There are many problems with poor quality seeds. Spotted and discoloured seeds are some of the major ones. Spotted seeds cannot be removed by winnowing or seed flotation. They can only be removed by manual sorting. By watching this video you will learn how to clean seeds as one of...

Without access to reliable information to enable farmers to make better use of their natural resources, a majority of artisanal fishing communities are unable to halt trends towards reduced fish catches. Stock assessments are an important component for managing fisheries. These assist in the provision of advice on recommended exploitation...

 The following includes the features of raised bed cultivation from a practical perspective, including tips and recommendations. Advantages include labour-saving, livelihood resilience strengthening, equipment and risk. Disadvantages include labour, skills and technical limitations.  Description Repeated tilling of the soil to the same depth, either by hand or draught animal, causes plough pans...

The following practice describes the features of integrated pest management, listing various agricultural practices to prevent development and spread of pest populations. The advantages and disadvantages are also detailed in terms of livelihood resilience strengthening, livelihood diversification, skills, cost, risk labour and infrastructure. Description Pesticide application using a knapsack sprayer can be...

In-depth study on the effect of soil translocation on its chemistry in humid tropical Africa Soil exchange between agricultural and forest habitats Rapid decrease of organic C in all environments due to soil translocation High mobilization of exchangeable Al due to enhanced decomposition

The following contains explanations about wood burning fuel-efficient stoves and of insulated baskets/boxes. Firstly, the details of the features of wood-burning fuel-efficient stoves are given. These include their high combustion efficiency, reduction in wood consumption, the good transference of the heat from the fire to the pot, minimal smoke emission,...

Armyworm larvae (Spodoptera Exempta) cause devastating but highly localized damage to cereal crops and grassland. Poor monitoring and forecasting constrain efficient control operations in many parts of East Africa. Forecasting of armyworm employs information from rain gauges and moth raps. Therefore, a simple community-based forecasting system, by collecting data on...

Cette fiche présente un modèle d'enfumoir fabriqué par la Plateforme des Apiculteurs des Cataractes (PLAAC), en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) qui ne nécessite pas de soudures. Vous y trouverez des schémas bien détaillés, des photos et conseils permettant à tous bricoleurs/artisans de se lancer dans des essais de fabrication...

African armyworm (Spodoptera Exempta) is a serious migratory pest of pasture and grain crops in Africa. Two novel control technologies are described to replace environmentally damaging and expensive synthetic chemical pesticides. The first is a process for local mass-production and formulation of S. exempta nucleopolyhedrovirus (SpexNPV), a naturally occurring biological control agent....

The following contains a guideline on how to better use hoes, and how to improve them. Advantages are highlighted which include labour saving, livelihood resilience strengthening, equipment, skills, cost and infrastructure. Disadvantages are labour, livelihood, equipment and risk.  Description In many countries in Africa, 90 percent of primary cultivation is carried out...

Camel milk can certainly play a far more important role in the prevention of malnutrition than it does today. Growing and raising foodstuffs for the rapidly increasing human population is especially precarious in the hot and arid zones of the world. These are the very areas where the camel is...

The Haller Foundation is a UK registered charity that launched Haller Farmers Web App in 2014. Haller Farmers is a mobile application designed to support small producers through open access to information related to agriculture and the different technologies applicable to this sector. It leverages the growing uptake of mobile technology...

The following includes features of hand tools for harvesting and advise the change from commonly used hand tools to best fitting ones. It also highlights the advantages which include labour saving, livelihood strengthening, equipment, skills, cost, risk and infrastructure. The disadvantages include the labour and skills required.  Description Knives and sickles are...

Le manioc est une plante vivrière, arbustive pérenne pouvant atteindre un à quatre mètre de haut et ayant une ou plusieurs tiges principales avec ou sans ramification. Le mode de propagation par bouture est utilisé couramment, mais pas par germination (réservé à la recherche). Le rendement en station de recherche...

Duckweed is the common name given to the simplest and smallest flowering plant that grows ubiquitously on fresh or polluted water throughout the world. If water is not a limiting resource the most appropriate way of using the effluent from the biodigester is for the construction of duckweed ponds. FAO's...

The re-designing of the original basket hive used by traditional beekeepers of Koinadugu District of Sierra Leone has enabled beekeepers to harvest honey combs in a sustainable way without destroying the entire nest of the bees. Honey and beeswax yields have improved substantially. The new Kamara basket hive has a...

Introduces key debates and concepts about pastoralism, and explores the varying ways that pastoralists respond to uncertainty around the world. Based on the work of the PASTRES programme, the course is aimed at students, practitioners and policy-makers. It is divided into 13 parts with a lecture, suggested readings and questions in...

This discussion paper has been prepared by the Land and Water division (NSL) of FAO with the aim to motivate a discussion on the rapidly evolving situation of COVID-19 pandemic to define the most vulnerable hotspots in the African continent, and to identify the possibilities of relief measures to slow...

Fruits and vegetables are nutritious, valuable foods full of flavour. Therefore, fruits and vegetables represent an important and in many cases an under-appreciated resource that could benefit from better utilisation and exploitation in rural communities. However, in low-income countries, poor care and handling of these crops frequently result in loss...

Fruits and vegetables are nutritious, valuable foods full of flavour. Therefore, fruits and vegetables represent an important and in many cases an under-appreciated resource that could benefit from better utilisation and exploitation in rural communities. However, in low-income countries, poor care and handling of these crops frequently result in loss...