As part of the activities being implemented through the Italian contribution to the FAO Trust Fund for Food Security and Food Safety, several projects in different countries and regions are following a common strategy. In West Africa this Programme, “Food Security through Commercialization of Agriculture” (FSCA), or «Programme Italien pour...

This working paper summarizes the findings of the socioeconomic component of the research project Improved livelihoods of small-scale farmers in Iraq through integrated pest management and use of organic fertilizer, that was managed by ICARDA and funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Ministry of Agriculture...

Holly Whitesides and her husband are trying to go “against the grain” of industrial agriculture in the United States. They use their family farm and their work on saving seed to convince other farmers and groups of the importance of a sovereign seed stock.

Este trabajo se propone caracterizar la situación de un grupo de agricultores que utiliza prácticas agroecológicas como enfoque alternativo a la agricultura convencional. La idea de realizarlo surgió en la Asociación Nacional para el Fomento de la Agricultura Ecológica (ANAFAE), que se prepara para participar en un evento nacional, presentando...

Bjarteyjarsandur Farm is northwest of Reykjavík in Hvalfjörður Iceland.  It is nestled on the north side of a mountainous fjord between acres of rolling hills and the mussel-filled coastline. María Reynisdóttir Kynningarstjóri, the Communications Manager at Icelandic Farm Holidays, suggested Bjarteyjarsandur as the perfect place to learn more about Icelandic farm...

Es ampliamente conocido que se necesitan altos niveles de inversión para impulsar el potencial de la agricultura para el desarrollo sostenible y la reducción de la pobreza en los países en desarrollo. No obstante, en las últimas décadas muchos países han reducido las asignaciones presupuestarias al sector agrícola, mientras que...

Formed in 2007, Food Plant Solutions Rotary Action Group (FPS) creates science-based educational materials, which: identify highly nutritious local food plants, explain how to grow them in a sustainable, agroecological way, detail the nutritional value of the plants and describe why human bodies require those nutrients. The resources created by FPS allows people to better...

Even in the International Year of Family Farming there is confusion about family farming. What is it, and what distinguishes it from entrepreneurial farming or family agribusiness? The confusion tends to be highest in places where the modernisation of agriculture has led society further away from farming. Jan Douwe van...

This document contains descriptions of 40 fallow-period cover crop species that are used in organic cropping systems.It is a complementary resource associated with the technical guide Choosing and managing cover crops in organic agricultural systems, which was published in July 2012. The guide is available for download on the ITAB...

Es ampliamente conocido que se necesitan altos niveles de inversión para impulsar el potencial de la agricultura para el desarrollo sostenible y la reducción de la pobreza en los países en desarrollo. No obstante, en las últimas décadas muchos países han reducido las asignaciones presupuestarias al sector agrícola, mientras que...

This paper presents the results of an economic, social and cultural study relating to family farms in two cooperatives: Feiraco in Galicia, Spain and Drinagh, County Cork in Ireland. The research is focused mainly on the production and analysis of the results of a specialized survey that dealt with the...

Rural development support from the European Union is governed by REGULATION (EU) No 1305/2013 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 17 December 2013on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005, which is implemented into...

In the westernmost region of the Caroline Islands of Micronesia lies the Republic of Palau. Palauan traditional farming shows how agriculture, family values and culture are interconnected. Despite these connections, family farms are facing challenges. By joining forces, the small-scale family farms of these islands are standing up for their...

In 2011 Spain was the number one EU Member State concerning the number of hectares dedicated to organic farming. It increased by 11.76% that year and now includes 1,845,039 hectares. Almost all Spanish regions show increases in the area dedicated to this type of farming. The number of organic farmers...

The course provides guidance on how to introduce social analysis into investment programmes and projects. In particular, it describes how to use social analysis in the project cycle, the sustainable livelihoods framework, the main entry points for conducting social analysis, and how to integrate the findings into the project design....

The current report constitutes an extended version of the literature review which notably built the Chapter 2 of the main WAW report “Typology and Indicators to Characterize Agricultural Holdings for Improved Policy Formulation” (available on the WAW Website). The purpose of the latter is to present an overview of the...

As a major European capital, Brussels may not be the first place one would think of when discussing sustainable food systems. However, it is full of crucial actors of the transition: consumers. In the face of an increasing discrepancy between the supply of sustainable food products and demand (e.g. demand...

El interés de abordar esta temática desde el enfoque de la Investigación Acción Participativa surge a partir del relevamiento de demandas y necesidades de los agricultores familiares, realizado en el año 2006 por los IPAF de las regiones NOA, NEA y Pampeana. A través de dicho relevamiento, se pudo visualizar...

Le présent article s’est intéressé à analyser la dynamique du financement de la production agricole en lien avec le type d’exploitation agricole. Cet essai de typologie est fait à l’aide d’une méhode statistique basé sur l’analyse multi-variée et spécifiquement une analyse en composantes principales (ACP). Cette analyse a été appliquée...

Urbanisation is a global phenomenon that has long affected Finland. People are moving to towns and cities with an ever diminishing number working in agriculture. In Finland in the 1940s, agriculture employed about half the work force, today it employs fewer than 4%. At the same time the number of...