This issue of Caravan illustrates some of ICARDA’s strategic research — the use of new tools such as GIS, molecular markers and thermographic imaging, and new research methods in biodiversity conservation and plant breeding. It also describes applied research on water management, conservation agriculture and cropping systems. It discusses the...

Burkina Faso has few natural resources and a weak industrial base. Approximately 90 percent of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture. Food insecurity is commonplace in many parts of the country.1 During the 1960s, Burkina Faso’s rainfall averaged 700 mm/year. Along with other countries in West Africa’s Sahel, the...

This document defines operative procedures and minimum requirements for building smallholder groups’ management capacity for organic agriculture and fair trade certification.

Agroecology is the application of ecological principles to the interactions between human beings and their environment, as well as to their consequences, with the goal of minimising the negative effects of certain human activities. It aims at protecting the environment, ensuring the sustainable renewal of the natural resources (water, soil,...

Lil' Farm is located in Orange County, NC and owned and operated by George O'Neil with the help of a handful of volunteers.

Senegal, like all Sahelian countries, suffers from the combined effects of population growth and climate disturbances that affect its productive bio- system and induce degradation. This is manifested in different forms depending on the physical environment and production systems in different eco-geographic areas. Several factors are responsible for the degradation...

This article discusses the mitigation and adaptation potential of organic agricultural systems along three main features: farming system design, cropland management and grassland and livestock management. An important potential contribution of organically managed systems to climate change mitigation is identified in the careful management of nutrients and, hence, the reduction...

British colonial rule and the white Rhodesian Government made Zimbabwe one of the world’s most inequitable countries. The Land Apportionment Act of 1930 gave white settlers control of more than 51 percent of the country’s land, leaving areas less fertile and more arid to the native population. Despite the land...

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo generar una metodología específica para evaluar la sustentabilidad de la producción familiar de cerdos a campo, y obtener líneas de interpretación de su sustentabilidad mediante un análisis relativo y horizontal de seis casos en el sur de Uruguay.

This publication is a summary of research carried out by the Italian Association for Organic Farming(AIAB)1 for the Ministry of the Environment, the purpose of which was to analyze Italian experiences of organic farming in National Parks in order to draw conclusions which could then be useful for the further...

This Food Security Toolkit, designed specifically for Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), aims to improve Pacific Islanders’ ability to produce and access safe and nutritious foods that meet their dietary and cultural needs. Targeting food security in the Pacific region is a critical action in the face of climate...

This paper presents the general trends of demand and supply of organic products in Asia and the Pacific. This regional market is put in perspective within the global agrifood market and the current economic conditions that may have a great impact on the development of organic agriculture in Asia and...

Existe en el ámbito agrícola poca información y claridad técnica sobre el uso adecuado de materia orgánica (MO), sobre la manera de calificar su calidad e inclusive sobre las categorías o tipos de MO que se pueden utilizar. La materia orgánica del suelo es un elemento crucial para la regulación...

Existen dos criterios para poder cuantificar el número de personas que se encuentran en extrema pobreza: por un lado, el enfoque indirecto de la línea de pobreza, según el cual, una persona es considerada pobre extremo si su gasto o ingreso no cubre el valor de una canasta mínima de...

The aim in the activities of the Rural Network is to showcase the results achieved in the development of the Finnish countryside and to pass on best practices to be utilised further in other contexts. The many ideas and innovations produced by the numerous participants of the Best Practices 2010...

Smallholder farmers in Kenya grow most of the country's food, vegetables and fruit. These farmers face formidable challenges in increasing production, preserving natural resources and addressing the impact of climate change in food production systems. Meeting these challenges is vital to sustained livelihoods and reduction of poverty, especially in the...

The paper reports work aimed at improving livelihoods of smallholders by providing investors, policymakers and implementers with concrete knowledge and tools to make informed investment decisions on small-scale irrigation water management interventions. The projects reported assessed promising irrigation interventions and their ‘market potential’, analyzed which technologies ‘fit’ in major agroecological...

The objectives of this work are, in a first place, know the relationship between family farming of the Pampas region of Argentina with the different factors of production trying to verify whether, in the context of this región increasingly specialized in the production of soybean, embedded in global marketing channels,...

The Food Security Thematic Programme (FSTP) is a programme of the European Union (EU) that aims ―to improve food security in favour of the poorest and the most vulnerable, and contribute to achieving the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG), through a set of actions which ensure overall coherence, complementarity and...

The development of nutrition indicators for biodiversity is a collaborative international process, led by FAO together with Bioversity International and other partners. The task is part of the Cross-Cutting Initiative on Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition. The initiative was launched on the basis of a recognized link between biodiversity, food...