Household mentoring is an innovative tool that provides the skills and knowledge that enable poor families to improve their well-being and incomes. And, as an IFAD-supported programme in Uganda has shown, it also promotes greater equality and shared decision-making among household members.

Although it is widely recognized that land tenure security is an integral part of agricultural intensification, there is no single clearly defined and universally applicable property rights regime to achieve this end. Countries that strive for economic development and food security through agricultural intensification need to utilize land governance strategies...

La terre est aride à Katikati, village du nord de la Tanzanie. Ici, les nomades Masaï parcourent jusqu’à 100 kilomètres par jour pour trouver un point d’eau. Mais à présent, un puits a été foré leur donnant accès à l'eau potable et une chance de se sédentariser en construisant une...

This study determined the adaptation and coping strategies adopted by farmers under yam- and cassavabased farming systems in Ebonyi and Enugu States in Nigeria’s derived savannah agro-ecological zone. The study uses data from 400 farmers. The likelihood that the farmers engage in some actions to cushion the effect of climate...

Value chain development is adopted widely as a private sector–led approach to agricultural development that can benefit smallholders. The objective of this research is to understand how development organizations are conceptualizing and developing agricultural value chains in Ghana to include smallholders. The study is based on case studies of five...

Gender inequality presents a significant barrier to increasing agricultural production and food security in Ethiopia. The lack of nationally representative sex-disaggregated data and analysis has hindered the development and implementation of evidence-based policies. This report aims to contribute to filling this gap by presenting a gender analysis of the Ethiopian Central Statistics Agency’s Agricultural...

Neglected crops like cowpea, finger millet and yam are important in mitigating climate change in Malawi. This is the message and the main topic of this video. Mr Mwendo Phiri. Team leader, for the Treaty’s Benefit-sharing Fund project PR 219 in Malawi, explains that this is a two-year project that...

A Regional Meeting for Africa on Agroecology for food and nutrition security in Sub-Saharan Africa brought together for two days in Dakar over 300 participants, representing social movements and producers, the private sector, the academia and agronomic research institutes, as well as indigenous peoples and grassroots communities from across Sub-Saharan...

In southern Africa, the predicted 2°C rise in temperature will destabilize farming systems. Coping mechanisms, livelihood strategies and the cost of adaptation options for smallholder farmers are not sufficiently understood in the region because the majority of research is focused on ecological assessment and identifying the vulnerability of households. In...

Representatives of African countries and development partners commemorated the 6th Africa Day of Food and Nutrition Security, sounding a strong call for investments in nutrition sensitive agriculture. The call was emphasized among key recommendations made by technical stakeholders who met in Kampala two days ahead of the 6th ADFNs commemoration....

People who rely on natural resources for their livelihoods are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and are often limited in their capacity to adapt to the changes. Vulnerability to climate change is exacerbated when individuals’ asset base is limited or insecure. Because control over assets is highly...

AVSF is an officially recognized non-profit association that works for international solidarity and that has been engaged in supporting smallholder farming since 1977. AVSF reaches out to smallholder communities threatened by exclusion and poverty, offering them professional skills in agriculture, livestock farming, and animal health. In this way, AVSF supports these...

Nutrition can be a driver of change or a barrier to progress. According to the Global Nutrition Report (GNR), which has been presented in Kampala on the eve of the sixth Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security Conference, there is a need for a strong political commitment, investment and...

This One-Pager describes key findings of a four-year research project, From Protection to Production (PtoP), which analysed the impact of social cash transfer programmes in sub-Saharan Africa. The qualitative studies specifically explored impacts on household economic decision-making, the local economy and social networks. They also examined how the design and...

On 5 and 6 November 2015 over 300 representatives from governments, civil society, research and the private sector have participated in the Regional Meeting on Agroecology in sub-Saharan Africa hosted by the Government of Senegal and co-organized by the Government of Senegal and FAO in Dakar with the opening ceremony...

This first edition of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s Regional Overview of Food Insecurity in Africa was prepared by the FAO Regional Office for Africa (RAF) in close collaboration with the FAO Statistics Division (ESS) and the FAO Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA). This document...

In light of the surge of foreign large-scale land acquisitions (LSLA) in developing countries, concerns have been raised that large-scale agricultural projects could negatively affect smallholder livelihoods. There is, however, very little evidence beyond case studies that support these claims. Drawing on nationally representative household datasets from 2000 and 2010,...

Article annonçant la mise en place par l’Association Diaspora Congo Brazzaville d'un programme de développement des exploitations familiales agropastorales.

Large-scale land acquisitions by both foreign and local investors for agriculture, forestry and wildlife purposes, among others, remain a major challenge for African governments. The Namibian government through various ministries received proposals from multinational agribusiness to develop large-scale agricultural irrigation projects.This study is aimed at investigating land acquisitions by private...

Below are some of the most salient outcomes of the regional Symposium, which itself was a follow up to the International Symposium on Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition in Rome, held in September 2014. Leading up to this regional Symposium, the Malian National Coordination of Smallholder Organisations (CNOP) and...