A recent study commissioned by the Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement found that the country’s organic farmers are receiving insufficient support from the state. With benefits to consumer health, the environment and the national economy, the organic sector should not be undervalued. The same can be said for the nutritional needs...

An ingenious combination of plant breeding, contract farming and processing has enabled smallholder tomato growers to tap new markets in Tanzania’s Arusha Region. Two improved tomato cultivars released from AVRDC lines are at the centre of this success story.

A collaborative project between farmers in northwest Tanzania’s Karagwe District, the development organization Community Habitat Environmental Management and Matunda Mema, an organic produce exporter, demonstrates that small-scale East African farmers can benefit from the growing demand for organic products.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a zoonotic, viral, vector-borne disease representing a threat to human health, animal health and livestock production in Africa, the Near East and potentially, Europe and the rest of the world. Rift Valley fever primarily affects sheep, goats, cattle, camels, buffaloes, and antelopes. The majority of...

About two-thirds of the developing world’s 3 billion rural people live in about 475 million small farm households, working on land plots smaller than 2 hectares. Many are poor and food insecure and have limited access to markets and services. Their choices are constrained, but they farm their land and...

The aim of the guidelines is to enhance restoration efforts in the world’s drylands. They provide specific guidance for policymakers and other decision-makers, and for practitioners. Well-informed policymakers and other higher-order decision-makers can be enablers in the design and implementation of effective restoration efforts by providing appropriate policies, governance mechanisms...

The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa (NAFSN) launched in May 2012 under the auspices of the G8 aims to create the conditions that will allow the African countries concerned to improve agricultural productivity and develop their agrifood sector by attracting more private investment in agriculture. The...

Climate change is undermining the ability of African nations to feed themselves. Women smallholder producers are on the front line of dealing with the impacts, but are not first in line for international climate finance. Wealthy countries have committed to helping countries in Africa to adapt to climate change, but...

The countries of East and Southern Africa have made major commitments to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment, and they are starting to pay off. A number of countries have achieved substantial progress towards gender parity in primary school enrolment. Nearly all countries have adopted quota systems requiring women’s participation...

While scholars agree on the importance of land rental markets for structural transformation in rural areas, evidence on the extent and nature of their operation, including potential obstacles to their improved functioning, remains limited. This study uses household-level data from six countries to start filling this gap and derive substantive...

This edition of Nature & Faune journal will be a special Issue to mark the International Year of Soils. It is planned to be issued during the Conference of the African Soil Society taking place in Ouagadougou - Burkina Faso from 2nd to 10th December 2015. The special edition of...

The Kagera River Basin in East Africa occupies a strategic position on the borders of four countries. Good management of the Kagera water flow regime is vital for maintaining the water levels of Like Victoria and outflow to the River Nile. More than 16 million people live here and depend...

The study investigated the impact of farming systems on determinants of smallholder sugarcane farmers (SSFs) financial sustainability (FS) between Block Farming (BF) and Traditional Farming (TF) systems. FS was analyzed by assessing profitability of the farming system. Semi structured questionnaires were  administered to a random sample of SSFs and officials...

Cecilia William était tributaire des pluies irrégulières pour irriguer ses cultures. Mère célibataire, elle luttait pour produire de quoi nourrir sa famille. Un système d’irrigation a maintenant changé sa vie. Depuis qu’elle a un accès régulier à l’eau, Cecilia est non seulement une agricultrice performante, mais aussi une chef d’entreprise...

La terre est aride à Katikati, village du nord de la Tanzanie. Ici, les nomades Masaï parcourent jusqu’à 100 kilomètres par jour pour trouver un point d’eau. Mais à présent, un puits a été foré leur donnant accès à l'eau potable et une chance de se sédentariser en construisant une...

This brief summarizes the results of a novel analysis that examines the determinants of adoption of agricultural practices to improve food security and their productivity implications in Tanzania. Conducted by the FAO Economics and Policy Innovations for Climate-Smart Agriculture Programme (EPIC), the approach integrates historical Climate data with a rich...

This paper first looks “downstream” at two processes—urbanization and dietary changes—that create the demand (“pull”) for the changes in the whole food system. It then provides some illustrations of the transformation, mainly at the “midstream,” post-farmgate segments of the supply chains that are transforming—wholesale, processing, and logistics. It concludes with...

How many households keep livestock in rural and urban areas? What are their major production and husbandry practices, and their constraints to increase livestock productivity? This infographic presents an analysis of one of the largest datasets on livestock at household level available throughout sub-Saharan Africa: the Tanzania 2012/13 National Panel...

The data revolution must address three major challenges in order to contribute to sustainable development: increasing the quantity and quality of data; making the data usable; and ensuring their use by decision-makers. This infographic shows how the data revolution can be mobilized, with an example from the livestock sector. In collaboration...

This article investigates gender inequality in agricultural productivity, highlights its key determinants, and approximates the potential production, consumption, and poverty gains from reducing or closing the gender productivity gap. The analysis is performed on the basis of representative household survey datasets recently collected in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda. In these...