Seed interventions are the major agricultural response during emergency and recovery phases of humanitarian relief. They are implemented by diverse agencies, and widely promoted: for instance the FAO alone managed 400 such projects between 2003 and 2005. However, seed aid suffers from a lack of critical attention, perpetuating widespread myths...

Sitio web de la revista Agrópolis, la es una publicación semestral de la Fundación para el Desarrollo Regional en los países del Mercosur ampliado (FUNDER). Es de carácter no gubernamental y su Directorio está conformado por personalidades de Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay y Uruguay. Agrópolis se idea como espacio de reflexión en el que...

Informal markets receive little attention from governments and researchers, despite their centrality to farmers’ seed security. This paper documents the importance of informal markets for supplying seed and restocking critical plant genetic resources in normal and stress periods. It analyses farmers’ rationales for using such markets and their strategic actions...

This sixth and last volume in our publication series features the final results of the International Task Force on Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture (ITF). The ITF worked from 2003 to 2008 in search of solutions to trade barriers created by worldwide proliferation of organic standards and technical regulations....

The project has supported the Volta Mango Growers Association (VOMAGA). This report presents the results of a survey among a sample of the mango farmers on the impact of the project. The report first gives an introduction to the mango sector in Ghana and the project partners and activities. Subsequently...

Los días 28 y 29 de mayo de 2008, se llevó a cabo en Bolivia, el Seminario sobre “Enfoques de Desarrollo Territorial y Desarrollo Rural” a iniciativa del Postgrado en Ciencias del Desarrollo de la Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (CIDES/UMSA) el Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA)...

The FAO project “Increasing incomes and food security of small farmers in West and Central Africa through exports of organic and fair-trade tropical products” has supported the Ekumfi Atwia WAD Organic Farmers Association (EAWOFA) and its exporter Weya Agricultural Development/African Foods Ltd (WAD). This report presents the results of a...

Afghanistan is a beautiful country with a rich history. Today it faces enormous challenges. Afghanistan’s terrain is mountainous, dry, and subject to extreme droughts and devastating floods. Decades of conflict coupled with abuse, overexploitation and mismanagement of its natural resources have decimated its forests, degraded its rangelands and wetlands, and...

Déclaration liminaire à la conférence publique animée par la Coordination régionale de la Coalition pour la Protection du Patrimoine Génétique Africain-COPAGEN à Cotounou, Bénin, sur les politiques agricoles africaines et le développement des exploitations agricoles familiales.

The project has supported the cocoa farmers association Kpeya Agricultural Enterprise (KAE). This report presents the results of a survey among a sample of the cocoa farmers on the impact of the project. The report first gives an introduction to the cocoa sector in Sierra Leone and the project partners...

Is low greenhouse gas emission (GHG) agriculture possible? Is it, in fact, desirable? In seeking answers to these two basic but extremely relevant questions, this study examines current farming practices, and incorporates scientific databases from longterm field experiments as case studies for low GHG agriculture. Further, the study examines the...

The aim of this document is to describe the potential of organic agriculture to sequester carbon and to meet the requirements of carbon accounting systems, including factors such as carbon permanence, leakage and additionality. Furthermore, the document discusses the suitability of measurement and verification methodologies to agriculture systems, including an...

The purpose of the FAO Diversification booklets is to raise awareness and provide decision support information about opportunities at farm and local community level to increase the incomes of small-scale farmers. Each booklet focuses on a farm or non-farm enterprise that can be integrated into small farms to increase incomes...

The increased demand for high quality products in export markets, coupled with Pacific Island Countries (PICs) national desire to protect the environment, biodiversity and family farming structures, lead to assume that organic agriculture could offer good prospects for PICs development. Besides market opportunities, organic agriculture could increase PICs food self-reliance...

The reports draw on the work of hundreds of experts from all regions of the world who have participated in the preparation and peer review process. As has been customary in many such global assessments, success depended first and foremost on the dedication, enthusiasm and cooperation of these experts in...

At the end of 2009, despite the international commitments made to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, over a billion people are going hungry and 70% of those women and men who suffer from hunger live in rural areas. These alarming results inevitably raise questions as to the effectiveness of the...

There is a need to create an environment conducive to small farmers’ entry to organic export markets, through low-cost certification schemes and trusted organic food control systems in developing countries. As a centre of excellence in the field of agriculture, fisheries, forestry and their natural resource basis, FAO stands ready...

Prince Mahidol Award Conference on Mainstreaming Health into Public Policies Bangkok, Thailand, 28-30 January 2009 FAO/WHO Session on Agricultural Policies, Climate Change and the Impact on Human Wellbeing and Nutrition The Italian experience has shown that the introduction of organic food in schools meals generates a wide range of benefits for the...

This paper presents the general trends of demand and supply of organic products in Asia and the Pacific. This regional market is put in perspective within the global organic agrifood market and the current economic conditions that may have a great impact on the development of organic agriculture in Asia...

La cebolla (Allium cepa L.) es la segunda hortaliza más consumida en Colombia. La producción y los precios de mercado de esta hortaliza están determinados por varios factores, entre ellos el clima. Últimamente, el clima ha experimentado cambios en su comportamiento. Estos cambios están afectando, entre otros, la productividad agraria....