Governments and international agencies frequently boast that small farmers control the largest share of the world's agricultural land. Inaugurating 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming, José Graziano da Silva, Director General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), sang the praises of family farmers but didn't...

On March 28, 2014 the Farmers’ Congress was held with the participation of Georgian farmers to voice out the problems and constraints in the field of agriculture. The Congress also addressed two global campaigns supporting the agricultural development: Oxfam campaign - “Food and Climate Changes 2014-2015” and UN/World Farmers Forum...

Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) have established in parallel to conventional food chains, playing a key role in the emerging food networks that are continuously arising as an alternative to the globalized agri-food model. The diversities and particularities of the experiences existing all over the world (box schemes, farmers’ markets,...

Agro-food chain is the only chain in the economy that can bring together and integrate numerous of economic activities, can connect hundreds of local enterprises with thousands consumers and producers, offering a unique opportunity to rural development, which consequently can reinvigorate the region’s economy and the whole national economy. Rural...

This report presents the possibilities of ‘FIGS’, a new technique for searching agricultural genebanks, that helps crop breeders and their managers achieve faster and better targeted pinpointing of improved crops for the future. This approach helps genebank managers, crop breeders, development agencies and donors to improve the effectiveness of crop...

Globally ICARDA has the mandate to develop sustainable systems to protect and better use rangelands in the dry lands in cooperation with national research organizations. About 25% of terrestrial surface is used for extensive pastoralism often increasing the risk of desertification, which is fueled by climate change. Unfortunately, by now...

Cette année, le rapport de situation s’intéresse aux exploitations paysannes familiales, lesquelles constituent encore et toujours la forme d’exploitation habituelle même si elles sont confrontées à divers problèmes. C’est pourquoi l’ONU a déclaré 2014 «Année internationale de l’agriculture familiale». Les petites et moyennes exploitations familiales produisent 70% de toutes les...

This paper emphasizes the vital importance of the agriculture sector to the food security for Albania and other neigh boring post-communist countries. The aim of this study is to illustrate how investments in agricultural development and food security can protect these countries form future global crisis. Agriculture sector used to...

In the high mountain valleys of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, gravity-flow irrigation systems support the production of grains, fodder, vegetables, herbs, and fruits as well as wood for construction purposes. A majority of the irrigation systems in the Alai and Pamir mountain ranges were constructed by communities of water users prior...

Esta Declaración fue aprobada por la Asamblea de Miembros de la ILC en Antigua, Guatemala, el 25 de abril de 2013. La Coalición Internacional para el Acceso a la Tierra (ILC) es una alianza mundial de organizaciones intergubernamentales y de la sociedad civil que trabajan en colaboración para fomentar y garantizar...

Agricultural mechanization is a crucial input to agricultural crop production. It is frequently very capital intensive, compared to other (usually annual) inputs and it has repercussions on the efficiency of all other inputs used in crop production, including seeds, fertilizer, water, and time/labour. It is also much more complex in...

The EU enlargement process introduces new opportunities for small farmers in the Balkans, but also new risks. Slow Food Bulgaria and Osservatorio organized a conference in Sofia on the protection of the region's traditional food Similar to many other parts of the world, recent years have witnessed a real revival of...

FAO is dedicated to assisting countries to achieve the goals of the World Food Summit and those contained in the Millennium Declaration. Forestry can make a significant contribution in this regard because many of the poorest people in the world live in and around forested areas, and therefore depend on...

Genetic diversity provides the fundamental basis for the evolution of forest species and for their adaptation to change. Conserving forest genetic resources (FGR) is therefore vital as they constitute a unique and irreplaceable resource for the future. At its Eleventh Regular Session, the FAO Commission on genetic resources for food...

ICARDA is pleased to share the scaling out of some important research outcomes and their impacts in 2013. For example, the innovative adaptation of raised bed machines to small-scale farming – developed with farmers and private sector in Sharkia province in Egypt – delivers a 24% saving in irrigation water...

The First Regional Symposium on Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea was organized from 27 to 30 November 2013 by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) in partnership with the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) – Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (MAIB),...

The concept of family farming is the recipient of much high-level political capital right now...  The United Nations has declared 2014 the International Year of Family Farming, the primary aim of which is to promote, develop and strengthen all types of familyoriented agriculture - from horticulture and livestock to fisheries and forestry - as a socially...

le rapport de situation s’intéresse aux exploitations paysannes familiales, lesquelles constituent encore et toujours la forme d’exploitation habituelle même si elles sont confrontées à divers problèmes. C’est pourquoi l’ONU a déclaré 2014 «Année internationale de l’agriculture familiale». Les petites et moyennes exploitations familiales produisent 70% de toutes les denrées alimentaires...

The European Commission launched on 5 August 2013 an on-line public consultation with the aim to understand citizens' experiences and perceptions on family farming. The survey also looked at some of the challenges and priorities faced by family farming (FF).  All citizens, organisations and public authorities in the European Union and beyond interested in the...

Most of world’s rural population depend on livestock for their livelihood, especially in the Mediterranean, African and many Asian countries. To reduce poverty, fight hunger and ensure global food security, there is an urgent need to increase livestock production in sustainable ways. However, livestock production systems in those areas are...