To support the empowerment of South Sudanese refugees, FAO has focused on supporting income-generating and agricultural activities; 7 000 farming tools (hoes, rakes, sprayers, watering cans and wheelbarrows) and 80 kg of vegetable seeds (amaranth, cabbage, eggplant, okra and tomato) were distributed. 

Agroecology is deeply rooted in the ecological rationale of traditional small-scale agriculture, representing long established examples of successful agricultural systems characterized by a tremendous diversity of domesticated crop and animal species maintained and enhanced by ingenuous soil, water and biodiversity management regimes, nourished by complex traditional knowledge systems. Such complex...

Historically, pastoralists have been marginalized, and policies have been geared towards encouraging, and in some instances forcing, their settlement and sedentarization. Misunderstanding of their livelihoods has also led to abandonment of their customary institutions and practices. However, scientific evidence shows that mobile pastoralism is the most sustainable way of using...

Pays sahélien à vocation pastorale, le Niger fonde en grande partie son économie sur la valorisation des produits de l’élevage. En 2012, l’effectif du cheptel du pays est constitué de 10 125 767 bovins, 10 369 520 ovins, 13 760 687 caprins et 1 676 319 camelins. L’apport du secteur...

This video case study explores the challenges that women involved in fisheries activities face on a day to day basis in Tanzania: What successes have they achieved? how can their participation in fisheries be strategically improved? It also explains the strategies in place at local and national levels to counter...

The multiple and complex interconnections between rural and urban spaces, people and enterprises and how these affect poverty and food insecurity are all too often overlooked. Small towns are an important but often neglected element of rural landscapes and food systems. They perform several essential functions, from market nodes for...

Le riz est un produit essentiel pour la sécurité alimentaire de l’Afrique de l’Ouest. La crise alimentaire de 2008 y a déclenché des politiques publiques d’appuis aux filières riz. La préoccupation des gouvernements est d’assurer la stabilité politique en veillant à la sécurité alimentaire des populations urbaines de plus en...

Climate change represents a challenge for rural people in West and Central Africa, causing water shortages and droughts in some areas and floods in others. It impacts both the demand and availability of water for agriculture, affecting the proportion of people suffering from insecure access to water. Smallholder farmers are...

The number of undernourished people in sub-Saharan Africa has increased mainly due to the impact of conflict and climate change with the situation pointing to the urgent need to build affected communities' resilience and to find peaceful solutions that strengthen food security. The prevalence of chronic undernourishment appears to have risen...

BBC 100 Women names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world every year. In 2017, we're challenging them to tackle four of the biggest problems facing women today - the glass ceiling, female illiteracy, harassment in public spaces and sexism in sport. With your help, they'll be coming up with real-life...

The agricultural sector is one of the main contributors to economic growth and sustainable development in ECOWAS member countries. Women are driving forces for agricultural development, food security and nutrition in the region. They represent an important percentage of the agricultural labour force. They are the frontline nutrition care givers...

The present regional review and synthesis for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) provides an overview of major issues and trends in the aquaculture sector between 2004 and 2014 with emphasis on outstanding issues over the last five years. The regional review reflects development in 41countries in SSA for which production was reported...

Sustainable agricultural mechanization (SAM) is an essential input for the development of the smallholder farm sector in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The benefits of SAM range from drudgery reduction to improved timeliness of agricultural operations, increased input use efficiency, facilitating sustainable production intensification, ensuring environmental protection, and contributing to make agriculture...

Niger is a landlocked Sahelian country, two-thirds of which is in the Sahara Desert. Although only one-eighth of the land considered arable, the overwhelming majority of Niger’s households is involved in rain-fed agriculture largely for subsistence. Given erratic rainfall and low soil fertility, most smallholders fail to produce enough food...

ECOWAS is an economic, social and political organization pursuing the vision of an integrated West Africa. The population of this vast economic block is about three hundred million. The demand for meat and milk was estimated at 3.84 million tonnes of meat (12.3 kg per capita) and 19.83 million tonnes...

“Food and nutrition insecurity certainly has a socio-spatial dimension that is highly influenced by the degree of urbanity along the urban-rural continuum and is related to urban, periurban and rural agriculture” reports Dr. Takemore Chagomaka  in a  new study  entitled “Food and Nutrition Insecurity Mapping (FNIRM) in Urban and Periurban...

This Atlas includes maps, callouts and infographics on migration and related topics, including: rural migrants’ profile, main migration routes and migration patterns by countries and sub-regions, numbers of internal and external migrants, domestic and international remittances, main rural out-migration drivers and determinants.

Everyone agrees that inclusion is hard, that reaching the poorest and most marginalised is difficult. The layers and reinforcing cycles of exclusion defy the conventional development project approach. Something else, something qualitatively different is needed. Many organisations, large and small, are tackling the deep challenges of exclusion and coming up with...

World tilapia aquaculture production grew 12 percent annually, from less than a half million tonnes in the early 1990s to over 5 million tonnes in the mid-2010s. Africa accounted for 20 percent of the growth. Yet most of the contribution came from Egypt, whereas in the mid-2010s countries in sub-Saharan...

This video tells the story of Joyce, an inspiring and entrepreneurial Kenyan fish farmer who has overcome many challenges to develop a thriving Tilapia and Catfish farming business. FAO and the ASTF fund are supporting aquaculture programs in Kenya with the aim to increase local fish production to fulfil local...