In Fiji, establishments such as hotels and restaurants have closed to adhere to the government's measures to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In effect, farmers in the country can no longer sell their products anywhere. Thus, they appeal to the Fijian government for support so they can sell...

To the untrained eye it might look like a scruffy forest with a messy understory of weeds. But on closer inspection, Tomas Pinto has created a multilayered ecosystem rich in biodiversity. Under Tomas’s careful stewardship, this forest feed communities in Timor-Leste.

A well organized pro-poor initiative from a private company, Yashwant Agritech Pvt Ltd (YAPL), has produced and sold a productive synthetic hybrid bird suitable for rearing in harsh agro-climatic rural environments. It has proved to be a valuable source of income for the poor households. This practice has promoted participatory,...

This practice demonstrates how simple cost effective interventions such as low cost protein rich feeding, de-worming, vaccination, low cost housing, egg-candling, use of bamboo for poultry feeders and waterers, have strengthened household poultry production systems of tribal farmers in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh in India. A key factor that...

This practice documents the work of the Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN), a leading NGO in India, in regarding the organization and support for rural women to take up poultry rearing, and develop this into a successful market-linked enterprise. Women poultry rearers have been organised into a Poultry Producers’...

This good practice is aimed at addressing the growing degradation of common land in India. By controlling the use of communal lands through community participation, discussion and the creation of self-governing rules, many benefits have been noted.

The integrated compost and poultry system is a farming method that combines composting, poultry raising, and egg production. It is a low-cost method to raise chickens while producing good quality compost. Feed costs are almost eliminated because food scraps, manure, and mulch are used for feed – all of which...

This practice highlights the positive outcomes of the promotion of backyard poultry farming in West Bengal. In addition to improving the production and supply of eggs and poultry meat, interventions generated self-employment leading to a reduction in rural poverty and the empowerment of rural women. The practice documents one of...

This practice shows that pineapple cultivation not only minimizes soil erosion but also promotes the rehabilitation of degraded sloppy lands for additional income. Technical details are provided for the implementation of this practice including pit preparation and seedling plantation. The economic advantages of this practice include local labour generation and...

Welcome to the fourth edition of our newsletter in 2020 which, as usual, provides information about our work in Myanmar. Since the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in late August, the government has set more protective measures in force in almost every state and region. This reaches you therefore as the...

Supply chains have been disrupted, demand has dropped for certain foods, resulting in damage to nutrition, health and livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people in this, the world’s most populous region.    In response, 46 Member Nations, along with private sector and civil society organizations, will discuss a way forward...

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a global health crisis, and the long-term impact of the pan­demic is predicted to reach far beyond today. In a lower-middle-income country with upward economic growth, such as Bangladesh, it is essential first to understand the present situation in order to create a proper recovery...

This is the report of the Seventh Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) Regional Consultative Forum Meeting (RCFM) on Sustainable Development for Resilient Blue Growth of Fisheries and Aquaculture. The meeting was convened in Cebu, Philippines from 7 May to 9 May 2018 at the Bai Hotel and was attended by 80...

ASEAN is one of the most productive agricultural baskets in the world. In 2012, the region produced 129 million tons of rice, 40 million tons of corn, 171 million tons of sugarcane, 1.44 million tons of soybean, and 70.34 million tons of cassava. ASEAN is likely to increase exports to...

he Samoa Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE), University of South Pacific (USP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) are partnering to develop weather advisories aimed at helping farmers better plan their crop production. A meeting to discuss moving...

Did you know that this squash I am holding has more vitamin A than golden rice?” - Angelita Mangangan, an organic farmer from the Philippines, for #IGrowYourFood

Every year, FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific celebrates the importance of World Food Day. This year, given the COVID-19 global pandemic and the disruptions it has caused to livelihoods and food security, our celebrations are muted, yet within this context, today’s World Food Day itself has become...

In 2009, the Laos government’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation entered into a bilateral agreement for the implementation of "The Agro-Biodiversity Initiative (TABI)" in upland Laos. The initiative sought to conserve, enhance, manage, and sustainably utilize the biological diversity found in upland farming landscapes to improve the...

Asia-Pacific’s smallholder family farmers produce most of the world’s food, yet they are facing a disproportionate impact on their livelihoods and food security due to the present coronavirus pandemic, a collaboration of FAO and advocacy groups warned today. The COVID-19 impact on the region’s rural communities, and particularly those in developing...

Root starch production is a long-established industry that has seen little development in recent years. In developing countries it has been estimated that five million tonnes of starch are produced annually in developing countries, half of which is produced from cassava representing a major market for small-scale root crop growers....