Many people in Eastern Africa depend on forests and trees to meet various needs. With growing populations, these resources are being rapidly depleted. Many farmers want to plant trees but cannot readily obtain high-quality tree seedlings. Establishing a tree nursery can help to meet this demand and provide you with...

The Shashe farms in the Runde catchment area of Zimbabwe extend across three villages. Since 2010, over 500 families from the region have worked alongside ZIMSOFF (Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers Forum) and AZTREC (Association of Zimbabwe Traditional Environmental Conversationists) to revive arid cattle-ranching land into rich, abundant food forests. At the...

In Eastern Africa, reduced soil fertility has led to declining crop yields on many small‑scale farms causing food insecurity and greater poverty. Throughout the region, soils are generally low in nitrogen and phosphorus – which are essential for crops to grow well. Soil fertility can be increased by the use...

Climate change remains the most significant challenge facing farmers in Benin. Irregular and unpredictable rains, coupled with prolonged droughts and increased incidents of high winds, are decimating crop production across many regions. The Project for Adaptation to Climate Change (PAda-Clim-Benin), with financial support from Bread for the World (Germany) and DM...

Soybean brings nitrogen from the air into the soil as a free source of urea. You can obtain a good maize yield after harvesting soybean with less inorganic fertilizer application due to soil improvement. Growing soybean before maize reduces Striga infestation in maize. The practice demonstrates how to plant and...

Parboiled rice is rice that has been boiled in the husk. Parboiling makes rice easier to process by hand, improves the nutritional value of white rice, and changes its texture. Today, it is the preferred rice of many in the southern parts of the Indian subcontinent, and elsewhere. The quality...

Kayar, on the west coast of Senegal, is an artisanal fishing community with livelihoods in canoe fishing, artisanal processing of fish products and fish retail. The processing side of the sector — gutting, smoking, and filling cans — is mostly occupied by women, who make up 85% of the processing...

In the Plateaux region of Togo, the natural richness of the soil means that farming is the primary livelihood of those who live there. In the Kpélé Prefecture, in the south-west, the relatively mild climates and good rainfall should make it perfect for agriculture. However, the farming communities have witnessed...

Les poules indigènes jouent un rôle important dans la vie des familles rurales en Afrique orientale. Malgré l’usage accru des races commerciales par de gros éleveurs, près des trois quarts des poules de la région sont de races indigènes. Leur viande et leurs œufs sont plus savoureux , elles exigent...

The following provides an overview on how to plant, fertilize, manage and control pests for a series of vegetable varieties. These include amaranthus, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, broccoli, eggplant, cucumber, kale, leek, lettuce, okra, onion, sweet pepper, pumpkin, Swiss chard, tomato and watermelon.

Market liberalisation in Africa has resulted in more commodities being stored in small quantities in on-farm facilities. This has resulted in increased post-harvest losses, especially by storage pest insects of grain and legumes. The use of synthetic pesticides in food stores at the farm level can be considered costly by...

Cowpea is important to rural households in Ghana for its nutritional value and to supplement income. Poorer producers typically have to sell grain legumes soon after harvest, either to meet debts or because they cannot prevent storage losses (weight losses and value reduction) associated with insect damage. Market sellers are...

Extensionists often give information away for free, but selling it may get you a more tuned-in audience. This is the conclusion of researcher Gérard Zoundji and colleagues in a recent paper published in Experimental Agriculture.

Water and food security of agro-pastoral communities in the area are under threat. Flash floods, erratic rainfall, and an ongoing battle with crop pests have made steady and healthy crop growth difficult. As a result, food shortages are causing acute malnutrition, and conflicts regularly arise amongst neighbouring communities fighting for...

Formed in 2007, Food Plant Solutions Rotary Action Group (FPS) creates science-based educational materials, which: identify highly nutritious local food plants, explain how to grow them in a sustainable, agroecological way, detail the nutritional value of the plants and describe why human bodies require those nutrients. The resources created by FPS allows people to better...

Les moutons qui broutent dans les pâturages peuvent être infestés par plusieurs types de parasites. Le niveau d’infestation parasitaire doit faire l’objet d’un contrôle. Dans le cas contraire, l’infestation peut entraîner des saignements, l’amaigrissement et même la mort de l’animal. En cas d’hydatidose (maladie due à l’infestation par un ténia),...

Using the story of a beekeeper in South Western Uganda, who started with three traditional bee hives ten years ago and now has more than 100 hives of different types, this brochure introduces to the advantages and the basic techniques of beekeeping and honey processing. It gives an overview of...

Sweet potato is a popular food in many parts of Eastern Africa. It is drought tolerant, hardy and can grow in marginal areas, thus contributing to improved food security. The young leaves and vines can be consumed as vegetables or fed to livestock. In some communities in Eastern Africa, sweet...

Demand for rice on the global market is on a constant rise. Yet despite the Green Revolution, production levels are unable to keep up with demand. Irrigated rice production is practised by millions of farmers around the world. The technique is based on an almost permanent flooding of the paddy-fields,...

Cassava, sweet potato, papaya and pumpkin leaves are widely eaten in Africa. They are nutritious, tasty, inexpensive and can help reduce hunger and malnutrition. Fresh green leafy vegetables and fruits start to lose their quality immediately after harvest, becoming damaged, wilted and eventually rotten. Storing and drying fruits and vegetables...