This good practice is aimed at addressing the growing degradation of common land in India. By controlling the use of communal lands through community participation, discussion and the creation of self-governing rules, many benefits have been noted.

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...

Les retenues collinaires sont de petits ouvrages (généralement en terre), qui recueillent les eaux de ruissellement de bassins versants. La superficie de ces retenues varie de quelques hectares à quelques km2 et elles ont une capacité de 0,5 à 3 millions de m3. Elles sont implantés dans des environnements fragiles...

The integrated compost and poultry system is a farming method that combines composting, poultry raising, and egg production. It is a low-cost method to raise chickens while producing good quality compost. Feed costs are almost eliminated because food scraps, manure, and mulch are used for feed – all of which...

This practice highlights the positive outcomes of the promotion of backyard poultry farming in West Bengal. In addition to improving the production and supply of eggs and poultry meat, interventions generated self-employment leading to a reduction in rural poverty and the empowerment of rural women. The practice documents one of...

This practice shows that pineapple cultivation not only minimizes soil erosion but also promotes the rehabilitation of degraded sloppy lands for additional income. Technical details are provided for the implementation of this practice including pit preparation and seedling plantation. The economic advantages of this practice include local labour generation and...

Tsetse flies (Glossina sp.) infest over 11 million square km of Africa, and are vectors of Trypanosomosis (or Trypanosomiasis) in both man and domestic livestock. For example, it is estimated that tsetse infestations occur over 7 percent of Zimbabwe and 60 percent of Tanzania and Trypanosomosis has an important negative impact on...

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...

Le paillage (ou mulching) est le processus de recouvrement de la terre arable avec du matériel végétal tel que des feuilles, de l'herbe, des brindilles, des résidus de récolte, de la paille, etc. La couverture de mulch (ou paillis) accroît l'activité des organismes du sol et surtout celle des vers...

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...

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...

The economic decline of the past ten years in the Caribbean, due largely to the changes in trading arrangements for bananas, has had severe negative impacts. Fishing continues to support a significant number of households, but people have had to seek work in the manufacturing, tourism, commercial and construction sectors....

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...