Farming is the bedrock of India’s economy—43 per cent of its population are employed in agriculture. Yet, paradoxically, around 60 per cent of India’s people is likely to experience severe food shortages by 2050. Climate change impacts—including crop losses due to global heating—unregulated use of fertilizers and pesticides leading that degrade the soils,...

The aim of FAO project TCP/RER/3604 was to elaborate breeding goals and plans for breeding and breed development of Caucasian Brown Cattle in Armenia and Georgia and Carpathian Brown Cattle in Ukraine. As a first step, information was collected about the breeds themselves and the environments in which they are...

The report complements the usual assessment of food security and nutrition with projections of what the world may look like in 2030, if trends of the last decade continue. Projections show that the world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030 and, despite some progress, most indicators...

¿Qué manejos realizas en invierno para cuidar tus colmenas? Sigue las tres recomendaciones de Francisco Carvallo, investigador del programa Manejo Territorial de Insectos, y descubre alternativas sustentables para la apicultura. Más info en: https://bit.ly/3iDOmsl

Soybeans are an excellent source of protein for both humans and livestock. But they contain also anti-nutritive substances. These are deactivated using heat treatment. There are different procedures for this heat treatment. One of these procedures is toasting. Usually, this process is carried out externally, not on the farm itself....

Every sheep grazing on pasture is infested with one type of worm or the other. Failure to control clinical worm infestation in sheep can result in blood loss, underweight animals, and death. In the case of hydatid disease, which is a disease related to infestation with tapeworm, failure to control...

Contour ploughing mitigates the impacts of floods, storms, and landslides on the crops by reducing soil erosion up to 50 percent, controlling runoff water, increasing moisture infiltration and retention and thus enhancing soil quality and composition. This practice describes contour ploughing and contour beds which can be constructed manually using...

The centralized plant breeding techniques of the green revolution have yielded good results in more favourable agricultural environments. However, most low-resource farmers in marginal areas have not benefited from these varieties. As an alternative to centralized breeding, farmer participatory approaches using Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS) and Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB)...

The IFOAM International Animal Husbandry Alliance (IAHA) is an informal network of individuals and organizations interested in supporting and strengthening the development of organic animal husbandry. 

The Okavango Delta, in northwest Botswana, is one of the very few major interior delta systems that do not flow into a sea or ocean, with a wetland system that is almost intact. Land rights issues came out strongly during the inscription process of the Okavango Delta as World Heritage...

A prominent leader of India’s fishworkers succumbed to COVID-19 on 8 October. T Peter was a committed organizer and a practical leader with exemplary political acumen. T Peter, the General Secretary of the National Fishworkers Forum (NFF), India, passed away on 8 October, 2020. About a week earlier, on 2 October,...

Carl Sheard is an organic pig farmer (45 sows) in the Pays de La Loire region of France who is experimenting a system of outdoor fattening using diverse combinations of forage crops. Trials began this autumn 2019 which consist of providing a diverse range of mixed forage crops throughout the...

The 1960 UN Conference on the Law of the Sea failed to reach agreement on the breadth of the territorial sea and fishing limits, with India, Chile and Ecuador playing decisive roles. The road to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was littered with failed...

In a world where most of us buy our food from big food retailers with global supply chains, and governments set the policy framework, it might not seem that local authorities have much of a role to play in our food system. However, they still have control of the ‘old...

No dig beds not only save from back-breaking work of digging but also create favourable conditions for microbial life in the soil. In this video, Nasira Habib shares how she prepares no-dig beds to grow vegetables and flowers in her organic home garden.

In this month’s programme we look at one of the most pressing issues facing farming today – that of youth and what’s being done to offer interesting and viable options for life on the farm for young people in developing countries . We have highlights from IFAD’s Advocate for Rural Youth...

Honeybees are susceptible to various diseases, some of which are very contagious and can be easily transmitted. It is very important that beekeepers are able to recognize the first signs of disease in hives and know how to proceed to contain and treat the disease. This practice describes the factors...

Squid pot, locally known as “bubo pangnokos”, is a regular receptacle device mainly to catch squid in coastal waters. The shape of the gear is semi-cylindrical and is generally made of polyethylene netting mounted on a bamboo frame. It is provided with a non-return valve, which allows easy entrance but...

During the pre-monsoon season, between March-and May, some areas in Nepal experience water shortages. On the other hand, during the monsoon season, water excess causes regular floods and landslides. In this situation, activities such as agriculture or livestock, as well as the availability of drinking water and women’s workload are...

Throughout Eastern Africa, pressure on land is increasing. Average farm size is decreasing as plots are sub-divided and farmers struggle to find space on their farms to grow subsistence and cash crops as well as to keep livestock. Many farmers would like to keep dairy cows but do not have...