Worldwide, women make high contributions to household and national food security. This video explores the critical role played by women in agricultural production in Africa.

The issue of agricultural investment is a key one in Africa and how and where these investments are directed is of considerable concern to African family farmers and their organisations. From CAADP to the reformed Committee on World Food Security, enhanced investment for food security is at the top of...

En Afrique de l’Ouest des dispositifs de conseil à l’exploitation agricole familiale ont été développés pour mieux répondre aux nouvelles attentes des producteurs. L’objectif de l’article est de montrer que ces dispositifs pluri-institutionnels peuvent être appréhendés comme des systèmes complexes dont le fonctionnement est fortement contraint par le mode de...

The laxity of young people taking up farming may be due to, but not limited, to lack of farming incentives, inadequate access to productive assets such as land and capital, inadequate infrastructure, limited well-functioning markets, high population pressure on land and inadequate access to appropriate technologies by farmers. In this...

elle a été adoptée en décembre 2010, en lieu et place du Cadre stratégique de lutte contre la pauvreté (CSLP adopté en 2000, révisé en 2003). Son objectif est de «réaliser une croissance économique forte (10% par an), soutenue et de qualité, génératrice d'effets multiplicateurs sur le niveau d'amélioration des...

Sierra Leonean farmers benefit from new business skills. This final video of a three-part series shows how FAO has used EU Food Facility funding to train farmers on how to better market their produce.

'Africa is for sale’ is how some characterise it: there is a ‘land grab’ underway. Others are more cautious, speaking of ‘large-scale land acquisitions’, while the World Bank notes euphemistically the ‘rising global interest in farmland’. Whatever the prevailing terminology and ideologies, there is now ample evidence that large swathes...

Linking farmers to markets is widely viewed as a milestone towards promoting economic growth and poverty reduction. However, market and institutional imperfections along the supply chain thwart perfect vertical and spatial price transmission and prevent farmers and market actors from getting access to information, identifying business opportunities and allocating their...

This is Volume 2 of the study ‘Strategies to Support South African Smallholders as a Contribution to Government’s Second Economy Strategy.’ It contains the accounts of the 16 case studies that comprised the main ‘data’ for the analysis presented in Volume 1. However, beyond their function of supporting the analytical...

Article décrivant comment , à Madagascar, l’association de coopération internationale Fert (Formation pour l’épanouissement et le renouveau de la terre), en partenariat avec l’Organisation Paysanne Fifata (Fikambanana Fampivoaranany Tantsaha – Association pour le Progrès des Paysans), développe depuis 2009 une formation pour les conseillers agricoles intervenant auprès des paysans, et comment,au cours de...

This paper provides an overview of agricultural and economic characteristics of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), in comparison with other developing regions and the opportunities which the medium term outlook holds for SSA’s small holder farmers. Seizing these opportunities will depend on shifting from extensive to intensive production systems. The paper reiterates...

Le projet encourage par des circuits courts intégrés un modèle d’interaction durable, entre l’agriculture familiale et l’activité urbaine dans le pays Sénoufo. L’objectif est de permettre une amélioration des conditions de vie des populations locales et une sécurisation de leur souveraineté alimentaire. Cela passe par l’amélioration des revenus des petits...

This publication summarizes the unique experience of the community listeners’ clubs set up in Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo by FAO-Dimitra and its partners. These action based information and communication processes have proved so successful that Dimitra decided to share the experience. The first chapter offers a brief...

The status and characteristics of the 302 smallholder irrigation schemes found in South Africa are discussed and knowledge on South African smallholder irrigation schemes generated by the Water Research Commission (WRC) over a period of nearly 20 years is reviewed. Themes covered include planning, design and technology; plot-holders and their...

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L) is a major staple food in Burundi; thus increasing its production and marketing has the potential for raising incomes of the farming households. In the country, bean outputs have been declining for decades, yet demand for the crop in East Africa has surged considerably. This...

Despite heavy investment made by various organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa, to promote conservation farming, the adoption of this technology remained low. Therefore, this study was carried out to estimate the factors determining the adoption of conservation farming by smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. The study was guided by theory of adoption....

S’appuyant sur l’expérience des producteurs en agroécologie et sur la capacité de mobilisation collective d’une organisation paysanne, le projet, implanté à Bamako et à Sanankoroba, vise à offrir une formation de qualité aux acteurs, de partenariats locaux et solidaires adaptés au contexte malien : les kiosques alimentaires locaux.

The year 2011 has been proclaimed the International Year of Forests (in brief “Forests 2011”) and it is being celebrated under the theme “Forests for People”. This is truly a remarkable theme. One cannot come close to covering all of it in a single edition of Nature & Faune as...

What is the future for Sub-Saharan African farms? What role can they play in the development of the subcontinent? These are crucial issues which require answers. The issue of feeding the planet has once again become crucial. The first challenge for these farms is consequently to produce more and better...

The sugar industry is the backbone of Swaziland's economy, with annual revenue exceeding E1440 million (US$ 160 million). As part of the agricultural as well as the manufacturing sector, industry, it a accounts for 18% of the country’s GDP. Therefore, the economy of Swaziland is to a great extent based...