This publication presents a collection of case studies by Mountain Partnership (MP) members from around the world, highlighting experiences of agroecological mountain farming systems. It aims to increase attention toward agroecological principles and approaches and showcase their potential. The MP, the only United Nations global voluntary alliance dedicated to sustainable...

The 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit was designed to create a path towards transforming the global food system so that it feeds the world sustainably, equitably, and inclusively. Small-scale farmers and other rural people must play an essential role in doing that. They are the backbone of the global...

An agroecology project from Tanzania found significant improvements in the diversity of children’s diets and food security for households after farmers learned about sustainable crop-growing methods, gender equity, nutrition and climate change from peer mentors. The investigator of the project said, “We found that this intervention approach of combining agroecology...

FISH4ACP is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) aimed at making fisheries and aquaculture value chains in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific more sustainable. FISH4ACP is implemented by FAO and partners with funding from the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry...

The availability of feed resources is, in many areas, a major limiting factor to smallholder milk production. Storage and transport of conserved fodder is an integral component of solutions to this constraint. Using farmer-evaluated strategies, a low-cost, practical and economical method for transporting animal feed material was developed. The technique,...

Without access to reliable information to enable farmers to make better use of their natural resources, a majority of artisanal fishing communities are unable to halt trends towards reduced fish catches. Stock assessments are an important component for managing fisheries. These assist in the provision of advice on recommended exploitation...

Armyworm larvae (Spodoptera Exempta) cause devastating but highly localized damage to cereal crops and grassland. Poor monitoring and forecasting constrain efficient control operations in many parts of East Africa. Forecasting of armyworm employs information from rain gauges and moth raps. Therefore, a simple community-based forecasting system, by collecting data on...

Cooking in refugee camps is complex. To feed their families, women and girls must often collect firewood outside the camps, exposing them to the risk of gender-based violence (GBV). Interventions that seek to reduce this risk, such as cleaner cooking solutions, can also create opportunities for participation in other activities,...

Sweet Potato Virus Diseases (SPVD) are an important biotic constraint to sweet potato production in parts of East Africa. Technologies consisting of participatory selection procedures and an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) package were developed to improve the performance and farmer-acceptability of locally selected sweet potato clones resistant to SPVD. These...

Striga species are noxious weeds that are widespread constraints to the production of staple cereal crops in semi-arid areas, principally attacking finger millet, maize, sorghum, and upland rice. They have been estimated to infest some 40 percent of the cereal producing areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Work by the DFID Crop...

Upland rice is an important cash crop in many areas of eastern and southern Tanzania, including Morogoro Rural and Kyela districts. Under continuous cultivation, rice yields have been in decline in recent years. This is associated with falling soil fertility and an increase in infestation by the parasitic witchweed, Striga...

Rice is the second most important cereal crop in Tanzania after maize and the majority of rice farmers depend on it both for food and as a cash crop. However, highly competitive annual and perennial wild rice species have been identified as one of the important constraints to rice production...

Les bananes sont l’aliment de base des populations dans de nombreuses régions d’Afrique de l’Est. Elles constituent une bonne source de potassium, lequel intervient dans l’équilibre des fluides du corps et un aliment idéal pour les enfants en bas âge, les invalides et les personnes atteintes par le VIH/sida. En...

The technology addresses the issue of two maize diseases: Grey Leaf Spot (GLS), and Maize Streak Virus (MSV) on upland maize. Research focussed on identifying and breeding for genetic resistance has been conducted in the southern highlands of Tanzania. Two hybrids have been released (UH615 and UH6303) with high levels...

Women and children are usually the main household collectors and users of water. Long walking distances from households to improved water sources make it difficult for them to access safe water. As a result, they resort to using inadequate and unsafe water sources, such as unprotected self-dug wells and water...

Farm cart technology is a local solution to small agricultural producers who are not in a position to buy and/or hire advanced farm machines like tractors and power tillers due to cost constraints. Most smallholder farmers are in rural areas, therefore they produce foods that satisfy only family consumption. Mostly...

This practice describes how intestinal parasites can be fought through feeding livestock animals with plants highly condensed with tannins as alternative to anthelmintics, especially in areas of the tropics and subtropics. However, in many areas the provision of adequate levels of protein is particularly difficult because of the highly seasonal...

Bananas are a staple food in many parts of Eastern Africa. Currently, there is very limited commercial processing of bananas. Most people consume bananas fresh, steamed or boiled. During bumper harvests, farmers sell bananas at give-away prices and many go to waste. A detailed process of making banana chips and...

This initiative on strengthening policy engagement capacity to improve food security was a three-year project from 2013 to 2016. Funded by the European Union, it was implemented jointly by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Tanzania Natural Resource Forum (TNRF) in Longido District in northern Tanzania....

At over 5,000 meters, Mount Kilimanjaro’s rounded, snow-capped peak is an iconic African symbol. The National Park’s forested slopes rise up to the peak, above the plains of northern Tanzania. Slightly lower down, at altitudes between 1,000 and 1,500 meters, farmers grow crops in the fertile soil: coffee, bananas, fodder...