The world is facing an unprecedented threat from the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Many countries are introducing physical distancing measures as one of the ways in which transmission of the disease can be reduced. The purpose of these guidelines is to highlight additional measures so that the...

Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) is a water-saving technology that lowland (paddy) rice farmers can apply to reduce their water use in irrigated fields. In AWD, irrigation water is applied to flood the field a certain number of days after the disappearance of ponded water. Hence, the field is alternately...

The Gender Climate Tracker (GCT) mobile app and online platform provides experts, practitioners, decision-makers, negotiators, and advocates with easy, on-the-go access to the latest and regularly updated information on policies, mandates, research, decisions, and actions related to gender and climate change. 

The Agroecology Criteria Tool (ACT) enables the assessment of a project through the lens of agroecology: it visualizes the degree to which a project, program or policy is aligned with the various dimensions of agroecology. The methodology is based on the analytical framework by Gliessman on the 5 levels of food...

The report by The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) addresses the links between the degradation of nature and increasing pandemic risks, quantifying the economic costs of pandemics as well as the costs of preventing future pandemics, and offers evidence-informed policy options for governments and decision-makers to escape the...

Contrary to what is sometimes argued, the current planetary crises have not arisen from the COVID-19 pandemic, but are rooted in an unsustainable and unjust global economic system. It is time to learn from other ways of doing things, other cosmovisions and other values. That way, we can build a...

The document presents FAO's component of the COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Appeal, focusing on maintaining operations in food crisis contexts, anticipating the secondary impacts of the pandemic and related containment efforts on the world's most vulnerable people and sustaining critical food supply chains to avert future food crises. File replaced 26 April...

Drones are male honey bees. Unlike the female worker bee, drones do not have a stinger and do not participate in nectar and pollen gathering. A drone's primary role is to mate with an infertile queen. The value of drone larvae as a nutritional supplement has been proven in many...

The objective of this practice is to facilitate timely planting of the wheat crop while minimizing soil degradation and conserving residual soil moisture and energy with minimum or zero tillage in wet and marshy land, where land preparation is not possible.

Milestones in CAOPA’s march for the rights of women in African artisanal fisheries. On 19 March 2010, in Banjul, The Gambia, men and women professionals from the artisanal fishing sector from nine West African countries presided over the formation and launch of the African Confederation of Artisanal Fishing Organisations: CAOPA. Ten years...

This mapping report is an overview of how agroecology is understood by different citizens (policymakers, farmers, members civil society, researchers, and consumers) and a rich collection of a variety of existing national agroecology initiatives that are vital, productive, and ready to pave the way for an agroecological transition of agriculture...

Agriculture in the mountains differs from the lowlands and has some inherent constraints due to geographical isolation, a low levels of infrastructure development, difficult climatic conditions and fragile ecosystems making agricultural production, marketing and development more difficult. Agriculture and forestry are the most traditional \ work sectors in the Carpathians, shaping...

The GFCM is launching a university devoted to small-scale fisheries. The SSF University will offer workshops and training courses to small-scale fishers and fish workers across the Mediterranean and the Black Sea region. Small-scale fishers represent 84 percent of the total regional fishing fleet and 60% of total onboard jobs. Yet...

The actual incidence of COVID-19 infections in Pacific Island Countries (PICs) has been minimal, outside some of the French and US Territories. However, overall, the economic and social impact of the pandemic has been substantial and potentially catastrophic. This includes a significant effect on food security and nutrition – which...

This joint note from WFP, FAO and UNICEF intends to provide government decision makers, school administrators/staff and partners with preliminary guidance on how to support, transform or adapt school feeding (in the short term) to help safeguard schoolchildren’s food security and nutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific recommendations are provided...

Nepal ranks among the most vulnerable countries to extreme climate events. In general, rural areas where the population heavily depends on agriculture, are the most vulnerable. High temperature during Summer months and foggy weather combined with prolonged cold temperature spells during Winter months, often affect vegetable cultivation, such as tomato...

Crop establishment is often poor in the semi-arid tropics. However, good crop stand establishment is essential for the efficient use of water and light, and a uniform stand is a pre-requisite for cropping success. Seeds that germinate quickly produce viable seedlings that are not dependent on rapidly declining moisture in...

Did you know that there is a small fishing village called Marianad, in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala, India, which owes a lot of its history to a public health nurse from Bergamo – the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Italy? This nurse, Lauretta Farina, 86, passed away on 12...

Agroecology Newsletter of July 2020

Mostly associated with fresh fruits, vegetables, and live animals straight from production zones, African mass markets bring together many people, irrespective of class, religion, or socioeconomic backgrounds. As thriving local economies, mass markets support ecologically-sensitive trading and consumption. It is not by chance that each of the articles in this...