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The purpose of this publication was to identify “good practices” within different agricultural extension and advisory service institutions that have used new agricultural innovations, in order to improve rural livelihoods and, to educate farmers to use sustainable natural resource management practices in different countries. The publication reviews the four major objectives of extension systems in the agricultural development process: 1) technology dissemination; 2) human capital development; 3) building social capital and 4) educating farmers to manage natural resources sustainably.
22 March is World Water Day. Its international observance is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. Coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), on behalf of the 24 Agencies and Programme Members of UN-Water, the theme of World Water Day for 2007 was “Coping with water scarcity”. The day provided an opportunity to reflect on the challenges posed by the unsustainable increase in water use and its degradation across the world and it also served as a spur to action.
As part of the former Soviet Union, Belarus was a major food producer, particularly of meat and dairy products. However, since gaining independence in 1991, it hardly instituted any structural reforms in the agricultural sector, largely retaining the former system of subsidised collective and state farms. Agricultural production generally declined following independence, but over the last six years, yields have stabilised and even increased in some instances. Private smallholdings contribute significantly to agricultural production. Following the nuclear accident at Chernobyl in 1986, a sizeable area of the productive agricultural land and forest remains contaminated with radioactive fallout.
The regional stakeholder consultation “Building Partnerships for Technology Generation, Assessment and Sharing in Agriculture amongst West Balkan Countries” was jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food of the Ss Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia from 27 to 29 June 2007. The workshop was attended by 35 selected representatives from research, extension and agricultural technology centres, Ministries and FAO consultants and including 28 representatives from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia.
This chapter provides an overview of the techniques, current status and issues involved in using marker-assisted selection (MAS) for genetic improvement in developing countries. Molecular marker maps, the necessary framework for any MAS programme, have been constructed for the majority of agriculturally important species, although the density of the maps varies considerably among species. Despite the considerable resources that have been invested in this field and despite the enormous potential it still represents, with few exceptions, MAS has not yet delivered its expected benefits in commercial breeding programmes for crops, livestock, forest trees or farmed fish in the developed world.
...Edited by J. Ruane and A. Sonnino, this 187-page book brings together papers from an international workshop held on 5-7 March 2005 in Turin, Italy, on the role of biotechnology for the characterization and conservation of crop, forest, animal and fishery genetic resources as well as the background and summary documents from an e-mail conference on the same subject that was held three months afterwards.
This 152-page, by J. Ruane and A. Sonnino, is published under the FAO Research and Technology series and presents the background and summary documents from a series of six moderated e-mail conferences hosted by the FAO Biotechnology Forum from 2002 to 2005, relating to agricultural biotechnology for the crop, forestry, animal, fisheries and agro-industry sectors in developing countries. Three of the six conferences focused on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), dealing with gene flow from GM to non-GM populations; regulation of GMOs; and participation of the rural people in decision-making regarding GMOs.
Environmental pollution and food insecurity issues have been surfacing in Egypt as a result of rapid population growth. Egypt’s agricultural extension service is working to alleviate problems related to population, environment and production. For the past nine years, one particular project has been assisting the rural population, through the integration of population and environment education messages into ongoing agricultural extension programmes. The project is funded jointly by the Government of Egypt and the United Nations Population Fund and technically supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
This publications provides information about buffalo species throughout the world and explores their importance for the livelihoods of many rural families in developing countries. The publication illustrates the buffalo's importance as a draught animal, but also its role as a source of meat, horns, skin and the rich milk that provides creams, butter, yoghurt and many cheeses.
In the context of a global effort to contribute to the improvement of Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems (AKIS), FAO had commissioned a number of studies on national AKIS in each of its five geographical regions. The AKIS study for Lithuania was completed in 2002 and showed a very rapid development of system elements in the first decade of Lithuania’s new independence. Moreover, a workshop was organized to identify some of the more urgent needs and project options to strengthen the Lithuanian AKIS for sustainable and organic agriculture systems.