Since 2013, IFAD has recognized projects from every corner of the world that go the extra mile for gender equality. Acknowledging that sustainable development is impossible without rural women. Their empowerment is crucial to transforming food systems, building thriving rural communities and creating lasting prosperity for all. Let’s visit the five inspiring...

This review summarizes findings from 22 case studies published together in Tropical Forest Issues 61 (Torquebiau 2024). The case studies present clear and tangible benefits from the adoption of agroforestry, based on a wide range of practices from Africa, Latin America and Asia. In this review practices and conditions for...

During the interview, Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), shed light on the pressing challenges facing family farming, particularly in the context of climate change. Lario underscored the essential role of small-scale farmers in global food security, highlighting their contributions to feeding billions of people...

Agroforestry is recognised for its capacity to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation, but adoption rates remain lower than expected, necessitating an exploration into the economic viability of agroforestry practices. Key economic variables influencing the viability of agroforestry include benefits, costs, labour and farmers' risk profiles. Benefits of agroforestry include...

Around the world, the agricultural sector relies heavily on women, especially in developing countries, but women’s restricted access to essential resources, hinders their agricultural productivity, resulting in increased poverty. A promising solution to this is agroforestry, a climate-smart agricultural practice which increases land productivity, providing socioeconomic and ecological benefits. Women’s...

Amongst human activity, industrial agriculture is a primary cause of biodiversity loss and climate change, reducing the land’s suitability for agriculture. This reduces global food security, increasing the pressure for food production which further exacerbates forest and land degradation. Agroforestry emerges as a promising solution by leveraging nature-based approaches to...

In this self-paced online course, you will learn the fundamentals of gender and social inclusion in forest landscapes restoration (FLR). The course focuses on gender inequalities, gender-differentiated impacts and opportunities to address inequalities for more equitable and sustainable FLR, to build the abilities and understanding of diverse stakeholders on the...

Burkina Faso faces accelerated degradation of its natural resources as a result of the combined effects of natural and human-caused factors (inappropriate farming practices, bush fires, wood cutting, extension of agricultural areas, etc.). The province of Passoré, in the Nord Region of thecountry, is in an arid zone and regularly...

There is very limited access to finance for rural communities comprising smallholders, family farmers and Indigenous Peoples. Smallholder and family farmers comprise 90% of the total farms worldwide, and account for an estimated 80% of world food production. The finance gap hinders these rural communities’ effective action on climate, nature,...

Forests harbour a large proportion of the Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity, which continues to be lost at an alarming rate. Deforestation is the single most important driver of forest biodiversity loss with 10 million ha of forest converted every year to other land uses, primarily for agriculture. Up to 30 percent...

Access to external finance for smallholder forest and farm producers is limited, hindering their effective action on climate, nature, livelihoods and food security. However, forest and farm producer organisations (FFPOs) can mobilise internally-generated finance.  This briefing maps three stages and 11 steps that FFPOs use to establish savings groups and larger...

In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) we find ourselves in a paradox. On the one hand, the region boasts 40% of the worlds biodiversity, half of the worlds tropical forests, the largest reserve of freshwater, 12% of the worlds mangroves and six of the most megadiverse countries. On the...

In 1992 the United Nations committed to promoting a gender perspective in all environmental and development programs and to establishing mechanisms for assessing the impact of environmental policies on women. However, 30 years later most countries acknowledge that they have not integrated that perspective into policy assessments. This paper provides...

The scope and complexity of international forest-related governance have expanded tremendously over the last decades. As many as 41 ‘institutional elements’ were counted by scholars (from UNFF to UNFCCC to SDGs). The questions of how these governance arrangements ‘perform’, for what purpose and for whom are widely contested between scholars...

Alternative farming systems have developed since the beginning of industrial agriculture. Organic, biodynamic, conservation farming, agroecology and permaculture, all share a grounding in ecological concepts and a belief that farmers should work with nature rather than damage it. As ecology-based agricultures rely greatly on soil organisms to perform the functions...

Ce carnet relate la démarche suivie par le Gret pour faciliter l’émergence d’une gouvernance partagée du service d’eau potable dans la région de Saint-Louis, au Sénégal, dans le contexte d’une réforme nationale de délégation de service public. Dans la continuité d’un accompagnement de plus de quinze ans, l’adoption d’une approche par...

Les agriculteurs confrontés à l’étalement urbain sont diversement en phase avec les demandes des citadins en services et produits alimentaires locaux. Notre étude de la plaine Ouest de Montpellier, en France, ville côtière méditerranéenne particulièrement attractive, révèle le maintien d’une base agricole viticole coexistant avec de nouvelles formes d’agriculture. Des...

The agricultural and rural development policy seeks to facilitate the transition towards environmentally sustainable and climate-neutral agricultural practices, with a focus on human capital, knowledge, and innovation. Gender equality can play a significant role in promoting environmentally sustainable practices in the agricultural sector, particularly through the adoption and implementation of...

Soils are critical for agriculture and natural ecosystems and need protection, and adherence to nature's principles. The objective of this work is to understand how nature manages resources and describe management of the 'living soil’ and its soil productivity and use nature's laws as guidelines for the management. These guidelines provide the...

What is the future for family farming? This was the question posed in a technical discussion bringing together family farmers, representatives of governments, researchers, and experts from FAO and IFAD held at FAO headquarters in January. The “Future of Family Farming” meeting was held within the framework of the UN Decade...