Family Farming Knowledge Platform

Resources

The Resources section holds archived publications and multimedia materials related to family farming general issues.

The external references on this page are provided for informational purposes only - they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by FAO.

Search in the database

Free text
More search options
Year
Country
Geo/Econ Regions
Main topic
Sub topic

Case study
Problems facing small scale farmers in Isingiro District, Uganda

Focus on Bananas
The study aimed at examining how the policies and regulations in place (or lack thereof) impact on smallscale banana farmers in Isingiro district and share possible solutions with the government, farmers, interested donors and other stakeholders.
Uganda
2010 - ACORD Agency for Co-operation and Research in Development

Case study
Technology for improved income of smallholder pineapple producers

Pineapple is by far the most important crop within the horticultural sub-sector of the Ghanaian economy. The crop employs over 15,000 individuals out of which 40% are women and generates rural incomes of over 6 million USD. Large and medium commercial farms account for about 70% of production with the...
Faroe Islands
2010 - SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

Working paper
Smallholder agriculture in East Africa

Trends, constraints and opportunities
Smallholder agriculture continues to play a key role in African agriculture. This paper investigates trends, challenges and opportunities of this sub-sector in East Africa through case studies of Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania. In these agriculture-based economies, smallholder farming accounts for about 75 percent of agricultural production and over 75...
Ethiopia - Kenya - Uganda - United Republic of Tanzania
2010 - African Development Bank Group

Journal article
Determinants of micro irrigation adoption for maize production in smallholder irrigation schemes

Case of Hama Mavhaire irrigation scheme, Zimbabwe
This study is an assessment of the determinants of micro irrigation adoption for maize production in smallholder irrigation schemes. The focus of the study was on Hama Mavhaire irrigation scheme in Midlands Province, Zimbabwe. An assessment of the major production constraints in the scheme was carried out, factors that influence...
Zimbabwe
2010 - Bindura University of Science Education

Conference proceedings
Technology adoption by smallholder farmers: Lessons from the soyabean research/promotion program in Zimbabwe

Agricultural research programs in universities in sub-Saharan Africa generate technologies few of which are adopted by the smallholder farmers. A technology that demands significant additional inputs be they financial or physical is less likely to be adopted compared to one that generates significant socioeconomic benefits. In Zimbabwe, smallholders’ food security,...
Zimbabwe
2010 - University of Zimbabwe

Conference proceedings
Report of the Africa Regional Consultative Meeting on Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries: Bringing together Responsible Fisheries and Social Development

The African Regional Workshop on Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries: Bringing together Responsible Fishing and Social Development was held in Maputo, Mozambique, on 12–14 October 2010. It was organized by FAO in collaboration with the Mozambique Institute for Small-scale Fisheries, IDPPE (Instituto Nacional de Desenvolvimento de Pesca de Pequena Escala). The...
2010 - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Report
Africa's Smallholder Farmers

Approaches that Work for Viable Livelihoods
This report, launched in the UK Parliament in July 2010, outlines why support for agriculture - and in particular for smallholder farmers - is critical to address hunger and poverty in Africa. The report showcases a range of approaches that have improved access for marginalised farmers, especially women, to decision-making,...
2010 - African Smallholder Farmers Group (ASFG)

Fact sheet
Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools

The junior farmer field and life school concept was introduced in four schools in the district in 2004. Then, as the fields prospered and participating students and facilitators became more confident, teachers and students from other schools were invited to visit the fields and learn about the method. As of...
Kenya
2010 - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Conference paper
Agricultural trade liberalization and small-holder development: West African rice farmers in perspective

The world’s agricultural system has become globalized, income distribution asymmetrical, and poorer and small-scale households in rural areas turned into net buyers of food, which has heightened the threat to food security and livelihoods, especially for the poorest people in developing countries. Yet, controversy still surrounds the extent to which...
2010

Conference paper
Gender dimensions of climate change adaptation and mitigation by smallholder farmers in Uganda

Climate change is now recognized as serious with long term negative effects on agricultural productivity, and hence on the well-being of communities especially in Africa. Farmers have experienced climate change effects and have tried to mitigate these effects by adapting new/different production practices. This study has been set up to...
Uganda
2010 - Makerere University

Video
African Smallholders - Foodcrops, Markets and Policies

This study was presented during the conference “Production and Carbon Dynamics in Sustainable Agricultural and Forest Systems in Africa ” held in September, 2010.
2010 - SIANI

Policy brief/paper
Producer organizations

Reclaiming opportunities for development
Producer organisations are widely heralded as leading contributors to poverty reduction and the achievement of food security. Following the withdrawal of state support as part of measures for liberalization, producer organizations in Africa have been in a process of transition, attempting to define appropriate strategies in a competitive open market...
2010 - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Technical paper
Integrated crop management

Conservation Agriculture and sustainable crop intensification in Lesotho
Lesotho is a small mountainous country characterized by extensive land degradation and erratic climatic conditions. In recent years a growing number of development agencies have been promoting conservation agriculture (CA) as a means to enhance rural livelihoods through sustainable production intensification. The present case study prepared under the AGP Framework...
Lesotho
2010 - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Book
Integrated Crop Management Vol.7-2009

Enhancing Crop-Livestock Systems in Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Production Intensification - A Farmer Discovery Process Going to Scale in Burkina Faso
his is a story about how FAO assisted groups of farmers in five farming communities in the moist savannah zone of South Western Burkina Faso to enhance their crop-livestock systems through Conservation Agriculture (CA) practices, including crop diversification, using an innovative farmer discovery process, to bring about agricultural intensification and...
Burkina Faso
2010 - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Guidelines
Agroecology, best practices

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,...
Angola - Brazil - Cambodia - Congo - Gabon - Haiti - India - Lao People's Democratic Republic - Madagascar - Mauritania - Morocco - Niger - Sao Tome and Principe - Senegal - Sri Lanka
2010 - Agrisud International

Case study
Analysis of climate change and variability risks in the smallholder sector

Case studies of the Laikipia and Narok Districts representing major agro‑ecological zones in Kenya
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...
Kenya
2010 - Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)

Conference paper
Improving smallholder irrigation performance in Malawi

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...
Malawi
2010 - University of Malawi

Report
Fertile ground

How governments and donors can halve hunger by supporting small farmers
This report is based on extensive research and interviews with several hundred farmers, the majority of them women, carried out by ActionAid staff and consultants in Uganda, Kenya and Malawi throughout the last third of 2009. It is complemented by an extensive global literature review, and our study also benefited...
Kenya - Malawi - Uganda
2010 - ActionAid International

Report
ICARDA annual report 2010

Food Security: the Big Challenges
Global food production has increased by 20% in the past decade – but food insecurity and poverty remain widespread , while the natural resource base continues to decline. International research centers, which have helped drive previous improvements, must continue to deliver new technologies to support sustainable growth in agriculture; and...
Afghanistan - Eritrea - Libya - Syrian Arab Republic
2010 - International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)

Conference proceedings
Proceedings of the roundtable on voluntary standards and schemes for specific quality products

ZATAC was requested by FAO to identify participants from Africa and facilitate a 3 day roundtable meeting on voluntary standards and schemes for specific quality products. The aim of the roundtable was to consult with key stakeholders and build consensus on intervention strategies related to voluntary standards and schemes for...
2010 - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Total results:2856