Among the experiences shared in this newsletter, we would like to focus on Dimitra and its partners’ work in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the field of rural radio and participatory communication. A rural radio and listeners’ club project, conducted in South Kivu province with SAMWAKI and GTZ-Santé, is...

This Toolbox has been designed to assist stakeholders (government research and extension departments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), donors and farmers) in developing sound Conservation Agriculture (CA) extension programs/projects in Zimbabwe.

This publication is a report of a Workshop that brought together people from a wide range of institutions - farmers, researchers, ecologists extensionists, policy makers, donors – from 40 countries who share a common concern about the non-sustainability of ways in which farm land is now being used and who...

Permaculture Trainers Reference Manual.

This paper examines the role of fertiliser subsidies in Malawi, the world’s fifth poorest country. Malawians depend on domestic crops from over-cultivated soils. Recurrent poor harvests have had disastrous consequences for food security, but yields have improved significantly since the introduction of a government scheme to improve access to fertiliser...

This paper provides the results of an international survey of practitioners with experience in facilitating the participation of African smallholder farmers in supply chains for higher-value and/or differentiated agricultural products. It explores their perceptions about the constraints inhibiting and the impacts associated with this supply chain participation. It also examines...

The first objective was to develop a comprehensive picture of each project in terms of its membership, its activities and its internal organisation. The second was to situate the projects within their wider context, which included the local community, local government (represented by officials and councillors of local and district...

Article sur une table ronde au Cameroun qui a rassemblé une quarantaine d’acteurs autour de la question « Place et rôle du conseil agricole dans les politiques agricoles ». L’occasion de débats animés et ouverts, où ont été abordés de multiples sujets comme, entre autres, celui de la définition, du rôle,...

In developing the Scientific Conceptual Framework for the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) Programme, FAO seeks to accomplish the challenging task of integrating perspectives from those sciences that are most directly concerned with conservation and development: ecology, agronomy and forestry, economics, and anthropology. The goal is to scientifically conceptualise...

L’agriculture demeure un élément central de l’économie ouest-africaine, assurant 30 à 50 % du PIB de la plupart des pays et représentant la plus grande source de revenus et de moyens d’existence pour 70 à 80 % de la population, ainsi que d’approvisionnement alimentaire et de recettes d’exportation issues des...

This  study examines the relationship between organic agriculture and food security in Africa, particularly East Africa, which is where the CBTF has been implementing a project on organic agriculture since 2004. Organic agriculture is a holistic production system based on active agro-ecosystem management rather than on external inputs, and it...

The private sector can help smallholders to participate in modern supply chains. This type of collaboration will be critical to agricultural development.

Over the coming decades, global change will have an impact on food and water security in significant and highly uncertain ways, and there are strong indications that developing countries will bear the brunt of the adverse consequences, particularly from climate change. This is largely because poverty levels are high, and...

With likely long-term changes in rainfall patterns and shifting temperature zones, climate change is expected to increase the frequency of climate-related shocks, such as floods and droughts in Sub-Saharan Africa. For farm households, an increase in the frequency of climate-related income shocks could lead not only to lower expected income,...

This study assessed perception of farmers about profitability of vegetable gardening enterprise in Ahiazu Mbaise local government area of Imo state, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was administered to 60 randomly selected farmers in the study area. Data collected were analysed using frequencies, percentages and mean scores. Results showed that majority...

Food aid is a widely debated development topic and such debates have given rise to the existence of two schools of thought regarding its resultant effects. The general belief is that food aid has disincentive effects, whereas the counter belief is that food aid instead comes with contributional effects to...

The Zanzibar Workshop Proceedings consists of the report and the Statement of the Workshop and provides a rich understanding of the dynamics of traditional, indigenous, small-scale and artisanal fisheries and fishing communities in the Eastern and Southern African (ESA) context. The issues covered include: the saga of rights denied to...

Ethiopia’s agricultural sector, which is dominated by smallscale, mixed crop, and livestock farming, is the mainstay of the country’s economy. It constitutes more than half the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), generates more than 85 percent of the foreign exchange earnings, and employs about 80 percent of the population. Ethiopia’s...

The publication of this report will help move the discussions on agricultural mechanization from being on the banks to the mainstream of the debate on agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa. Now is the “Time for a New Look” at agricultural mechanization in this region.

Tthese proceedings synthesise the deliberations of the iii world congress on conservation agriculture held in nairobi from 3 to 7 october 2005. the proceedings are published at a time when soaring food and energy prices have severely impacted on the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers and many more consumers....