The economic contribution of women to agricultural and irrigation activities and to the livelihoods, well-being and food security of families and communities is often unrecognized, invisible and mostly undervalued. Moreover, the role of women in fetching, preserving and managing productive and non-productive water often goes unrecognized and understudied. This assessment...

This report highlightes outcomes and recommendations provided during the FAO regional expert workshop “Enhancing national climate actions to reduce methane emissions in livestock systems in Asia and the Pacific”. The regional workshop was designed to help countries in Asia and the Pacific identify new opportunities to reduce methane emissions from...

In a significant move to enhance agricultural diversity and support local farmers, Zambian Breweries Plc has kicked off the 2023 cassava harvest season in Luapula Province. Cultivating cassava in Zambia faces several challenges, including limited knowledge of best agronomic practices, inadequate processing and market infrastructure, limited access to credit and financial...

FAO's latest forecasts point to favourable production outlooks across most basic foodstuffs. However, global food production systems remain vulnerable to shocks, stemming from extreme weather events, and rising geopolitical tensions and policies, potentially tipping the delicate demand-supply balances, dampening prospects for international trade in food commodities and with implications for...

Assessing benefits and limits of agroecological transitions in different contexts is of foremost importance to steer and manage agroecological transitions and to feed evidence-based advocacy. However, assessing agroecological transitions remains a methodological challenge. The objective of this research was to investigate to what extent existing multiscale and multidimensional assessment methods...

Under the framework of the project “Scaling up agroecology to strengthen food security and improving food diversity in the Congo Basin”, the first task is to map agroecology actors and to identified agroecology practices in the Congo Basin. This work covered the mapping of the actors, their respective practices and some...

An increasing body of literature suggests that agriculture is ‘feminizing’ in many low- and middle-income countries. Definitions of the feminization of agriculture vary, as do interpretations of what drives the expansion of women’s roles in agriculture over time. Understanding whether, how, and why the feminization of agriculture is occurring requires...

In organic fertilisers, the total nitrogen content is not always the best indicator of the amount of nitrogen that is available to the plants. Indicators that estimate how much of the total nitrogen will be available for plants can help plan the nitrogen supply to crops more accurately.

La lutte pour les semences en Afrique : Un film novateur qui expose la menace qui pèse sur la souveraineté alimentaire En collaboration avec l'Alliance pour la souveraineté alimentaire en Afrique, Biowatch Afrique du Sud et PELUM Tanzanie, la fondation Rosa Luxemburg a lancé publiquement un nouveau film documentaire révolutionnaire...

The Family Farming Knowledge Platform (FFKP) Monthly Digest showcases the latest contents uploaded in the FFKP to provide its readers with relevant and up to date information on family farming main themes such as agroecology, smallscale fisheries, pastoralism, indigenous people, and more. For more documents, feel free to search in the...

Though it’s native to the Americas, the fall armyworm – a voracious caterpillar that attacks maize and other cereals, damaging the leaves – has begun wreaking havoc in Africa and Asia. In response, many farmers turn to chemical pesticides, but these can be toxic to humans and the environment. And...

Vibrational plates (Vibro -plates) were built to transmit specific disruptive vibrations to the whiteflies via potted tomato and zucchini plants. The combined use of vibrations and essential oils resulted in a reduction of the whitefly populations. The prototype is versatile and can be custom- ised for different crop systems.

Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) are agroecosystems inhabited by communities that live in an intricate relationship with their territory. These evolving sites are resilient systems characterized by remarkable agrobiodiversity, traditional knowledge, invaluable cultures and landscapes, sustainably managed by farmers, herders, fisherfolk, and forest people in ways that contribute to...

New research released today by McKinsey & Company indicates that about 50 percent of the reduction in on-farm agricultural emissions required for a 1.5°C pathway are cost neutral or ROI-positive today. However, major barriers, namely transition financing, investment to reduce costs, behavior change, and additional incentives such as increased carbon prices are...

Une équipe scientifique du Cirad, d’INRAE et de l’Institut Agro propose un concept clé jusque-là manquant pour étudier et accompagner la conception de systèmes de culture associant différentes espèces, l’une des bases de la transition agroécologique. Ce concept est exposé dans un article publié dans Agronomy for Sustainable Development.

While crop diversification has many benefits and is a stated government objective across the Eastern Gangetic Plains (EGP) of South Asia, the complexity of assessment has led to a rather limited understanding on the progress towards, and status of, smallholder crop diversification. Most studies focus on specific commodities or report...

Conservationist Sheherazade, and host Anggi Cahyaningtyas discuss challenges and opportunities for women. 

In Nepal's Himalayan regions, millets hold significance as resilient cereal crops, valued for their nutrition and adaptability to challenging climates and contributing to food and nutrition security. However, their cultivation and consumption have declined due to shifting food preferences, market constraints, climate change, pests, and diseases. The on-farm experiment was...

On 14-15 March 2023, 80 participants from across Europe met at the EU CAP Network workshop in Bologna, Italy, to discuss how to enhance food security under changing weather patterns. The workshop focused on exchanging knowledge and sharing innovative, inspirational practices and approaches that support farmers in adapting to changing...

Orange spiny whiteflies communicate with each other through vibrations. Disruptive vibrations can interfere with their communication and reduce their populations. This method is especially effective when combined with other plant protection strategies.