Increases in organic production contribute significantly to reducing the use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and antimicrobials and have positive effects on our climate, the environment, biodiversity and animal welfare. That is why organic production has been identified as playing a key role in achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal,...

The United Nations General Assembly at its 75th session in March 2021 declared 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023). FAO is the lead agency for celebrating the Year in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders. Millets can grow on arid lands with minimal inputs and are resilient to changes in...

The best way to educate consumers is right at the start, when they are school children. In early 2021, Roxana Castellón, who works at Agrecol Andes, a Bolivian NGO, began approaching public schools around Cochabamba, asking the directors if they were interested in adding a new topic to their biology curriculum....

Water scarcity is a major challenge in the Sahel region of West Africa. Water scarcity in combination with prevalent soil degradation has severely reduced the land productivity in the region. The decrease in resiliency of food security systems of marginalized population has huge societal implications which often leads to mass...

Short food chains narrow the gap between producers and consumers, but when food is traded through wholesalers and when supermarkets sell their own brands, active efforts are undertaken to make farmers anonymous. This never really occurred to me until Vera Kuijpers, from the organic farm and farm shop Het Eikelenhof in north-eastern Limburg,...

CARE’s Farmer Field and Business School (FFBS) model focuses on improving small-scale farmers’ productivity, resilience and access to markets. FFBS is a hands-on, learning-by-doing approach through which groups of farmers meet regularly during the course of their value chain production cycle to learn about new agricultural techniques and to experiment...

Illuminating Hidden Harvests: the contributions of small-scale fisheries to sustainable development (hereinafter IHH) is a global study uncovering the contributions and impacts of small-scale fisheries through a multidisciplinary approach to data collection and analysis. The study provides information that quantifies and improves understanding of the crucial role of small-scale fisheries...

This article explains how quickly we are losing our food diversity and the consequences. Despite the appearance of a wide variety of food options for consumers, global food diversity is rapidly decreasing. The majority of products in supermarkets are made from a small number of ingredients, such as wheat, maize,...

El Gobierno Mexicano emitió y publicó un nuevo decreto presidencial para revocar y no dar más autorizaciones para el uso de maíz genéticamente modificado, específicamente en productos destinados a la alimentación humana, así como el uso del herbicida glifosato, con una transición gradual. Esto ante presiones sobre la primera disposición...

A key fisheries and aquaculture development programme implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has highlighted significant potential to boost these sectors in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Tanzania, Guyana and the Marshall Islands, making them more self-sufficient, creating jobs and preserving biological stock levels.The countries are...

The government of Tanzania has drafted a strategy to improve the performance of organic agriculture and increase the production of organic foods in the country. The "National Ecological Organic Agriculture Strategy" is an eight-year initiative coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture, which will officially launch in June 2023. The strategy...

  Topic outline   This course aims to contribute towards creating an enabling environment for implementing the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing sustainable Small-scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, by strengthening the capacity of government officials and fisheries practitioners at local, national and regional levels, and...

Farmers are increasingly facing challenges relating to climate change. It is vital therefore to make them aware of good agricultural practices that can help them increase not only production, but also their resilience. Having understood well such problems, Access Agriculture is working in Benin, West Africa, to provide rural actors with...

When Suzana Hamimu Kaleju began working as a fish processor 30 years ago in the port of Kigoma, she used to lay the sprat, a type of herring, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika before selling her dried fish in local and regional markets. They would get dusty or sandy so...

Key stakeholders in Dominican fisheries today endorsed a ten-year upgrading strategy for the mahi-mahi sector, marking the launch of an ambitious agenda to strengthen this important artisanal fishery, making sure that benefits are shared equitably and growth does not increase the burden on the environment.   “This agreement gives an important boost...

Access Agriculture participated in the Agrowon Agri Expo held in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India, 13-16 January 2023, received very positive response from all the visitors, in particular farmers.  “Many farmers visited our stall, seeking various types of information from us. We distributed flyers on Access Agriculture in Marathi language to about 3,500...

El concepto de Agroecología ha ido evolucionando a lo largo de los años, desde que fuera usado por primera vez en la ciencia agronómica a principios del siglo XX. Sus significados, definiciones, interpretaciones y enfoques se han modificado en el tiempo, expandiendo su campo de aplicación e incorporando variables sociales, políticas,...

Attracting over 3,000 visitors, the Access Agriculture booth was one of the most happening places at the International Pavilion of Millets & Organics – International Trade Fair, which was held, 20-22 January 2023, in Bengaluru, India. Access Agriculture’s booth was graced by agricultural ministers of various states, farmers, extension agents, university...

In his inspiring speech to the Access Agriculture Entrepreneurs for Rural Access (ERAs), who were participating in a training programme, the Director General of the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Dr. P. Chandra Shekara, described each ERA as ‘a digital library and a mobile encyclopaedia.’ He thanked Access...

Dozens of fishers, scientists and administrators met this week in Orbetello, Italy to share knowledge and discuss the future of the European eel fishery in the Mediterranean Sea. They expressed support for collaborating on scientific monitoring activities in order to preserve the species and its habitat.   European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is...