There is very limited access to finance for rural communities comprising smallholders, family farmers and Indigenous Peoples. Smallholder and family farmers comprise 90% of the total farms worldwide, and account for an estimated 80% of world food production. The finance gap hinders these rural communities’ effective action on climate, nature,...

Access to external finance for smallholder forest and farm producers is limited, hindering their effective action on climate, nature, livelihoods and food security. However, forest and farm producer organisations (FFPOs) can mobilise internally-generated finance.  This briefing maps three stages and 11 steps that FFPOs use to establish savings groups and larger...

Climate change poses a risk to agricultural activity. Understanding farmers' behaviors is increasingly important for managing climate risks and improving their adaptive capacity. This study aims to identify the key risk-related drivers influencing several adaptation and mitigation strategies by adopting various Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies to reduce climate change vulnerability. We investigate the...

In March 2023, Cyclone Freddy swept across Malawi, devastating a country already struggling with hunger and poverty. But a year on, hope for a brighter future is returning to its farms.   On this episode, you'll hear directly from the rural Malawians who are building back stronger with IFAD's support. Our...

Smallholder farming systems need climate-proofing and sustainable intensification practices such as conservation agriculture (CA), are promising options. However, there is a general perception that the adoption of CA systems in southern Africa is low. Sentinel sites, where CA has been promoted for a long time, offer forward-looking new insights. This...

Gole Nur Begum, a mother of three daughters and one son, has been farming for over a decade. Her journey began with support from an agricultural supervisor from the Department of Agriculture Extension. Today, she cultivates a variety of crops, including vegetables, lentils, sunflowers, and paddy. In her own words,...

What is the future for family farming? This was the question posed in a technical discussion bringing together family farmers, representatives of governments, researchers, and experts from FAO and IFAD held at FAO headquarters in January. The “Future of Family Farming” meeting was held within the framework of the UN Decade...

The earth is warming, and the frequency of extreme weather events have been rapidly growing globally with unprecedented consequences to farming communities. In principle, weather and climate information services (WCIS) can help farmers better manage their activities and farm level outcomes by supporting their decision-making with relevant and usable information...

Rural women in low- and middle-income countries face multiple constraints in accessing and benefiting from essential complementary resources, technologies, and services for agricultural production and participation in the agrifood system. This paper highlights recent thinking around these constraints and how to overcome them. The complementary factors we consider are: (1)...

Este folleto está dirigido a agricultores, técnicos agrícolas y trabajadores de extensión. Tiene el objetivo de orientar el establecimiento y funcionamiento de los bancos de semillas en los espacios comunitarios; ofrece la definición de bancos locales de semillas, quienes los integran y aspectos básicos para su funcionamiento. Además, este documento...

En Nicaragua, Mesoamérica sin Hambre AMEXCID-FAO ha centrado sus esfuerzos en apoyar el diseño y la implementación de instrumentos normativos y de política pública, basados en experiencias validadas y sistematizadas en campo, que contribuyan a mejorar la disponibilidad, el acceso y la calidad de semillas, y con ello a garantizar...

Esta publicación presenta un breve recuento de los resultados alcanzados en el marco del programa Mesoamérica sin Hambre AMEXCID-FAO en la República Dominicana en cuanto a la formulación de instrumentos de política pública diferenciados para la agricultura familiar. Reconocer e impulsar la labor de la agricultura familiar implica identificar los...

In the rugged terrain of Colombia’s Nariño department, where the Andes Mountains cast their shadows, lies a resilient community. Here, amidst the diverse geography and varied climate, coffee cultivation thrives, nurtured by the altitude, volcanic soils, and abundant precipitation. In the heart of this land, we find the Slow Food...

Saddle up and prepare for a journey through the picturesque northern mountains of Puebla, Mexico. After ascending 1,000 meters, you arrive at Rancho La Victoria, a historic coffee farm nestled amidst the mountains...

A comprehensive approach is needed Scientific studies and reports (cf. IAASTD+10 – Herren et al. 20201 ; HLPE 20192 ; STALLOR 20203 ; IPCC 20194 ; IPBES 20195 ; WBGU 20216 ) confirm that a holistic transformation of agriculture and food systems is necessary for sustainable development and to overcome...

La Comisión de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca del Parlamento Latinoamericano y Caribeño (PARLATINO) ha dado un paso crucial al aprobar la Ley Modelo de Promoción de la Agroecología, un marco legislativo innovador que fomenta prácticas agrícolas sostenibles y resilientes en América Latina y el Caribe. Esta legislación, desarrollada en estrecha...

The Business Agroecology Criteria Tool (B-ACT) is designed to assess the degree to which enterprises are aligned with each of the 13 principles of agroecology, as established by the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition. What is the tool for? The Business Agroecology Criteria Tool (B-ACT) assesses...

Guinea recently adopted the country’s first agricultural policy law, which now needs to be implemented. This follows four years of consultation and advocacy, during which Guinean civil society has actively engaged with the government in the drafting of that law. Aïssata Yattara and Macky Bah reflect on how the law’s...

Long-term food security and agricultural sustainability depend on protecting the eco-evolutionary processes that select for local adaptation in crops. Since seed systems structure how people acquire seed, institutional and social changes influence evolutionary processes within agroecosystems. Since World War II, the rise of professional breeding has bifurcated seed systems into...

Agrovisiones is a webinar program organized by FAO with the purpose of exposing voices and awakening visions that expand and transcend the Zero Hunger development goal.