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...

In this new issue of the bulletin, we analyse health risks to people involved in the food system value chain – from workers to consumers – due to the COVID-19 crisis. Implementing measures to keep workers and consumers from contracting COVID-19 is not enough. It is also imperative to maintain...

Sand dams are a simple and cost-effective rainwater-harvesting technique which can provide a lifetime supply of clean water within 30 minutes of people’s homes. They can save up to 11.5 hours each day (otherwise spent on collecting water) in periods of drought. A sand dam is a reinforced stone masonry...

Dinara Eshimbetova is a wife and mother of five who lives in the south of the Kyrgyz Republic. Her eldest son has just turned 20, while her youngest child is only 3 years old. The job market is very limited in rural Kyrgyzstan, so both Dinara and her husband work as...

Food and nutrition security has become one of the most important items on today’s international political agenda and a serious issue for governments around the world. Despite the availability of enough food globally, over a billion people continue to suffer from the lack of nutritious food. The prevalence of undernutrition...

Samira lives in a very remote village in Kyrgyzstan with her husband and four children. They grow vegetables in a small greenhouse to feed the family. In addition, Samira works at the bakery with 10 other women – they bake bread for the local school. This might sound like “a...

Desde el punto de vista nutricional, los frutos son productos naturales ricos en minerales, micronutrientes y vitaminas, por lo que en muchos de los casos son conocidos por sus propiedades y efectos benéficos en la salud humana. En este sentido, la acerola (Malpighia emarginata D.C.) es conocida como un alimento...

The Philippines, due to its geographical location and physical environment, is among the world’s most disaster prone countries. The country regularly experiences floods, typhoons, monsoon storms and rains, and drought. The country is hit by an average of 20 typhoons yearly. These weather events have serve impacts on the agriculture...

Water is one of the most scarce resources for African farmers. Access to enough water in semi-arid regions is a huge challenge and shortages can lead to the loss of lives and livelihoods in times of drought. With climate change, water conservation will only become more imperative. Ethiopia has one...

To feed a growing population and meet the challenge of climate change, agricultural production must intensify in a sustainable way, and innovation is key to make that happen. A sustainable intensification of agriculture is particularly needed in the tropics, where FAO is involved in the Tropical Agriculture Platform (TAP). Initiated by the G20 and generously supported...