L’édition annuelle 2019-2020 de Défis Sud propose un regard sur les agricultures familiales. Pour faire des agricultures familiales un moteur de la lutte contre la faim, il importe de connaître les filières agricoles, les chaînes de valeur alimentaires et les acteurs qui la structurent.

Small-scale family farms are the backbone of food production worldwide. Together, they are the main or sole providers of diverse and nutritious food for 70% of the world’s population. However, the livelihoods of these small-scale producers are increasingly being threatened by the development of our globalised industrial food system. The...

Experts in agricultural trade from 12 post-Soviet countries gather alongside state representatives beginning today in Chisinau for the fifth annual meeting of the Agricultural Trade Expert Network in Europe and Central Asia, or ATEN in short. Over the two-day meeting, participants will exchange information about agricultural trade policy developments in their...

Pastoralism is coping with many challenges, including its low economic viability, excessive bureaucracy, and low generational renewal, leading to its progressive disappearance across Europe. To economically compensate for the environmental services of pastoralism, including preventing forest fires through grazing, two complementary pathways were extensively discussed: on one hand, the need for...

Despite improvements in the control of organic farming, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) said more work is needed to prevent food fraud and ensure that organic standards are met, as traceability is causing continued issues for foodstuffs bearing the bio label.

As escolas da rede municipal do município de São Paulo já contam com 41% de alimentos orgânicos nas refeições oferecidas aos alunos: são mensalmente compradas 287 toneladas de arroz e legumes, 34.104 unidades de banana e 7,5 litros de suco de uva – todos cultivados de forma orgânica. O cardápio orgânico...

Ukraine has productive and healthy soil, called chernozem, that is rich in organic matter. However, leading Ukrainian soil scientists estimate that water erosion affects 13.4 million ha, including 10.6 million ha of arable land. Erosion directly impacts soil fertility and agricultural production, which can lead to significant economic losses of...

How can drones improve olive farms? Andalusian Operational Group (Spain) ‘I+D+i Precision Agriculture’ is trying to find an answer to this question. For the past year, the group has been studying how they can improve productivity and competitiveness in olive farming, while protecting natural areas.

Climate change has become an issue of national security and survival for many countries, as it further exacerbates the fragility of natural resources through the increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events. Climate change also affects food production and value chains and causes considerable damage and production losses in the...

Innovation is the process whereby individuals or organizations bring new or existing products, processes or ways of organization into use for the first time in a specific context. Innovation in agriculture cuts across all dimensions of the production cycle along the entire value chain - from crop, forestry, fishery or...

Technology, as we have seen in other sectors, is critical to affecting change and driving development. It is bringing countries closer together, reducing barriers to trade and offering a window of opportunity to ‘digital native’ youth entrepreneurs at the vanguard of innovation applied to different economic sectors. In agriculture, digitalisation...

El proyecto “Medición y gestión de las pérdidas de frutas y hortalizas en la etapa de producción para Chile” financiado por el programa One Planet Network (10YFP) de Naciones Unidas, tiene por objetivo contribuir a reducir la pérdida de alimentos mediante la adaptación y validación de una metodología para la...

Two years ago, Dutch dairy farmer Matté Eikelenboom started exploring crop diversification in his grazing land, to stimulate soil life and improve the health of his cows. His mixed pastures show promising results for the quality of his feed and the health of his animals. The variety of species also...

Le système alimentaire de Téhéran, Iran Le système alimentaire Iranien fait face à plusieurs défis, menaçant la sécurité alimentaire des habitants et contribuant à l’épuisement des ressources: sanctions économiques internationales entrainant une inflation et augmentation des prix sans précédent, rareté de la ressource en eau et pratiques culturales intensives et...

La problemática ambiental aparece en el campo profesional de los ingenieros agrónomos en los últimos años como una nueva demanda social que está exigiendo nuevas formas de relación entre la sociedad y la naturaleza. El escenario donde tuvieron que desarrollar su actividad profesional en los últimos 30- 40 años estuvo caracterizado...

The objective of the Symposium is to identify pathways to strengthen the science and policy interplay in fisheries production, management and trade, based on solid sustainability principles, for improved outcomes in practice. Ultimately, the debates and conclusions of the Symposium will prepare the way for the development of a new...

How to combat depopulation and make rural areas vibrant again? This was the question addressed during the ENRD Workshop on May 21, 2019. The event explored the role of Rural Development Programmes and other EU policies in maintaining a high quality of life in these regions, where demographic trends are...

Agriculture in the EU and worldwide has become increasingly dependent on the use of pesticides. Change is needed because the use of these chemicals can impact the environment and the health of animals and humans. Inspired by results in other member states, the Portuguese Operational Group HortInf is trying to...

Sfax, 2ème ville de Tunisie, est considérée comme le pôle économique du pays. Son dynamisme économique et son port ouvert sur la Méditerranée lui confèrent une place de choix sur le marché international. Néanmoins, elle fait face à de nombreuses problématiques: industrialisation incontrôlée engendrant pollutions des sols et de la...

The state of Europe’s water ecosystems puts a big question mark over the future availability of freshwater, for people and for all manner of industry, not least for food production and agriculture