Helping to write a script for a farmer training video on vermiwash triggered my interest in trying it out myself, as I began to wonder if ideas from tropical India could work in temperate Belgium.  

Mulching is the process of covering the topsoil with plant material such as leaves, grass, twigs, crop residues, straw etc. A mulch cover enhances the activity of soil organisms such as earthworms. They help to create a soil structure with plenty of smaller and larger pores through which rainwater can...

The objective of this practice was to focus on the suitability and replication potential of salt-tolerant rice varieties as alternatives in saline impacted areas, and thus contribute to the region’s resilience and food security. The Philippines is among the most disaster-prone countries in the world. More than 200 climate-related natural...

In mountain areas, water continues to be a scarce commodity not only for irrigation purposes but even for drinking and other domestic uses. These challenges are encountered very frequently in India. These difficulties are present, inspite of the fact that important rivers namely the Sutlez, Beas, Ravi and their tributaries...

The Philippines is among the most disaster prone countries in the world. More than 200 climate-related natural disasters were recorded in the last two decades. Alone in 2011 the country was hit by 33 disasters, claiming 1 430 lives. Typhoons trigger landslides, flashfloods, mudslides, widespread flooding, and cause significant destruction...

SEVA in association with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), IFAD assisted Post Tsunami Sustainable Livelihood Project trained women, self-help group members on herbal treatment for animals upto 21 days. Selected women members were trained intensively to work as Community Livestock Volunteers (CLVs). Then they train local village...

Homestead gardening, which is not designed for marketing/profit-making, aims primarily to improve ongoing access to nutritious food and buffer the sudden fluctuations in prices of the major crops of the farming households during calamities and enhance family nutrition. The use of hazard tolerant crop varieties (like drought-tolerant) in homestead gardening...

The objective of implementing the slope agriculture land technology (SALT) is to stabilize the slope and improve the terrace or the contours in order to control soil erosion along the slopes and improve soil fertility. This practice describes how to implement the SALT method.

Natural vegetative strips (NVS) are narrow live barriers comprising naturally occurring grasses and herbs. Wide strips are left unploughed to allow vegetation to grow and to slow surface runoff. Natural terraces form over time as a result of the eroded soil accumulation on the strips. The vegetation on the established...

The adoption of organic farming practices could help countries across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In December 2019, our Resilient Mountain Solutions initiative collaborated with the Agriculture Research and Development Centre, Bhutan to organize a regional symposium on “Organic agriculture: Youth engagement and enterprise...

WAW and PAKISAMA of Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka share common views and interest regarding the need to develop information systems to strengthen family farmers’ organizations (FOs). Indeed, information systems are a real asset for FOs since they allow to improve their  own knowledge on their members: beyond just...

The food crisis in 2007-2008 triggered a global race among large agribusiness corporations for the acquisition and control of large tracts of agricultural lands in developing countries in Africa and Asia. Coinciding with growing global demand for food, mainly due to rapid population growth, and the dominance of the growth...

Bench terraces with narrow beds are built on hillsides cleared from forests and used for growing tea, coffee and horticultural crops. This technology describes how terraces can be used to improve crop cultivation on hillsides.

This report describes: (i) policy measures enacted by the Government of Fiji to contain the spread of the virus; (ii) policies and measures to stabilize the functioning of agri-food systems; (iii) potential effects of policies on agri-food systems and vulnerable groups. Finally, the profile also assesses longer-term options for agri-food...

Formed in 2007, Food Plant Solutions Rotary Action Group (FPS) creates science-based educational materials, which: identify highly nutritious local food plants, explain how to grow them in a sustainable, agroecological way, detail the nutritional value of the plants and describe why human bodies require those nutrients. The resources created by FPS allows people to better...

En Afrique de l’Ouest, l’importance économique des dégâts des mangues causés par les mouches des fruits s’accroît. Le manguier doit faire face à de nombreux problèmes phytosanitaires. L’introduction et la dispersion en Afrique d’une espèce de mouche originaire du Sri Lanka pourrait remettre en question les succès commerciaux engrangés récemment...

A grassroots innovation that offers most of the advantages of conventional micro-irrigation at a much lower establishment cost. Pepsee micro-irrigation systems slowly and regularly apply water directly to the root zone of plants through a network of economically designed plastic pipes and low-discharge emitters. Technically speaking pepsee systems use low-density...

This report describes: (i) policy measures enacted by the Government of Myanmar to contain the spread of the virus; (ii) policies and measures to stabilize the functioning of agri-food systems; (iii) potential effects of policies on agri-food systems and vulnerable groups. Finally, the profile also assesses longer-term options for agri-food...

Over the past three decades, strong economic growth, rising agricultural productivity and output, and the structural transformation of the agricultural sector have driven considerable advances in food security in Southeast Asia and enabled the region to become a net exporter of agricultural commodities. Whereas the vast majority of Southeast Asian...

This practice consists of rectangular excavations in streambeds, named dohs, to provide temporary storage of runoff to enhance groundwater recharge, increasing water yields from shallow wells for supplementary irrigation. They also collect and impound subsurface flow. The technology is used in conjunction with shallow wells (odees), which enable farmers to...