Globally, agriculture is facing enormous pressure to produce more food for growing population while it is increasingly getting affected by shrinking cultivable land area, water availability and climate change. With impressive economic growth, homogeneity of diets across countries has increased in the last 50 years and is pushing more and...

As part of our larger strategy to adapt smallholders in drylands to climate change, ICARDA’s science has sharpened its focus on producing more with less in irrigated and agropastoral systems, and sustainably intensifying cereal-based rain-fed production systems through research platforms in Egypt, Ethiopia and Morocco.

Asia and the Pacific is a very socially, culturally and economically diverse region. Trade liberalization and foreign investments have contributed to rapid economic, human capital and agricultural growth, and decreased price distortions. However, the benefits have been unevenly shared among and within countries and between men and women. Export-oriented policies...

The Asia-Pacific region is the world leader in total aquaculture production. In 2012 the region produced 58.5 million tonnes of aquaculture products (excluding aquatic plants), accounting for 89 percent of the global aquaculture production of 66.7 million tonnes. More than any other region, the review of aquaculture production by species,...

The International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) is meant to drumbeat the issues of family farmers before policy makers and other stakeholders in the rural development community. But, it is not only that. It is also aimed at bringing back the dignity of farming by recognizing the contribution of family...

Excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer in crop production in China leads to environmental problems, and farmers’ lack of knowledge is the primary constraint. The public extension system, however, lacks the accountability and capability to deliver ecoagricultural extension services to farmers. Previous studies show that extension staff had little incentive to...

This  issue of Caravan – a collaborative effort with the CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems – focuses on gender related research being undertaken by ICARDA and national and CGIAR research partners across the world's dry areas, reflecting on experience and insights from Morocco to South Asia and beyond. Articles...

Asia and the Pacific is a very socially, culturally and economically diverse region. Family farming remains the predominant form of agriculture in Asia and the Pacific. Family enterprises in agriculture, forestry and fishery production play key roles in food security, local economies, sustainable use of natural resources, and climate change...

This paper explores the situation of women left behind in villages when men out-migrate for work and what it implies for gender relations in rural China. It is based on questionnaire survey data that covers 400 left-behind women and extensive interviews in 10 rural communities. It reveals how the women...

In the literature on sustainability of agriculture, both labourers and workers are conspicuously absent. Here, the sustainability of agriculture has been defined in terms of whether the farm household in question is able to yield an energy surplus when its members and the animals in its possession are obtaining an...

Indian agriculture was transforming from a cereal-based production system toward high-value crops (HVC) during the 1990s. However, food security concerns resurfaced during the first decade of the 21st century, and the policy environment tilted in favor of cereal-based production systems, especially rice and wheat. This paper revisits an earlier study...

The Medium Term Cooperation Programme with Farmers’ Organisations in Asi and the Pacific, Phase II (MTCP2) aims to strengthen the capacities of farmers organizations in Asia and the Pacific to deliver better, improved and inclusive services to their members and to engage in effective dialogues with governments, thereby making FOs...

Farmers in Laos are rediscovering the value of a traditional crop – the bark of the bong tree. Because the once-abundant bong trees are now on the endangered species list, smallholders are establishing profitable plantations to meet the growing demand for the aromatic bark.

Innovation in family farming analyses family farms and the role of innovation in ensuring global food security, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. It argues that family farms must be supported to innovate in ways that promote sustainable intensification of production and improvements in rural livelihoods. Innovation is a process through...

SOFI 2014 presents updated estimates of undernourishment and progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) and World Food Summit (WFS) hunger targets

FAO, in collaboration with other UN agencies, has produced Food and Nutrition Security Country Profiles for many Member States in Asia and the Pacific. These profiles are developed with the aim of providing a situation analysis on the current status of food and nutrition security in the countries. Related indicators...

Governments and international agencies frequently boast that small farmers control the largest share of the world's agricultural land. Inaugurating 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming, José Graziano da Silva, Director General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), sang the praises of family farmers but didn't...

In this study was analysed collection and utilization of non-timber forest products in rural areas of central Vietnam. This is an important issue for better understanding of household-forest interactions in rural areas near natural reserves, particularly in developing countries with rapid economic growth. This research aim was to (i) document...

Zinc is an important nutrient for human health, especially for the growth of children (Caulfield and Black 2004). In 2011 Pakistan’s National Nutrition Survey found that zinc deficiency is high (47 percent) among children under-five years of age and women of child-bearing age. Nearly 42 percent of non-pregnant women, 48...

The objective of this article is to identify the determinant of farmers’ bargaining power and analyse factors that explain the variation in bargaining power. A detailed set of variables covering farmers’ characteristics, assets, transaction types and information obtaining methods is used in the analysis. The emphasis in this article is...