Aquatic animals that can be harvested sustainably from a farmer managed system without regular stocking, are referred to as Self Recruiting Species (SRS). A range of indigenous and introduced fish species, as well as molluscs, crustacea, and amphibians are inevitably present in many rural aquaculture systems, even where attempts have...

In the northern Republic of Ghana, a manually operated press for shea butter extraction is successful and popular among rural women. Shea butter production is an important income earning activity for women in rural areas and for many, it is their only source of income. Shea butter is used for...

Insect pests are the most important production constraints in Uganda. American bollworms, spiny boll worms and pink boll worms are among the ten insect pests, which are feeding and damaging flower buds, flowers, and young and maturating bolls. This is causing plant abortions, amounting to up to 87 percent resulting...

The Panzarawani Community Radio Station, named after the river Panjhra in Dhule district of Maharashtra in Western India, is bringing about a welcome change to marginalised indigenous ethnic communities by broadcasting information on good agricultural practices. Panzarawani reaches around 72,000 listeners in 90 villages.

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

Sorghum is the third most important staple cereal food crop in Uganda after maize and millet occupying 285 000 ha of arable land. It is mainly used for food and brewing. In an attempt to improve food security and incomes among the rural poor households, The Serere Agricultural and Animal...

In the Bolivian Andes, some officials are starting using local knowledge to improve their early warning systems for natural disasters. For centuries, local farmers have used the signs of nature (clouds, stars, the behavior of plants and animals) to predict disasters like hail, floods and droughts, and to forecast the welcome...

The Government of Andhra Pradesh introduced Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) in 2016 as an alternative to chemical-based and capital intensive agriculture through its implementing agency Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS). The main objective of the ZBNF is to make agriculture economically viable, agrarian livelihoods profitable, thereby reducing agrarian distress through cost reduction and...

The following practice provides information on features of woodlots, agroforestry and improved fallow as means to use wood resources more efficiently and prevent deforestation, environmental degradation and firewood supply shortages. The advantages and disadvantages of these practices are also detailed which include labour saving, livelihood resilience strengthening, livelihood diversification, use...

Farmers in Haiti traditionally apply a number of actions before and after natural hazards hit in order to reduce the impacts particularly on high-market value products. For example, farmers can anticipate banana harvesting to mitigate the losses in case of natural hazards occurrence. The integrated package of practices to reduce...

This technology describes the introduction of improved cattle breeds in Uganda. The improved breeds are more productive and resistant to diseases and are managed by applying the zero grazing production system. This is a type of production system where the animals are kept in an enclosure to control input use...

In Bangladesh, rice, and variations in its yield, is the key staple crop. It is critical to the livelihoods of that part of the population depending on agriculture. Transplanted aman (t. aman) is the second rice crop grown in the wet kharif II season, between July and November. However it...

This method produces small, whole planting setts, each weighing 200 g to 800 g, from minisetts as small as 25 g. The small, whole tuber setts produced by minisett rapid multiplication are excellent planting material for farmers and researchers. Each sett has a head, which means that sprouting is early,...

Properly spaced trees help provide many of the same benefits of a complete perennial cover. Fine soil particles contain most of the humus and nutrients in the soil, and if lost, soil fertility is reduced, while windbreaks help protect cropland by reducing wind velocities for a distance approximately 15 times...

Usually, farmers fatten male sheep and goats because they grow faster. To fatten the animals, it is important to find the right animals. To fatten sheep and goats, also give them protein rich feed for about 3 to 6 months. Along with good food, you must also make sure that...

In the Shrubs for Change project, 300 ‘trainers of trainers’ learn how to get more milk from dairy cows by feeding them nutritious leaves from shrubs. These trainers will in turn train and support 120,000 dairy farmers in Kenya and Malawi to start growing shrubs in their own gardens. Research has...

This brief is based on experience gained from the Master’s Programme in Agroecology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in particular, and on contributions from our partner programmes at Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and Martyrs University in Uganda (UMU). The brief provides an overview of agroecology,...

There is wide agreement on the need to change the prevalent agricultural models, given their negative impacts and their incompatibility with current societal issues. Agroecological transition has been promoted as a potential solution to the ecological, social and economic problems generated by these models. It however involves a systemic, multi-scale...

This Regional Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Monitoring and Surveillance Guidelines Volume 1 provides guidance in the development of AMR surveillance plan for food-borne bacteria, underscoring the key elements for harmonized AMR data generation, data collation and reporting of findings, while taking into consideration the standing context of the region. It aims...

Some practical advice on the management of date palms with suggestions for reducing humidity levels, trimming, intercropping and weeding.