The Programme is focusing on three value chains of cocoa, vanilla and fisheries (aquaculture, riverine and in shore/reef) and aims to achieve an overall objective "To increase sustainable and inclusive economic development of rural areas" through a combination of two integrated outcomes: (1) Increasing the economic returns and opportunities from...

Sandeep Narayan Jamjade is a farmer residing in Jalochi Village, Baramati, Pune. He is 37 years old with a family of 11. He started his farming venture when he was 24.    It took him years of trial and error to adopt various practical solutions leading to ecologically sustainable agricultural practices. Though...

Coconut is the crop of small and marginal farmers which is grown contiguously on their land holdings. Crop management is largely dependent on farmer to farmer extension as conventional extension system seldom looked into the contextual needs, need based delivery mechanisms for improving the efficacy of management in farmers gardens. Black...

Focused on gender equality, analysis and mainstreaming, the training provided an opportunity for 12 females and 18 males Solomon Islands Government staff from the ministries of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL), Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs (MWYCFA), Public Service (MPS) and Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) to learn more about...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Republic of Korea, through its Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), today signed a new Framework Arrangement which establishes overarching terms and conditions that will govern the cooperation through voluntary contributions and facilitate future negotiations between MFDS...

Transhumant pastoralism, with its cultural, ecological, and socioeconomic significance, is an important livelihood strategy for mountain communities. Despite its importance, transhumant pastoralism is declining in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. This study examines the drivers of change experienced by transhumant herders in Bajhang, western Nepal, to understand future implications for...

The productivity of livestock in Asia is found to be far below the global benchmark. The milk production per cattle in Bangladesh and Nepal, for instance, is only 305 kg and 459 kg per animal per year, respectively, compared to 7500 kg/animal/year in the USA and Europe (SAARC 2015). Improved...

Shanta Neupane had a vision. From Panauti Municipality, in central Nepal, she could see how hard women in the rural forest and farming communities around her worked in their family smallholdings, helping to feed their households. But although, like Shanta herself, they were members of community forest user groups, these same...

Last 28 & 29 April, 2021 , high-level policy experts gathered at the digital event “Scaling up Agroecology in the Himalayas Together” to discuss and inspire key decision-makers on policies supporting agroecology and organic agriculture in the region. The Himalayas event was organised by IFOAM – Organics International and the...

Strong water users' associations are instrumental in sustaining reforms and improvement in the country's water sector. To address the interrelated challenges of agriculture, water, food insecurity, and poverty in Tajikistan, the Public Employment for Sustainable Agriculture and Water Resources Management Project (PAMP II) was implemented from 2013 to 2020 with...

Last 28 & 29 April, 2021, high-level policy experts gathered at the digital event “Scaling up Agroecology in the Himalayas Together” to discuss and inspire key decision-makers on policies supporting agroecology and organic agriculture in the region. The Himalayas event was organised by IFOAM – Organics International and the World...

Besides the severe health crisis, the COVID-19 epidemic also caused the global economy to contract at a rate not seen since the Second World War and led to a severe increase of poor and food insecure people as well as a sharp projected decrease of production of agricultural goods in...

Strong water users' associations are instrumental in sustaining reforms and improvement in the country's water sector. To address the interrelated challenges of agriculture, water, food insecurity, and poverty in Tajikistan, the Public Employment for Sustainable Agriculture and Water Resources Management Project (PAMP II) was implemented from 2013 to 2020 with...

The Sinja Valley in northwest Nepal is a breathtaking place with a rich history. Plunging mountainsides and rocky caves hide ruins of grand palaces and temples: remains of the capital city of the influential Western Malla kingdom that ruled the area between the 12th and 14th century. Nowadays, however, that city...

Nekram Sharma, a farmer from Karsog valley of Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district, India revives along with its community an ancient indigenous farming technique. Nau-Anaj (‘nau’ means nine and ‘anaj’ is crop) is an intercropping or mixed farming method to grow nine foodgrains on the same piece of land. These crops are...

In 2019, the Agriculture for Nutrition Project (AFN) provided funding support to the Lao Farmer Network (LFN) to pilot the production and processing of soybean in two villages of Nonghet district, Xiengkhouang province, Laos. The small project, “Piloting soybean production and processing to improve nutrition in Nonghet district”, was implemented...

With its distinctive green colour and sharp, spicy flavour, wasabi (Eutrema japonicum) has been highly prized in Japan for centuries. There is evidence from written works that Buddhist monks ate “cold wasabi soup” from as early as the 12th century. By the 14th century, they began to eat sashimi topped with wasabi...

In her opening remarks, AFA Secretary General Esther Penunia highlighted the important role of farmer organizations and cooperatives in reducing food loss and waste as well as their initiatives including employing methods or techniques such as dehydration and drying techniques, etc. to prolong the shelf life or add value to...

As the eldest daughter of a farmer, Ti Chia Pan grew up helping her parents grow bananas and vegetables in the village of Nanphalong, Temu, at the border between Myanmar and India. Her experience in the field gave her first-hand insight into the plight of farmers. ‘Ever since I was young,...

In the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, India water scarcity and poor soil quality forced many farmers to walk away from agriculture. But a few years ago, the state of Andhra Pradesh launched an ambitious program called Andhra Pradesh Community managed Natural Farming (APCNF)  that is transforming the farming practices to stop the...