With the looming context of the fourth Greek bailout, the European Rural Sustainability Gathering 2017 kicked off in in Karditsa, Greece. The event saw the social economy, cooperatives and grassroots initiatives take centre stage, as tools and approaches to address the crisis. The location displayed the best of progressive rural...

Biodynamic principles were first introduced in the US after 1924, when Rudolf Steiner first delivered his agricultural lectures. In 1938, the Biodynamic Association was established, making it the oldest sustainable agriculture nonprofit organization in North America. Still, there are only about 300 certified biodynamic farms in the US today, compared...

Delegates of La Via Campesina, representing our organizations and movements, are gathered in the Basque Country to celebrate our 7th International Conference from the 16th to the 24th of July of 2017. After four days of collective discussions and reflections on Food Sovereignty, peasant agroecology, autonomous training networks, migrant rights, trade, climate justice...

¿Qué es el Sistema Integrado de Producciones Agroecológicas (SIPA) y por qué surge como una propuesta institucional? Los problemas y las consecuencias que resultan de la implementación de la agricultura convencional - modernizante- comercial representan nuevos retos en el ámbito del desarrollo rural contemporáneo, y ello no se puede desligar...

El análisis conjunto de 50 estudios de caso en 22 países africanos muestra la contribución de la agroecología al logro de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) de las Naciones Unidas. Las tendencias que revela este análisis evidencian el potencial de la agroecología para fortalecer, de manera sostenible, la soberanía...

¿Qué es el Sistema Integrado de Producciones Agroecológicas (SIPA) y por qué surge como una propuesta institucional? Los problemas y las consecuencias que resultan de la implementación de la agricultura convencional -modernizante comercial representan nuevos retos en el ámbito del desarrollo rural contemporáneo, y ello no se puede desligar del...

We are women and men, farmers, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) activists, agronomists, agro-ecologists, agro-ecology trainers, Food Sovereignty activists, Civil Society actors from 7 different countries in West Africa. We come from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Senegal and Togo. Over and above the current extraordinary social and economic...

Everyday Experts explains how knowledge built up through first-hand experience can help solve the crisis in the food system. It brings together fifty-seven activists, farmers, practitioners, researchers and community organisers from around the world in 28 original chapters to take a critical look at attempts to improve the dialogue between...

Yangon, Myanmar – Ko Phyo lives in Bagan Taung village, Thanlyin, Yangon Region, Myanmar. In 2015, he attended a two-week farmer empowerment training conducted by the AFFM (Agriculture and Farmer Federation of Myanmar) where he learned natural resources management, organic agriculture, compost-making, and mushroom-growing. “I don’t have any training or resources...

Sixty Georgian farmers now own modern facilities for smoked ham and pig production, along with up-to-date agricultural tools and equipment. Wine makers, mushroom producers, beekeepers and woodworkers who specialize in making agricultural tools are also among the beneficiaries of an FAO rural development project, financed by the Government of Austria. The...

Organic farmer, author, and educator Jean-Martin Fortier hosts a workshop at ASU on profitable small-scale farming. This event was made possible by ASU's Food Systems Transformation Initiative in collaboration with University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Steadfast Farm and National Young Farmer's Coalition.

El cultivo de soja ocupa la mayor área de siembra entre los cultivos estivales de la región pampeana; por sus características dicho cultivo es preferido por gran cantidad de insectos, muchos considerados perjudiciales por sus efectos en las plantas, pero también otros tantos que son controladores naturales de las plagas...

A Secretaria Especial de Agricultura Familiar e do Desenvolvimento Agrário (Sead), instituída pelo Decreto nº 8.780, de 27 de maio de 2016, apresentou, na manhã desta quinta-feira (2/2), os resultados dos primeiros seis meses de gestão. A pasta integra a Casa Civil da Presidência da República e tem como missão...

Andy Cato is a farmer who combines modern animal traction, beef cattle and crops on his farm in the Southwest of France. He shared the story of his experiments to improve his soil and his farm’s productivity, finding ways to limit tillage in the context of organic agroforestry production with...

La creación del Programa Nacional de Fortalecimiento de la Agricultura Familiar (PRONAF) en 1995 fue un hito en la legitimación oficial de la agricultura familiar; no obstante, fue solo desde 2003, a raíz de la prioridad política que el gobierno otorgó a erradicar el hambre en el país, que un...

Um levantamento feito pela Secretaria Especial de Agricultura Familiar e do Desenvolvimento Agrário (SEAD) mostra que empreendimentos brasileiros que participaram da Bio Brazil Fair | Biofach America Latina em 2015 passaram a comercializar seus produtos em mercados diferentes e mais distantes de seus locais de produção. De acordo com técnicos...

This booklet highlights 10 success stories, catalysed by CCAFS research and partnerships in South Asia, that are having an impact on building climate-smart agricultural (CSA) systems in the region. The success stories presented here, exhibit evidence on how agriculture can be transformed to become resilient and productive, thereby, protecting the...

The "International Symposium on Agroecology for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems in China" was organized in August 2016 by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), FAO, and Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (YAAS), with the support of the Government of France. The symposium Gathered 221 participants from 25 countries (representing...

Farms in Northern Ireland face a series of challenges due to the crisis in farm profitability which saw farm incomes drop by 16% in 2014/15 and a devastating 46% in 2015/16. Low prices threaten many farms since low profitability makes it less appealing for the next generation to take over. In...

Information and communication technology (ICT) has always mattered in agriculture. Ever since people have grown crops, raised livestock, and caught fish, they have sought information from one another. Today, ICT represents a tremendous opportunity for rural populations to improve productivity, to enhance food and nutrition security, to access markets, and...