Given environmental, economic, and social costs of unilateral chemical and biotechnological interventions to control pests, there is an urgent need to transition towards a knowledge-intensive holistic approach emphasizing agroecosystem design and management. The focus will be on what makes agroecosystems susceptible and vulnerable to insect pests, pathogens and weeds, in...

Highlights: • Young changemakers revolutionise scaling agroecology using video. • CCDB honours Access Agriculture with plaque in appreciation of partnership. • 96 new videos added in March. • Editor's choice of video - Converting chicken waste into fertilizer• Entrepreneurs for Rural Access (ERAs) at work in Cameroon. • Trash to treasure....

Over a ten-year period, we, together with colleagues, have used qualitative and quantitative analysis to explore the dominant narratives and ‘conventional wisdom’ about young people and agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Throughout, we have sought to carefully consider the conceptualisations embedded in these narratives, their empirical foundations, and their implications...

Groundwater development is key to accelerating agricultural growth and to achieving food security in a climate crisis. However, the rapid increase in groundwater exploitation over the past four decades has resulted in depletion and degradation, particularly in regions already facing acute water scarcity, with potential irreversible impacts for food security...

Salinity poses a significant challenge to global crop productivity, affecting approximately 20% of cultivated and 33% of irrigated farmland, and this issue is on the rise. Negative impact of salinity on plant development and metabolism leads to physiological and morphological alterations mainly due to high ion concentration in tissues and...

FAO Venezuela deployed actions in the states of Amazonas, Apure, and Sucre to "Reduce the protection risks of selected vulnerable communities through the improvement of their food and nutritional security, the rapid restoration/creation of their livelihoods and community awareness and knowledge creation, integrating gender and intersectional approaches", between January 2023...

Los captadores de niebla son estructuras similares a un letrero caminero que emplea bastidores de malla plástica para atrapar los bancos de niebla formados por las nubes que se internan en valles y mesetas de la cordillera andina. Las gotas de agua contenidas en la niebla chocan contra los hilos...

In the Changthang region of Ladakh, India, pastoralism serves as the cornerstone of both the local economy and the local way of life. However, recent socioeconomic shifts and environmental constraints put this economic structure, which has been expertly adapted to the difficult trans-Himalayan geography, in danger of becoming unsustainable. To...

We analyze rural households’ purchases of food (cereals and non-cereals) in Sub-Saharan Africa using nationally representative data with 65,000 observations covering 7 countries over a decade. We distinguish between three strata of countries: lower stratum in income and urbanization, middle stratum, and upper stratum. The paper breaks ground by the...

Au Brésil et en Tunisie, les populations de zones semi-arides s'adaptent à la raréfaction des ressources hydriques grâce à des innovations individuelles et collectives. À l’occasion de la journée mondiale de lutte contre la désertification et la sécheresse, découvrez en image quelques-unes des mille façons de faire de ces communautés...

Yemaya No. 66, dated March 2023, features articles on IYAFA Asia workshop, National level women in fisheries workshop in Chennai, India, article on gender and marine plastic pollution, report of a panel discussion during the 8th global symposium  on gender in aquaculture and fisheries. Kyoko Kusakabe write that gender responsive fisheries require not only...

The FAO's Global Agroforestry Capacity Needs Assessment (CNA) revealed persistent challenges which are hindering widespread adoption of agroforestry despite its recognised benefits. Three primary action areas were identified: transforming agroforestry into an economically viable production system; strengthening enabling environments through agroforestry policies and strategies; and improving agroforestry extension for more...

Chocolate production faces nutritional, environmental and socio-economic challenges present in the conventional cocoa value chain. Here we developed an approach that addresses these challenges by repurposing the often-discarded pectin-rich cocoa pod endocarp and converting it into a gel. This is done using cocoa pulp juice concentrate to replace traditional sugar...

FAO's Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 63 introduced the MASSCOTE methodology in 2007, tailored for modernizing large-scale canal irrigation systems. With global interest shifting towards pressurized pipe systems, particularly in water-scarce regions, the need for a similar methodology became apparent. Pressurized systems offer advantages like on-demand irrigation, reduced water wastage,...

In Africa, there is a great deal of ancestral knowledge about the pesticide or antibiotic effects of local plants, but scientific research is very fragmented. Scientists from CIRAD and IRD have therefore created a website that organises the knowledge from more than 700 documents. However, they warn against the use...

Topic outlineThe course explores effective practices for coping with soil salinity in the Asia-Pacific Region. Some practical examples and case studies of successful salinity management practices are introduced and analysed, to identify implementation features, benefits, challenges and applicability to similar contexts. You will learn about Irrigation and drainage practices for soil salinity...

Wild fish used as aquafeeds could be redirected towards human consumption to support sustainable marine resource use. Here we use mass-balance fish-in/fish-out ratio approaches to assess nutrient retention in salmon farming and identify scenarios that provide more nutrient-rich food to people. Using data on Norway’s salmon farms, our study revealed...

Farming externalities are believed to co-vary negatively, yet trade-offs have rarely been quantified systematically. Here we present data from UK and Brazilian pig production systems representative of most commercial systems across the world ranging from ‘intensive’ indoor systems through to extensive free range, Organic and woodland systems to explore co-variation...

The earth is warming, and the frequency of extreme weather events have been rapidly growing globally with unprecedented consequences to farming communities. In principle, weather and climate information services (WCIS) can help farmers better manage their activities and farm level outcomes by supporting their decision-making with relevant and usable information...

Product bundling is receiving increasing attention in sustainable agricultural development as a means to ensure access to and enhance the uptake of, agricultural technologies by smallholders. Yet, the how and why of bundling for smallholders are not well-understood. The current paper, therefore, brings bundling theory from the marketing literature to...