Organic agriculture has managed to attract the attention of local governments and economic operators and also to find space in discussion platforms and official strategy papers (concluding statement of the Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on Agriculture, Venice 2003 and the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development, approved in 2005 as part of...

The history of Central Asia reveals a complex patchwork of tribes, ethnicities and nations bound together in a struggle to survive in some of the region’s most harsh and unforgiving lands. Only those who knew the secrets of living in harmony with their environment were able to survive and eventually...

This report intends to provide key elements for answering these questions. Before starting the analysis, it is necessary to introduce the factors that have fuelled the adoption of certification in the banana industry and the main categories of schemes used.

This issue of Caravan describes some of ICARDA's work on climate change. It contains overviews of the key issues, and articles describing research in specific areas: for example, how genetic resources – landrace varieties, wild relatives, indigenous livestock breeds – can be used to make small-scale agriculture better adapted to...

This report is produced as part of collaboration between the European Forum on Nature Conservation and Pastoralism (EFNCP) and WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme (WWFDCP). Both organisations recognise the importance of certain farming systems for nature conservation. Between 2006 and 2008 a project was executed aiming at finding out at a local...

In aggregate terms there is no lack of water in the Mediterranean Region. But geographical distribution of rainfall is very uneven and there is a marked shortage of water in the South and East. Using the Falkenmark water stress index (less than 1000 m³/inhabitant/year) as a benchmark, we find that...

The necessity of improving knowledge in fisheries and especially small-scale coastal fisheries in order to analyze the conditions for their sustainable development is increasingly recognized. The three main requirements for the sustainable development of fisheries are the simultaneous present and future well-being of the bio-ecological system, the human system and...

ICARDA’s mission is to alleviate poverty by improving the livelihoods of farming communities. Often, the key is to add value to primary crop and livestock outputs. This issue of Caravan provides glimpses of the Center’s work to help farmers and pastoralists add value to their products, and thereby improve their...

During 2004 and 2005, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), assisted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), carried out case studies in Belize, Dominica, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and the Turks and Caicos Islands on the consideration of socio-economic and demographic concerns in...

This issue of Caravan looks at different aspects of desertification; and how ICARDA and its partners are working together to help farming communities find effective, sustainable solutions. These collaborative efforts have generated significant impacts at community level – higher crop yields, more sustainable farming systems, more incomegenerating opportunities for the...

The objective of this study, commissioned by the FAO Regional Office for Europe and SDRR, is to analyse the status of and future needs for information and communication systems of private and government organizations in the national agricultural research system and its relevant partners with respect to agro-ecological and organic...

Following the request of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, in September 2003 the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) funded a technical assistance project for Croatia. The overall objective of this project was to improve rural income and food security through diversified production and specialty...

This document contains the results of a study conducted to collect information to be used in devising a marketing strategy for Croatian organic and Protected designation of origin (PDO), Protected geographic indication (PGI) and Traditional specialty guaranteed (TSG) products. In part one, the main performance indicators of Croatian agriculture are...

The objective of this study, commissioned by the FAO Regional Office for Europe and SDRR, is to analyse the status of and future needs for information and communication systems of private and government organizations in the national agricultural research system and its relevant partners with respect to agro-ecological and organic...

European consumers have become increasingly more aware of food safety issues, as a consequence of a number of food ‘scandals’. Most of these ‘scandals’ have been related to livestock products. However, most consumers still believe that it is possible to produce ‘safe’ food at low prices, while a small group...

All stakeholders in the organic livestock food chain have different priorities with respect to food quality. Stakeholders include producers, wholesalers, retailers, advisory bodies, certification groups, regulatory and inspection groups (such as environmental health officers & food microbiologists) and the consumer. Due to the wide range in requirements by these different...

Economic reforms launched in the early 1990s have significantly affected Czech agriculture for more than a decade. First was the reform of property rights to land, which was considered an underlying condition for the effective functioning of a market economy. The reform was built upon three principals: restitution of land...

Over 1 million people became landowners during the mass privatization and reorganization of collective farms in Moldova. More than 200,000 peasant farms, second one – “Survey of farm managers”, were conducted by at import owing 1.8 ha of land each, and became the most typical economic entities farming this land....

Russian dairy enterprises underwent dramatic changes during 1990-2001. Not much is known about the position of these enterprises under the new conditions. This study examined a sample group of dairy enterprises in the Moscow region to try to identify similarities and divergences in historical background, performance, managerial and structural characteristics....

Building on existing models for the role of agriculture in industrialized and developing countries, this chapter examines a number of critical aspects of agriculture’s role in Central and Eastern European (CEE) rural development. By reviewing the contributions of this proceedings volume, we focus on the perspectives of small farms, rural...