The paper distinguishes different approaches to markets in, and affecting, rural sub-Saharan Africa, and present some associated policies, notably ‘market-friendly’ and ‘market-challenging’. We then propose a political economy approach as a more satisfactory way of grasping the complex social dynamics of ‘real markets’ and their forms of unequal power. This...

The Women’s Rights to Sustainable Livelihoods project (2012 - 2015) is an innovative four-year intervention designed by ActionAid International and funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It aims to pilot practical solutions to promote sustainable livelihoods and reduce the unpaid care work of women smallholder farmers. The project...

Agriculture plays a significant role in Africa, accounting for about 30 per cent of GDP south of the Sahara, as well as a significant proportion of export value. Not surprisingly, in most African countries, 60 per cent or more of employees work in agriculture. Yet this barely scrapes the surface...

Les paysans togolais doivent de plus en plus composer avec les aléas causés par les changements climatiques tels que l’appauvrissement et la fuite des sols, la prolifération de maladies et la raréfaction des ressources en eau. Dans son nouveau projet, Elevages et Solidarité des Familles pour le Togo (ESFT) cherche...

Tuinderij De Stroom is an organic vegetable farm in a small village in the Netherlands. It is owned and managed by three young women who have proven that it is still possible to start land-based farming activities with low financial investments. In 2005, Welmoet de Waard (35) and Angelien Hertgers (33)...

The project is an initiative of 21 regional restaurants and inns, which have developed their own common brand and are offering the traditional cuisine of the region, based on quality products. Cooperation around the ALMO concept has covered the entire production chain for high quality beef. The project was developed...

La Asociación Coordinadora Nacional de Pequeños Productores de Comercio Justo de Costa Rica y Panamá(CNCJ-CR-P); nació en Asamblea General Constitutiva, celebrada en Santa Rosa de Santo Domingo de Heredia, el día 27 de Marzo de 2009. La Coordinadora Nacional de Comercio Justo de Costa Rica y Panamá ha sido creada para...

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is in Tanzania, where climate change is taking a toll on local populations. FAO-backed initiatives are making it easier for farmers and families to produce crop varieties that grow in dry conditions. Plus, new soil methods are increasing production and energy-saving stoves...

En este capítulo se realiza una introducción general del estado actual de las discusiones sobre la agricultura familiar en Brasil, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Guatemala y México, como parte de un proyecto más amplio titulado “Análisis de pobreza y desigualdad rural en América Latina” que realizó RIMISP para el FIDA en...

Anne Giraud (28) and Remi Lonjon (30) started their small-scale organic berry farm in the mountains near La Brigue in the South of France with the help of Terre de Liens. Next to the organic fresh small-fruit, marmalades and syrups they sell eggs from their 60 chicken on weekly farming...

In recent years large-scale agricultural input subsidies have had a contested ‘rehabilitation’ in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper reviews the changing paradigms, politics and theories associated with input subsidies’ decline and rise, and the implementation and impacts of recent large-scale programmes. Empirical evidence is patchy, and their impacts contested and dependent...

In the Near East and North Africa (NENA), the role of women in agriculture and the rural sector has increased significantly. In many countries of the region, agricultural incomes no longer suffice to sustain the livelihoods of rural men and women. This has resulted, in particular, in massive migration of...

In Rwanda, P4P focuses on supporting the government’s efforts to boost agricultural production, on increasing the income of smallholder farmers and developing the agricultural market. In order to reduce post-harvest losses, P4P and partners support farmers’ cooperatives with training in post-harvest handling, equipment and storage facilities. Cooperatives also receive training...

El objetivo general de un Censo Agropecuario es contar con información actualizada y estructural de las actividades agrícola, ganadera, forestal, caza, pesca y otras, a través de la cuantificación de las Unidades Productivas Agropecarias (UPA), que permitan establecer políticas, planes y programas de desarrollo que favorezcan al sector agropecuario. En el...

La presente quinta edición (2014) se fortalece de la experiencia recogida en las versiones anteriores y adapta sus contenidos especialmente a la realidad chilena y a las necesidades locales de potenciar una alimentación saludable. Busca convertirse en un aporte a la nutrición y salud de la población local, al entregar...

Modern farming technologies have eased the burden of hard labour for many farmers worldwide. However, many of the world’s farmers – mainly small scale farmers – still lack the technology to efficiently reap their crops. From a single farmer in Africa servicing his local community to the overarching need to...

This chapter provides a general introduction to current discussions on family farming in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia and Ecuador, as part of a larger project titled “Analysis of rural poverty and inequality in Latin America” produced by RIMISP for IFAD in 2013. Our analysis of family...

Sustainable food production in the rain-fed smallholder sector of Zimbabwe is imperative in current and future climates given the increasing proportion and role of the sector in food security. Backgrounds of the smallholder sector include low resource bases, declining soil productivity, climate variability and increasing human population. Impacts of climatic...

Forest producers are often seen as marginal players within the agricultural sector. However, 1.6 billion people around the world depend on forests for their livelihoods and daily needs. This raises a number of interesting questions regarding the importance of forest producers. Among them, if the role of forest producers is...

 Emanuela Russo and Fergal Anderson moved to county Galway, Ireland in September 2011 to start a small vegetable farm. Emanuela, originally from Milan, Italy and Fergal from Galway studied Journalism and Communication and Public Advocacy and Activism respectively and could not imagine to become farmers when they graduated from high...