The FAO-EU FLEGT Programme has committed to a significant contribution to global Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) achievements in 2017 under the Phase III programme. This year’s objectives were to increasingly operationalize the projects that were endorsed under the first two calls for proposals in the Voluntary Partnership...

The workshop provided a platform to discuss how policy, including trade and development policies, can help farmers, from developing and developed countries, to be integrated into the value chain, supporting the development of new technologies while fostering innovation. The discussion focused on the development of policy priorities that are relevant...

This research focuses on the public works component of Rwanda’s Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme (VUP) – the Government of Rwanda’s flagship programme for poverty reduction providing countrywide social protection. The research was based on a mixed method approach comprising in-depth qualitative methods and quantitative surveys conducted in Rwanda during the...

he video explores the role and place of women along fisheries value chain: The significance and values their involvement in fisheries brings to the communities and fisheries development. Why are they involved in fisheries? how are they organized for space in decision-making and policy processes? The focus of this study...

La Politique nationale de sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle du Mali (PolNSAN), en cours d’élaboration sous la tutelle du Commissariat à la sécurité alimentaire (CSA), se penchera sur les quatre dimensions de la sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle dont les facteurs limitant l’accessibilité aux produits alimentaires et notamment le rôle des marchés...

Knowledge Exchange for the Promotion of Efficient Rice Farming Practices and Value Chains in Sub-Saharan Africa. South-South Cooperation A South-South Cooperation video that explains the value chain of rice production in Sub-Saharan Africa. A coverage of a meeting held to share knowledge exchange for the promotion of efficient rice Farming...

World Experiences and Best Practices for Fall Armyworm Management in Africa South-South Technical Cooperation Meeting This video was produced under the auspices of the FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa, Bukar Tijani. The video also captures an interview with the Director, Plant, Production and Protection division of FAO...

Digital innovation and policy reforms offer the greatest prospects for transforming the smallholder farming sector, SACAU president Dr Theo de Jager and CEO Mr Ishmael Sunga told delegates while presenting at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Smart Farming convening recently which was also attended by philanthropist Bill Gates.  The SACAU leadership...

This policy brief describes how stronger rural-urban linkages can create decent rural employment opportunities for rural youth. It argues that many of these decent jobs can be created in both in-farm and off-farm activities along inclusive agri-food value chains. To achieve this, it is necessary to promote integrated approaches to...

In order to face this development challenge, IFAD’s Livestock and Horticulture Development Project, focusing mainly on women (who are the main producers and managers of rice, vegetables and small ruminants) and the youth, aims to help small-scale rural producers to increase their incomes by improving the yield and quality of...

Many African countries rely on sporadic land transfers from customary to statutory domains to attract investment and improve agricultural performance. Data from 15,000 smallholders and 800 estates in Malawi allow exploring the long-term effects of such a strategy. The results suggest that (i) most estates are less productive than smallholders;...

Increasing access to modern electricity services in Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the main development challenges facing the world over the next two decades. The rural economies are overwhelmingly dependent on agriculture; in fact, agriculture and agribusiness comprise nearly half of Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP). These enterprises require electricity...

The livestock subsector has contributed little to the remarkable economic growth recorded in Ethiopia in the last decade. In an effort to stimulate livestock production, the Ethiopian government has recently recognized livestock as an important strategic subsector in which to invest. Unlike most studies that focus purely on aspects of...

Since the start of the FAO program in 2015 in Kenya, more than 26,000 farmers adopted conservation agriculture in the eight counties; 3,500 of them have now market linkages with contracts and are developing cottage industries.

What is the optimal size and composition of Rural Financial Cooperatives (RFCs)? With this broad question in mind, we characterize alternative formation of RFCs and their implications in improving the access of rural households to financial services, including savings, credit, and insurance services. We find that some features of RFCs...

In the framework of the project “Adapting small-scale irrigation to climate change in West and Central Africa”, farmers from Gambia talk about the devastating impacts of climate change on their farming activities and crops, leading to crop failure and food insecurity. They also describe the measures they adopted to build...

This report consolidates findings from previous activities by FAO and other stakeholders, and identifies in the four focus countries (Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti & Somalia): - the location and direction of the main livestock trade routes, - appropriate sites for rehabilitation & development of strategic livestock water sources, - good practices...

Rwanda has targeted the transformation of the agricultural sector with significant public investments in land use consolidation, irrigation, land improvement, soil and water conservation, access to inputs, increasing livestock herds, and capital-building through support to cooperative development. Smallholders farm an average of four to five plots that make up an...

Each year, rural areas lose a promising share of their workforce, as youth leave their homes and migrate to cities or move abroad in search of a better future. By addressing the links between distress migration and rural development, FAO is making a difference in Ethiopia.

For over a decade ActionAid Mozambique (AAMoz) has worked with strategic partner organisations in the south and north-east of the country to promote agroecology initiatives with 80 farmers’ associations consisting of over 8000 farmers. 96% of the members are women and 30% of them young people, cultivating an average of...