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The Cost of Hunger in Africa (COHA) Study is a project led by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the New Partnership of Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordinating Agency and supported by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP). COHA is a...

Improving food security and agricultural livelihoods in Northern Uganda is an EU-funded Government of Uganda's Agricultural Livelihoods Recovery Project (ALREP) implemented by FAO in northern Uganda targeting people that have resettled in their homes after the 20 years of war. The video highlights how farmer field schools are being used...

Over the last fifty years food production per person in Africa has grown disappointingly slowly at little more than 10%. The population of Africa is growing rapidly at an average annual rate of 2.5% and is expected to almost double by 2050 to close to two billion people. Chronic hunger...

Without financial access and sufficient yearly earnings, many farmers also lose up to 50 percent of their annual potential income because they must gain quick access to cash to afford household expenses all year. In the time leading up to harvest, farmers often experience a “hungry season” in which they...

Despite the increasing attention given to organic supply chains over the past decade, there are still significant market opportunities to pursue. The demand for organic products in developing countries continues to grow and price premiums for organic certified products are available, albeit not comparable with those of a decade or...

The objectives of this study were, first, to examine the impacts of certified organic contract farming on the food security of the smallholder farm households participating in such arrangements, and second, to assess the role of gender relations in these dynamics. In particular, the study considered how the costs and...

Agriculture is the backbone of Uganda’s economy and an important driver of economic development and poverty reduction. Approximately 73% of Ugandans depend on agriculture. However, the sector currently faces many multifaceted challenges which include land degradation, inadequate market access, unreliable weather and civil strife. Agricultural growth is also affected by...

Women in Kapchorwa district play a crucial role in sustaining their families through dairy and agricultural production. They provide most of the farm labour, which they combine with caring for their families, conducting farm and non-farm income-generating activities and contributing to community development initiatives. Increasingly, women are also involved in...

The debate on whether climate change will impact on peoples’ livelihoods and, hence, the need to act is essentially over and has instead shifted to the development of strategies needed by different regions and countries to adapt to climate change effects. However, there is still scanty information necessary to ably...

This study was done in Kabale and Mbale districts of Uganda for the two potato growing seasons of 2011/2012. It sought to determine factors that hinder smallholder farmers’ level of participation in the potato market in addition to those that influence their decisions to participate in the potato market. It...

This paper draws on studies by members of the East Africa Learning Network under the knowledge programme, ‘Small Producer Agency in the Globalised Market’ run by HiVOS, IIED, and a global network led by Mainumby in Bolivia between 2008 and 2012. The programme set out to map, elicit and integrate...

FAO in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and PROCASUR launched an initiative to strengthen women's access to micro financial services. The objective of this activity was also to target practitioners of the rural microfinance industry and assist them to generate effective microfinance programs for both women...

The study aimed at determining factors affecting smallholders’ market access so as to advise on crucial strategic interventions.

This issue of Nature & Faune aims at highlighting the complexity of the interface between forest and agriculture in Africa. The editorial presents agroforestry, as a useful linkage between forestry and agriculture for increased productivity in agriculture and forestry. It recognizes the limitations of agroforestry at the current stage of...

Welcome to Dimitra Newsletter 22. This issue places the spotlight on the Dimitra community listeners’ clubs, with a special dossier made up of several articles that focus on the impact of projects under way, the development of this approach and the launch of new initiatives.

The Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) surveys which have collected information on many dimensions of household well-being for over 36 countries since 1980 are one of the most important data sources for informing policy making on development. The LSMS surveys have been used to assess household welfare, to understand household...

The laxity of young people taking up farming may be due to, but not limited, to lack of farming incentives, inadequate access to productive assets such as land and capital, inadequate infrastructure, limited well-functioning markets, high population pressure on land and inadequate access to appropriate technologies by farmers. In this...

The concept of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) has emerged as a challenge to the all-too-prevalent tradition of taking the Earth’s natural resources for granted. PES highlights a global continuum, illustrating the relationship between our lifestyles, the demands associated with our production and consumption patterns, and the effects those demands...

This volume, Climate Change and Food Systems Resilience in Sub‑Saharan Africa, demonstrates the possibility of harmonizing agricultural production with the wellbeing of the biosphere – and that this can be achieved in Africa, our biosphere’s least developed continent, and the continent which is likely to suffer most from climate change....