Soil conservation is crucial to sustainable agriculture. This technology involves growing row crops, forages, small grains, or fallow in a systematic arrangement of equal width strips across a field. This arrangement of strips reduces water and wind-induced soil erosion. It also reduces the transport of sediment and other water-borne contaminants...

This practical guide was adapted by the Fundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola (FHIA) and is applicable where banana trees are grown. Traditionally, the banana producer plants new areas with shoots (sprouts from the base of the mother plant) obtained from plantations intended for the production of fruit. This practice weakens...

Soybeans are an excellent source of protein for both humans and livestock. But they contain also anti-nutritive substances. These are deactivated using heat treatment. There are different procedures for this heat treatment. One of these procedures is toasting. Usually, this process is carried out externally, not on the farm itself....

Every sheep grazing on pasture is infested with one type of worm or the other. Failure to control clinical worm infestation in sheep can result in blood loss, underweight animals, and death. In the case of hydatid disease, which is a disease related to infestation with tapeworm, failure to control...

Contour ploughing mitigates the impacts of floods, storms, and landslides on the crops by reducing soil erosion up to 50 percent, controlling runoff water, increasing moisture infiltration and retention and thus enhancing soil quality and composition. This practice describes contour ploughing and contour beds which can be constructed manually using...

The centralized plant breeding techniques of the green revolution have yielded good results in more favourable agricultural environments. However, most low-resource farmers in marginal areas have not benefited from these varieties. As an alternative to centralized breeding, farmer participatory approaches using Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS) and Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB)...

The IFOAM International Animal Husbandry Alliance (IAHA) is an informal network of individuals and organizations interested in supporting and strengthening the development of organic animal husbandry. 

Carl Sheard is an organic pig farmer (45 sows) in the Pays de La Loire region of France who is experimenting a system of outdoor fattening using diverse combinations of forage crops. Trials began this autumn 2019 which consist of providing a diverse range of mixed forage crops throughout the...

No dig beds not only save from back-breaking work of digging but also create favourable conditions for microbial life in the soil. In this video, Nasira Habib shares how she prepares no-dig beds to grow vegetables and flowers in her organic home garden.

Honeybees are susceptible to various diseases, some of which are very contagious and can be easily transmitted. It is very important that beekeepers are able to recognize the first signs of disease in hives and know how to proceed to contain and treat the disease. This practice describes the factors...

Squid pot, locally known as “bubo pangnokos”, is a regular receptacle device mainly to catch squid in coastal waters. The shape of the gear is semi-cylindrical and is generally made of polyethylene netting mounted on a bamboo frame. It is provided with a non-return valve, which allows easy entrance but...

During the pre-monsoon season, between March-and May, some areas in Nepal experience water shortages. On the other hand, during the monsoon season, water excess causes regular floods and landslides. In this situation, activities such as agriculture or livestock, as well as the availability of drinking water and women’s workload are...

Throughout Eastern Africa, pressure on land is increasing. Average farm size is decreasing as plots are sub-divided and farmers struggle to find space on their farms to grow subsistence and cash crops as well as to keep livestock. Many farmers would like to keep dairy cows but do not have...

Farmers’ participatory varietal evaluation of wheat and rice was conducted for three consecutive years from 1999 to 2002, in the Punjab, India. Farmers adopted new varieties that better met their needs and enabled them to break their monoculture dependence. They also made use of seed priming and zero tillage, a...

Using participatory plant breeding, poor and marginal farmers in Eastern India, who previously grew old and low yielding land races, produced several new varieties of upland rice. Self-help groups produced truthful seed of these rice varieties, with production rising from 39 in 2002-2003 to 81 t in 2003-2004. It was...

Bokashi is a nutrient-dense, fast-acting and soil-regenerating fertiliser. It helps increase the amount of organic matter in the soil and create conducive conditions for microbial activity. Nasira Habib explains how you can make bokashi at your garden or farm.

Une technique en application au Bénin, au Burkina Faso et en partie en Côte d’Ivoire, est la fabrication et l’utilisation du compost dans les exploitations cotonnières. Elle aide les exploitants agricoles à améliorer leur rendement. La fabrication du compost respecte une procédure stricte à suivre pour avoir un rendement meilleur....

The Philippines is particularly prone to natural disasters due to its geographical location and physical environment. The country experiences an average of 20 typhoons yearly, which trigger landslides, flash floods, mudslides, widespread flooding, and cause destruction and damage to homes, community buildings, communications, infrastructure, and agriculture. To address these hazards...

Heavy rainfall and landslides in the up-streams of the Churia range cause sedimentation of river beds, leading to erosion of river embankments by fast flows of water. This heavily affects the livelihoods of farmers downstream, causing loss of infrastructure, crops and livestock. In addition, the continuous erosion of agricultural lands...

Tomatoes are widely grown and used in Eastern Africa. During the peak season most farmers sell their tomatoes at throw‑away prices and substantial quantities go to waste because they are highly perishable. To avoid this, farmers can process tomatoes into various products for storage and use at home or as...