Farming in Nigeria largely takes place in peasant and small scale physical labour-fed farms where productivity diminishes with age. Given depleting productivity accounted for by loss of agility due to advancement in age and general insufficiency of capital, avenues capable of sufficiently salvaging this dearth must, therefore, be explored. The...

This film examines a cooperative of the Brazilian Landless Movement (MST) in the South of Brazil, which struggled for access to land and then transitioned to ecological agriculture, or agroecology. This MST cooperative is demonstrating the possibility of an alternative model of flourishing rural life, which provides thriving livelihoods for...

Case studies of best practices from: Lithuania, Belarus and Russian Federation

Morocco and Tunisia are considered among the countries where the scarcity of water resources may cause a serious constraint to the development of their economies. During the past, huge efforts have been made by both governments in order to satisfy an escalating water demand expressed by all users. The main...

Using the case of maize production in Kenya, this study reframes the challenge of smallholder commercialization in the context of staplefood crop production and individual farm-level decision-making by a heterogeneous population of smallholder farmers. Whilemany smallholder growers of staple crops find themselves trapped in a cycle of poverty, they differ greatly in their...

Successful commercialization of farming enterprises and farmer entrepreneurship are thought to embody the key features of structural transformation and provide a pathway out of poverty and subsistence agriculture for the rural farm households. The past decade has seen several African countries increase their agricultural growth, largely driven by increases in...

The Pacific Island Farmers Organisation Network (PIFON) is intended to serve as an umbrella organisation for national FOs, to coordinate capacity building, share success stories and the lessons learnt, support regional exchanges of expertise between FOs and their associated private sector and donor agency partners.  

Agriculture plays a significant role in Africa, accounting for about 30 per cent of GDP south of the Sahara, as well as a significant proportion of export value. Not surprisingly, in most African countries, 60 per cent or more of employees work in agriculture. Yet this barely scrapes the surface...

Family farming offers solutions to global challenges. More than 500 million family farms dominate agriculture – ensuring food security, fighting poverty and hunger, providing employment, and enhancing sustainable resource management. Despite challenges, family farms can become prosperous businesses. Forming part of CTA’s support to the UN International Year of Family...

Cette étude vise  à apprécier la pertinence qu’il y aurait à s’inspirer de l'expérience de marchés de gros paysans impulsée par Mviwata en Tanzanie, visant à favoriser l’accès au marché pour les paysans de différentes régions du pays et à améliorer les conditions de commercialisation en leur faveur, pour l'implanter au...

Este folleto trata sobre las tierras comunales y los derechos tanto de la comunidad como de los comuneros y presenta de manera ágil la información que se encuentra en las leyes o normas que regulan dicha temática. Este material se ha preparado como complemento para las labores de sensibilización y difusión...

The small-scale farms are the main group that is of importance for the development of the agriculture and rural areas in Bulgaria. This is a family type business and almost the entire required employment power is provided by the family members of the farmers. On average, only one family member...

The main objectives of this paper are to evaluate the impact of water use efficiency improvement on water value and to estimate the potential of water cost reductions in durum wheat production in Central Tunisia. Results show that significant inefficiencies exist in the sample of farms under investigation. The effects...

Between 1990 and 2009 the number of small farms in Switzerland halved and the average farm size doubled. With family farming chosen as the theme for this year's World Food Day, leading activist Vandana Shiva is calling for more support to small farmers. Shiva is an “earth democracy” activist and founder...

En este número de LEISA se presentan experiencias que muestran cómo la agricultura campesina puede romper las limitaciones que impiden salir del círculo de pobreza y marginalidad. La sostenibilidad de la producción de alimentos y de la vitalidad de los agroecosistemas exige el enfoque integrador de la agroecología que involucra...

Este documento recoge los resultados de los grupos de investigación de la Escuela Territorial y Agroecológica Manuel Quintín Lame. Durante un año los escuelantes participaron de esta iniciativa coordinada por el Grupo Semillas y las organizaciones del Sur del Tolima FICAT, ACIT, Utritol, Manos de Mujer-Coyaima y Asociación Futuro con...

The main aim of the report is to provide a comprehensive description of the effectiveness of advisory services for small-scale farmers, providing a picture of the services from the perspective of the farmers and some key advisors. In Portugal the case study focused on new small-scale farmers in small fruit...

La publicación resume los resultados obtenidos en tres de las áreas más vulnerables al cambio climático de Nicaragua: Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia y Chinandega. En las tres áreas se encuentran poblaciones rurales cuyos medios de vida tienen una elevada dependencia de los recursos naturales (bosques, pesca) y de la agricultura de...

L'agriculture familiale présente des solutions aux défis mondiaux. Plus de 500 millions de fermes familiales dominent l'agriculture : elles permettent d'assurer la sécurité alimentaire, de lutter contre la pauvreté et la famine, de fournir des emplois et d'améliorer la gestion des ressources durables. Même si elles ont des défis à...

Esta es una guía para los técnicos y técnicas que trabajan en el ámbito rural en la Argentina. Sabemos que no hay un sólo ámbito rural homogéneo y común en todo el territorio, sino que las diferencias son notables según rama de actividad, región geográfica, condición climática, etc. Lo que si...