This paper responds to current concerns about quantitative methods for studying decision-making by describing the development of and results from an innovative transdisciplinary and mixed-methods tool for researching intrahousehold decision-making. The tool focuses specifically on decision-making about agricultural- and expenditure-related matters by spouses in marital or cohabiting relationships, although it...

When Suzana Hamimu Kaleju began working as a fish processor 30 years ago in the port of Kigoma, she used to lay the sprat, a type of herring, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika before selling her dried fish in local and regional markets. They would get dusty or sandy so...

Agroecology is increasingly promoted as a way to create just and sustainable farm- and food systems. Although there are multiple initiatives to scale up agroecology, current socio-political structures often hinder its potential to transform food systems. This study uses participatory approaches to create paintings that envision agroecological futures in the...

This report presents the design and results of a baseline survey with respect to a project of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) focusing on empowering women in small-scale fisheries. The project supports the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the...

This report presents the design and results of a baseline survey with respect to a project of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) focusing on empowering women in small-scale fisheries. The project supports the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the...

Interview with Editrudith Lukanga, Environmental Management and Economic Development Organization (EMEDO), Tanzania. In Tanzania, I founded an organization called Environmental Management and Economic Development Organization (EMEDO). As part of implementing the SSF guidelines, under an FAO-supported project titled “Implementation of the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines for gender equitable and climate resilient food...

Tanzania has a goat population of about 24.8 million most of which belong to the Small East African breed distributed in almost all agro-ecological zones. The different goat populations and the production system in which they are raised are not well characterized depriving animal breeders useful information in designing and...

Thanks to the MJUMITA network, small-scale producers (such as beekeepers and charcoal producers) are expanding their businesses through capacity building and better market access. Communities benefit from natural resources while managing them sustainably.

Hundreds of smallholder farmers gathered in the city of Morogoro on November 17 and 18 for the 27th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the National Network of Small-Scale Farmers Groups in Tanzania (MVIWATA). MVIWATA has organized farmers stretching from groups at the grassroots all the way to a national network as the...

These three study reports help establish a roadmap for changing seed policies and laws toward instruments supporting farmer-based seed systems in Africa. Throughout the world, farmers play a significant role in producing, selecting, managing, and conserving plant resources. In Africa, where smallholder farmers are still the overwhelming majority, women on smallholder...

How to engage farmers that have limited formal education is at the foundation of environmentally sound and equitable agricultural development.  This study describes the process of development of an innovative curriculum, which integrates agroecology, nutrition, climate change, gender, and other dimensions of social equity across 2 weeks of training explicitly for...

Remembering Paul Onyango, researcher of small-scale fisheries in Lake Victoria, who passed away on 10 April 2022. I first met Paul Onyango at the MARE Conference in Amsterdam in 2001. He later enrolled in my university’s International Fisheries Management Master Program, where he graduated as scheduled after two years. He became...

Honeybees (Apis mellifera), wild bees, and other pollinators can be adversely affected by pesticides as well as other stressors, with potentially large economic and ecological consequences. Legislation is one possible tool which can be used to support actions to protect pollinators from pesticides. Several documents have been published at the...

When it comes to learning how to nurture seedlings to grow into trees, improving your surroundings and restoring the land around you, you’re never too young to make a start. That’s the thinking behind a project in Tanzania, supported by FAO and its partners, setting up more than 30 clubs...

Millions of people rely on nature-rich farming systems for their subsistence and income. The contributions of nature to these systems are varied and key to their sustainability in the long term. Yet, agricultural stakeholders are often unaware or undervalue the relevance of those contributions, which can affect decisions concerning land...

Water access is the cornerstone of livelihoods for most rural communities in Tanzania. Yet limited capacity for effective planning, management and governance of water sources is deepening vulnerability to the increasing and often unpredictable impacts of climate change. This paper assesses Tanzania’s recently centralised approach to rural water planning through...

This publication presents a collection of case studies by Mountain Partnership (MP) members from around the world, highlighting experiences of agroecological mountain farming systems. It aims to increase attention toward agroecological principles and approaches and showcase their potential. The MP, the only United Nations global voluntary alliance dedicated to sustainable...

The 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit was designed to create a path towards transforming the global food system so that it feeds the world sustainably, equitably, and inclusively. Small-scale farmers and other rural people must play an essential role in doing that. They are the backbone of the global...

An agroecology project from Tanzania found significant improvements in the diversity of children’s diets and food security for households after farmers learned about sustainable crop-growing methods, gender equity, nutrition and climate change from peer mentors. The investigator of the project said, “We found that this intervention approach of combining agroecology...

FISH4ACP is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) aimed at making fisheries and aquaculture value chains in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific more sustainable. FISH4ACP is implemented by FAO and partners with funding from the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry...