Over the past few decades, some countries in Asia have been more successful than others in addressing poverty and malnutrition. The key question is what policies, strategies, legislation and institutional arrangements have led to a transformed agricultural sector, effectively contributing to poverty alleviation and addressing malnutrition. The great majority of...

The Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector is responsible for about 25 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, but can also be an important part of the solution to climate change, through adaptation and mitigation efforts.  As part of its Strategy on Climate Change, FAO is developing the low...

The consumption of raw freshwater fish, a staple diet for millions of people in many parts of Southeast Asia, is coming under closer scrutiny after the detection of a foodborne hazard in several countries of the region, prompting a warning by food safety experts at the Food and Agriculture Organization...

China has made tremendous strides in improving food security for its population, but in certain areas, this has come at the expense of the environment. Faced with the absence of a cost-effective carbon accounting methodology, FAO together with the Chinese Academy of Agriculture Science, the World Agroforestry Center and the...

The Government of Japan boosts the Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO) emergency interventions in Yemen by contributing USD 2 090 909 allocated as part of its ongoing response in Yemen.The “Emergency Agricultural Livelihood Assistance to Conflict and COVID-19 Affected Populations” project enables FAO to provide emergency...

Vietnam has 16,247,492 hectares of agri-forest areas, with a forest cover of 42 percent. Of these, 5.5 million hectares (ha) are protection forests, 8.5 million are production forests and 2.2 million are lands without forests. Income from forestry production reached Vietnamese Dong 23.9 trillion (approximately $1B) in 2015 gaining 7.09%...

The economic impact of COVID-19 on the world’s most populous region is threatening to further undermine efforts to improve diets and nutrition of nearly two billion people in Asia and the Pacific who were already unable to afford healthy diets prior to the pandemic, says a new report published today...

Choosing the optimum time for transplanting is a most essential prerequisite for rice cultivation, to ensure proper and optimal growth of plants and increase the yield and to synchronize cultivation practices for irrigation and control of pest, diseases or rats. T. aman (transplanted aman) rice is planted under rain fed...

Adaptation options to climate variability and change in northwestern Bangladesh need to consider alternative cropping patterns and cultivation practices to support the most efficient use of limited natural resources. Diversification and adjustment of cultivated crops is a traditional adaptation practice contributing to minimize the risk of crop failure due to...

Intercropping drought-tolerant fruit trees into rice-based farming systems in the uplands of the Barind tract in north-western Bangladesh reduces exposure to and risk of drought. It also provides households with alternative livelihoods sources, enhanced food and nutrition security and diet diversification. This practice describes how to intercrop mango and jujube...

MARIKINA CITY, PHILIPPINES – The lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for farmers groups/cooperatives in the Philippines to sell their produce directly to consumers. On 3 May 2020, with the help of PAKISAMA, one of AFOSP-APFP partner organizations in the Philippines, their member organization Kababaihang Dumagat ng Sierrra Madre...

Chemical insecticides are usually used to fight pests and save crops from damage. However, chemical pesticides are harmful to farmers’ health and to the environment. An alternative to chemical insecticides is botanical insecticides, which are made from plants and are useful against insect pests without harming the environment or having...

To reduce crop loss due to climate uncertainties, rural communities in Bangladesh need to implement risk management strategies. Crucially important is the transplanted t. aman rice, since it is the most widespread crop. Protective measures include the adoption of flexible timing of transplanting in order to bypass the consequences of...

Based on how much milk each cow gives, you can calculate the amount of balanced feed needed for your cows. You should also feed your cow green grass each day. This helps to increase the total quantity of milk as well as the amount of fat in the milk. It...

For healthy crops you need a healthy soil, because a healthy soil contains many good microbes and earthworms. To prepare biofertilizer for half a hectare, you need 10 kg fresh cow dung, cow urine, flour from chickpeas or another pulse, jaggery or unrefined sugar, and a handful of healthy soil....

The potential of composting to turn on-farm waste materials into a farm resource makes it an attractive proposition. Composting offers several benefits such as enhanced soil fertility and soil health, thereby increased agricultural productivity, improved soil biodiversity, reduced ecological risks and creating a better environment. While traditional composting procedures take...

The drought-prone areas of western Bangladesh are characterized by high rainfall variability, with different types of seasonal droughts (initial, mid and terminal) posing regular threats to rice production. During monsoon season in wide areas of NW Bangladesh T. aman rice is cropped on rainfed basis. Risk management options need to...

Growing concerns relating to land degradation, threats to eco-systems from over and inappropriate use of inorganic fertilizers, atmospheric pollution, soil health, soil biodiversity and sanitation have rekindled the global interest in organic recycling practices, like composting. The potential of composting to turn on-farm waste materials into a farm resource makes...

Most farmers in Bangladesh depend on subsistence farming with extremely small landholdings. Great parts of Bangladesh are flooded every year and to a large extent agriculture systems have been adapted to this normal flooding. However, besides normal peak floods in July and August and late floods extending in September, early...

Urea Molasses Blocks (UMB) are a high protein concentrated feed source that supplies Non-Protein Nitrogen (NPN) to rumen microbes. The blocks also contain important minerals and vitamins. UMB are a good way of providing readily degradable protein and fermentable energy to ruminant animals. They help increase the protein supply to...