This paper describes the recent emergence of alternative food networks in China in the context of widespread food quality concerns. Drawing on interviews and public blog posts, we illustrate how participants in these networks are moving beyond instrumental market relations and developing the collective agency necessary to participate in shaping...

中国农业的未来不在于大规模机械化的农场，而是在于资本-劳动双密集化的小规模畜-禽-鱼饲养和菜-果种植家庭农场。中国的食品消费正从原来的8：1：1型，即八成粮食、一成肉食、一成蔬菜向4：3：3型转化。它促进了农业结构的相应转型。小规模家庭农场其实比大农场更适合中国的新时代农业，包括绿色农业，因为它需要的是频繁的、多种小量的手工劳动，不允许简单的规模经济效益，更多依赖的是范围经济效益。同时，它也更适合于中国高人口压力的实际。 但小农场仍然需要从生产到加工到销售的纵向一体化，虽然并不附带耕作上的横向一体化。合作组织正是在如此的背景下，为了把小农场与规模加工和销售整合起来而自发性地兴起的。但是近年来中国政府一直在积极扶持资本主义型的龙头企业，把它们认作纵向一体化的第一选择。今天，中国农业正面临一个十字路口，其将来的纵向一体化将以什么样的组织模式为主尚是个未知数。

The Farmer Field School (FFS) approach has been very successful and witnessed a strong expansion in many areas beyond crop production. Notwithstanding this success, the adoption of FFS in national extension often remains problematic and FFS activities have often been implemented in the margin of national institutions with strong reliance...

The aim of the guidelines is to enhance restoration efforts in the world’s drylands. They provide specific guidance for policymakers and other decision-makers, and for practitioners. Well-informed policymakers and other higher-order decision-makers can be enablers in the design and implementation of effective restoration efforts by providing appropriate policies, governance mechanisms...

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is one of the best examples of a successful, alternative food distribution system, providing real income to producers and affordable healthy food for consumers. Food continues to be grown in peri-urban areas and trust between producers and consumers is strengthened. And China has not been left...

G20 Members (Turkey, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indıa, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the EU) represent 85% of the world’s economy, 70% of the global agricultural economy and the two thirds of...

Researchers estimate that between 44% and 57% of all greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) come from the global food system. Agriculture and deforestation caused by agriculture account for 26-33% of total emissions, is making it one of the major contributors of climate change.Chemical fertilisers are the main source of climate-changing gases. No country uses them more...

China’s push for more intense farming has kept its city dwellers well-fed and helped lift millions of rural workers out of poverty. But it has come at a cost. Ecosystems in what should be one of the country’s most fertile regions have already been badly damaged – some beyond repair...

Rising temperatures are sure to have a big impact on China’s grain output and food security over the next 20 to 50 years. My research identifies some benefits, but at present the negative impacts will outweigh them, leading to lower harvests unless urgent measures are taken.   Climate change has two main positive...

There is growing interest from the global development community in the role of agricultural research and extension (AR&E) systems to achieve development targets. Despite this interest, many smallholders in developing countries continue to lack access to updated agricultural information and reliable services. In an effort to increase the effectiveness, impact,...

  Young men from even the remotest places in the Himalayan mountains are leaving their homes in search of income opportunities elsewhere. This trend of out-migration has been driven by increased mobility and access to information, in combination with the effects of climate change, including both increased flooding and drought. Drought...

FAO, China and Uganda signed a two year agreement worth almost $2.5 million to support small-scale farmers in Uganda in boosting their production, including through sustainable technologies. The agreement marks the second phase of a partnership initially established in 2012 to make training and technical advice available to the Ugandan...

This report aims to identify the main constraints that limit smallholders in emerging countries from accessing markets. It does this first through a literature review of economic development theory and findings from past empirical studies. It then looks at different policy instruments currently used in five countries: Brazil, Chile, Indonesia,...

A través del programa de CSS entre Nigeria y China, que facilita la FAO, se han destinado a Nigeria a casi 700 expertos chinos desde 2003, en misiones de al menos dos años. Estos expertos han introducido nuevas tecnologías, intercambiado mejores prácticas y compartido conocimientos y experiencias con sus homólogos...

Cet ouvrage a pour objectif d’expliquer la nature et la force des liens entre la famille et l’exploitation agricole. L’ouvrage est construit autour d’une vingtaine d’études de cas menées dans divers pays de l’Asie, de l’Afrique, de l’Amérique latine et de l’Europe. Les auteurs précisent « ce qui fait famille »,...

Most of the poor in the developing countries are smallholder farmers. Improving their productivity is essential for reducing poverty. Despite small landholdings, a high degree of land fragmentation, and rising labor costs, agricultural production in China has steadily increased. If one treats the farm household as the unit of analysis,...

More and more people are moving towards urban areas for various reasons. This has also increased the demand for food while putting pressure on scarce resources. Urban life styles and food preferences also influence the type of food grown and the way it is grown to meet the growing urban...

The objective of this project is to improve livelihoods and income-generating opportunities for poor and vulnerable groups through an integrated approach to development. The project is in line with the government's Five-Year Plan for 2011-2015, which calls for harmonized growth enabling poor populations to benefit from China's overall economic and...

北京梁漱溟乡村建设中心从2001年开始组织支农活动，正式注册于2004年12月，是在北京市登记注册成立的民间公益组织。该中心以推进新乡村建设为核心目标，以推动农民合作和城乡和谐发展为主要内容。截至目前，本中心已经在全国各地建立新乡村建设试验基地近50个，与全国百余所高校的学生支农社团建立了友好合作关系。本中心组织大学生志愿者参与支农调研和新农村建设行动累计已达万余人次，大学生志愿者参与活动的农村分布在全国27个省区。在本中心接受培训和已经毕业的农村发展人才超过百人，参与过本中心培训的农民合作组织带头人达1000余人次。

The GIAHS Initiative uses the sustainable livelihoods framework (SLA) as an approach to understanding factors (shocks, trends, etc) affecting people’s livelihoods (expressed as five types of capital) and the way these factors are linked to each other. Within the SLA framework, resources available to a specific community can be divided...