The point of departure of this paper is that African nations cannot afford to ignore smallholder agriculture, however difficult its prospects may seem. Region wide, at the beginning of the 1990's, 85 percent of Africa's population was rural, and more than a quarter of the labour force was actively engaged...

The aim of this paper is to show how the means to reduce poverty lies in: (a) the socio-economic conditions that irrigated agriculture can change; and (b) the way irrigation development is pursued. It is hoped that the paper will promote debate and act as a stimulant for new action...

Smallholder poultry production (i.e. family poultry) is an appropriate system that makes the best use of locally available resources. Family flocks are important providers of eggs and meat as well as being valued in religious and cultural life. There are three production systems for family poultry - free range, backyard...

The Dimitra Project on Rural Women and Development started in 1994 at the King Baudouin Foundation in Brussels, Belgium, with the support of the European Commission. The Dimitra Guidebook, printed in 1996, contains information on 255 European NGOs, research institutes and information centers working with and for rural women in...

This paper examines the most significant developments and changes that have been occurring over a period of transition in the economy and agriculture. The paper examines the changes that have occurred in Slovene agriculture, the macro-economic framework within which agriculture operates the functioning of the agricultural markets for staple farm...

The recent effort by two global organizations, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Anglo-Dutch multinational, Unilever, to establish an independent Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as a conservation partnership to create market incentives for sustainable fishing has attracted a great deal of attention-as well as controversy. In this...

This paper summarizes the results of six DFID funded country studies on encouraging sustainable agriculture in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. It emphasises the need for continuing government and donor support for sustainable increases in agricultural productivity which must underpin poverty alleviation. In this context, moves toward...

The present study is an update of an earlier assessment of warm-water fish farming potential in Africa, by Kapetsky (1994). The objective of this study was to assess locations and areal expanses that have potential for warm-water and temperate-water fish farming in continental Africa. The study was based on previous...

Mountains and highlands have always played an important role in the history of humankind. They have been sources of valuable resources - freshwater arguably the most important, refuges, natural barriers, spiritual sanctuaries, and so on. Yet, for the most part, they have been viewed as peripheral to the rest of...

Uganda was one of countries included in a 1997 IFAD/FAO/Government of Japan study on agricultural implements used by women. The study areas in Uganda were the District of Mubende in central Uganda and the District of Soroti in the northeastern part of the country. These areas have quite different farming...

Ecological marginalization stems from the transformation of ecosystems in a way that alters their functional integrity through the elimination of their production and decomposition functions. Ecosystem production becomes the subject of quantitative exploitation, while decomposition is affected by the use of local ecosystems as receivers of various wastes.  Consequently, social...

El Grupo de trabajo Allpa organizó el 19 y 20 de julio de 1998, el Taller sobre Comunidades Campesinas y Desarrollo Sostenible, cuyas reflexiones y conclusiones se transmiten en el presente texto.  En este Taller se ha podido profundizar el estudio y conocimiento de las experiencias de desarrollo que vienen impulsando...

La incorporación de la agricultura familiar campesina a una dinámica de desarrollo que facilite y mejore sus actuales niveles de rentabilidad y competitividad es un requerimiento y prioridad de las políticas agrarias en aplicación en Chile. Para este fin es indispensable la asociación de los productores en unidades comerciales eficaces...

L'accès à la propriété foncière et le partage des terres collectives et privées ont entraîné des défrichements au niveau des prairies permanentes, des parcours, des maquis et des forêts. L'artificialisation des milieux naturels a accéléré le processus d'érosion et de dégradation des sols. A travers quelques exemples concrets, les conséquences...

L'approche technique et spécialisée de l'écologie pastorale dans sa conception de préservation de la biodiversité et de réhabilitation des terres dégradées en zone aride a abouti à un projet de collection, sélection et production de semences pastorales sans visions concrètes sur les modalités d'utilisation de ces semences. Afin de chercher...

El tema de la pequeña agricultura familiar ha sido objeto de atención reciente por parte de los medios de opinión pública de casi todos los países de la Región. La prensa incluye información sobre la crisis en que dicho sector está envuelto, como resultado de los altos costos de producción,...

À 70 km au nord-est de Quito, capitale de l’Équateur, les communautés paysannes de ouest-Cangahua exploitent plusieurs étages écologiques entre 2600 et 3950 mètres d’altitude, sur le versant oriental du couloir interandin. Située à 15 km au sud du bourg de Cayambe, dans la province du Pichincha, l’agriculture de la...

This paper explores efforts on coastal area management, more specifically in the South Asian region, and the extent to which the perspectives of actors in the fishery sector have been incorporated. It also deals with legislation of direct relevance to Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM).

Fishworkers’ organizations the world over are concerned about the degradation of coastal habitats vital to fishery resources. This concern was articulated in the first-ever Conference of Fishworkers and their Supporters in Rome in 1984, and, subsequently, in all the three conferences organized by ICSF since 1986. In the conference in...

In Malawi, maize is the major crop and food staple. Given limited off-farm employment opportunities, much-needed increases in household income for improving food security must come from gains in agricultural productivity through better technology and more profitable crops. In the past, agricultural policy promoted hybrid maize and, more recently, tobacco...