In constrained environments such as mountainous and Mediterranean areas the sustainable use of forage resources by domestic herbivores has to combine production, conservation of high environmental value areas and product quality. The sustainability of animal production systems relies on their ability to reconcile economic performance based on the added value...

Small ruminants are important for income generation and security, food supply and for development in rural Mediterranean areas especially in mountainous and marginal regions. Nevertheless, the adoption of cost-effective technologies and management practices for improving flock productivity and farmers' incomes is limited. This is largely due to socio-economic factors, such...

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...

En Tunisie, l’explosion des besoins en eau (eau potable et irrigation) conduit aujourd’hui à de nombreuses incohérences dans les politiques publiques, principalement liées à la poursuite d’une stratégie de gestion de l’offre, qui génèrent des conflits accrus et une montée des revendications autour de l’eau, surtout depuis la révolution tunisienne...

This issue of Caravan presents some successes of the collaboration of scientists and other stakeholders from ICARDA and national partners, where participatory research with local communities and women’s groups in particular, has reaped a range of benefits through an integrated systems approach. These examples demonstrate a path forward for sustainably...

This report documents a process to encourage learning and sharing practical knowledge between Global Environmental Fund (GEF) recipients of national Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM) development grants to address land degradation, climate change, biodiversity and international water issues in six countries. The goal of the process is to help disseminate...

Most of world’s rural population depend on livestock for their livelihood, especially in the Mediterranean, African and many Asian countries. To reduce poverty, fight hunger and ensure global food security, there is an urgent need to increase livestock production in sustainable ways. However, livestock production systems in those areas are...

This report presents examples, approaches and evidence on conservation agriculture and its potential for use in low-income countries. It is designed to help policy makers and development partners appreciate the issues and evaluate how conservation agriculture can contribute to rural development and food security goals, paving the way for its...

The considerable food price rise and financial crises and already felt climate change effects on Pacific Island Countries (PICs) have highlighted food security and livelihoods vulnerability and fragility in the region. With many mainly very small islands dispersed in a vast ocean, the challenges for individual countries to address their...

Community-managed irrigation systems are commonly faced with problems of low system-level performance. A comprehensive survey was undertaken to assess and quantify the causes of the low irrigation performance in a community-managed oasis in southern Tunisia. At the irrigation system level, results showed that irrigation intervals were double those that had...

Grassland-based systems are no longer seen exclusively as livestock production enterprises but as multiple use systems with important consequences for the global environment. They are crucial for the protection of ecosystem goods and services, for tourism and for mitigating climate change. Well-managed grasslands provide important benefits such as increased water...

Crop-livestock and feed systems have huge importance for Mediterranean regions to satisfy the increasing demand for animal products, increase the economic stability of smallholders and produce typical animal products with high added-value, while contributing to sustainable farming, environment protection and efficient nutrient cycling. These systems are threatened, however, by the...

This publication seeks to identify and explain the different legal issues related to organic production, including a comparative analysis of selected public and private legal sources of international relevance, as well as recommendations on the issues to consider in the design of national organic agriculture legislation. It is a first...

The historic oasis of Gafsa covers 700 ha and dates back to ancient times of history. In this oasis, crop diversification and cultivation and the integration of livestock and breeding animals are commonly practiced as means for livelihood subsistence. Crop diversification is conducted in three stages: the first stage is...

This manual on Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) is based primarily on the direct experience derived from several years of implementing PPB programmes in a number of countries and on a number of crops, and secondly, from a number of training courses (China, Ethiopia, Jordan, Australia, South Africa) and when necessary,...

In the Maghreb countries, because of structural drought, recent livestock production policies have relied heavily on irrigation. This aimed to secure animal protein supply by using water to grow fodder. Such choices have led many smallholder farms to rear cattle in typical dual purpose (both milk and meat) systems. In...

Goat population in Tunisia is around 1.5 million concentrated in the arid regions, mainly in the South. The local genotype (Arbi) is the most prevalent and kid meat is the main product from this breeding. Two breeding systems were identified: pastoral and agro-pastoral systems. The averages of fertility, fecundity and...

Une étude typologique de l’élevage pastoral des petits ruminants dans les régions arides tunisiennes a permis d’illustrer les impacts des mutations socio économiques sur les structures et le fonctionnement technique du secteur. Les données issues de 180 enquêtes auprès des troupeaux de 4 gouvernorats du sud ont été analysées par...

La Barbarine est la principale race ovine à viande en Tunisie. Avec ses deux écotypes dominants, la tête noire et la tête rousse, elle constitue 64% de l’effectif total des ovins. Connue par son adaptation aux conditions climatiques difficiles, sa capacité d’exploiter les pâturages pauvres ainsi que de surmonter les...

Les terres agricoles subissent une pression croissante à la suite de l’étalement urbain et résidentiel, du développement du tourisme et de la modification des formes d’usages des espaces ruraux, et ce quel que soit le niveau de développement des pays. C’est dans la perspective d’apporter des connaissances utiles aux décideurs...