Dilemma It had been a year since I completed my bachelor’s degree in agriculture, but the dilemma of what to do next still continued. “Should I find a job or get a master’s degree? If I am going for a master’s degree, which subject should I choose, what is my field...

Ever since he was about 16 years old, Ziaur Rahman has been working his family’s farm in the Rangpur district of northern Bangladesh, growing rice, potatoes and other vegetables. But Ziaur, now 34, is feeling increasingly squeezed by today’s harsh economic realities. Even with his wife Sahanaz, and his brother...

Thailand experienced several cycles of rapid expansion and intensification of production, followed by sector-wide losses from a series of viral disease outbreaks. Farms were forced to innovate and adapt management measures to address the perceived sources, or drivers, of disease. The implementation of heterotrophic, low water exchange shrimp-farming systems –...

It was early February 2020. I was headed off with my camera crew, our field officer – Kumar and our NGO partner from Bagalkot to visit and film some Fiar Price shops. There were muttered rumors of a virus called COVID. WhatsApp messages, sounding the alarm of a pandemic, were...

It was the monsoon of 2019 when Stefan and I set forth on our agrobiodiversity hunt into the dense forest and other food production systems of Umsawwar community in Meghalaya. Kong Therisa Nongrum and Kong Angela Nongrum, who are custodian farmers from the community, volunteered to lead us on this...

The Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has done an independent evaluation of a programme that aimed to promote and institutionalize AA and SRSP in the ASEAN region, including from a sustainable financing perspective.  This evaluation, which comprised a...

"Due to #climatechange, farmers in #Bangladesh are in a vulnerable situation. Because of the sea level rise and salinity intrusion, river erosion, etc., they are facing a massive negative blow in terms of crop productivity. In addition, poor management practices, especially those of pests and diseases, fertilizer, water, and irrigation...

In 2021, AFA has joined the Collective Action on Forgotten Food being led by the Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation (GFAR), Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Crops for the Future Research Centre.  According to GFAR (2021), “forgotten foods are derived from a diversified set of Neglected and...

This report provides a collection and analysis of six case studies which introduce trailblazing shared label initiatives by smallholder organisations across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Each case study explores the motivation for collective marketing action, the choice of claims to make through a shared label, the control over the...

With the full picture of damage and needs after Tonga’s massive volcanic eruption and tsunami only gradually emerging, what is already clear is that the stakes could not be higher for the farmers and fishers of the South Pacific island nation, living in one of the world’s most disaster-prone regions. With roughly...

Complex rice systems (CRSs) are integrated agricultural systems that combine azolla (aquatic ferns), fish, ducks and border plants into rice production systems to augment ecological processes of nutrient recycling, weed and pest suppression, and replace agrochemicals that are harmful to human, animals and environment. Moreover, CRSs could foster ecosystem services...

In a refreshingly optimistic book, ‘The soil will save us’, Kristin Ohlson explains how agriculture could stop emitting carbon, and instead remove it from the air and place it in the soil.

The publication looks at innovations happening at all stages of the food value chain: from production to manufacturing and retailing. This also includes the extended value chain, for example input supply, financial services and agribusiness support services. Yields are improving and primary production is becoming more resilient as a result...

Staking allows more light and better air circulation to plants. Staked tomato plants are less attacked by pests and diseases and the fruits do not easily spoil. By staking your plants, they do not fall over due to the weight of the tomato fruits. Your plants will grow healthy and...

The official kick-off meeting of the project for the development of Agroecology and Safe food System Transitions (ASSET) in Lao PDR took place on September 28-29, 2022, at the Provincial of Agriculture and Forestry of Xieng Khouang province, Lao PDR, co-chaired by Dr. Thatheva SAPHANTHONG, Director of the Department of Agriculture Land Management...

This homestead pond polyculture practice takes a nutrition and gender sensitive approach. Micronutrient-rich small fish are incorporated into the homestead pond. With regular harvest, these small fish are consumed by household members, most importantly by pregnant women, lactating mothers, adolescent girls, and children, to mitigate micronutrient malnutrition. To maximize the...

Moving forward with its mission to support and empower rural families and communities in the Greater Sepik Region who live on cocoa, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), under the EU Funded UN Joint STREIT PNG Programme and in partnership with PNG Cocoa Board and East...

The International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022) was launched in the Pacific Islands, during an event today to mark the occasion, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Pacific fishers, the Pacific Community (SPC) and INFOFISH. The IYAFA 2022 year-long regional campaign will highlight...

You can prepare a basic natural growth promoter with locally available ingredients, such as cow dung, ghee, milk, urine, sugar and ripe bananas. To further strengthen the growth promotor you can also add an extract made from urine and aromatic leaves so that it also helps to control pests and...

What does digitalisation mean from the perspectives of a diversified, dairy family farm in rural Japan? For more than three generations, the Sudo Family has adapted their farm to the challenges and opportunities of working and living in the southern tip of the Bōsō Peninsula of Japan, Chiba Prefecture. As...