It is estimated that about half of the world’s obsolete pesticides can be found in the former Soviet Union, with many of them stored throughout Central Asia. As an important centre for agriculture, particularly cotton production, the subregion was a heavy user of pesticides. What remain are inappropriate burial sites,...

Current food systems are at a crossroads. There is a strong need for transforming food production and consumption patterns in a sustainable way. One where farmers adapt and build resilience to the increasing challenges from climate change and where nutritious food is available for all. Agroecology provides one solution towards...

This edition of the EU Rural Review tells the story of networking and how it has evolved as a rural development policy tool. The emphasis is on the lessons learned over the past decade of ENRD activity and from the mainstreaming of the networking concept across a range of policy...

Empreender com produtos da biodiversidade da floresta amazônica foi o desafio escolhido por Hortência Osaqui, 53 anos. Filha de pai japonês com mãe paraense, Hortência viveu grande parte de sua vida na zona rural, nos arredores de Augusto Corrêa, município situado no nordeste do Pará, na área da Amazônia Atlântica. A...

The ENRD newsletter provides all the latest rural development news from Europe straight to your inbox once a month. From policy updates to ENRD meetings and from project outcomes to online videos, this new and updated tool aims to provide something for everybody interested in rural development policy in Europe....

As part of its food security and livelihood programs, Action Against Hunger (ACF-USA) has organized seed fairs in rural areas of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to provide farmers with seeds. The fairs have been widely spread and had a great number of direct beneficiaries and vendors, successfully...

Until now, there has been little information available to the international community regarding the state of forests in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Today, however, the UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section has released the first regional overview of the forest sector in these countries since they became independent in the 1990s.

L’histoire des Plantes Aromatiques et Médicinales (PAM) est longue et se mêle à celle de nos civilisations. En effet, depuis toujours l’Homme a eu recours aux plantes et à leurs vertus thérapeutiques. Ces organismes végétaux, grâce à leur "spécialisation chimique" sont capables de synthétiser une extraordinaire diversité de composés aussi...

Turkey is home to a great variety of biodiversity and ecosystems. The country’s diverse geographic features range from the Black Sea Mountains to the Mediterranean plains, from eastern highlands to Aegean coastline, with three biogeographical regions. For centuries, Turkey’s ecosystems and biodiversity have been the basis of sustainable agricultural practices...

La Agricultura es la ciencia y el arte de trabajar adecuadamente el suelo y la vegetación, para obtener los productos (vegetales y animales) que el ser humano necesita, de manera ética, económica y sustentable, o sea cuidando de no agotar el suelo y entendiendo a éste como un “bien” limitado...

Indigenous cocoyams in Burundi have the potential to increase food and nutrition security and contribute to improved livelihoods, but farmers’ capacity to meet the growing demand for them has been constrained by a lack of good quality seed and technical knowhow. The Good Seed Initiative targeted both seed and cocoyam...

The Mainstreaming of Organic Agriculture And Agroecology in the Himalaya Region: Adequate policies that advance the transition towards sustainable agriculture and food systems to ensure healthy food for all, to overcome social and economic inequalities and to protect our environment, climate, and biodiversity, are urgently needed. After highlighting the world’s...

Chagfood is a community-supported market garden supplying a seasonal ‘share of the harvest’ to 90 households across the north-east edge of Dartmoor. As a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm, Chagfood’s customers become ‘members’ and commit to support the farm with an annual subscription. This subscription supports the farm with a guaranteed...

Worldwide, an estimated 3.5 billion kilograms of pesticides is applied to crops each year, and that number is steadily increasing as developing nations are steadily transitioning over to chemical-based agriculture in a misguided and misinformed effort to increase yield and lower cost. The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has...

Today, more than 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas and consumes 70% of all food produced globally. By 2050, the urban population is expected to grow even more. This presents a challenge: urban areas need efficient food systems that ensure food security, safeguard the environment and promote...

April 17th, marks the International Day of Peasant’s Struggle. Organised by La Via Campesina, it is an annual event to remember the 1996 deaths of 19 members of the Landless Workers Movement (MST) struggling for agrarian reform in Eldorado dos Carajás, Brazil. This was part of a brutal crackdown by the Brazilian...

Mihai is an organic beekeeper with about 190 bee families.

Ieva Stragytė is an organic farmer from Lithuania

Too much drought can slow down growth and cause young fruits to fall. Water your okra regularly to avoid slowing down its growth. Get rid of weeds. Nourish okra crops by periodically applying a little compost, well-rotted manure or litter around the base of each okra plant.

The FAO has raised the alarm over the state of biodiversity, which is necessary for global food security, in the first report it has published on the subject.  While it is repeatedly a casualty of agriculture and our nutrition, biodiversity is needed for both of these. In a report published on 22 February...