This paper uses the sustainable livelihoods framework to explore the contribution of smallholder production to food security in some sub-Saharan African countries and relates it to the South African case. Noting that many of the world’s hungry are smallholder farmers, it is clear that food insecurity is closely linked to...

Welcome to Dimitra Newsletter No. 16! This issue is devoted – as all our newsletters are – to the empowerment of women and men living in rural areas. FAO’s efforts in the Great Lakes Region highlight the fact that Farmer Field Schools can be instrumental in addressing a range of...

In developing the Scientific Conceptual Framework for the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) Programme, FAO seeks to accomplish the challenging task of integrating perspectives from those sciences that are most directly concerned with conservation and development: ecology, agronomy and forestry, economics, and anthropology. The goal is to scientifically conceptualise...

The Conference on Ecological Agriculture: Mitigating Climate Change, Providing Food Security and Self-Reliance for Rural Livelihoods in Africa was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 26-28 November 2008. It was organised by the African Union (AU), UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development...

 Agriculture is the basic economic activity of most African countries and the agriculture sector is essential for food and livelihood security and poverty alleviation. Over 75 percent of African population is rural composed of small scale holdings and family farming with a vast diversity of agroecosystems evolved over generations forming...

This case study presents the status of conservation agriculture in Kenya. It is one in a series of eight case studies about conservation agriculture in Africa, which were developed within the framework of a collaboration between CIRAD (French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development), FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of...

In Kenya's drylands, drought has always been the greatest hazard faced by livestock herding families. Modern pressures are making this situation worse. This film tells the story of a research project started in 2007, which this year introduced a new form of insurance to remote herding peoples who had never...

The need to focus on women farmers' productivity, which can be an effective engine for social change, has become increasingly clear in sub-Saharan Africa. Women have a significant role in farming and post-harvest activities in most countries in the region. Nevertheless, a complex set of rights and obligations reflecting social...

Sub-Saharan Africa is likely to hold large numbers of very poor rural people in the near future unless sustainable intervention measures are undertaken. Although both history and theory point to the important role of agriculture in poverty reduction, such growth today faces even more difficulties. This study uses a probit...

This is the 11th Dimitra newsletter. Our last edition was replaced by the distribution of the Dimitra CD-ROM. Many of you took time to return the short survey we enclosed with it and we would like to thank you for this valuable feedback. We have also received numerous messages telling...

Over the past decade, Africa and other developing regions have been in the midst of tremendous changes. Market liberalisation and governmental decentralisation policies have interfaced with globalisation and urbanisation trends to dramatically transform social, political, economic and cultural lives. Agriculture can no longer remain behind-serving only to meet subsistence food...

Local agricultural knowledge in dry-land land-use systems is centred on the conservation, use and optimisation of soil moisture and soil organic matter. Additionally, biodiversity is carefully managed and nurtured to interface with hydrological and nutrient cycling to provide for ecosystem resilience, food security and diversity, and risk minimisation.

The eastern Africa region faces serious and worsening problems of food security, decreasing per capita food production and massive poverty. Agriculture in this region is dominated by smallholder farmers. Yield levels on these farms are generally very low for a variety of reasons. One important reason is the declining soil...

This paper provides a micro-level foundation for discussions of land allocation and its relation to income poverty within the smallholder sectors of Eastern and Southern Africa. Results are drawn from nationally-representative household surveys between 1990 and 2000 in five countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Mozambique, and Zambia. The paper shows that...

The rising world population is increasing the pressure on agriculture to produce more food. This is more so for the African continent, where it is not just about food supply, but also a critical factor in economic development, poverty alleviation and improving living standards especially in rural areas. On the...

The document is based on testimonies and experiences of farmers and extensionists in Latin America and Africa. The cases demonstrate the need for policy environments, institutions, and practices to be integrated to meet the demand for food, to reduce poverty, and to utilise resources in an environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable...

In the present issue, a large proportion of the columns will be been devoted to the Reflection and Self-Evaluation Workshop held in Brussels on 16-18 October with the partners of the Dimitra Project. We hand over to the partners, who have drawn up two documents on the proceedings of the...

This publication is intended to inform IFAD-supported project management units (PMUs), other donors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Eastern and Southern Africa about IFAD’s Gender Strengthening Programme in the region. The programme is currently in the process of identifying challenges faced by projects, emphasizing empirical findings from field diagnostic...

FAO is organising a High Level Consultation in Rome from 4 to 6 October with a view to improving information for decision-makers, the media and the public at large on the essential role of rural women in agricultural development and their contribution to food security. Emphasis will be laid on...

Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) is an important strategy for soil improvement in smallholder systems of East Africa but successful implementation depends upon identification of opportunities for intervention, which are in turn dependent upon a practical knowledge of farm enterprises and decision making. Surveys addressing soil fertility management were conducted among...