This study is a response to a request from those developing the Second Economy Strategy to help identify the key elements of an implementable programme to support the smallholder sector. At the core of the exercise was a set of case studies of ‘best practice’ – that is, of smallholders...

In Djibouti, the agricultural sector contributes just 3% of GDP, and only a few people work in farming. Due to the Djibouti climate (arid to semi-arid) and the scarcity of fresh water resources (~150 mm rainfall/year), only irrigated and seasonal agriculture is possible. Djibouti farmers use diesel engine water pumps,...

The Eastern Caprivi region in Namibia has the highest adoption rates of draught ox power in Namibia. It is also one of the most well watered areas, with high concentrations of people, crops and livestock. The published research documenting the use of oxen in this region is limited, despite the...

This Working Document provides practical guidelines for upgrading agricultural retail markets in rural areas and analyses the strategic potential of upgrading as an important component of rural development. This document presents methodological steps for the design and implementation of appropriate programmes, rather than a single model to replicate. The objective is to propose...

Food systems of Indigenous Peoples who retain connection to long-evolved cultures and patterns of living in local ecosystems present a treasure of knowledge that contributes to well-being and health, and can benefit all humankind. This book seeks to define and describe the diversity in food system use, nutrition and health...

Water productivity in smallholder rain-fed agriculture is of key interest for improved food and livelihood security. A frequently advocated approach to enhance water productivity is to adopt water harvesting and conservation technologies (WH). This study estimates water availability for potential in situ WH, and supplemental water demand (SWD) in smallholder...

In an effort to improve the food security of rural households and to foster equitable economic growth and development, the Government of Swaziland and FAO, with funding from the European Union (EU), work together to boost agricultural productivity, while at the same time reversing environmental degradation. Smallholder agriculture is a...

The guidelines resulting from this report are principally directed towards sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where the lack of farm power and appropriate machinery is having a deleterious effect on rural livelihoods. The farm power and machinery supply chain includes a range of stakeholders from manufacturers and importers through dealers, hire service...

Les agriculteurs de l'Androy, région rurale très enclavée, située à l'extrême Sud de Madagascar, soumis à des crises alimentaires récurrentes, cherchent à diversifier leurs activités économiques et à compléter leurs faibles revenus issus de l'agriculture. Les producteurs valorisent alors leurs ressources agroalimentaires et leurs savoir-faire artisanaux pour développer des activités économiques....

Women are a major human resource and assure adequate nutrition, health and cognitive development of their households and children in their formative years. However, women are over-represented among the poor, suffer heavy workloads and have little control over resources for family care. Poverty and food insecurity are enhanced by lack...

This is a story about how FAO assisted groups of farmers in five farming communities in the moist savannah zone of South Western Burkina Faso to enhance their crop-livestock systems through Conservation Agriculture (CA) practices, including crop diversification, using an innovative farmer discovery process, to bring about agricultural intensification and...

Agriculture and agro-processing are important in Zambia's economy, representing more than 40 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and contributing about 12 percent of national export earnings. Agriculture employs some 67 percent of the labor force and supplies raw materials to agricultural industries, which account for some 84 percent of...

Unacceptably high rates of micronutrient deficiencies persist mostly among resource-poor communities who rely on subsistence farming. In these communities, consumption of vegetables and fruits is the most sustainable way of reducing micronutrient deficiencies. Apart from enhancing dietary diversity, indigenous vegetables and fruits are often easier to grow, resistant to pests,...

Participants in the workshop shared experiences from nine projects in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. All projects had a common objective: to add value to an agricultural product and link smallholder farmers to profitable markets in a lasting way. The commodities included bulb onions in Kenya and Tanzania; fresh fruits in...

This paper uses a rural household survey dataset collected in 2006 and 2008 to investigate the impact of a market-based land resettlement project in southern Malawi. The program provided a conditional cash and land transfer to poor families to relocate to larger plots of farm land. The average treatment effect...

Despite the achievements of smallholders in Asia during the green revolution, there is scepticism that Africa’s smallholders — who dominate the farm area in most countries — can imitate this model and deliver agricultural growth. This paper assesses whether such pessimism is justified. Given the high transactions costs of hiring...

The present edition offers a collection of 14 diverse articles highlighting different aspects of mangroves - from the lush natural stands, wildlings, nursery practices, enrichment planting, to the various uses of the mangrove ecosystems as paddy rice fields, along with fisheries and wildlife sanctuaries and salt exploitation areas. The Special...

This paper analyses Malawi’s smallholder agricultural efficiency, using a nationally representative sample survey of rural households undertaken by the National Statistical Office in 2004/2005. It aims to inform agricultural policy about the level and key determinants of inefficiency in the smallholder farming system that need to be addressed to raise...

This Issue of the magazine aims at reflecting on and rekindling interest in successful field projects, capacity-building initiatives and networking of natural resources practitioners. It is a strategy to sustain ideas that could enhance conservation of wildlife and natural ecosystems and improve Africa's rural livelihoods. This edition of Nature &...

Livelihoods in Darfur are intimately linked to the conflict, none more so than the livelihoods of the Northern Rizaygat—a group of Arabicspeaking, camel-herding nomads living in the Sudanese states of North, South, and West Darfur. They have achieved notoriety for their role in the Janjaweed—the pejorative name given to the...