This entry gives an overview of the concept, the fundamental principles and the benefits of conservation agriculture (CA). CA is an approach to managing agro-ecosystems for improved and sustained productivity as well as increased profits and food security while preserving and enhancing the resource base and the environment. CA is...

Cultivating lotus in raised beds is a local adaptation practice in flood prone areas of the Quang Tri province of north central Viet Nam. Communities traditionally collected lotus seeds from plants grown in common water bodies and sold them in markets. However, there was no initiative to further develop, promote...

Frequent landslides in mid-hill districts in Nepal have caused damage to productive land at the lower basin and affected human settlements and agriculture activities both upstream and downstream. Extensive areas of productive land were left fallow because of their vulnerability to landslides, and many settlements were displaced, mostly from the...

This practice describes how water logging tolerant wheat varieties can mitigate the impact of water-logging and drought spells on wheat crops through the introduction of more hazard resilient varieties and innovative cultivation technologies. This practice aims to mitigate the impacts of drought spells on wheat crops through the introduction of...

This study assesses the economic security of the city of San Jorge, Samar, Philippines, in terms of livelihood, income, and health in order to analyze the extent of the effect of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on the populace. The study evaluates the responses provided by the government, private nongovernmental organizations...

I want to tell the whole world to switch to organic farming. There is nothing to fear and you will find it highly beneficial.” Meet Muhammad, a farmer from Pakistan who has been farming organically for many years now

A video about the Impact of COVID-19 on small holder farmers in Laos

The losses caused by seasonal floods in the agricultural sector in the Juye county, in the southwest of the Shandong Province, have increased during the last decade. The Juye county is the lowest lying area of a topographical depression zone in the region. Rain water from the nearby other six...

Northwestern Bangladesh is increasingly exposed to drought, climate variability and slowly increasing temperatures. Strategies enhancing the ability to withstand the negative impact of natural trends and hazards on agriculture are a means to strengthen the livelihoods of the two thirds of the population employed in this sector. One such strategy...

Between the elevations of 1 000 and 2 000 m in the mid-hills of Nepal, over 12 million people subsist on land-holdings of less than 0.5 hectare. Farmers rely on rainfall and organic manures for soil fertility maintenance. A declining soil fertility is of increasing concern in the Bari lands...

The rural land tenure became a family responsibility in Qilin township, with the need to renovate irrigation infrastructure becoming more urgent. This urgency was due to natural disasters such as waterlogging and drought which caused economic losses and threatened farmer’s livelihoods. Major interventions as part of the Disaster Risk Management...

Local associations or farmers groups, if appropriately trained and empowered, can play a key role in disaster risk management. This practice helps in including the concept of Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) in the overall context of Farmer’s Cooperatives (FC) development. This has resulted in establishing local capacities for DRM...

In Nepal, monsoon rains start around July and end between October and November. Livelihoods of rural populations heavily rely on monsoon rains. However, highly variable and erratic rainfall pattern often causes droughts and floods. To manage the risks of these climate extremes, community action planning is being developed to promote...

Water in Nepal is not scarce in absolute terms, and most areas receive about 1 500 mm of precipitation each year, while certain areas may receive up to 5 000 mm. However, many parts of the country still experience water shortages, in particular during the pre-monsoon season (March to May)....

One severe impact of recurrent flooding and waterlogging in Juye County in the Shandong Province, is the salinization and alkalization of soils. The soil in Juye, mainly Luvisoils, with high salt content due to the water loggings, is rich in calcium, magnesium, ions of chloride, sulfate and carbonate. Salt compounds...

Young people are regarded as the drivers of a better future for societies. And rural youth represent the future of agriculture and sustainable farming systems now increasingly being acknowledged as key to solving some of the leading world challenges like food insecurity, livelihood dislocation, environmental destruction and widespread poverty. But...

The Philippines is among the most disaster prone countries in the world. More than 200 climate-related natural disasters were recorded in the last two decades in this country. In 2011 it was hit by 33 disasters, claiming 1 430 lives. These typhoons trigger landslides, flashfloods, mudslides, widespread flooding and cause...

Potato is the second most important staple food in Nepal after rice and it is a source for higher income and a better diet for small-scale rural farmers. Increasing consumption of potato demonstrates its importance for food security; however, seed storage is not easy, especially because temperature fluctuations and excessive...

Farming is the bedrock of India’s economy—43 per cent of its population are employed in agriculture. Yet, paradoxically, around 60 per cent of India’s people is likely to experience severe food shortages by 2050. Climate change impacts—including crop losses due to global heating—unregulated use of fertilizers and pesticides leading that degrade the soils,...

The centralized plant breeding techniques of the green revolution have yielded good results in more favourable agricultural environments. However, most low-resource farmers in marginal areas have not benefited from these varieties. As an alternative to centralized breeding, farmer participatory approaches using Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS) and Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB)...