Thousands of small scale farmers in India commit duicide, because they can no longer solve their debt problems. Two decades ago they took up modern farming and with the help of government subsidies they started growing commercial crops. In the beginning harvests were good, but as time went on, the...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) began a partnership in 2002 to address barriers to organic trade arising from the proliferation of organic standards and technical regulations. From 2002 to...

Rice is the staple food of about half of the world’s population, the majority of which is located in Asia. Rice supplies as much as 80% of the daily caloric intake of the teeming population of Asia, where two-thirds of the world’s impoverished population lives. It is estimated that 2.3...

Sustainably managed forests have multiple environmental and socio-economic functions important at the global, national and local scales, and play a vital part in sustainable development. Reliable and upto-date information on the state of forest resources - not only on area and area change, but also on such variables as growing...

Women fishworkers in India, as in other parts of the world, play critical roles within the fisheries and fishing communities, roles that are often not recognized or supported. Women are particularly active in postharvest fisheries; in marine fishing communities in India, for example, women comprise about 75 per cent of...

“Recasting the Net: Defining a Gender Agenda for Sustaining Life and Livelihoods in Fishing Communities” is a workshop that was meant to reflect on what needs to be done to develop a ‘gender agenda’ for sustaining life and livelihoods in fisheries. It was also organized against the backdrop of the...

This is the report on the workshop on “Small Indigenous Freshwater Fish Species: Their Role in Poverty Alleviation, Food Security and Conservation of Biodiversity”, organized by the ICSF in collaboration with the Inland Fisheries Society of India (IFSI). The workshop was a forum for exchange of views on the role...

Sixty delegates from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and India met at Lombok, Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB, West Nusa Tenggara) province, Indonesia, during 2-5 August 2009, for the workshop on “Customary Institutions in Indonesia: Do They Have a Role in Fisheries and Coastal Area Management?”. The workshop was organized by...

The reporting framework for FRA 2010 is based on the thematic elements of sustainable forest management acknowledged in intergovernmental forest-related fora and includes variables related to the extent, condition, uses and values of forest resources, as well as the policy, legal and institutional framework related to forests. More information on...

Global food security and climate change are among the most pressing issues the world will face in the 21st Century, according to the Rural Poverty Report 2011, prepared by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The report shows that climate change will have its greatest economic impact on poor...

"Capacity Challenges in Post-crisis and Transitional Situations . India and Sri Lanka"

This Food Security Toolkit, designed specifically for Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), aims to improve Pacific Islanders’ ability to produce and access safe and nutritious foods that meet their dietary and cultural needs. Targeting food security in the Pacific region is a critical action in the face of climate...

This study examines how Thailand’s biodiversity conservation measures affect fishing communities, especially in the marine protected areas (MPAs) on the Andaman Sea coastline. It documents the various efforts of the local fishing communities to protect the resources in the area. Also included are recommendations for government agencies, civil society and...

Sustainably managed forests have multiple environmental and socio-economic functions important at the global, national and local scales, and play a vital part in sustainable development. Reliable and upto-date information on the state of forest resources - not only on area and area change, but also on such variables as growing...

This study has adopted an empirical approach using case study research to gather evidence to better inform policy processes is the Pacific region. It aims to distill the lessons from experience, looking for critical factors of success and any context specific issues which may influence the way that different communities...

This study is commissioned by the Global Organic Market Access (GOMA) project, a collaboration among FAO, UNCTAD and IFOAM, to provide information that enables stakeholders and GOMA to develop an optimal strategy for facilitating organic trade (and thereby also organic sector development in Asia) through equivalence, harmonization and/or other forms...

This issue of Caravan illustrates some of ICARDA’s strategic research — the use of new tools such as GIS, molecular markers and thermographic imaging, and new research methods in biodiversity conservation and plant breeding. It also describes applied research on water management, conservation agriculture and cropping systems. It discusses the...

Agroecology is the application of ecological principles to the interactions between human beings and their environment, as well as to their consequences, with the goal of minimising the negative effects of certain human activities. It aims at protecting the environment, ensuring the sustainable renewal of the natural resources (water, soil,...

This Food Security Toolkit, designed specifically for Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), aims to improve Pacific Islanders’ ability to produce and access safe and nutritious foods that meet their dietary and cultural needs. Targeting food security in the Pacific region is a critical action in the face of climate...

This paper presents the general trends of demand and supply of organic products in Asia and the Pacific. This regional market is put in perspective within the global agrifood market and the current economic conditions that may have a great impact on the development of organic agriculture in Asia and...