Yak (Bos grunniens L.) herding plays an important role in the domestic economy throughout much of the Asian highlands. Yak represents a major mammal species of the rangelands found across the Asian highlands from Russia and Kyrgyzstan in the west to the Hengduan Mountains of China in the east. Yak...

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, mountain communities face unprecedented challenges due to the lockdown and isolation. The situation brings social difficulties for people, even more those living in remote areas, and financial ones for rural businesses affected by the closure. This item of news aims at sharing experiences and inspiring...

Mantiqueira de Minas (MG) é conhecida pelo clima de montanha e as estâncias hidrominerais, cujas águas são terapêuticas. Na região, é produzido também um dos cafés mais conceituados do país. Com as lavouras nas áreas montanhosas, sem mecanização, o café da Mantiqueira de Minas ganhou notoriedade nacional e internacional. Em maio...

O cafeicultura brasileira vem se reiventando nas últimas décadas, a partir de iniciativas de empreededores como Hugo Wolff, que hoje se multiplicam pelo Brasil, e os investimentos feitos por produtores, indústrias e cafeterias para levar aos consumidores grãos de qualidae superior e várias opções para saborear um bom café, seja...

In order to address the root causes that are aggravating the multiple social, economic, health and climate crises that our society is facing due to unsustainable, unjust and unhealthy farming and food systems, the voice of young farmers needs to be put forward in the process of shaping public policies....

The adoption of organic farming practices could help countries across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In December 2019, our Resilient Mountain Solutions initiative collaborated with the Agriculture Research and Development Centre, Bhutan to organize a regional symposium on “Organic agriculture: Youth engagement and enterprise...

Rural and intermediate areas account for 88% of the EU’s territory, are home to 55% of its population, generate 43% of its gross value added and host 56% of its jobs. Rural development is therefore extremely important and a vital tool for achieving the territorial cohesion objective enshrined in the...

Agriculture in the mountains differs from the lowlands and has some inherent constraints due to geographical isolation, a low levels of infrastructure development, difficult climatic conditions and fragile ecosystems making agricultural production, marketing and development more difficult. Agriculture and forestry are the most traditional \ work sectors in the Carpathians, shaping...

The European Commission is expected to publish its communication on the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas during the first semester 2021. The Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas is coordinated by Vice-President Dubravka Šuica, European Commissioner for Democracy & Demography. Janusz Wojciechowski, EU Commissioner for Agriculture, and Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for...

A cultura do café na Bahia vem ganhando, cada vez mais, lugar de destaque no país, com a qualidade dos grãos, especialmente os produzidos por agricultores e agricultoras familiares, em Territórios de Identidade como o da Chapada Diamantina e do Sudoeste Baiano. Os cafés atraem consumidores de diversas partes do...

Biodiversity decline in agricultural landscapes has been problematic for decades in Slovenia, and extensive grasslands are one of the most threatened habitats in the country. The LIFE project “Conservation and Management of Dry Grasslands in Eastern Slovenia” (also known as ‘LIFE to grasslands’) addresses biodiversity conservation in agricultural environments.

A escala finca los indicadores sociales de sostenibilidad agrícola más comunes son las horas-labor y la estacionalidad de la mano de obra.  La magnitud del esfuerzo físico que los trabajadores invierten en las actividades agrícolas normalmente no se utiliza como un indicador de eficiencia y sostenibilidad; por esta razón, en...

The 2020 celebration of the International Day of Forests with the theme “Forests and Biodiversity: Too precious to lose” at FAO headquarters was a virtual event with video messages from QU Dongyu, Director-General, FAO and Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Acting Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity....

Why does mountain agriculture deserve special attention in a Zero Hunger context? Firstly, because hunger remains common in many mountainous areas. While on a global scale, food insecurity has tended to go down, mountain dwellers have fared worse than people living in plains. Secondly, because mountains cover a large part...

The Pilot Project on Smart Eco-Social Villages, initiated by the European Parliament, has been carried out by a consortium consisting of Ecorys, Origin for Sustainability and R.E.D. under the responsibility of the European Commission (Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development). The potential effect of this Pilot Project is to shape...

This Special Issue, a product of the SIMRA project and its Thematic Session organised at the 125th Anniversary IUFRO Congress in 2017, is a contribution to advancing and exchanging scientific knowledge of social innovation in the context of forestry. A purpose of the Issue is to promote social learning, contribute...

The Decade of Family Farming provides an extraordinary opportunity for the United Nations to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in an inclusive, collaborative and coherent way. Putting family farming and all family-based production models1 at the focus of interventions for a period of ten years, will contribute to a...

Until now, there has been little information available to the international community regarding the state of forests in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Today, however, the UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section has released the first regional overview of the forest sector in these countries since they became independent in the 1990s.

The Rapid Livestock Market Assessment guide seeks to facilitate livestock market assessments in order to support those operating in the livestock sector, such as multilateral financial institutions, international development organizations, governments, research organizations, NGOs, community-based organizations, service providers and input suppliers. The guide provides project design teams with basic skills and...

On June 25, 2019, Euromontana attended a conference in Brussels on “Social Agriculture and Care Farm: Work opportunity, Social Partnership and Inclusion” organised by the Care-T-Farms project. Care-T-Farms is an Erasmus + programme, willing to encourage the use of farms as places promoting positive mental and physical health and wellbeing.