In the semi-arid savannas where rainfall is limited and highly unpredictable, retaining more water in the soil can make the difference between a poor and a good harvest. You can slow down the runoff water by establishing contour bunds. Contour bunds are permanent ridges of earth that follow positions located...

 Encouraging smallholder farmers to grow pulses and teaching them how to conserve the nutritious seeds is the best approach to promoting pluses. According to Elizabeth Mpofu, one of the six special ambassadors appointed by FAO to strengthen the campaign for this year’s International Year of Pulses (IYP), smallholderfarmers and family farmers should be...

High levels of food insecurity and malnutrition affects Ethiopia’s Somali Region despite general long-term improvements in the overall food security situation of the country. The impacts of recurrent droughts, climate change, environmental degradation and insufficient livelihood options have trapped rural communities in a perpetual cycle of poverty. To help tackle...

Eritrea is a small developing nation in the Horn of Africa with total area 124,320 Km2 and has a population of about 6 million. Eritrea is situated in a strategically important part of the Red Sea.Eritrea has an extensive 2,234km coastline, 1,151km of it coming from its mainland and 1,083km...

Fanya juu means "throw the soil up" in Kiswahili. The terraces formed are ideal for fodder grasses and help prevent soil erosion. Cultivation becomes easier as the terraces spread out to make the land more level and when combined with manure/fertilizer yields increase.

This technology gives an overview of the beneficial insects that might appear in cotton fields in Western Africa. Knowing the pests and beneficial insects present on a cotton plant is a crucial decision-making tool for applying Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

A staggering 70% of the food we consume worldwide is produced by smallholders. Peasant and indigenous communities, who produce a great deal of this food, have been developing and saving seed for millennia—from Guatemala through Senegal to Nepal. However, today seeds are under threat everywhere. Laws are increasingly limiting what...

The role of intra-regional trade in managing food price risks in Africa is being discussed in various fora. In response to high food prices, many countries adopted ad-hoc measures to restrict and/or prohibit trade with neighbouring countries. With policy makers, civil society organizations, development partners and other stakeholders as target...

Formed in 2007, Food Plant Solutions Rotary Action Group (FPS) creates science-based educational materials, which: identify highly nutritious local food plants, explain how to grow them in a sustainable, agroecological way, detail the nutritional value of the plants and describe why human bodies require those nutrients. The resources created by FPS allows people to better...

The status of women's land rights in Zimbabwe is the result of various legal interventions and historical, social, economic, demographic and climatic processes within and outside the country. The interventions produced diverse tenure types, cultural practices and resistance that mediate the way in which the processes impact on the specific...

This paper aims to test this hypothesis and to contribute to better understanding of strategies to revitalize the agricultural extension system in Malawi. Specifically, it examines the interplay between the fertilizer subsidy and access to extension services, and their impact on farm productivity and food security in Malawi. Results show that...

The current AU policy environment supports efforts by African countries to address malnutrition and can be a rallying point for different interventions at the continental, REC, and country levels. In addition, the accountability processes incorporated into the various declarations create opportunities for monitoring nutrition progress across the continent. The chapters...

Climate Solutions that Work for Farmers: Success Stories from the Field. This CTA publication written by Charlie Pye-Smith presents 'a review of proven practices, tools or policies that promote resilience and help farmers to address the challenges posed by climate change.

Burkina Faso’s capital city Ouagadougou will host the closing ceremony of the International Year of Pulses, which over the course of 2016 highlighted the exceptional nutritional benefits pulses offer to human diets via a wide range of events, publications, and other activities.

Common foods of Khulungira village, in central Malawi: Nsomba zophika (fish stew), chimanga chophika (boiled maize), nyemba zophika (mixed beans with salt and oil), bowa wofutsa (dried mushrooms with ground groundnuts), nkhwani wophatikiza ndi maungu anthete ndi kachewere wophika (pumpkin leaves, pumpkin blossoms and potatoes) and mazira ophika ndi phwetekere,...

The functions of the Regional Conference are to hold consultations at a high level, to indicate the special problems of the Region and the priority areas which should be taken into account in preparing the Programme of Work and Budget for the next biennium, as well as in relation to...

The United Nations remains engaged and continues to support national efforts as the Southern Africa region grapples with the impact of the unprecedented drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon. In response to the declaration of state of disaster by the Government of Zimbabwe on 3 February 2016 and the...

The Pan African Farmers’ Organisation (PAFO) delegation, led by its President, Theo de Jager, paid a courtesy visit to the Bank Group on 30 September 2016 in Abidjan, to explore areas of collaboration with the Bank. The delegation held a series of technical meetings with the Bank’s Agriculture and agroindustry...

Bacchus Wilson Panyonnoh, a 35-year-old palm oil worker, and Lee Sworh, a community activist, live in the remote forests of south-east Liberia. Both have been affected by the arrival of Golden Veroleum Liberia to build one of the country’s largest palm oil plantations. For Panyonnoh, it offers the chance of...

Small, family farmers in Africa purchase more than half of their seeds every year through local markets and other informal sources--neglected outlets that present a major opportunity for improving access to better crop varieties crucial to dealing with climate, nutrition, and other production challenges in a region where food security...