Farms throughout Asia are predominantly small and family-based. In the past, small farms in tropical Asia achieved significant improvement in the yield of cereal crops, such as rice and wheat, which is dubbed the Green Revolution. As a result, grain production increased much faster than population growth, thereby contributing to...

The demand for food is expected to increase by over 60 percent over the next 40 years as the global population reaches 9 billion. FAO estimates that 91 percent of the increase in food production needed to meet this demand must come from yield increases based on advancements in agricultural...

The celebration of the IYFF (International Year of Family Farming 2014) gave impetus to a group of foundations to launch the European Foundations for Family Farming (E4F) initiative, with the support of the European Foundation Centre (EFC). This initiative seeks to raise the visibility of the family farming agenda among...

This book discusses the policy, strategic, methodological, technical and programmatic issues associated with food-based approaches, proposes “best practices” for the design, targeting, implementation and evaluation of specific nutrition-sensitive, food-based interventions and for improved methodologies for evaluating their efficacy and cost-effectiveness, and provides practical lessons for advancing nutrition-sensitive food-based approaches for...

Implementation Guidance for Policymakers and Investors

This publication is a report of the proceedings of the ICSF ‘s Puducherry  Workshop, which focused on the FAO's Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale fisheries in the context of food security and poverty eradication (SSG Guidelines). The workshop brought together 71 participants from 20 countries representing civil society organizations,...

Traditional fishworkers have long been forced to adapt to the forces of nature, and they are now confronted with the  new threats of climate change, global warming, sea-level rise and ocean acidification. What will be the potential impacts of climate change on the already vulnerable and marginalized small-scale fishing communities...

The International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) has uncovered well-grounded resolve to place family farmers as protagonists in addressing a number of challenges we face, from eradicating hunger and poverty to conserving natural resources. Nothing comes closer to the sustainable food production paradigm than family farming. The diverse set of...

The United Nations declared 2014 the International Year of Family Farming. Although many forms of production were once family-based, agriculture is now one of the few that are still dominated by families. Because family farms are so prevalent, making them more productive could help combat poverty and hunger in many...

This article discusses the different mechanisms that sustain labour-driven intensification in contemporary Chinese agriculture. They include: labour investments directed at improving resources; the intensification of cropping schemes; fine-tuning production processes, resulting in yield increases; embedded specialization; the reorganization of space; and on-farm processing, which gives more value-added per unit of...

The well-known deregulation of New Zealand agriculture prompted the growth of dairy farming, particularly in the region of Southland. The formation of the giant cooperative Fonterra only exacerbated the conversion of sheep farms into dairy farms that challenged both farmers’ and the region’s traditional identity as a sheep country. Interviews...

Globally, agriculture is facing enormous pressure to produce more food for growing population while it is increasingly getting affected by shrinking cultivable land area, water availability and climate change. With impressive economic growth, homogeneity of diets across countries has increased in the last 50 years and is pushing more and...

As part of our larger strategy to adapt smallholders in drylands to climate change, ICARDA’s science has sharpened its focus on producing more with less in irrigated and agropastoral systems, and sustainably intensifying cereal-based rain-fed production systems through research platforms in Egypt, Ethiopia and Morocco.

Asia and the Pacific is a very socially, culturally and economically diverse region. Trade liberalization and foreign investments have contributed to rapid economic, human capital and agricultural growth, and decreased price distortions. However, the benefits have been unevenly shared among and within countries and between men and women. Export-oriented policies...

The Asia-Pacific region is the world leader in total aquaculture production. In 2012 the region produced 58.5 million tonnes of aquaculture products (excluding aquatic plants), accounting for 89 percent of the global aquaculture production of 66.7 million tonnes. More than any other region, the review of aquaculture production by species,...

The International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) is meant to drumbeat the issues of family farmers before policy makers and other stakeholders in the rural development community. But, it is not only that. It is also aimed at bringing back the dignity of farming by recognizing the contribution of family...

Excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer in crop production in China leads to environmental problems, and farmers’ lack of knowledge is the primary constraint. The public extension system, however, lacks the accountability and capability to deliver ecoagricultural extension services to farmers. Previous studies show that extension staff had little incentive to...

This  issue of Caravan – a collaborative effort with the CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems – focuses on gender related research being undertaken by ICARDA and national and CGIAR research partners across the world's dry areas, reflecting on experience and insights from Morocco to South Asia and beyond. Articles...

Asia and the Pacific is a very socially, culturally and economically diverse region. Family farming remains the predominant form of agriculture in Asia and the Pacific. Family enterprises in agriculture, forestry and fishery production play key roles in food security, local economies, sustainable use of natural resources, and climate change...

This paper explores the situation of women left behind in villages when men out-migrate for work and what it implies for gender relations in rural China. It is based on questionnaire survey data that covers 400 left-behind women and extensive interviews in 10 rural communities. It reveals how the women...