In this month’s programme we look at one of the most pressing issues facing farming today – that of youth and what’s being done to offer interesting and viable options for life on the farm for young people in developing countries . We have highlights from IFAD’s Advocate for Rural Youth...

Honeybees are susceptible to various diseases, some of which are very contagious and can be easily transmitted. It is very important that beekeepers are able to recognize the first signs of disease in hives and know how to proceed to contain and treat the disease. This practice describes the factors...

Squid pot, locally known as “bubo pangnokos”, is a regular receptacle device mainly to catch squid in coastal waters. The shape of the gear is semi-cylindrical and is generally made of polyethylene netting mounted on a bamboo frame. It is provided with a non-return valve, which allows easy entrance but...

During the pre-monsoon season, between March-and May, some areas in Nepal experience water shortages. On the other hand, during the monsoon season, water excess causes regular floods and landslides. In this situation, activities such as agriculture or livestock, as well as the availability of drinking water and women’s workload are...

Throughout Eastern Africa, pressure on land is increasing. Average farm size is decreasing as plots are sub-divided and farmers struggle to find space on their farms to grow subsistence and cash crops as well as to keep livestock. Many farmers would like to keep dairy cows but do not have...

Farmers’ participatory varietal evaluation of wheat and rice was conducted for three consecutive years from 1999 to 2002, in the Punjab, India. Farmers adopted new varieties that better met their needs and enabled them to break their monoculture dependence. They also made use of seed priming and zero tillage, a...

Using participatory plant breeding, poor and marginal farmers in Eastern India, who previously grew old and low yielding land races, produced several new varieties of upland rice. Self-help groups produced truthful seed of these rice varieties, with production rising from 39 in 2002-2003 to 81 t in 2003-2004. It was...

Farmworkers in the U.S. confront numerous challenges. They receive poverty wages and have high rates of wage theft, precarious immigration status, and a high risk of injury and fatality (Smolski, 2019). They also face rampant food insecurity, with 40 to 70 percent of farm­workers experiencing a lack of reliable access...

By eliminating unwarranted opening of new land for farming, indiscriminate cutting of trees and bushfires, woodlands are regenerating, wild mushrooms can be harvested again and small wildlife like bushbucks are returning. Tortoises and snakes including the much feared black mamba cobras are reoccupying their original habitats. The degraded environment and...

El Corredor Seco Centroamericano (CSC) es una de las áreas centroamericanas más afectada por los eventos extremos, en particular la sequía. Con el objetivo de fortalecer la sostenibilidad, inclusión y resiliencia de los sistemas productivos de los países del SICA, se realiza un inventario de buenas prácticas y tecnologías para...

Quarterly launched, the Right to Food newsletter updates timely on the progress and advancements of the right to food around the world, including news, events and resources produced by FAO and stakeholders. In the course of nine months, COVID-19 has spread across the world. It has caused setbacks to development,...

On the programme, which asked how coronavirus is threatening food security, I pointed out that all the stories making international headlines in relation to the impact of the pandemic on food – milk being poured down the drain, plane loads of eastern European vegetable pickers licensed to travel to the...

Bokashi is a nutrient-dense, fast-acting and soil-regenerating fertiliser. It helps increase the amount of organic matter in the soil and create conducive conditions for microbial activity. Nasira Habib explains how you can make bokashi at your garden or farm.

It’s International Women’s Day and we speak to IFAD’s lead on gender and social inclusion Ndaya Beltchika. Also we have news from partner projects working on the frontline for women’s rights in Uganda and India. After that we’ll be putting the Glam back in to the Green movement and what sustainable...

Une technique en application au Bénin, au Burkina Faso et en partie en Côte d’Ivoire, est la fabrication et l’utilisation du compost dans les exploitations cotonnières. Elle aide les exploitants agricoles à améliorer leur rendement. La fabrication du compost respecte une procédure stricte à suivre pour avoir un rendement meilleur....

The Philippines is particularly prone to natural disasters due to its geographical location and physical environment. The country experiences an average of 20 typhoons yearly, which trigger landslides, flash floods, mudslides, widespread flooding, and cause destruction and damage to homes, community buildings, communications, infrastructure, and agriculture. To address these hazards...

Heavy rainfall and landslides in the up-streams of the Churia range cause sedimentation of river beds, leading to erosion of river embankments by fast flows of water. This heavily affects the livelihoods of farmers downstream, causing loss of infrastructure, crops and livestock. In addition, the continuous erosion of agricultural lands...

Tomatoes are widely grown and used in Eastern Africa. During the peak season most farmers sell their tomatoes at throw‑away prices and substantial quantities go to waste because they are highly perishable. To avoid this, farmers can process tomatoes into various products for storage and use at home or as...

Municipal solid waste (MSW) can be a valuable fertilizer for peri-urban farmers in India. An integrated approach to urban waste management, currently absent, is needed to improve its use, to include segregation of waste materials (removal of plastic and glass). Thus halting the decline in quality and its management and...

The National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) aims to increase the contribution of research to the sustainability of agricultural productivity, economic growth, food security and the eradication of poverty, through the development and dissemination of technologies, knowledge and information. Maize is one of the main crops in Uganda. Therefore, it is...