This review summarizes findings from 22 case studies published together in Tropical Forest Issues 61 (Torquebiau 2024). The case studies present clear and tangible benefits from the adoption of agroforestry, based on a wide range of practices from Africa, Latin America and Asia. In this review practices and conditions for...

During the interview, Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), shed light on the pressing challenges facing family farming, particularly in the context of climate change. Lario underscored the essential role of small-scale farmers in global food security, highlighting their contributions to feeding billions of people...

58 episode of Farms. Food. Future – a podcast proposed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Despite being a major contributor to global emissions, farming might just hold the key to solving the climate crisis. When agriculture is regenerative, it becomes a win-win for people and planet, increasing food security...

An assessment of seven innovation case studies in Pakistan in 2022 found that agriculture innovation systems show limited collaboration and networking, and a supply-driven rather than market driven approach to innovation. This limits the potential for scaling innovations such as the ‘Super Seeder’, a machine that sows wheat directly in...

Agroforestry is recognised for its capacity to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation, but adoption rates remain lower than expected, necessitating an exploration into the economic viability of agroforestry practices. Key economic variables influencing the viability of agroforestry include benefits, costs, labour and farmers' risk profiles. Benefits of agroforestry include...

Around the world, the agricultural sector relies heavily on women, especially in developing countries, but women’s restricted access to essential resources, hinders their agricultural productivity, resulting in increased poverty. A promising solution to this is agroforestry, a climate-smart agricultural practice which increases land productivity, providing socioeconomic and ecological benefits. Women’s...

El hambre y la malnutrición persisten como desafíos en América Latina y el Caribe. Existen diferentes propuestas acerca de las políticas e intervenciones para hacer frente a esos problemas conjuntamente como región y para cada país. Sin embargo, las propuestas de políticas e intervenciones no incluyen propuestas sobre cómo financiar...

Farmers have been innovating since before it was called innovation. For much of that time, innovation in agricultural systems and practices has been built around – and worked within – ecosystem boundaries. As the pace of technological development has sped up, the goals of innovation have become increasingly more controlling,...

This report is a synthesis of Uganda’s potential and effectiveness in implementing and domesticating international frameworks on responsible investments. The key international frameworks assessed were VGGT, CFS-RAI, Agenda 2030, AfCFTA and CEDAW. To understand their domestication, the study analyzed the national policies, treaties and structures set in the country and...

Amongst human activity, industrial agriculture is a primary cause of biodiversity loss and climate change, reducing the land’s suitability for agriculture. This reduces global food security, increasing the pressure for food production which further exacerbates forest and land degradation. Agroforestry emerges as a promising solution by leveraging nature-based approaches to...

This issue brief explores the women-led interventions to transform water security, stewardship, and management underway around the world to better understand the link between water security and gender equality and identify fruitful pathways to achieving both goals. Our analysis demonstrates the costs associated with undervaluing women’s expertise in water management,...

In this self-paced online course, you will learn the fundamentals of gender and social inclusion in forest landscapes restoration (FLR). The course focuses on gender inequalities, gender-differentiated impacts and opportunities to address inequalities for more equitable and sustainable FLR, to build the abilities and understanding of diverse stakeholders on the...

Burkina Faso faces accelerated degradation of its natural resources as a result of the combined effects of natural and human-caused factors (inappropriate farming practices, bush fires, wood cutting, extension of agricultural areas, etc.). The province of Passoré, in the Nord Region of thecountry, is in an arid zone and regularly...

A partir de la década del 90, en la región pampeana las áreas asignadas a diferentes actividades han variado reduciéndose la superficie de pasturas e incrementándose las áreas agrícolas, fundamentalmente con el cultivo de soja (Scianca et al., 2008). Esto causó una marcada degradación de los suelos regionales, evidenciada principalmente...

En la actualidad la región de Cuyo, en especial las provincias de Mendoza y San Juan, es la referente a nivel nacional en producción de vinos. Si bien esta región cuenta con un clima propicio para la producción de vinos no es la única posible. Si bien en la provincia de...

There is very limited access to finance for rural communities comprising smallholders, family farmers and Indigenous Peoples. Smallholder and family farmers comprise 90% of the total farms worldwide, and account for an estimated 80% of world food production. The finance gap hinders these rural communities’ effective action on climate, nature,...

Forests harbour a large proportion of the Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity, which continues to be lost at an alarming rate. Deforestation is the single most important driver of forest biodiversity loss with 10 million ha of forest converted every year to other land uses, primarily for agriculture. Up to 30 percent...

Access to external finance for smallholder forest and farm producers is limited, hindering their effective action on climate, nature, livelihoods and food security. However, forest and farm producer organisations (FFPOs) can mobilise internally-generated finance.  This briefing maps three stages and 11 steps that FFPOs use to establish savings groups and larger...

In March 2023, Cyclone Freddy swept across Malawi, devastating a country already struggling with hunger and poverty. But a year on, hope for a brighter future is returning to its farms.   On this episode, you'll hear directly from the rural Malawians who are building back stronger with IFAD's support. Our...

In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) we find ourselves in a paradox. On the one hand, the region boasts 40% of the worlds biodiversity, half of the worlds tropical forests, the largest reserve of freshwater, 12% of the worlds mangroves and six of the most megadiverse countries. On the...