The objective of the assessment is to analyse the agricultural and rural sector of Zambia from a gender perspective at the macro (policy), meso (institutional) and micro (community and household) levels in order to identify gender inequalities in access to critical productive resources, assets, services and opportunities. In particular, the...

This study investigates the determinants of farmers’ crop choice decisions, crop area diversification, and income diversification in Sub-Saharan Africa using nationally representative panel data for Nigeria and Uganda.

As part of FAO’s Blue Growth Initiative (BGI) the FAO Member Countries of the Eastern Africa Sub-Region met to agree on a strategy for the Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture within the Blue Growth Initiative in Eastern Africa (BGI Strategy). The BGI is an FAO flagship initiative that aims at...

Fisherfolk use their social networks to navigate formal and informal rules in accessing the fisheries of Lake Victoria

For over 40 years, natural hazards (mainly droughts, floods and landslides) have affected millions of people in the eastern Africa sub-region. The impact of these hazards have been high, continue to rise in frequency and are mostly felt in the agriculture and food sectors. In some other countries of the...

Like many problems in the global South, the global food system issues can be traced back to a colonial history. Back in 1989 two sociologists, Harriet Friedmann and Philip McMichael, developed a useful concept in their work on agrarian studies: Global food regimes. They described two key periods where the...

Betty Ndugga used to be a clothing trader in Uganda's capital of Kampala, after her husband died, she returned to her village and joined a local farmer field school, supported by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, where she was trained in coffee production. After that, she decided to establish...

Agroecology is deeply rooted in the ecological rationale of traditional small-scale agriculture, representing long established examples of successful agricultural systems characterized by a tremendous diversity of domesticated crop and animal species maintained and enhanced by ingenuous soil, water and biodiversity management regimes, nourished by complex traditional knowledge systems. Such complex...

“Food and nutrition insecurity certainly has a socio-spatial dimension that is highly influenced by the degree of urbanity along the urban-rural continuum and is related to urban, periurban and rural agriculture” reports Dr. Takemore Chagomaka  in a  new study  entitled “Food and Nutrition Insecurity Mapping (FNIRM) in Urban and Periurban...

World tilapia aquaculture production grew 12 percent annually, from less than a half million tonnes in the early 1990s to over 5 million tonnes in the mid-2010s. Africa accounted for 20 percent of the growth. Yet most of the contribution came from Egypt, whereas in the mid-2010s countries in sub-Saharan...

Betty Ndugga used to be a clothing trader in Uganda's capital of Kampala, after her husband died, she returned to her village and joined a local farmer field school, supported by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, where she was trained in coffee production. After that, she decided to establish...

Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), FAW, is an insect native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. Its larval stage (photo) feeds on more than 80 plant species, including maize, rice, sorghum, millet, sugarcane, vegetable crops and cotton. FAW can cause significant yield losses if not well managed. It can...

The civil conflicts in South Sudan has since 2013 resulted into increased influx of refugees into West Nile, Uganda. As at February 2017, the FAO estimated the total refugee population in West Nile region at 628,000 people (86% women and children, 3% the elderly, and 5 people per household). While...

With only one-quarter of expected rainfall received in the Horn of Africa in the October-December period, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) called for an immediate response to prevent widespread drought conditions from becoming a catastrophe. “The magnitude of the situation calls for scaled up action and coordination at national and...

Droughts in the Horn of Africa have been increasing in severity and frequency, and aggravated by desertification, land degradation and climate change. With multiple consecutive years of poor rains, dry spells and drought, including the El Niño-induced drought in 2015/16, there has been little to no recovery among affected households...

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...

Betty Ndugga used to be a clothing trader in Uganda's capital of Kampala. After her husband died, she returned to her village and joined a local farmer field school, supported by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, where she was trained in coffee production. After that, she decided to establish...

The RBA Project is jointly implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP). Funded by the Government of Switzerland, the Project seeks to improve food security and income-generating opportunities through the reduction of...

The RBA Project is jointly implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP). Funded by the Government of Switzerland, the Project seeks to improve food security and income-generating opportunities through the reduction of...

Access to land is at the heart of rural livelihoods. In sub-Saharan Africa, the pace and scale at which land is changing hands are increasing fast. Understanding these changes in land access is crucial if the systems of land governance, the practices of companies and organisations, and the initiatives seeking...