Subsistence agriculture is a phenomenon that is presently encountered not only in developing countries, but also in the Central and Eastern European transition countries (CEECs). The various land reforms implemented in Eastern Europe have led to differences in the land tenure and farming systems and have influenced the access to...

This leaflet covers the steps for implementing Conservation Agriculture. When correctly implemented and under adequate circumstances, conservation agriculture can constitute a valid tool for improving rural livelihoods and fostering bottom-up sustainable rural development.

The aim of this contribution is to show what official data are available and what statements can be made concerning the importance of subsistence farming in Georgia. Combining the official figures with observations of the Georgian situation provided insight to the significance of subsistence farming for the Georgian society. It...

Three of the most important Russian agrarian institutions are the subsistence household farm (personal auxiliary farm), the collective farm, and the district administration. Before collectivisation, the Russian peasant farms were primarily subsistence farms. Each peasant farm had two types of land plots: a farmstead plot and field plot(s). After 1917...

During transition, many Ukrainian agricultural enterprises found themselves in a deep economic crisis. Generally, the privatisation and restructuring of the enterprises was merely formal. Agriculture mainly suffers from an adverse  overall economic situation, liquidity problems, and poor infrastructure. In the 1990s the accumulated decline of agricultural output was 51%. In...

The transition process in Russia, which started vigorously at the beginning of the 1990s, has yielded negative economic growth rates for almost a decade, with the exceptions of 1997 and 1999. Agriculture and domestic food industries in particular have suffered from the ongoing transition process and the associated restructuring of...

Como parte de las reformas de la Constitución, se ha incorporado un capítulo denominado sobre los "Derechos de los pueblos orginarios" en el título II, Del Estado y la Nación

Una serie de estudios recientes han encontrado que los supermercados se han transformado en un actor dominante de los sistemas agroalimentarios de América Latina y el Caribe.

Cultural methods such as crop fertilization can affect susceptibility of plants to insect pests by altering plant tissue nutrient levels. Research shows that the ability of a crop plant to resist or tolerate insect pests and diseases is tied to optimal physical, chemical and mainly biological properties of soils. Soils...

Small-scale, family fishing enterprises manage to persist despite the difficult economic and ecological changes and disruptions they almost constantly have experienced during the past several decades. Drawing upon long-term ethnographic and historical research in the Bigouden region of France, this paper asks why and how family-based fishing enterprises continue in...

En el debate por reformar la actual Constitución, nuevamente se ha planteado la conveniencia o no de mantener el régimen de protección de las comunidades campesinas, restableciendo las llamadas "tres íes" sobre la propiedad de sus tierras: imprescriptibles, inembargables e inalienables, tal como lo prescribieron las Constituciones de 1920 y...

The eastern Africa region faces serious and worsening problems of food security, decreasing per capita food production and massive poverty. Agriculture in this region is dominated by smallholder farmers. Yield levels on these farms are generally very low for a variety of reasons. One important reason is the declining soil...

This project, designed to reduce rural poverty, focused particularly on small farmers, unemployed young people and rural women. It was in line with the government's strategic development aims in mountain areas with a high incidence of poverty.  The project served as a platform for continuing policy dialogue with the government on...

Mountains of the world cover about one-fifth of the land surface, are home to one-tenth of the world's population, and provide livelihood to some of the poorest communities in the world. Mountain lakes and streams are a source of freshwater for countless riparian human communities, support industries, provide water for...

This brief explains the potential of conservation agriculture to retain soil moisture, through rainwater harvesting and optimizing soil moisture.

This paper was prepared as an initial scoping study for the Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC) Secretariat to provide the basis for developing a longer term programme of work to examine the transformations underway in West African agriculture, and the challenges faced by smallholder production systems. The following question...

This leaflet covers the main aspects of soil moisture in Conservation Agriculture

This leaflet explains how to improve soil fertility, achieving conservation of soil organic matter (SOM).

The Livelihood Support Programme (LSP) evolved from the belief that FAO could have a greater impact on reducing poverty and food insecurity, if its wealth of talent and experience were integrated into a more flexible and demand-responsive team approach. The LSP, which is executed by FAO with funding provided by...

These guidelines provide general principles and basic considerations for those involved in providing microfinance services to fisheries and aquaculture and for those who intend to include fishing and fish farming communities as part of the client base of their operation. The guidelines further elaborate on lending models, methodologies and policies...