more producers being reached directly and farmers' organizations with better networking capacity - in a nutshell, these were Agriterra's achievements in 2014.

As stress on Indian agriculture increases because of several reasons, such as continuous fragmentation of landholdings and climate change, there is a serious threat to livelihood based on farming. This is particularly true for small farmers. Growing rural populations and constrained employment opportunities in the nonfarm sector have caused subdivision...

Formed in 2007, Food Plant Solutions Rotary Action Group (FPS) creates science-based educational materials, which: identify highly nutritious local food plants, explain how to grow them in a sustainable, agroecological way, detail the nutritional value of the plants and describe why human bodies require those nutrients. The resources created by FPS allows people to better...

This guide is based on information from the Food Plants International (FPI) database developed by Tasmanian agricultural scientist Bruce French.  The source material and guidance for the preparation of the book has been made possible through the support of Food Plants International, the Rotary Clubs of District 9830, particularly the...