Smallholder producer organizations and family farmers are agents in agri-food systems ensuring food and nutrition security, as well as the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in sub-Saharan Africa. This makes it important to evaluate farmers’ challenges and opportunities during and post the COVID-19 pandemic. That was the central theme...

On the International Day of Biological Diversity, IIED hosted a multi-stakeholder webinar on how to work with nature to mitigate and adapt to climate change and halt biodiversity loss. IIED senior researcher Xiaoting Hou Jones chaired the event, and here she shares some highlights from the discussions. One key message from...

Women in rural area have seen the benefits of participating in forest and farm producer organizations (FFPOs), such as improving their ability to start businesses and sell their products, getting specialized training and accessing social and cultural services. Solidarity and mutual support that FFPOs can provide is vitally important during...

To fight climate change, local communities need to develop alternative livelihoods that don’t depend too much on forests or rain. “Forest and Farm Facility support is unique for Zambia,” says George Okech, the FAO Representative in Zambia. “The partnership’s support is complementary to the REDD+ implementation. In the case of the basket-weaving...

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is launching today the first of a “Series of Global Webinars: Towards Resilient Family Farming - Solutions from producer organizations”.The virtual meeting is an opportunity to learn about the main impacts of COVID-19 on regional producer organizations and family farms, and to exchange good...