Available evidence suggests that sub-saharan Africa as a group has suffered serious setbacks in recent years, culminating in the stagnation of farm production and productivity amidst sustained and sometime escalating poverty rates. At the same time, increases in human population levels have resulted in rising demand for food as well...

Smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable to risks.  They are vulnerable to risks from disease, pests, drought, floods and unpredictable rainfall – and they are also vulnerable to the fact that we are increasingly reducing the variety of products that we are producing and consuming. “Out of the 7000 food crops...

The objective of this chapter is to help policymakers, researchers, and country negotiators better understand and anticipate the likely impacts of climate change on agriculture and on vulnerable households in Zimbabwe, given that about 70 percent of the Zimbabwean population is dependent on rainfed agriculture and the sector contributes between...

Aflatoxins are more than a barrier to trade for smallholders— they are a serious risk to public health. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 4.5 billion people are chronically exposed to the toxin through the consumption of staple foods, leading to cancer and childhood stunting as...

Depuis la Conférence des Nations Unies sur le développement humain, tenue en 1972 à Stockholm, le Burkina Faso à l’instar des autres Etats membres des Nations Unies, est entré dans la dynamique de gestion durable de l’environnement au niveau national, prenant en compte la dimension globale. Cette volonté s’est poursuivie...

In this chapter we assess the vulnerability of Botswana’s agriculture to climate change, with special emphasis on impacts on the poor. The agriculture sector is inherently vulnerable to climate change, and Botswana’s semiarid climate already severely limits agricultural production. Following a broad overview of current economic and demographic indicators, land...

In examining agricultural vulnerability to climate change in South Africa, we see that an important factor is the enormous existing socioeconomic disparity in access to resources, poverty levels, and capacities to adapt. Recent research results suggest that the South African farming sector is characterized by medium-level exposure risk, coupled with...

Stimulated by work pioneered in Bangladesh, the paper outlines a conceptual framework for using poultry as a tool in poverty alleviation. There is now evidence from several coun- tries that small poultry enterprises with adequate institutional support targeting the poorest rural women and their families can help them take the...

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of sub-clinical and clinical mastitis and the associated factors in cows from selected smallholder dairy farms in Zimbabwe. Physical examinations were conducted on all lactating cows for evidence of signs of clinical mastitis. Composite milk samples were collected from all lactating...

Large-scale foreign land acquisitions - land grabs - are major and real concerns for African populations.   The consequences of land deals are highly significant for local populations and the environment. Some see economic opportunities for local communities through employment and income generated from leasing or selling land. Others see land...

Staff of the three UN food agencies -- the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) - received an Award of Excellence which recognized their outstanding collaboration in Mozambique. The country teams have been working together effectively to bring...

Although Madagascar’s economy is agrarian, much of the land is unsuitable for cultivation because of mountainous terrain, extensive lateralization, and inadequate or irregular rainfall. Only about 5 percent of the land area is cultivated at any one time, of which 16 percent is irrigated. In addition to providing livelihoods for...

Le travail effectué par le Programme d’Appui Participatif à l’Agriculture Familiale et à la Pêche Artisanale (PAPAFPA), et précédemment par le Programme d’Appui à la Promotion de l’Agriculture Familiale (PNAPAF) qui le précédait (financé par la coopération française et le FIDA), a généré des résultats probants en matière de structuration...

One direct way in which agricultural input subsidies can provide social protection to the poor is by targeting the poor with very high subsidies to ensure that they are able to access inputs. Although the Malawi Agricultural Input Subsidy Programme (MAISP) generally targets resource-poor households, the targeting guidelines also accord...

The lost decades for China in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s look remarkably like the lost decades of Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. Poor land rights, weak incentives, incomplete markets and inappropriate investment portfolios. However, China burst out of its stagnation in the 1980s and has enjoyed three decades...

ICARDA is pleased to share the scaling out of some important research outcomes and their impacts in 2013. For example, the innovative adaptation of raised bed machines to small-scale farming – developed with farmers and private sector in Sharkia province in Egypt – delivers a 24% saving in irrigation water...

Afin de promouvoir la participation des femmes à la mise en œuvre des activités du projet de Relance des cultures Vivrières et du petit Élevage dans les Savanes (PREVES), et favoriser leur intégration dans les instances de décisions de leur communauté,  l’Unité de Coordination et de Gestion  du PREVES, en...

Our Conservation Farming channel is for anybody interested in the promotion of Conservation Farming and Climate Smart Agriculture and we hope you will find it useful.

Les 130 exploitations familiales étudiées dans 9 pays d'Afrique de l'Ouest et d'Afrique Centrale n'ont pas les mêmes caractéristiques selon qu'elles soient implantées en zone sahélienne ou en zone de savane (superficies plus grandes et meilleure sécurisation foncière, taille légèrement plus importante des familles au Sahel qu'en Savane). Ce sont des exploitations agropastorales dans...

Over the past two decades, there has been a high promotion of microfinance institutions (MFI) in Tanzania. In 1990s there was only 825 MFI which increased to 1,875 in 2005. Currently, the country is estimated to have more than 5000 MFI. The promise of MFI lies in the belief that microfinance...