Family farming is inextricably linked to national and global food security. Both in developing and developed countries, family farming is the predominant form of agriculture in the food production sector. Family farmers carefully manage their lands to sustain remarkably high levels of productivity despite having less access to productive resources such as agricultural inputs and support...

Este informe contiene los principales resultados del Taller Mesoamericano de Capacitación para los Inventarios de Emisiones y Planes de Mitigación en el Sector Agricultura, Uso de la Tierra, Cambio de Uso de la Tierra y Silvicultura, que se realizó en San José, Costa Rica del 21 al 23 de julio,...

Producer organizations (PO) can improve market access, lower transaction costs and increase the profits of smallholder farmers by offsetting diseconomies of scale (Heyer et al., 1999; Hill et al., 2008; The World Bank, 2008). Yet, evidence for Sub-Saharan Africa shows that POs often fail to attain these objectives. Instead of...

Le numéro 2 de la revue Alternatives Rurales est une revue qui a pour objectif d’offrir un espace de communication, réflexion et débat sur le développement rural et agricole au Maroc, mais aussi dans d’autres pays de la région.Cette revue s’adresse aux acteurs du développement agricole et rural, aux acteurs...

Agricultural systems with conventional tillage and intensive use of agrochemicals, especially those on high slopes and with shallow soils, have the potential to release pollutants. This study aimed at evaluating the soil, water and nutrient lost via agricultural runoff in large plots (small catchments) under conventional and organic farming of...

Working with many longstanding partners, such as the government of Australia and its Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), IFPRI’s research focuses on sustainable agricultural growth that engages the private sector, country-led strategy development, investment in agricultural research, provision of safety nets to strengthen resilience, prioritization of nutrition interventions for...

Describe la agricultura familiar campesina en América Latina, mediante estadísticas y definiciones. Además aborda temas como la sustentabilidad, tenencia de la tierra, reformas agrarias, integración regional, desafíos y perspectivas del área. 

En Afrique du Nord, et en particulier au Maroc, les zones rurales connaissent un regain d’intérêt, avec en particulier des politiques publiques ambitieuses en termes de développement rural, agricole, et de gestion des ressources naturelles. De nombreux travaux de recherche sont menés dans ces zones rurales, cependant nombre d’entre eux...

Two women farmers in Côte d'Ivoire (West Africa), Agnes Dago and Sekongo Sarke Coulibaly, show their daily activities and expose the challenges and obstacles they face in their life as women and farmers.    

Este artículo analiza la trayectoria de las políticas públicas relacionadas con la agricultura familiar en América Latina. A partir de un estudio aplicado en once países, se caracterizan y comparan tres aspectos claves de estas políticas: su contexto, origen y los factores o vectores de su difusión regional; la diversidad de...

This paper considers a range of issues relating to the current status and future trends affecting smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, including the likely transitions that lie ahead for this sector. Smallholder agriculture has long been the dominant economic activity for people in the sub-Saharan region, and it will remain...

Fish farming is a strategic activity for both the economy and food security of the Tocantins state. Nowadays, there are about eighty small fish farmers in the region of Divinópolis in Tocantins state. The technological level of fish farmers is low and it was found that only 30% of farmers...

This video documents a joint initiative led by FAO and IFAD to enhance regional capacity building and knowledge management on gender, agriculture and rural livelihoods.

The number of chronically undernourished people in the Region in 2010-13 reached 79.4 million, representing 11.2% of the population which was higher than in the 2008-2010 period. In addition, an estimated 31.0% of children under five are stunted. On the other side of the malnutrition spectrum, nearly one quarter of...

The purpose of this manual is to provide practical guidance and examples of how to apply Adaptive Collaborative Management (ACM) methods in communities and how to teach those methods to others. ACM is a collective problem-solving and management approach. With ACM everybody can participate, contribute their knowledge and learn together...

The study assessed the nature of marketing chain of fruits and vegetables in Murehwa and Mutoko Districts in Mashonaland East Province in Zimbabwe. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques were used. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, direct observations and document reviews. A structured household...

The European Union (EU), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Zimbabwe have launched a major programme to assist poor smallholder farmers to boost production, productivity and engage in commercial agriculture through integrated farming approaches.  The 4-year US$19 million (13.78 Million Euro) programme...

Un renforcement de l’agriculture africaine s’impose pour renforcer d’une part la production à petite échelle et d’autre part pour accroître l’emploi des jeunes. Ces dernières années ont été synonyme d’exode rural vers les centres urbains pour les jeunes en recherche d’emploi. Cependant, le chômage urbain et la pauvreté ne font...

据生物学家估计，当前物种每年消失的速度比历史上高出 1000 倍。语言学家预测，到21 世纪末期，世界上50—90%的语言将会消失。 基于这些研究结果，最近发表的一篇文章指出：生物多样性丧失和语言 灭绝有着很强的相关性。这些研究结果使我们震惊，若我们的自然和文 化以很快的速度被破坏，那么世界将向何处去？ 因此，让我们携手与破坏生物多样性的力量作斗争，保护好现有种 类繁多的动植物种类，让所有人都享受生物多样性带来的颜色、味道、 纹理和食物的营养价值。从中美洲“米奇”飓风之后，大家观察到：树 木大、作物品种多的农场受到的损失最小。对于不可预测的气候，生物 多样性提供了保障，其作用远远优于所谓的高产转基因种子。所以，让 我们珍惜小规模家庭农业、捕鱼业和畜牧业在维护全球生物多样性中的 作用。小规模农户拥有宝贵的传统知识，为人类的发展做出了巨大的贡 献。遗憾的是，由于他们对全球经济的影响小，所以得不到社会的重 视。 生物多样性与小规模农业的功能联系紧密，生物多样性与农户的知 识、 语言和文化密不可分。如果小规模农业不再作为一种生计方式，我 们的食品体系、全世界的生物多样性、语言和文化都将面临着严重的威 胁。只有扭转生物多样性急剧下降的趋势，生物多样性才能得到保留， 小规模家庭农业才能得到发展！

In a context of a changing climate and growing concerns for more healthy food systems, agroecology is gaining momentum as a scientific discipline, sustainable farming approach and social movement. There is growing anecdotal and case study evidence of its multiple benefits, from climate resilience to farm productivity. Yet its promotion...