Smallholder irrigated vegetable production in the Central Rift Valley region of Ethiopia is instrumental in ensuring the year-round availability of fresh vegetables in the local market in the country. However, a number of problems constrain irrigated vegetable production in the region. Therefore, asurvey was conducted with the objectives of assessing...

The objective of mulching is to protect the soil from the impacts of heavy rainfalls, storms, and droughts, while providing complementary benefits, such as the reduction of weed growth and water loss, and the increase of soil moisture, microbial action, organic matter and nutrient content. This practice helps in the...

Traditional farming systems have been abandoned to the favor of intensified agricultural practices, due to environmental, structural, economic, and sociopolitical constraints. Consequently, mountain landscape and biodiversity were seriously affected. The aims of this PhD thesis were to study the widespread of the abandonment phenomenon, in particular in the Alpine area,...

This report reviews a case study of farmers’ perceptions of policies and regulations to improve water security in the Jordanian Badia. The aim is to improve water management and conservation by engaging all stakeholders, in particular farmers and rural communities, in this common goal.

This publication provides guidance on the natural history of wild bees and their potential exposure to pesticides, as part of the GEF supported Project “Conservation and Management of Pollinators for Sustainable Agriculture, through an Ecosystem Approach” implemented in seven countries – Brazil, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nepal, Pakistan and South Africa....

Video (20 minutes) of a virtual tour of the experiences of Rodale Institute on weed management practices in organic farming. It describes in detail the technique of roller crimper in corn and soy-bean and also (later) other mechanical tools used by farmers (tine weeder and cultivator).The main topic is the...

Documentaries on the Best Practices in Rural Development carried out by young farmers that have been granted support under EU Rural development policies.

Le présent document porte sur le compostage à la ferme

Having physical and economic access to food on their own are not sufficient to ensure that people are food secure and well nourished. It is essential that people understand what constitutes a healthy diet; in particular, what nutrition-related health issues affect their communities and how to address these through food-based approaches, and know how...

La presente cartilla técnica contribuye a la capacitación en agricultura urbana y ofrece un medio de consulta para los productores urbanos que ya están cultivando alimentos en sus casas y quieran mejorar sus huertas y sus hábitos alimenticios, contibuyendo a la seguridad alimentaria, a la economía familiar, creación de espacios...

This technology describes utilizing rooftop water harvesting facilities to increase the availability of water for domestic use and irrigation of backyard tomato gardens. This measure allows small-scale farmers to harvest rainwater from roofs and store it in tanks, ensuring tomato production also during the dry season, when it would be otherwise...

This technology describes how to better prepare the area for planting crops and manage weeds, so that they cannot interfere with crop development. In conservation agriculture systems, this management should facilitate the penetration of direct seeding equipment into the soil and into a favourable environment for seed germination, without obstructing...

In this technology description the use of animal traction and single-axle tractors for direct seeding is explained. In particular different instruments or implements for direct seeding are described and Illustrated with a range of Pictures. The main working elements of the direct seeders are: (1) a disc to cut through the...

This technology explains and illustrates with a range of Pictures which equipment is needed to use tractors with, and how to use it for direct seeding. In particular, it discusses the row cleaner, cutting discs and the furrow opener. The row cleaner is used to remove excess mulch from the plant...

Par essence, l’agriculture, l’aquaculture et la pêche ainsi que certaines activités artisanales et industrielles du secteur alimentaire, sont liées au rythme des saisons et aux éléments naturels, notamment météorologiques, qui conditionnent leurs productions tant en termes de quantité que de temporalité. Toutefois, la saisonnalité recouvre plusieurs dimensions qui, i, au...

This document provides a review of the scientific literature on agreocology, including global, regional, national and local studies. In the Annex, the performance of various agroecological management systems are described and compared. Based on these findings, key steps towards an agroecological transition are outlined.

Innovation in organic agriculture is about finding the right balance. Although organic farmers want to boost their output - yields from organic farms are typically 75%-80% of that from conventional modern farming - they do not want to do it at any cost. The challenge is to produce more without...

Organic farming represents a deliberate attempt to make the best use of local natural resources and is an environmental friendly system of farming. It relies much on ecosystem management which excludes external input, especially the synthetic ones. Ander son, Jolly and Green (2005) stated that organic farming is a production...

The FAO-Finland Programme is supporting Tanzania in its efforts towards developing and implementing national efforts on integrated fire management as a key factor to reduce deforestation and forest degradation. All stakeholders1 see the fire situation in Tanzania as complex, difficult, widespread and of significant concern. The detail of the fire...

Globally, agricultural production systems are under pressure to meet multiple challenges: to sustain or increase production from the same area of land and reduce negative impacts on the environment amid uncertainties resulting from climate change. As farming systems adapt to meet these challenges, one of agriculture’s greatest assets in meeting...