As our land remains under water during the rainy season, our ancestors were already thinking of ways to produce crops in order to survive. They invented the floating garden by using crop residues. We do not need any chemical fertilizers or pesticides, because the floating bed is fertile by nature....

Cashew trees are mainly grown for their nuts and apples. In a well maintained cashew orchards and associated with annual crops, the trees produce more and yield nuts of good quality.

Digital services are changing the way farmers do business by giving them access to information and knowledge they can use in their daily activities. Working with partners, FAO is developing and implementing digital inclusion initiatives and scaling up innovative digital services. Digital innovation is transforming communities, empowering individuals and unlocking...

La disponibilité d'une eau accessible représente l'une des plus grandes contraintes en agriculture Aujourd'hui. La gestion d'eau précieuse et de plus en plus rare est primordiale dans l'approche Agroécologie. A travers la Rencontre Africaine des Sols et du Climat, Terre et Humanisme Maroc, Terre Humaine PESI avec la Fondation du...

In this video, we learn from farmers in Kenya how we can kill fall armyworms in a natural way. The leaf damage caused by fall armyworms often looks worse than it is. Birds, spiders, rove beetles, ants, wasps, and diseases kill the fall armyworm and can greatly reduce its damage....

The Common Agricultural Policy, particularly in its second pillar, contains measures and resources to improve gender equality and women’s access to work and economic activity. The gender equality gap is wider in rural areas than in cities. More and more women are finding empowerment through agriculture. In turn, they guarantee the survival of...

With grafting, a young shoot from a preferred mango variety is attached to a seedling. The seedling will develop the root and base of the tree. This is called the rootstock. The young shoot that is grafted onto the rootstock is called the scion. This will develop into the canopy....

In Zambia, FAO has stepped up its efforts to promote sustainable innovative practices and principles of agricultural production and post-production processes. One of the main factors driving this initiative is integrated programming. Winston is one of over 20 000 contact farmers in (Zambia) who were selected and equipped with Conservation...

The solution to these global challenges rests upon unlocking the full potential of women in the world of work. Did you know that 52% of Zimbabweans are women, and yet there are fewer women being represented in parliament (32%), local Authority (16.7%) and in managerial positions in the private sector...

Weaver ants help to protect your fruit and nuts from fruit flies and many other pests. If you don’t have weaver ants in your orchard yet, collect all the nests from an ant colony and transfer them to one of your fruit trees. Help the ants to spread to more...

People enjoy cashew nuts, whereas cashew apples are less valued. Leaving cashew apples on the land is an enormous loss of money. However, cashew apples can be processed into a nutritious juice which can be consumed throughout the year.

Donkeys, mules and horses are important working animals, many diseases are transmitted by insects such as flies. Flies can transmit a parasitic worm called Habronema that causes several problems in horses and donkeys. There are many precautions which you can take to ensure that your donkeys and horses stay free...

This video shows how the clubs in Niger have been crucial in ensuring women’s access to land and water, while contributing to nutrition, food security, gender equality and the reduction of rural poverty at the same time.  Access to Water and Land” is part of a series that illustrates the...

Nguyen Thi Hoi is a woman farmer in the province of Thai Binh, Viet Nam. She is one of many smallholder farmers whose lives have improved thanks to a project implemented by FAO and IPSARD (the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development). Through the local farmers' cooperative, the...

Zaï as they are known in Burkina Faso, or tassa in Niger, are wide deep planting pits. They act as a microcatchment and can be used to rehabilitate soils when used with manure. They have been very successful in West Africa during the last 25 years.

Demi-lunes (half-moons) are in the shaped of a semi-circle with the tips of the bunds on the contour. They come in a variety of sizes, which help with water harvesting in semi-arid areas. They help to improve soil fertility when manure or compost is added.

Trees produce timber and firewood, but also fruit, pods, leaves and medicines for people and livestock. Some species help improve soil fertility and reduce local temperatures. The system supports crops and livestock.

Integrated soil fertility management is based on maximising the use of organic fertilizers and minimizing the loss of nutrients.

The main aim is to reduce costs and improve profitability. Soil health is improved as is soil moisture. Zambia is leading the way in Sub-Saharan Africa and this programme shows how the technique is practised.

Increasing plant populations by reducing the planting distance is a key step to achieving a uniform crop stand and a high yield. On the other hand, when plants are too close to each other this can hamper good crop development. The plants will be thin and will be susceptible to...