In his discussion with the pontiff, Graziano da Silva outlined FAO's belief that increasing investments in food security, sustainable rural development and in efforts to adapt agriculture to climate change, will help create the conditions whereby people, especially the youth, will no longer be forced to abandon their lands in...

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...

This paper critically examines the key legal and policy issues in developing sustainable agroforestry on unproductive land in Viti Levu, Fiji. Much of this land has become unproductive because of the decline in Fiji’s sugar industry, on which the country has long relied. Interest in other land uses has thus...

In Africa, small-scale agriculture – including post-production activities such as handling, processing and marketing – is a major source of income in rural areas. In recent years, women have increased their role in the rural sector significantly, and their contribution to household and commercial agriculture is fundamental. Empowering and investing...

Universalizar a Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural (Ater), assegurar a continuidade das políticas públicas, garantir o reconhecimento da importância do trabalho rural para a economia brasileira e o para bem-estar da população. Os desafios para a agricultura familiar no Brasil são muitos.  De acordo com o Sistema Informatizado de Assistência Técnica...

Due to the topographical circumstances – 70 % of the territory is categorized as mountain area – Austria’s agriculture is largely based on small scaled family farms. Average farm size is about 22 ha UAA and about 36 ha cultivated area including forest (2014). Corresponding to these figures, Austria clearly...

The paper proves that agrarian relations do not fit for the system of modern market mechanisms because their commercialization adverse to the capital interests and social and economic relations humanization. There are objective circumstances causing a prerogative of the state concerning the development and improvement of agrarian relations. First of...

Con la finalidad de brindar a los técnicos mayores herramientas para contribuir a que los cultivos que se siembran en todas las entidades del país lleguen a buen término, el Servicio Nacional de Sanidad, Inocuidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria (Senasica) convocó a instituciones de investigación a integrar 31 Agendas Técnicas Agrícolas. La...

By making a base mix that can be fed to all animals, you save time and money. Two thirds of the mix is made from grains, like paddy, maize, sorghum and millet. One third of the mix should be rich in protein and fat. Mill the base mix into a...

With only a few weeks before land preparation begins for the next main cropping season, some 23 million people in Southern Africa urgently need support to produce enough food to feed themselves and thus avoid being dependent on humanitarian assistance until mid 2018, FAO said today. A FAO-prepared response plan aims to...

En esta nota se describe la situación regional, de cómo aumenta el porcentaje de mujeres a cargo de explotaciones agropecuarias en América Latina y el Caribe y sus características centrales. En América Latina y el Caribe, entre el 8% y el 30% de las explotaciones están a cargo de una mujer....

As individual farmers lack resources to invest in, or learn about, Conservation Agriculture. This video shows a group in Kenya that has come together to share knowledge and equipment and to assist each other.

A promising start has been made: the two new community seedbanks of Gumbu and Sterkspruit and complementary technical support provided by the government will allow farmers to improve seed conservation technologies, increase access to crop diversity, apply crop improvement practices and explore seed production and marketing opportunities. The Gumbu community...

Agroecology is considered jointly as a science, a practice and a social movement . It encompasses the whole food system from the soil to the organization of human societies. It is value-laden and based on core principles. As a science, it gives priority to action research, holistic and participatory approaches, and transdisciplinarity that...

The Dutch potato breeding model, which involves a partnership between family farmers and commercial breeding companies in a modern, Western context, is unique. While there are other examples of collaborative relationships between farmers and breeders in Europe, the Dutch potato breeding model stands out in terms of its long track...

Este trabajo se interesa por investigar enfoques innovadores para abordar la temática del empoderamiento económico de las mujeres rurales pobres. Para ello, se examinan los elementos conceptuales y de política que surgen del enfoque territorial del desarrollo y del enfoque de género, en una perspectiva de articulación entre ambos que...

Locutores y oyentes se reúnen para celebrar el Día Mundial de la Radio el 13 de Febrero. La radio sigue siendo un medio de información muy importante y de mayor difusión a nivel mundial, específicamente adaptado para alcanzar comunidades rurales o remotas y los más vulnerables. La radio desempaña un...

This policy brief is based on the proceedings of the Regional workshop on the use of the cold chain in the development of agriculture and agroindustries in sub-Saharan Africa, organized in Yaoundé (Cameroon) in June 2012. The workshop brought together speakers from diverse backgrounds to analyse findings from case studies...

The 29th session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa will be held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, at Sofitel Abidjan Hotel Ivoire, from 4 to 8 April 2016. Jointly hosted by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Conference is...

Semi-dwarf fruit tree seedlings will be planted this spring on the grounds of eight middle schools in the Chui Valley of Kyrgyzstan. Each school will receive 200 apple, plum, peach and cherry seedlings under an FAO pilot project in partnership with Roza Otunbayeva’ International Public Foundation. More than 3,000 school children...