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Report on the Agro-Ecological Zones Project. Vol. 4 - Results for Southeast Asia










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    Socio-economic aspects of the Saudi Arabian fisheries in the Red Sea 1980
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    The length of the Saudi Arabian coast on the Red Sea is about 1840 km. Information on fish landings varies due to the lack of regular and accurate statistical data. According to the author's estimation, Saudi fish landings are about 10 thousand tons/year. However, based on a preliminary estimate of the White Fish Authority, annual fish production can be increased by 17-24 thousand ton. The number of fishermen is about 3678 using 1226 motorized boats of different shapes and sizes. Due to the lack of an administrative body responsible for the organization and management of the fishery sector, contact and coordination between various fisheries activities is nonexistent. The main obstacles hampering fishing communities' development are shortage of ice, coupled with the fact that the available ice plants are in three main cities, lack of repair and maintenance facilities, non-availability of credit facilities and the poor organization of the fish marketing sector. It is believed that the or ganization of the fishermen into cooperative societies will help solve most of the problems that hinder the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of the fishermen. In the writer's view the submission of a model for a fishermen's cooperative, through the establishment of a Cooperative Fishery Centre (CFC) in Tuwal, is an acceptable concept to promote cooperative awareness among fishermen.
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    Afghanistan's Agro-ecological zoning atlas. Part 2: Agro-ecological assessments
    A study of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in collaboration with FAO
    2022
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    Agriculture is crucial for the national economy of Afghanistan and in particularly so for the agriculturally dependent population which is constituting 60 percent of the total population. Adoption of new strategies for agriculture monitoring, rural land use planning and land management are urgently required to reduce hunger and poverty among rural population and to assure sustainable food and feed production for future generations. The availability of reliable information on natural resources and agriculture for its monitoring and analysis is indispensable to development and implementation of such strategies. However, productivity in the agricultural sector has been relatively low. Afghanistan has the potential to increase its output of cereals, fruits and vegetables. For this purpose, the project “Strengthening Afghanistan Institutions’ Capacity for the Assessment of Agriculture Production and Scenario Development” (GCP/AFG/087/EC), funded by the European Union, is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Among the project objectives are improving the understanding of the country’s national resources endowment and limitations as well as assessing agricultural production capacities under current climatic conditions and likely impacts of climate change. Within the context of this project the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) support and implement a National Agro-Ecological Zoning activity in Afghanistan (NAEZ) which assesses quality and availability of land resources and identifies crop cultivation potentials - suitable area, production and attainable yield - under prevailing soil and terrain conditions and for given current or future agroclimatic conditions. One of the outputs of the NAEZ activities is this Agro-Ecological Zones Atlas which is based on applications of the FAO/IIASA National Agro-Ecological Zoning system for current and future climates. The Atlas provides two distinct parts, namely:
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    Booklet
    Climate-Smart Agriculture in Guinea-Bissau 2019
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    The climate smart agriculture (CSA) concept reflects an ambition to improve the integration of agriculture development and climate responsiveness. It aims to achieve food security and broader development goals under a changing climate and increasing food demand. CSA initiatives sustainably increase productivity, enhance resilience, and reduce/remove greenhouse gases (GHGs), and require planning to address trade-offs and synergies between three pillars: productivity, adaptation and mitigation. The priorities of different countries and stakeholders are reflected to achieve more efficient, effective, and equitable food systems that address challenges in environment, social, and economic dimensions across productive landscapes. The country profile provides a snapshot of a developing baseline created to initiate discussion, both within countries and globally, about entry points for investing in CSA at scale. The agricultural sector is the main stay of the economy of Guinea-Bissau. In the absence of other resources, the sector despite being underdeveloped plays a leading role in supporting food security and job creation. Presently it contributes about 46% of national gross domestic product (GDP) with 84% of the population actively employed in primary production agriculture largely dominated by women. The majority of these farmer are small scale farmers farming on less than two hectare (2 ha). More than half (58%) of the total land in Guinea-Bissau is used for agriculture with area under forest heavily degraded by rapid exploitation. However, there are huge potentials for agricultural and forestry land including arable land estimated at about 1.5 million hectares. Farmers engage in the production of diverse crops and livestock such as cashew, rice (country’s staple food), sorghum, maize, etc largely cultivated by subsistence farmers. Women usually take up horticulture in the urban areas. Livestock production concentrated mainly in the north and east of the country is one of the main economic activities supporting food security and thousands of livelihoods. The country is divided into three agroecological zones based on ecological, climatic and demographic characteristics. Agriculture is mainly rainfed with very limited irrigated farming practised. About 82% of water withdrawn is used for agricultural purposes impelling a necessity for huge investments in irrigation to support agriculture production. The projected population growth and food demand is expected to have serious implications on food security with a potential to affect the agricultural sector. Despite the agro-forestry-pastoral potential and fisheries resources of Guinea-Bissau, many studies have shown that, the current food situation in the country is very precarious with poverty identified as the underlining cause. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from the agricultural sector has been identified as very high with the country indicating reforestation as the major action for mitigating GHG emissions in its nationally determined contribution (NDC). Some challenges for the agricultural sector identified include (i) growth in population and food demand, (ii) land use change and natural resource depletion, (iii) limited marketing opportunities of agricultural commodities, and (iv) climate change and variability. Guinea-Bissau has a typical hot, humid monsoon-like tropical climate with two well-defined seasons. Agriculture is exposed to the effects of climate change with the country vulnerable to droughts, floods and sea level rise. The projected changes in temperature and rainfall are expected to have substantial impact on water resources which are already limited in their capacity to provide sufficient water for the agriculture sector. CSA technologies and practises present opportunities for addressing climate change challenges as well as for economic growth and development of the agriculture sector. Identified CSA practises in use in the country include (i) use of organic manure, (ii) use of weather information, (iii) water supply through drip irrigation, (iv) anti-erosion arrangement, (v) forage/fodder production, (vi) crop rotation, and (vii) rainwater harvesting through the Zai technique. There are a number of institutions and policies aimed at supporting and increasing agriculture productivity and advancing CSA practises in Guinea-Bissau. These include government, private sector, the national institute for agrarian research and general directorate of rural engineering with each most of the institutions profiles having CSA-related activities that deliver on all three pillars of CSA. The Ministry of environment which serves as the country’s UNFCCC focal point and Nationally Designated Authority to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Adaptation fund, Climate Investment Fund and Global Environment Facility is responsible for the country’s climate change plans and policies. The food and agriculture organisation of the United Nations, the United Nations development programme and the international union for conservation of nature play instrumental roles in the promotion of sustainable agriculture and environmental sustainability. Most of the climate change and CSA-related funding have come from international sources with the UNDP being of great support through its signature programmes.

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