Over the last three decades organic food and farming has been growing year by year across the EU and continues doing so. The EU’s organic market is very dynamic with growth rates varying between countries. Policies can positively impact this growth – both production and consumption. In 2022, the EU’s total...

Over the past two decades, the Mekong region has experienced significant transformation of its agricultural sector from subsistence farming to export crops driven by the expansion of agricultural land and of irrigation, plus intensification thanks to mechanization and the use of chemical inputs. In the context of agrarian transition, maintaining...

Food and agricultural production practices applied by family farmers – including agroecological and integrated systems; recycling of nutrients, energy and waste; natural pest control; crop diversification; and efficient management of natural resources and soil health – present promising opportunities to address climate change, given that they allow high-level adaptation capacity...

This second volume of the country reports series enlarges the documentation, analysis, and development of agroecology in Europe, and provides examples of implementation in different countries. The 11 countries studied within this volume show somewhat similar results as found in with the first 13 countries mapped in volume 1. There...

There is a broad consensus that agri-food systems need to be transformed to address the mounting global challenges including food and nutrition security, environmental degradation, and socioeconomic inequities. However, agreement is lacking on what is needed to drive this transformation. This report builds on a sustainability analysis of different proposed...

Agroecology is a promising approach that is transforming agrifood systems across the Asia-Pacific Region. Indeed, there is increasing evidence of positive results with the transition to agroecology, and these include stable yields, crop resilience, higher incomes for farmers, fishers and producers, improved nutrition and food security and enhanced biodiversity (Global...

Twelve participants from Madagascar, including four newly recruited Entrepreneurs for Rural Access (ERAs) team members, took part in a 3-day programme designed to enhance their skills in providing agricultural extension and rural advisory services using digital tools. The programme was organised as part of the GIZ-funded Knowledge Centre for Organic...

The Entrepreneur for Rural Access (ERAs) in South Africa gathered together with Vinjeru Mlenga, Entrepreneur Coach for Southern Africa, on 29 February 2024 in Polokwane, Limpopo province, South Africa, to discuss strategies and plans for ERAs’ business growth relating to screening of farmer-training videos using the smart projector.

In the twentieth century, gardeners innocently spread the water hyacinth to Asia, Africa and elsewhere. Water hyacinth has striking blue flowers and was used to adorn ornamental fountains. But it escaped and was soon clogging lakes, ponds and municipal water supplies.

La sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle (SAN) est une problématique centrale dans les zones rurales des pays du Sud où vit la majorité des personnes sous-alimentées dans le monde. L’égalité des sexes et l’autonomisation des femmes font partie des objectifs de développement durable pour 2030, les femmes ayant été reconnues comme des...

Degraded soil can be repaired, and replenished with nutrients, until it produces abundant harvests at lower costs, while removing carbon from the atmosphere, and putting it back into the ground. This is the optimistic message of David Montgomery’s book, Growing a Revolution.

The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) today unveiled a comprehensive report critically examining the African Development Bank’s ambitious Dakar II initiative, part of the broader Feed Africa program. This initiative, titled ‘Feed Africa: Food Sovereignty and Resilience’, aims to revolutionize African agriculture with a focus on turning the...

Five years after the catastrophic Cyclone Idai hit Chimanimani District in Zimbabwe, claiming over 500 lives and causing extensive destruction, the community's journey towards recovery and resilience offers a beacon of hope. This article by John Willson delves into the heart of Chimanimani's efforts, showcasing how the district is confronting...

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...

Agroecology and organic agriculture present promising alternatives to the current food system, supported by a growing body of evidence. Despite the potential of AE/O, their full benefits cannot be realised in most countries due to political and institutional barriers and lock-ins, including incentives and funding that favour “business as usual”...

On February 10th we celebrate the World Pulses Day 2024, whose topic is nourishing soils and people. Slow Food addresses the topic, supported by the recently presented Plant the Future report, and by the international Planting the Future challenge organized with the Slow Food Youth Network (SFYN). The challenge will be running over the month of...

Laure Tall, directrice de recherche à l’Initiative prospective agricole rurale (IPAR), a suggéré, mercredi, à Dakar, la mise en place de politiques intégrées et systémiques pour relever les multiples défis liés au développement de l’agroécologie au Sénégal et en Afrique.  

Family farming plays a pivotal role in ensuring household food security and bolstering the resilience of food systems against climate change. Traditional agricultural practices are evolving into context-specific, climate-resilient systems such as family farming, homestead gardening, and urban agriculture. This study examines the ways in which family farming can foster...

Comment accompagner l’engagement des territoires dans une trajectoire de développement agroécologique conciliant résilience hydrique, sécurité alimentaire et qualité nutritionnelle ? Coordonné par le Cirad et INRAE, le projet MAHDIA vise à articuler les enjeux agricoles, alimentaires, environnementaux et de santé des régions de Meknès au Maroc, Kairouan en Tunisie et...

The bad smell of pig waste undermines the health of your animals and your own health and can create tensions with your neighbours. Washing the dung and urine into waterways also pollutes the environment. By using deep bedding sprayed with good microorganisms you can avoid all of this. You can...