In the Mediterranean, the diversity of production systems and value chains is seen as an asset for sustainability. More than anywhere else, the Mediterranean zone boasts a wide range of sheep and goat farming situations, products and natural resources. This diversity of production systems has provided many different products, shaped...

L’accès des jeunes agriculteurs aux ressources foncières est peu pris en compte dans les débats sur la durabilité des agricultures dans les pays du Sud. Les dispositifs de transfert foncier vers cette catégorie sociale, importante sur le plan démographique, restent rares et peu opérants. Nous montrons ici, à travers l’étude...

The nomadic pastoralist system in Baft district in Kerman province is well known in Iran for producing cashmere from Raeini goats. However, there is little information regarding the organic sheep and goat production systems. Interviews and field observations were carried out with 30 Siahjel nomad families of Raen origin in...

  Over the past decade, the Sahel region has witnessed recurrent and multiple shocks. Droughts, floods, conflicts and insecurity have led to the reduction of the most vulnerable populations’ meager assets and capacity to withstand future crises. In a context of extreme poverty and increased exposure to multiple hazards, their food security is at stake. Chad is the second...

La revue Alternatives Rurales est une revue qui a pour objectif d’offrir un espace de communication, réflexion et débat sur le développement rural et agricole au Maroc, mais aussi dans d’autres pays de la région.Cette revue s’adresse aux acteurs du développement agricole et rural, aux acteurs institutionnels, aux chercheurs, aux organisations professionnelles,...

Cairo, 16 October 2016: The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) celebrated the World Food Day 2016 under the theme “Climate is Changing. Food and Agriculture must too.” The highlight of this year’s celebrations was on the critical relationship...

Municipal support to the development of urban agriculture in Amman started in 2007, when the Environment and Sustainable Development Unit (ESDU) of the American University in Beirut, Lebanon supported by the RUAF Foundation (the international network of Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food security) conducted an exploratory study on urban agriculture in Amman....

he Government’s Green Morocco Plan (Plan Maroc Vert) underlines agriculture’s important role and sets strategies to promote the sector’s development. Despite these efforts, however, important challenges remain. An important one refers to the availability of appropriate financial services for rural actors engaged in agriculture. The average capital required yearly to...

This is Chapter 13, "Regional Assessment of Soil Changes in the Near East and North Africa," of the report Status of the World’s Soil Resources.  The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region has a land area of approximately 14.9 million km2, nearly all of which is hyper-arid, arid or...

Depuis les années 1990, la thématique des jeunes a pris de l’importance dans le débat public au Maroc, que ce soit en termes de renouvellement de la classe politique ou de l’obtention d’emplois pour les jeunes diplômés. En témoignent les mouvements contestataires des jeunes diplômés chômeurs, les politiques d’appui aux...

The Regional Conference on “Building a future for sustainable small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea” (7-9 March 2016, Algiers, Algeria) enjoyed the robust attendance of over 200 participants, which included policy-makers, scientists, practitioners, fishers representatives, fish workers, civil society organizations, NGOs, research institutions, international organizations and more....

This publication summarized the activities of the project (Coping with water scarcity – the role of agriculture- Phase III: Strengthening national capacities in Lebanon). The project has helped improve the national, regional and local capacity to cope with water scarcity, as a result of an improved knowledge on how water...

La conférence Internationale sur l’Eau et le Climat, organisée conjointement par le Ministère délégué chargé de l’Eau, le Ministère français de l’Environnement , de l’énergie et de la mer et le Conseil Mondial de l’Eau, s’intègre dans le cadre du processus préparatoire de la 22ème Conférence des Parties de la Convention cadre...

The Karianet network, in collaboration with the FAO Regional Initiative on small-scale agriculture for inclusive development in the NENA region and the FAO Communication for Development team, is inviting specialists and practitioners to contribute to mapping applications of ICTs and RCS for family farming and rural development in the NENA region. The survey aims at determining the way Rural...

The International Conference on Pulses or Health, Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture in Drylands is being held on the occasion of the 2016 Intrnational Year of Pulses to provide a platform to various stakeholders, including scientists, policy-makers, extension workers, traders and entrepreneurs, to discuss the various contributions of pulses to food and nutritional...

CIHEAM and FAO invite junior and senior researchers, cooperators, development practitioners, journalists, any relevant representative from the international community and policy makers to submit papers that analyze and demonstrate the role of producer organizations and cooperatives for responsible investments and sustainable agricultural development, both at global level and in the...

Following the approval of the Global Soil Partnership by FAO Conference in 2012, the Regional Soil Partnerships (RSPs) were established to activate an interactive consultative process with national soils entities working on soil functions and processes, including cross-cutting dimensions related to desertification, climate change and biodiversity particularly linked to policies...

This document provides a summary of the presentations, discussions, conclusions and recommendations of the Near East and North Africa Regional Consultation Workshop on the Implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, held in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, on...

Sous l’effet conjugué de politiques publiques généreuses, notamment en matière de réalisation d’infrastructures, et de dynamiques locales novatrices, le paysage des oasis a, dans certaines régions, profondément été modifié. C’est le cas de la wilaya de Biskra en Algérie où, depuis une vingtaine d’années, des palmiers en monoculture et des...

This issue of Farming Matters explores the different ways pastoral societies are joining forces to challenge the policies that undermine their culture and way of life. For millennia, pastoralist societies have managed the rangelands of the world’s most challenging environments, producing food and providing ecosystem services for millions of households. The experiences,...