A group of coffee farmers in Turrialba, Costa Rica, is successfully exploring diversification options with horticultural food crops. This is being done in collaboration with two vegetable seed banks that allow family farmers to use varieties freely under the multilateral system of FAO´s International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for...

Globalisation, climate change, population growth and urbanisation are all having an impact on the world’s agriculture. Through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which accounts for the biggest share of the EU budget, the EU is driving developments in this strategic sector. Latest figures show that farming employs over 20 million...

Nestled at the foot of the Vladeasa Mountains lies Sancraiu, a commune composed of five villages in Transylvania. One of the villages is Alunisu that provides an exquisite example of Romania’s subsistent peasantry. Here, Lars Veraart and Robyn Bors-Veraart set up their farm called Provision, the Transylvania School of Self Sufficient Living, which not only...

Since 1990, in 25 European countries the populations of a group of common farmland birds have been reduced by roughly 25% and in some cases as much as 50%. This decrease in bird numbers along with the wider decrease in biodiversity in the EU is largely related to loss of...

The forest not only supplies the raw material for paper and solid wood products, it also has a great potential for renewable energy production. As the EU designs its energy and climate policy for post-2020, it is essential to consider this remarkable asset. Without a congruent EU bioenergy policy with the...

Fundația ADEPT Transilvania  is listed among the 1.000 worldwide cultural institutions on the Google Cultural Institute, which brings together millions of artifacts from multiple partners, with the stories that bring them to life, in a virtual museum

Various agro-ecological practices have existed in the region, primarily as an alternative to conventional chemical-intensive farming based on Green Revolution prescriptions. These alternatives are often directed at enhancing soil fertility, through organic matter management and water conservation. Throughout Asia and the Pacific, different terms are used for specific practices including:...

USAID/Sweden FARMA II project is the third generation of USAID and Government of Sweden projects focused on the agricultural sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Previous projects assisted Bosnia and Herzegovina to increase sales and exports for certain crops and food products within the agricultural sector.

This short report is produced within the frame of the BiodivBalkans project (2012-2016). This project is dedicated to foster rural development in mountainous regions through the construction of Signs of Quality and Origin (SIQO). One of its main outputs was to shed the light on the pastoral and localized livestock...

Mountain people learn, live, love and unite for life – to awaken and search for the treasure within the mountain. By combining our wisdom, we can co-exist and develop to our fullest potential, working towards holistic dignity and sustainability. This initiative involves 1,144 families, mainly concentrated in Mae Win, Mae...

Based on the success of the 1st edition, the Alpine Convention is organizing the Reading Mountains festival The “Reading Mountains” festival is an opportunity to celebrate the cultural diversity of the Alps – its many languages, different, yet similar cultural heritage and its arts in all shapes and forms. For this...

Asia’s position in the global food market tilts heavily towards demand due to its huge population and limited agricultural resources. With only one-fifth of the world’s agricultural land, the region hosts more than half of the global population. Asia has achieved significant production improvements over the last 50 years but...

From 3 to 5 October 2016, around 260 mountain actors (researchers, farmers, environmentalists, elected representatives from local and regional authorities, representatives of chambers of commerce and development agencies) met in Bragança, Portugal during the X European Mountain Convention organized by Euromontana. This X European Mountain Convention presented a state-of-the-art of the...

The workshop “Support to family farming and small scale agriculture to achieve rural poverty reduction. Opportunities and priorities to strengthen FAO Regional Initiatives” is aimed at analysing the main trends in family farming and debating the strategy and achievements of the three FAO Regional Initiatives related to family farming and...

Europe’s farmers face a tall order. Long tasked with providing us with safe and affordable food, they are now expected to help generate jobs and economic growth as well. This priority was at the heart of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s State of the European Union speech earlier this month....

The importance of forests with regard to supporting human needs is considerable. Forests are rich in biodiversity and valuable for recreation, water regulation and soil protection. As well as for providing timber and other non-wood forest products, forests are important for mitigating climate change and for the renewable energy sector....

Esta guía ha sido elaborada con el propósito de promover y favorecer la conservación de la diversidad biológica y cultural en territorios de alto valor por la biodiversidad que alojan, especialmente en áreas de soporte (es decir, paisajes de conservación, corredores biológicos y zonas de amortiguación), áreas protegidas e iniciativas de conservación privadas...

Social networks are becoming more and more popular, but did you know that you can even use them to order local, fresh fruit and vegetables? It has become possible thanks to a network of Finnish volunteers called REKO using Facebook to organize the deliveries of local products directly from farmer...

Between the 20th and 24th of September 2016, 85 participants from 25 countries met in Sighisoara in Southern Transylvania for the 13th annual conference of the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group. In contrast to the previous 12 “EDGM, European Dry Grassland Meetings”, this year it was decided to change the name...

The 2016 Eurasian Grassland Conference will take place from the 20th to the 24th September 2016 in the historic town of Sighişoara in central Romania. This is the 13th annual meeting of the EDGG (formerly known as European Dry Grassland Meetings, EDGM), which aims to promote exchange and collaboration between...