Ian Scoones from the Institute of Development Studies and the Future Agricultures Consortium reflects on some key issues emerging from a recent conference on the future of pastoralism in Africa. His overwhelming conclusion: Pastoralism is "alive and well" in some parts of the continent. But there are downsides: constraints caused...

Funding under the LEADER programme is helping organic farmers Dominic and Alison Leonard to develop a farm shop and to capitalise on the amenity value of their farm. The Leonards run Castlewood Organic Farm, located along the River Nore near Durrow in Co Laois. Dublin-born Dominic and Australian-born Alison have...

Red social en donde confluyen algunas de las voces más argumentadas en torno a diversos temas del poder nacional, con la idea de generar contenidos de alta calidad sobre asuntos como el liderazgo, el proceso de paz, el arte nacional, la innovación y la minería, entre otros. Es, además, el espacio...

Smallholder farmers face climate variability and incidences of drought have been characteristic of smallholder farmer production in Chivi. Drought was the key climate risk in the investigation of the impact of climate variability on the sustainability of agricultural production and development of the community. With regards to climate risk management...

Agricultural educators – whether extension agents from public or private sector, university professors, school teachers or farmers themselves – need to become agents of change. They need to support farmers in the task of reconnecting to the agro-ecosystems that they manage, rather than becoming increasingly disconnected from them. This issue...

O que os sindiactos podem fazer para os pequenos agricultores? Entrevista com Sr. Roque Paulus - vice-presidente do Sindicato dos trabahadores rurais de Santa Cruz do Sul. O trabalho junto a fumicultura tem focado a defesa do produtor. O carro chefe da economia da região é o fumo, o tabaco. O nosso...

Un puñado de empresas transnacionales pretende dominar y acaparar el actual  sistema  alimentario  mundial. Esa es la reciente advertencia que sostienen las organizaciones campesinas miembros de la Coordinadora Latinoamericana  y  del  Caribe  de  Pequeños Productor es  de  Comercio  Justo (CLAC), que están planteando un sistema alimentario más justo y sostenible...

Agricultural Business Centres (ABCs) provide a range of technical, operational and marketing services to smallholders and are the main entry point for MAFFS extension support. ABC commodity focus depends on the predominant cropping system and economic activity of the membership with early emphasis on rice and other food crops but...

Under the Smallholder Commercialization Programme, FAO supported the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program to implement Agicultural Business Centres (ABC) in order to improve food security for the most vulnerable population. This program has involved the Government of Sierra Leone under the National Sustainable Agriculture Development Plan. It has permitted...

Agriculture is arguably the most important vehicle for realising economic development, creating employment and reducing poverty in Africa. In the Eastern and Central Africa (ECA) sub-region, agriculture accounts for about 43% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and over 60% of exports. About 70% of the population and nearly 90%...

Given the accumulating evidence of climate change in sub-Saharan Africa, there is an urgent need to develop more climate resilient maize systems. Adaptation strategies to climate change in maize systems in sub-Saharan Africa are likely to include improved germplasm with tolerance to drought and heat stress and improved management practices....

El papel de la mujer en el agro es hoy más evidente que nunca. El IV Cenagro, de 2012, informa que la cantidad de productoras, 691 mil, se ha duplicado en relación con las 357 mil que, según el III Cenagro, había en 1994. Esta presencia femenina es mayor en...

Agroforestry is a set of tools which farmers can use to increase yields, build soil fertility, raise their income, and boost their food security. ICRAF and its partners have worked closely with farmers for decades to promote and develop simultaneous intercropping practices to address the challenges in soil fertility facing...

The objective of this article was to develop a deeper understanding of the interdependences between smallholder farming and the state of environmental management in rural Malawi. We examined the agricultural local governance framework in Malingunde Extension Planning Area (EPA), its contribution to food security and how it conflicts with overall...

In surveys conducted by the Organisation for Rural Development (ORUDE) from 2010 - 2012, maize stood out as the second most important food and cash crop in Busoga after sweet potatoes. Due to climate change, farmers desired to have drought-tolerant seed varieties, However, lack of formalized maize seed supply systems...

The reason the project was started was the promotion of local products as well as revitalising old professions such as black-smithing, embroidery, cooperage and also increasing profits for local communities of rural areas. The idea was developed by the board of LAG „Podbabiogórze“. Local product is very important both for...

El objetivo de este trabajo es presentar las distintas figuras jurídicas que pueden utilizarse para desarrollar emprendimientos en forma asociativa, considerando exclusivamente los aspectos legales y contables, explicando las ventajas pero también haciendo hincapié en los costos que cada una de ellas implica. Pretende ser una herramienta de trabajo que, con...

La agricultura familiar comercial posee un potencial considerable de recursos productivos y bienes de consumo, y apoya sustancialmente a la seguridad alimentaria y al desarrollo rural de la región latinoamericana. Recientemente múltiples estudios han destacado la necesidad de promover la innovación de la agricultura familiar para mejorar su competitividad y contribuir...

We support both the tradition and the development of agricultural production Along with the associated food production industry; agricultural production is one of the major traditional sectors of the economy. In the area of crop production, the predominant activity is the cultivation of cereals and oilseeds. Legumes, sugar beet, potatoes,...

La mayoría de las estadísticas disponibles que predicen impactos climáticos sobre la agricultura campesina son aproximaciones muy burdas que no toman en cuenta la heterogeneidad de la agricultura campesina-indígena, ni la diversidad de estrategias que los campesinos han utilizado y aun utilizan para enfrentar las sequías, inundaciones, huracanes, etc. Alrededor...