Humans depend on a thin planetary ‘skin’ made up of life in all its diversity: biodiversity. Agriculture now covers the largest portion (46%) of the global land surface area; its ecological health and resilience in the face of changing climate is therefore critical to human survival. The biodiversity found within...

The Family Farming Knowledge Platform (FFKP) Monthly Digest showcases the latest contents uploaded in the FFKP to provide its readers with relevant and up to date information on family farming main themes such as agroecology, smallscale fisheries, pastoralism, indigenous people, and more.

We met Dal Bahadur Kandel, a farmer in Sundwari village, during an ICIMOD/GRAPE team visit to Karnali Province, western Nepal, in November 2022. Kandel gave us a tour of his traditional farm, a 2,500-m2 property around his home. He showed us the different crops he was cultivating – gourds, melons, cauliflower,...

Reducing food loss increases both food supply and income. This was the case in Thailand, thanks to some simple technical innovations in germinated brown rice processing. A Japanese-funded project brought together FAO, The Thai government and Mahidol University to explore ways in which to reduce food waste in micro-, small...

Millets have finally arrived on the global scene. With 2023 being declared as the International Year of Millets, by the United Nations, the spotlight is on millets. While half a billion people across the globe consume millets as a traditional food, it has taken decades, for it to get its...

This document on consumption-based water management (CBWM) distils and expands on the findings of an expert consultation hosted by FAO and the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR), 29–30 October 2019. The meeting brought together Chinese and international experts to discuss the technical, governance and broader dimensions...

In South Asia, the long-term provision of agro-ecosystem services is threatened by accelerating climate change and undesirable farming practices. Conservation farming could help ensure sustainable ecosystem services and food security. This study was conducted in nine purposively selected districts in west and northwest Bangladesh. Data on conservation farming practices were...

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on food security in Indonesia. Ensuring food production and availability is a major concern for policymakers. The Indonesian government has historically made various efforts in this regard, encouraging and providing facilitation to farmers as the main producers of food, such as through...

Mixed crop–livestock systems, the world’s most widespread farming systems, promote farm resilience through diversification and allow for crop–livestock integration (CLI). Intensification and specialization challenge these systems. In Northwest Vietnam, the standard farm model is based on mixed crop–livestock family farms but is shifting towards more specialized farming systems. The aim...

The waters that surround the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Pacific are home to remarkable marine ecosystems. The fish and other marine species they host are deeply intertwined with many Pacific peoples’ cultures, livelihoods and food. But while the communities of these islands continue to consume fish in...

This study provides a quantitative assessment of the Indian dairy sector and aims to determine the underlying factors of the observed price movements. We analyse producer prices over time, differentiated by milk-producing ‘zones,’ and identify the underlying factors that might explain the observed discontinuities or interruptions in producer prices. The...

Developed in the Hurgaov region of Rajasthan (India), where droughts are frequent, this project allowed the promotion and conservation of rainwater through rejuvenating traditional rainwater harvesting water bodies (Naadi) with the participation of the community. 

The "FAO in the Pacific 2022" report provides an overview of FAO's activities and achievements in the Pacific Islands region throughout the year 2022. It highlights the Organization's efforts to promote sustainable agriculture, fisheries, and forestry, and to improve food security and nutrition in the region. The report also includes...

Low-carbon agricultural practices have received increasing attention, and the rapid development of agricultural product quality certification in China has provided a potential way to implement low-carbon agriculture. This study employs an endogenous switching regession to examine the effects of quality certification on low-carbon production behaviors using the survey data of...

At first, there didn't seem to be much reason for concern. By the end of it, the trail of destruction had left few homes, crops and livestock unscathed. Nguyen Hue, an 84-year-old farmer, recalls: “When the first warnings came through over the loudspeakers, we went to take shelter nearby in a...

Using Tebat Benawa customary community in Indonesia as a case study, this paper aims to understand how non-specialty Robusta coffee value chain operates at the farmer-trader level and see if and how customary setting influences the relationships between actors. We employed a mixed-methods research design combining qualitative and quantitative analyses...

LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA, Philippines— The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) calls for a holistic approach to push family farming to support resilient food systems and ensure food security in the Philippines. This was the resounding message resulting from a SEARCA-led hyflex Agriculture and Development...

The state of Andhra Pradesh in India has been promoting chemical-free agriculture under a programme launched in 2016. In the last six years, it has worked with 0.63 million farmers across six districts on Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF). Researchers from the University of Reading in the UK and Rythu...

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) is a grassroot agrarian movement and a state backed extension in Andhra Pradesh, and has been claimed to potentially meet the twin goals of global food security and environmental conservation. However, there is a lack of statistically evaluated data to support assertions of yield benefits...

In 2018, the state of Himachal Pradesh in north India launched an initiative to convert all its farmers to natural farming (NF), an agroecological approach. The aim was to address multiple challenges related to rural livelihoods, high input costs, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. This paper is based on a...