Wherever you go, whatever you produce, whatever you believe in, Women of the mountains are determined to lead their societies for survival.

This article asks whether the concept of values-based food chains (VBFC) can help explain and advance processes fostering sustainability transitions in the food system of the Global North. The VBFC concept is contested in the context of the author’s research into Canadian and UK university food procurement experiences designed to...

El presente folleto da a conocer el procedimiento para la toma de muestras y análisis de fertilidad de suelos, para evitar la poca rentabilidad de un cultivo y determinar las necesidades de adición de fertilizantes o enmiendas para suplir dichas necesidades y corregir las condiciones adversas, sirviendo como herramienta de...

The project “Adotta un terrazzamento” [“Adopt a terrace” in English] aims at regulating and expanding mountain farming activities by giving any interested person the opportunity to adopt a terrace and provide direct or long-term support to the mountains of the Brenta Valley, in the Alps region in Italy.

La nouvelle stratégie relative au développement du « Conseil Agricole » a été élaborée par le Département de l'Agriculture avec pour objectif l'accompagnement des agriculteurs et le transfert du savoir-faire agricole sur le terrain. Cette stratégie vient pallier les nombreuses déficiences constatées dans le dispositif dit de " vulgarisation", qui pêchait...

The consultation is open for a further six weeks until 2 May, and then the hard work of analysing and assessing the many thousands of responses can begin ahead of a conference to present the results planned for 7 July in Brussels.

Extensive livestock farming is the most important population-fixing activity in Iberian rural areas. This is so because, unlike other activities, it requires people to take care of the animals every day. Furthermore, in many marginal rural areas, extensive livestock farming is often the only possibility that the territory has to...

Values-based food chains (VBFCs) are gaining recognition as people seek alternatives to the unsustainable environmental and social outcomes of the corporate food system. One example of a VBFC can be found in the Local Organic Food Co-ops (LOFC) Network, a coalition of cooperatives that specialize in locally and sustainably produced...

Digital innovation and policy reforms offer the greatest prospects for transforming the smallholder farming sector, SACAU president Dr Theo de Jager and CEO Mr Ishmael Sunga told delegates while presenting at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Smart Farming convening recently which was also attended by philanthropist Bill Gates.  The SACAU leadership...

“Adotta una mucca”, (“Adopt a cow” in English) is an Italian initiative from the Valsugana Valley in the Trentino province. Its objective is to introduce tourists, children and families to mountain life and culture. Adopters can visit various Alpine huts, learn how mountain products are made faithfully following old recipes...

During the event, participants will explore the richness and the dynamism of mountainous territories, and their innovative initiatives for building sustainable food systems.

In the Aveyron river basin (France), the low-lying, fertile lands are usually used for monocultures, and the higher, less fertile areas for livestock. Recently, a research project has led to the construction of a scenario in which crop farmers would introduce alfalfa into their rotations, in response to more frequently...

While the world’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals are clear in their targets, accurately measuring progress to reach them is proving to be more of a challenge, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said today. An FAO survey in the Asia-Pacific region found considerable gaps in progress toward implementing internationally accepted norms...

FAO is about to complete one of the largest seed distribution campaigns in the history of ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, aimed at helping farmers get ready for the next planting season. The FAO team continues to deliver humanitarian aid in conflict-affected eastern Ukraine, with a focus on rural people living...

In the rural areas where there is an economic potential clearly defined by the agricultural or commercial activities, tourism is the business key within reach. Under the circumstances, the socio-economic reflex takes the form of developing projects for tourist services, especially in the places with tourist potential. Further, the local economy, at...

This guide will serve as a significant tool for practitioners in Lebanon and the Arab countries who are attending to the issue of child labour in agriculture. Moreover, it represents a pillar for present and continuous collaborative efforts between two sister UN agencies (the ILO and FAO) and their national...

FAO helps countries achieve SDG1 (No poverty) and SDG2 (Zero hunger) by improving the livelihoods of poor and extreme poor rural people, including smallholders and family farmers.

A year ago this week, I adopted an olive tree. I called it Carmen, after my grandmother. Whenever I want to know about my tree I just need to open an app that I have installed on my mobile phone. I can see pictures of it and whether it has...

Due to the growth of agricultural production, FAO estimated that emissions from agriculture, forestry and fisheries have almost doubled over the past fifty years and could increase by 18% by 2030 and 30% by 2050 . Since the years 2000, this increase has mainly occurred in developing countries. Between 2001...

The development of the Fisheries sector in Samoa received a boost with the launching of four major initiatives.   Speaking at the launch which took place in July, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Mr Leuatea Schmidt highlighted the challenges that face the industry. “The challenges include increasing monitoring in an effort...