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...

Identification of environmentally-sound options for agricultural resource management is necessary to obtain food security for smallhold farming communities in Uganda. Qualitative and quantitative appraisals were conducted in Bukoto county, Masaka district to assess the socioeconomic and biophysical status of the banana and coffee farming system. Three main hypotheses were tested:...

The main objective of this study was to describe the importance of cob rots in farmers' maize fields and reduced food quality through spoilage. During the 1997/98 season disease incidence and severity levels were evaluated in the Local, MH18, NSCM41, and NSCM51 varieties on farmers' maize from two villages in...

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...

In this issue, you can read more about EndaPronat, FAN and IRED, about their working methods and the countries they will be covering within the framework of the collection of information for the Dimitra project. Furthermore, you will find several articles in this issue covering a wide range of subjects...

Farmer participation in decision making at various phases of project implementation contributes very highly to project success. The Soil-Water Management Research Programme (SWMRP) has gained valuable experience in the involvement of farmer in all phases during the implementation of the programme.  The programme used the following instruments to ensure farmer...

The point of departure of this paper is that African nations cannot afford to ignore smallholder agriculture, however difficult its prospects may seem. Region wide, at the beginning of the 1990's, 85 percent of Africa's population was rural, and more than a quarter of the labour force was actively engaged...

Smallholder poultry production (i.e. family poultry) is an appropriate system that makes the best use of locally available resources. Family flocks are important providers of eggs and meat as well as being valued in religious and cultural life. There are three production systems for family poultry - free range, backyard...

The Dimitra Project on Rural Women and Development started in 1994 at the King Baudouin Foundation in Brussels, Belgium, with the support of the European Commission. The Dimitra Guidebook, printed in 1996, contains information on 255 European NGOs, research institutes and information centers working with and for rural women in...

This paper summarizes the results of six DFID funded country studies on encouraging sustainable agriculture in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. It emphasises the need for continuing government and donor support for sustainable increases in agricultural productivity which must underpin poverty alleviation. In this context, moves toward...

The present study is an update of an earlier assessment of warm-water fish farming potential in Africa, by Kapetsky (1994). The objective of this study was to assess locations and areal expanses that have potential for warm-water and temperate-water fish farming in continental Africa. The study was based on previous...

Uganda was one of countries included in a 1997 IFAD/FAO/Government of Japan study on agricultural implements used by women. The study areas in Uganda were the District of Mubende in central Uganda and the District of Soroti in the northeastern part of the country. These areas have quite different farming...

In Malawi, maize is the major crop and food staple. Given limited off-farm employment opportunities, much-needed increases in household income for improving food security must come from gains in agricultural productivity through better technology and more profitable crops. In the past, agricultural policy promoted hybrid maize and, more recently, tobacco...

Farming in Namibia’s Northern Communal Areas (NCAs) is predominantly for subsistence purposes, and is characterised by very low and even declining productivity due to a combination of low and uneven rainfall and poor soils, with conditions of extreme income inequality and poverty, under nutrition, out-migration of labour and high population...

The fourth in the Women in Fisheries series, this contains the report of the concluding workshop of the first phase of the Women in Fisheries programme of ICSF. Held in Rufisque, Senegal, in June 1996, the Workshop attracted 33 participants from 12 countries.

This study conducted in Kogi and Adavi Local Government Areas of Kogi State, assessed farmers response to the Agricultural Insurance Scheme of the Nigerian Insurance Company (NAIC). The willingness of farmers to take up the scheme was also determined. The data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics and multiple Regression...

This paper discusses the merits and de-merits of different means of financing smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, with special reference to Zimbabwe. This financing includes inter alia multilateral and bilateral agreements with governments and other agencies, micro-financial institutions coming from both the private sector and nongovernmental organizations.

While bush beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris  L.) have long been the protein staple of Rwandan agriculture, improved climbing beans have been introduced within the last 10 years, enabling farmers to intensify, stabilize and better stagger production. Through a 1992-3 nation-wide survey of 1050 households, conducted in both major growing seasons, this study examines...

While bush beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris  L.) have long been the protein staple of Rwandan agriculture, improved climbing beans have been introduced within the last 10 years, enabling farmers to intensify, stabilize and better stagger production. Through a 1992-3 nation-wide survey of 1050 households, conducted in both major growing seasons, this study examines...

Draught animal power (DAP) is well established as the traditional farming technology of smallholder farmers in Botswana. However, in recent years, the use of tractor farm technology is increasingly becoming important among smallholder farmers in spite of the on-going debate on the desirability of mechanizing smallholder crop production systems. Using...