Farmers’ production decisions and agricultural practices directly and indirectly influence the quantity and quality of natural resources, some being depleted common resources such as groundwater. Representing farming systems while accounting for their flexibility is needed to evaluate targeted, regional water management policies. Farmers’ decisions regarding investing in irrigation and adopting...

According to the World Bank, since 2005 Zambia has experienced impressive economic growth at an average of around 6-7 % per year, although this has decreased to less than 3 percent in recent years.  This decline has been driven by drought and a fall in the price of copper, one...

This issue of the Journal highlights the unique features of Africa's agriculture, including (i) the urgent need for improving productivity; (ii) the importance of the agricultural sector in Africa's economies in terms of employment; and (iii) the climate-resilient opportunities within agriculture to cope with climate change challenges. It draws attention...

Filho, neto e bisneto de produtor rural, nascido e criado na roça, Valdir conta que era “veneneiro puro” até receber assistência da Emater-DF para dar início à transição agroecológica. As políticas públicas da Secretaria Especial de Agricultura Familiar e Desenvolvimento Agrário (SEAD) e o Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos (PAA) contribuem...

La Petite Agriculture Familiale (PAF) est fortement fragilisée par la conjonction de plusieurs facteurs; d’abords le foncier avec la complexité des statuts, les problèmes des héritages, indivision et morcellement. Ensuite les marchés ; en dehors de la production laitière et des produits de terroirs (récemment impulsés par le Plan Maroc...

En este número de la revista Enlace presenta una serie de artículos que ayudan a entender mejor las interacciones económicas, científicas y hasta culturales que permiten que el trabajo de mejoramiento de maíz pueda realizarse. Además, busca que, al terminar de leerlo, el lector tenga un conocimiento más profundo sobre...

FONTAGRO anuncia la apertura de la Convocatoria Ordinaria 2017 para la presentación de proyectos sobre “Innovaciones para la intensificación sostenible de la agricultura familiar ante el cambio climático”, el 17 de abril próximo. La convocatoria apoyará plataformas de innovación constituidas por agentes públicos y privados que comparten visión, misión y objetivos,...

L’objectif principal de la Route est d’améliorer la compréhension, parmi les projets du FIDA et les principales parties prenantes, des problématiques liées à la garantie des droits à la terre et à l’eau dans des systèmes d’irrigation pour une meilleure productivité agricole, et ainsi améliorer les moyens d’existence des personnes...

Organic and eco-sustainable farming is particularly suited to farms situated within parks, because it does not harm local ecosystems as it does not use pesticides and promotes biodiversity, improving biological links and creating ideal habitats for animal life. It also promotes grants that reward farmers for acting as “guardians/stewards of...

Over half of the world’s land area is grazed in various ways: in mixed farming systems, ranching, by wildlife and through pastoralism. Pastoralism is practised mainly on the grasslands that cover about a quarter of the world’s surface (Follet & Reed 2010). It is also closely associated with mobile herds...

Este texto presenta una reflexión sobre las lógicas epistemológicas y políticas que atraviesan los estudios sobre las migraciones en América Latina desde tres dimensiones: 1) la creciente heterogeneidad de flujos y la necesidad de repensar las categorías conceptuales con las que se aborda las migraciones; 2) el diálogo y apropiación...

This paper helps to fill an important gap that exists in gender responsive fish value chains by analysing the factors that influence women’s participation in fish value chains and value chain governance in Malawi. The study was based on the premise that there is limited information on how fish trade...

Supporting farm businesses is a key priority of the Rural Development Programmes (RDPs), notably through investments in physical assets (Measure 4) and farm and business development (Measure 6). Such investments can help farms to modernise their processes or diversify their activities, enabling them to survive in the modern economy by...

What started out as an aspiration to be self sufficient, has evolved into a vision to grow and support young farmers into a profession that has enormous reward, alongside huge risk, immense challenges and a great deal of fulfillment. What’s more Joel can see the future in small-scale farming and...

The UN’s special rapporteur on the right to food has issued a damning indictment of the harmful effects of pesticides on flora, fauna and human beings.

Zone climatique géologiquement très ancienne, la zone soudano-sahélienne a vu son sol profondément transformé sous l’effet du climat chaud et humide des temps très anciens. Ceci a eu comme résultat une désagrégation et une érosion du sol avec la formation d’une croûte latéritique imperméable qui empêche l’infiltration de l’eau et...

This report assesses trends in investments, human resource capacity, and outputs in agricultural research in SSA, excluding the private (for-profit) sector. The analysis uses information collected by Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI)—led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) within the portfolio of the CGIAR Research Program on...

AGORA is one of the four programmes making up Research4Life coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on behalf of its many public and private partners. Since its launch in 2003, AGORA's goal has been that to provide free (complementary to open access) or low cost access to peer-reviewed journals and e- books in agriculture and related biological, environmental and...

Global change presents risks and opportunities for social-ecological systems worldwide. Key challenges for sustainability science are to identify plausible future changes in social-ecological systems and find ways to reach socially and environmentally desirable conditions. In this context, regional-scale studies are important, but to date, many such studies have focused on...

Located about 70 km north east from Hanoi, Vietnam, the villages of Xuan An and Ngoc Son (Bac Giang province) include 285 households. Rice is the main staple crop. Local rice and vegetable production strongly relies on synthetic inputs specifically Nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides which increase production costs and raise...