In the twentieth century, gardeners innocently spread the water hyacinth to Asia, Africa and elsewhere. Water hyacinth has striking blue flowers and was used to adorn ornamental fountains. But it escaped and was soon clogging lakes, ponds and municipal water supplies.

The more pigeon peas produce secondary branches, the more pods it will produce, leading to higher yields. 6 to 7 weeks after sowing, remove the tips of the main branches. This is called nipping. After a week, use half a mug of biofertiliser per plant or add it to irrigation...

La sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle (SAN) est une problématique centrale dans les zones rurales des pays du Sud où vit la majorité des personnes sous-alimentées dans le monde. L’égalité des sexes et l’autonomisation des femmes font partie des objectifs de développement durable pour 2030, les femmes ayant été reconnues comme des...

Degraded soil can be repaired, and replenished with nutrients, until it produces abundant harvests at lower costs, while removing carbon from the atmosphere, and putting it back into the ground. This is the optimistic message of David Montgomery’s book, Growing a Revolution.

The FAO Yearbook of Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics, prepared by the Statistics Team of the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, offers a synthesis of the major trends in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. Statistics are presented in eight main thematic chapters, covering statistics of production (total, aquaculture, capture fisheries), employment,...

Esta Ley cual modifica la Ley nº 11.326, de 24 de julio de 2006 (Ley de Agricultura Familiar), para ampliar el alcance de la planificación y ejecución de las acciones de la Política Nacional de Agricultura Familiar y Empresas Familiares Rurales.

La historia de las apicultoras en Ecuador demuestra que al brindar a las mujeres un acceso más equitativo a los recursos y mercados, mejorar sus habilidades y conocimientos técnicos, abordando las normas sociales profundamente arraigadas que perpetúan las desigualdades de género, la programación de género transformadora tiene el potencial de...

Este documento elaborado en el marco del Proyecto “Caracterización de gestiones económicas de sistemas de producción agropecuarios de pequeña y mediana escala” (vigente desde enero del 2020) presenta estimaciones sobre comportamientos de resultados económicos de modelos productivos y tiene como propósito aportar información que favorezca la inclusión de productores, mejore...

Los bioinsumos son una pieza clave de la transición agroecológica y pueden facilitar el acceso de los productos agrícolas a algunos exigentes mercados internacionales. A su vez, la promoción y aplicación de los bioinsumos enlaza de forma directa con los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible, ya que permite aumentar la producción...

The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) today unveiled a comprehensive report critically examining the African Development Bank’s ambitious Dakar II initiative, part of the broader Feed Africa program. This initiative, titled ‘Feed Africa: Food Sovereignty and Resilience’, aims to revolutionize African agriculture with a focus on turning the...

La Universidad Federal de Rio Grande Do Sul (RS, Brasil), el CIRAD, la Red PP-AL (Políticas Públicas y Desarrollo Rural en América Latina), el Ministerio de Desarrollo Agrario de Brasil (MDA), y el IICA se han asociado para organizar un seminario internacional sobre agricultura familiar en Porto Alegre, Brasil, del...

Banana plants have superficial roots. Proper spacing, planting, and mulching will yield better and more fruit. You can also intercrop your banana and plantain plants with food crops, medicinal plants and other trees to provide additional sources of income and create a suitable micro-environment.

Five years after the catastrophic Cyclone Idai hit Chimanimani District in Zimbabwe, claiming over 500 lives and causing extensive destruction, the community's journey towards recovery and resilience offers a beacon of hope. This article by John Willson delves into the heart of Chimanimani's efforts, showcasing how the district is confronting...

The publication provides a summary on the state of the climate indicators in 2023 with sections on key climate indicators, extreme events and impacts. The indicators include global temperatures, greenhouse gas concentration, ocean heat content, sea level rise, ocean acidification, Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, Greenland ice sheet and glaciers...

The African Union is in the process of finalizing a draft protocol on intellectual property rights under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), sparking concerns among civil society organizations about the potential impacts on seed systems and the rights of smallholder farmers. While the AfCFTA, enacted in May 2019,...

Agroecology and organic agriculture present promising alternatives to the current food system, supported by a growing body of evidence. Despite the potential of AE/O, their full benefits cannot be realised in most countries due to political and institutional barriers and lock-ins, including incentives and funding that favour “business as usual”...

Different crops and tree leaves provide different levels of micro and macro-nutrients when incorporated into the soil. This adds organic matter, boosts beneficial soil micro-organisms and enhances soil fertility.

On February 10th we celebrate the World Pulses Day 2024, whose topic is nourishing soils and people. Slow Food addresses the topic, supported by the recently presented Plant the Future report, and by the international Planting the Future challenge organized with the Slow Food Youth Network (SFYN). The challenge will be running over the month of...

FAO developed this manual, in collaboration with Solidaridad West Africa, to support trainers in preparing and delivering the training on empowering rural women to engage in responsible agricultural investments (RAI). The design of this training programme is based upon a specific methodology that meets the learning needs of rural women...

Sustainable food systems require mechanisms that assure consumers about the sustainability of agricultural production. Building on the existing literature on the impact of sustainability standards, this study is the first to assess the effectiveness of participatory guarantee systems (PGS) for the certification of organic produce. The study uses representative farm-level...