Happy Shongwe, a smallholder farmer from Swaziland, talks about her successful business of growing and selling legume seeds.

The Al-Dhala Community Resource Management Project (ADCRMP) [IFAD Loan 638-YE] aims to support sustainable and equitable growth of rural living standards and greater livelihood security for vulnerable households in the remote and isolated Al Dhala Governorate through better management of their resource base. The specific objectives are to: (i) empower...

The rural world has  undergone many transformations due to the processes of modernization and  globalization.  Little is known about  rural families, and knowledge about urban families is usually transferred to  rural families, as if the reality was the same for both.  This study sought to understand. The  practices in the...

Indigenous knowledge systems of livestock care and health care is the only asset in the hands of the small holder farmers to mitigate the impact of climate change on livestock production. This study explores the role of indigenous knowledge systems of livestock care and veterinary care in the face of...

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...

Los objetivos de esta guía son aumentar la concienciación en cuanto a las cuestiones socio-económicas y de género en el ámbito de la microfinanza. El contexto para el desarrollo de la microfinanza está principalmente formado por el ámbito político macro, por las instituciones que proveen servicios microfinancieros, y por los...

El objetivo de este documento es presentar un análisis de resultados de investigación sobre hábitos alimentarios de las familias campesinas hoy, vinculados con el grado de acceso y control de los alimentos, lo que constituirá la base de un diagnóstico de las familias agricultoras-campesinas en términos de situación alimentaria, cambios...

Having this perspective in mind, the aim of this research is to analyze the commerce of  rural handcraft  as  a  product  that  is  related  to  tourism  predominantly  in  family agriculture through a  close  sight  at  two  productive  groups:  “Ladrilã”,  with handicraftswomen  from  the  towns  of Pelotas,  Pedras  Altas  and  Jaguarão; ...

El objetivo principal del proyecto consistió en fortalecer a las organizaciones de base y movimientos sociales de la población rural de Sudamérica (específicamente a campesinos/as, asalariados/as rurales, indígenas, pescadores artesanales, mujeres y jóvenes rurales) en su capacidad de gestión para dar seguimiento a los resultados de la CIRADR. En particular...

El cuadernillo inicia con una “Introducción” que pone al descubierto las relaciones entre la crisis alimentaria, los efectos del cambio climático y la caída de las remesas en los últimos años; todo ello visto desde la situación, posición y funciones que tienen las mujeres rurales, es decir, desde una perspectiva de género. La...

Women play a critical and potentially transformative role in agricultural growth in developing countries, but they face persistent obstacles and economic constraints limiting further inclusion in agriculture. The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) measures the empowerment, agency, and inclusion of women in the agriculture sector in an effort to...

La igualdad de género no incumbe solamente a las mujeres. Sin embargo, empoderarlas en el MFS es una prioridad de desarrollo importante, Implicar a las mujeres en la toma de decisiones relativas a los bosques conlleva una amplia variedad de efectos positivos. Cada vez se reconoce más la importancia del...

This issue of Caravan looks to the field to present approaches and examples that have been developed through our research with partners in many dryland countries, and can be deployed to benefit smallholder farmers in many more locations. These technologies bring resistance to drought, temperature extremes, or diseases that damage and...

The CRP on Dryland Systems is all about integration: between different research disciplines, between biophysical and socio-economic factors, between crop farming and pastoralism, between research and development. The program aims to develop new technologies, new livelihood opportunities, stronger local institutions, enabling policies to support technology adoption, and ultimately higher incomes...

This issue of Caravan describes the new program, and some of the research innovations it will build on. The issue begins with two ‘opinion pieces’ by scientists from partner organizations in the CRP. They share lessons learnt from past successes (and failures), and ideas that could be applied to dryland systems...

Communication faite au Colloque international genre et agricultures familiale et paysanne, regards Nord-Sud (Toulouse-France , mai 2012), concernant le Projet de Renforcement des capacités des femmes rurales pour éradiquer les Inégalités de Genre et améliorer la gestion des ressources dans l’agriculture familiale et paysanne au Cameroun – Cas des femmes rurales...

Welcome to Dimitra Newsletter 22. This issue places the spotlight on the Dimitra community listeners’ clubs, with a special dossier made up of several articles that focus on the impact of projects under way, the development of this approach and the launch of new initiatives.

This issue focuses on particularly innovative activities that enable women to have better access to land in several African countries. In Niger, thanks to the debates that began in their listeners’ club, the women of Banizoumbou now have secure access to a large plot of land for 99 years. This...

Cascina Barosi is a farm completely run by women. Cascina Barosi is a journey backwards, from big cities to the countryside. Benedetta, from Milan, managed a farm near Cremona. The film recounts his relationship with technology, enabling her to remotely control to the work on the farm, succeeding so to...

This manual on Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) is based primarily on the direct experience derived from several years of implementing PPB programmes in a number of countries and on a number of crops, and secondly, from a number of training courses (China, Ethiopia, Jordan, Australia, South Africa) and when necessary,...