Future Smart Food: Rediscovering Hidden Treasures of Neglected and Underutilized Species for Zero Hunger in Asia has as its purposes: i) to demonstrate the multidimensional benefits of Neglected and Underutilized species (NUS) and their potential contribution to achieving Zero Hunger; ii) to identify promising NUS that are nutrition-dense, climate-resilient, economically-viable...

Fall Armyworm could threaten the food security and livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers in Asia as the invasive crop-eating pest is highly likely to spread further from India, with South East Asia and South China most at risk, FAO warned today. Recently detected in India - the first time it...

National Workshop on Small-scale Fisheries, Cyclone Ockhi and Disaster Risk Management was held on 28 to 29 May, 2018 at Thiruvananthapuram. The workshop was organised by the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) Trust with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The...

A growing number of countries are signing up to a global agreement that helps stop illegal fishing, as the international community today marks the first International Day for the Fight Against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing. IUU fishing is estimated to affect one in every five fish caught, with an...

Between 29 November and 3 December, 2017, Cyclone Ockhi devastated hundreds of lives and livelihoods of coastal fishing communities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. This study assesses the impacts of the cyclone on fishing communities and the mechanisms in place at the local, national and international levels to address...

In small and remote villages in South Asia, our rich agricultural crop/breed diversity and associated knowledge is slowly getting wiped out and is being replaced by a handful of `high yielding’ and `improved’ crops/breeds. Rampant use of chemicals has led to the death of soil and is poisoning our food...

There will be a full schedule of presentations, discussions and activities. Some of the highlights of the Conference include a Ministerial Roundtable on Zero Hunger, a Roundtable on "Imagining future healthy and inclusive food systems in Asia and the Pacific,” an Exhibition honoring the achievements and progress of the 10 Regional...

The opening editorial Comment in the current issue argues that as the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) gets under way, it is imperative to lobby for policies and processes that will empower small-scale fishing...

The Mekong region has undergone rapid socio-economic growth over the past two decades alongside pronounced transformations in a number of key sectors and relations between the rural majority and increasingly-affluent urban centres. Land—as both a foundation for national development and the livelihood basis for millions of rural and agricultural households—continues...

In the wake of tropical cyclone Ockhi, the focus now should be on improving at-sea cyclone preparedness and search-and-rescue co-ordination to save precious lives.

As the implementation of the SSF Guidelines gets under way, it is imperative to lobby for policies and processes that will empower small-scale fishing communities

“Grape Mundo” is a technology ecosystem that guides grape farmers to do precision and sustainable grape farming to produce high-quality grapes using minimum chemicals, thus lowering the cost. This ecosystem also helps grape farmers sell export quality and residue-free grapes across a huge PAN India market, without any involvement of...

Fisheries co-operatives in Sri Lanka need to be restructured into true co-management platforms to ensure the sustainable use of coastal zone resources

Cyclone Ockhi, which hit southern India late last year, brought out the need to empower communities to manage risks through locally owned and locally appropriate approaches

Climate change is one of the most important challenges to sustainable development in the Northern mountainous region of Vietnam. IK is also used in cultivation techniques in extreme climatic conditions. With cultivation conditions are mainly sloping land, many traditional techniques have been applied to limit soil erosion due to heavy rainfalls...

The largest conference on occupational safety and health in the fishing industry returns after a gap of nine years

The following are stories about farmers and farmer organizations in the Pacific. They reflect some of the impacts of a five-year funding programme (2014-2018) that has changed the way farmer organizations operate in the Pacific Islands. Stories like these have become common in farmer organizations across the region. What follows...

Formal recognition of marine tenure provides an incentive for small-scale fishers to form and support the overarching structure for responsible governance

Social media networks are increasing in popularity and have been integrated into many aspects of daily life. Analysis of the ways in which individuals use social media is important for understanding social, cultural, and environmental issues. This study examines experiences of farmers’ market customers through their self-expression on social networks....

YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA – On October 20, 2018, 84 farmer leaders from 21 countries, representing 38 million small scale farmers, fishers, indigenous peoples, herders and pastoralists, met with the 37 staff of the IFAD Asia and Pacific Region Division in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for the first Asia Pacific Region Farmers Forum (FAFO). The Forum...