The Green Gate Organic Farm is the farm operation part of the National Environment Centre (NEC), a vocational education facility part of TAFE NSW Riverina Institute in New South Wales, Australia. The farm was set up in the mid 1990’s. In the process of planning a number of uncertainties were...

Em Campo Grande (MS), a comunidade indígena Água Bonita tem concentrado esforços na transição para tornar a produção totalmente orgânica. Para isso, buscou apoio da Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural (Ater), uma das políticas públicas que a Secretaria Especial de Agricultura Familiar e do Desenvolvimento Agrário (Sead) realiza em parceria...

The Bucharest government wants to give organic farming a boost and – at the same time – increase consumers’ confidence in the sector. Despite its longstanding tradition of agriculture, Romania is still lagging behind in organic farming compared to other EU partners. Under the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period...

Como parte de la campaña Bajío Agroecológico, hemos estado usando el término de “agroecológico” para designar un método de control de plagas más amigable con el ambiente; pero, ¿a qué nos referimos? La palabra clave de esta opción de manejo es biodiversidad, ya que el manejo agroecológico de plagas (MAP) no busca...

The “Be part of CSA!” project - a European Participatory Training Programme for Community Supported Agriculture - has been designed to spread widely CSA initiatives by providing knowledge, skills and competences to local communitie in Hungary, Czech Republic and Romania, and disseminates its outcomes at the European level. The Booklet is here to...

In the European Union, the use of organic agricultural land has almost doubled in recent years. Austria, Sweden and Estonia have the highest proportion of organically farmed land in Europe. EU citizens are also increasing their demand for organic products. Europe is the second largest market in the world, worth €22.7 billion. Germans,...

A group of farmers, a university and an advisory centre in Latvia have set up a project called Herbivorous Project. Through the exchange of knowledge in the livestock sector between farmers and scientists, the project aims to promote a cost-effective and competitive method of livestock farming whilst improving quality and...

Organic farming could provide ample food for the whole human population, while causing less pollution and fewer health problems than conventional agriculture, according to a team of American scientists.

Organized by the Regional Development Agency in Kukes, the “Regional Youth Entrepreneurship Fair” took place on the 21st of December, 2016, at hotel “Gjallica” in Kukes, Albania. The Fair was organized in cooperation with the Kukes Regional Council and in partnership with the Municipality of Dragash from Kosovo*. The main goal of...

This issue of Farming Matters illustrates how the collective creation of knowledge lies at the heart of agroecology rooted in family farming. It presents stories of farmers, scientists, urban citizens, government officials, NGOs, and others who have jointly created agroecological solutions that are suited to their own, local contexts. The magazine presents inspiring examples from Costa Rica, Brazil, Ecuador, Iran,...

Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote...

ABSTRACT After briefly describing the origins and recent history of agroecology, the author critically reflects on what makes agroecologyfundamentally different from Climate-smart Agriculture (CSA). This article focuses in particular on the more transformative elements ofthe agroecology and food sovereignty paradigm to clearly identify overlaps and divergences with CSA and explore...

Patents increasingly undermine the strong legal edifice patiently constructed by UPOV (1).The Treaty guarantees free access to the main industrial resource of plant breeders - peasants’ seeds collected from farms across the world. This article argues that broadening the reach of patents over genetic resources is increasingly replacing benefit sharing,...

Mountain people learn, live, love and unite for life – to awaken and search for the treasure within the mountain. By combining our wisdom, we can co-exist and develop to our fullest potential, working towards holistic dignity and sustainability. This initiative involves 1,144 families, mainly concentrated in Mae Win, Mae...

Organic farms sustain 30% more biodiversity than conventional arms, as demonstrated by a meta-analysis of 94 studies from the past 30 years (Tuck et al., 2014). The most distinct differences in biodiversity were seen in landscapes containing a higher proportion of arable crops, and plant biodiversity benefited the most from...

India faces a dual crisis related to food and agriculture. First is the malnutrition and hunger crisis. Every 4th Indian is hungry. Every third women is severely malnourished. Every second child is “wasted”. This is not “Shinning India” but “Starving India”. The second aspect of the crisis is the agrarian...

The 88 page illustrated book showcases 15 case studies, showing how agroecology benefits Africa in terms of food and nutrition, livelihoods, restoration of biodiversity, knowledge and innovation, and climate change resilience. Leading experts in their fields explain how agroecology reforms food systems to promote better nutrition and health, especially among poor...

The collapse of the socialist block in 1989 generated a deficit of energy, supplies and chemicals, and forced significant changes in the ways in which food was produced and distributed in Cuba. Due to these deficits, in the 90´s Cuba moved from being the largest consumer of agrochemicals in Latin...

  During Tea & Honey Tour guests travel through the wonderful lush countryside, past different provinces and tiny  communes, up into The Great Caucasus Mountain regions and past lowlands and historic towns in search of as much aroma of tea & honey as possible! Guests taste various types of honey at local farms...

The TheruBeedi Seed Bank and Producer Group facilitate informal benefit sharing mechanisms that can be very effective in protecting biodiversity and encouraging farmers to contribute to the genetic pool. The approaches include offering family farmers incentives to cultivate traditional or rare varieties, providing assistance in the marketing of their products,...