Agro-food chain is the only chain in the economy that can bring together and integrate numerous of economic activities, can connect hundreds of local enterprises with thousands consumers and producers, offering a unique opportunity to rural development, which consequently can reinvigorate the region’s economy and the whole national economy. Rural...

This issue of Baobab ushers in 2014, the UN proclaimed Year of Family Farming. Agricultural production, conservation of biodiversity, resilience of rural communities and preservation of culture are part and parcel of stronger family farming. This issue emphasises the importance of diverse family farming across Africa, provides practical examples that...

Au Cameroun, la diffusion du maïs s’est accélérée en réponse à une demande croissante. Son extension dans les zones rurales concourt à améliorer la sécurité alimentaire via la diversification des revenus et l'accroissement des disponibilités alimentaires. Afin d'accroître les rendements, des hybrides ont été produites par la recherche agricole. Les auteurs...

The course introduces the main concepts and principles of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure. It aims to help people understand the Guidelines and to apply the principles to practical situations in their countries, as well as to raise the general awareness of responsible governance of tenure...

Ian Scoones from the Institute of Development Studies and the Future Agricultures Consortium reflects on some key issues emerging from a recent conference on the future of pastoralism in Africa. His overwhelming conclusion: Pastoralism is "alive and well" in some parts of the continent. But there are downsides: constraints caused...

Funding under the LEADER programme is helping organic farmers Dominic and Alison Leonard to develop a farm shop and to capitalise on the amenity value of their farm. The Leonards run Castlewood Organic Farm, located along the River Nore near Durrow in Co Laois. Dublin-born Dominic and Australian-born Alison have...

Red social en donde confluyen algunas de las voces más argumentadas en torno a diversos temas del poder nacional, con la idea de generar contenidos de alta calidad sobre asuntos como el liderazgo, el proceso de paz, el arte nacional, la innovación y la minería, entre otros. Es, además, el espacio...

Smallholder farmers face climate variability and incidences of drought have been characteristic of smallholder farmer production in Chivi. Drought was the key climate risk in the investigation of the impact of climate variability on the sustainability of agricultural production and development of the community. With regards to climate risk management...

Agricultural educators – whether extension agents from public or private sector, university professors, school teachers or farmers themselves – need to become agents of change. They need to support farmers in the task of reconnecting to the agro-ecosystems that they manage, rather than becoming increasingly disconnected from them. This issue...

O que os sindiactos podem fazer para os pequenos agricultores? Entrevista com Sr. Roque Paulus - vice-presidente do Sindicato dos trabahadores rurais de Santa Cruz do Sul. O trabalho junto a fumicultura tem focado a defesa do produtor. O carro chefe da economia da região é o fumo, o tabaco. O nosso...

Las comunidades campesinas aún representan una proporción importante en la sociedad moderna, muchos de ellos manejando sistemas agroforestales en sus huertos y campos. Para comprender su dinámica y la de sus sistemas de producción agrarios, en este documento se proponen temas de reflexión que los autores consideran vigentes para los...

Un puñado de empresas transnacionales pretende dominar y acaparar el actual  sistema  alimentario  mundial. Esa es la reciente advertencia que sostienen las organizaciones campesinas miembros de la Coordinadora Latinoamericana  y  del  Caribe  de  Pequeños Productor es  de  Comercio  Justo (CLAC), que están planteando un sistema alimentario más justo y sostenible...

Agricultural Business Centres (ABCs) provide a range of technical, operational and marketing services to smallholders and are the main entry point for MAFFS extension support. ABC commodity focus depends on the predominant cropping system and economic activity of the membership with early emphasis on rice and other food crops but...

Under the Smallholder Commercialization Programme, FAO supported the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program to implement Agicultural Business Centres (ABC) in order to improve food security for the most vulnerable population. This program has involved the Government of Sierra Leone under the National Sustainable Agriculture Development Plan. It has permitted...

Agriculture is arguably the most important vehicle for realising economic development, creating employment and reducing poverty in Africa. In the Eastern and Central Africa (ECA) sub-region, agriculture accounts for about 43% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and over 60% of exports. About 70% of the population and nearly 90%...

Given the accumulating evidence of climate change in sub-Saharan Africa, there is an urgent need to develop more climate resilient maize systems. Adaptation strategies to climate change in maize systems in sub-Saharan Africa are likely to include improved germplasm with tolerance to drought and heat stress and improved management practices....

El papel de la mujer en el agro es hoy más evidente que nunca. El IV Cenagro, de 2012, informa que la cantidad de productoras, 691 mil, se ha duplicado en relación con las 357 mil que, según el III Cenagro, había en 1994. Esta presencia femenina es mayor en...

Agroforestry is a set of tools which farmers can use to increase yields, build soil fertility, raise their income, and boost their food security. ICRAF and its partners have worked closely with farmers for decades to promote and develop simultaneous intercropping practices to address the challenges in soil fertility facing...

The objective of this article was to develop a deeper understanding of the interdependences between smallholder farming and the state of environmental management in rural Malawi. We examined the agricultural local governance framework in Malingunde Extension Planning Area (EPA), its contribution to food security and how it conflicts with overall...

In surveys conducted by the Organisation for Rural Development (ORUDE) from 2010 - 2012, maize stood out as the second most important food and cash crop in Busoga after sweet potatoes. Due to climate change, farmers desired to have drought-tolerant seed varieties, However, lack of formalized maize seed supply systems...