Situated at the end of Zambia’s Great Rift Valley, the Luangwa Valley has ecological riches but pervasive poverty. Poaching and subsistence farming of maize and sorghum are the main livelihoods. Increasingly, families are also relying on cash crops, such as cotton and tobacco, rendering them less able to meet their...

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic together with the socio-economic crisis, lack of employment and high food prices have already aggravated food and nutrition security in many parts of Africa. A green and inclusive recovery should ensure that no one is left behind. Governments, resource partners, the private sector and...

This training manual provides basic guidance for trainers to design and deliver training that will help individuals or organizations increase their knowledge, skills and experience in agroforestry development. In addition, the exercises contained in this manual are designed to help participants foster the understanding and basic skills necessary to support...

Fisheries is of paramount importance in the Bicol region in the Philippines, with its 3 100 km of coast line of various fishing grounds. The region is, however, flood and typhoon-prone and, as in most areas in the Philippines, fishing in the Bicol region is characterized by declining fish catch....

The Vjosa is the second largest river basin (approximately 6 808 km2) in Albania and one of the longest transboundary rivers in the Balkan area. The Vjosa catchment is shared among many cities, such as Erseke, Permet, Gjirokaster, Tepelene, Mallakaster, Fier, and Vlore. Because the waterway has not been subjected...

We do not often express our gratitude for the food we eat to the people who actually produce it, and who make sure that it reaches us. Throughout the years of crisis from 2011, Syria lost its human capital, infrastructure and the resources that farmers relied upon. Despite this, many...

La participación de las comunidades rurales locales mejora la sostenibilidad de sus agroecosistemas. Para ello, es necesario implementar un diálogo de saberes. Los agricultores familiares tienen una visión de la agrobiodiversidad construida a través de una praxis, y mediada por condiciones culturales como la tradición familiar en la horticultura. El...

The spread of COVID-19, and the range of policy responses to contain the pandemic, exert wide-ranging effects on agri-food systems and livelihoods. To analyze the direct and indirect impacts of these responses in a comparative way, the COVID-19 Policy Response (CPR) Portal systematically captures policy responses through multiple channels, including population restrictions,...

The COVID-19 pandemic has focused the mind, and in the context of the UK, raised pressing questions about food security and food resilience – questions now asked by everyday folk as we see an uptake of veg box schemes and backyard growing becoming more vigorous, while farmers of all types...

As supplementary technology in evergreen agriculture, agroforestry technology will focus on the concept of simultaneous intercropping of proven fertilizer trees in replenishing soil fertility and increasing crop yields. Simultaneous intercropping is an agroforestry technique whereby nitrogen fixing woody trees are simultaneously grown with annual crops on the same piece of...

The Philippines are regularly exposed to extreme weather events. Due to its geographical location and physical environment Bicol Region is particularly prone to meteorological hazards such as typhoons, floods, drought, and high magnitude rainfall and related hazards such landslides. Agriculture is one of the most affected sectors especially in the...

Bananas are a staple food in many parts of Eastern Africa. Currently, there is very limited commercial processing of bananas. Most people consume bananas fresh, steamed or boiled. During bumper harvests, farmers sell bananas at give-away prices and many go to waste. A detailed process of making banana chips and...

Crop establishment is often poor in the semiarid tropics. However, good crop stand establishment is essential for the efficient use of water and light, and a uniform stand is a pre-requisite for cropping success. Seeds that germinate quickly produce viable seedlings that are not dependent on rapidly declining moisture in...

Increased soil organic carbon (SOC) has been identified as one of the most cost-effective options for climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as combating desertification, land degradation and food insecurity by the IPCC’s special report on climate change and land.  Maintaining existing SOC stocks and enhancing SOC sequestration through sustainable soil management (SSM) practices constitute a...

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)...

Climate change threatens over 15 percent of Armenia’s higher plant species with extinction. Semi-desert and desert areas are projected to expand by 30 percent, accelerating desertification. More frequent summer droughts and water stress will reduce the growth rate of trees and increase susceptibility to pests and diseases; at the same...

In this video I’d like to answer some of your most frequently asked questions about the Ruth Stout method, and about growing no-dig vegetables under mulch.  

Over the next few months and years, significant thought will be given to the lessons we need to learn from the coronavirus pandemic, its impact on the global economy, the rapid way in which it spread across the global population and the impact it is having on our daily lives....

This practice briefly describes the introduction of rainwater harvesting and the use of gravity drip irrigation on small vegetable farms in Jamaica to address the water scarcity problem farmers are facing. The technology was validated in the parish of St. Elizabeth, which is the leading producer of cash vegetables in...

Evergreen Agriculture is a combination of conservation agriculture and agroforestry practices within the same spatial and temporal dimensions. In other circles, evergreen agriculture is referred to as agroforestry based conservation agriculture or Conservation Agriculture With Trees (CAWT). Evergreen agriculture is being tested by The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in conjunction...