The overall aims of the study are to: Gain a deeper understanding of smallholder commercialisation and its strengths and weaknesses in contributing to broad-based growth. Strengthen understanding of the context in which policy choices have to be made. Help identify innovative ways to link public funding with private sector resources. Provide specific advice to...

This report was prepared as background information for the FAO/ISEAL expert meeting on Climate Standards for Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing held in Rome on 11 November 2009. The report aims to scope the possibility for a modular climate assurance system that can be applied in the agriculture, forestry and fishery...

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 guide draws on the lessons learned in the framework of the project “Increasing incomes and food security of small farmers in West and Central Africa through exports of organic and fair-trade tropical products”, implemented by FAO in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal and Sierra Leone from September 2005 to...

This document defines operative procedures and minimum requirements for building smallholder groups’ management capacity for organic agriculture and fair trade certification. These guidelines propose requirements for establishing a credible and efficient group management system, including also ICS, which could be used by any kind of certification scheme. In addition to group...

This article discusses the mitigation and adaptation potential of organic agricultural systems along three main features: farming system design, cropland management and grassland and livestock management. An important potential contribution of organically managed systems to climate change mitigation is identified in the careful management of nutrients and, hence, the reduction...