Women make up approximately half of the world’s farmers, but there is massive inequity between male and female farmers—especially in the developing world. These inequities are most pronounced in terms of women lacking equal access to and control over productive resources. To address this ‘gender gap’ in agriculture, there are numerous NGOs, multilateral agencies, and […]
Brazil’s economy is teetering on the edge of collapse. The country’s political regime has been rocked by recent corruption scandals, and impeachment proceedings are encircling the nation’s leaders. And yet things couldn’t be much better for Brazil’s soybean farmers. At the beginning of the last decade, Brazil emerged as a major soybean exporter. Today, Brazil […]
Internationally traded agricultural commodities – such as soy, beef and oil palm – are a multi-billion-dollar segment of the global economy and play a key role in driving development across the tropics. But production of these commodities is often linked to heavy social and environmental impacts. This is the case for most of the Latin […]
Most of us would agree that human well-being depends to a large extent on healthy ecosystems and the services they provide. For example, fertile soil enables us to grow food crops, and nutrient cycling in watersheds is needed for water purification to ensure we have clean water to drink. But what role does biodiversity play […]
Australia’s agricultural lands help to feed about 60 million people worldwide, and also support tens of thousands of farmers as well as rural communities and industries. But a growing global population with a growing appetite is placing increasing demands on our agricultural land. At the same time, the climate is warming and in many places […]
E.F. Schumacher, an economist who founded Practical Action, wanted to help expand aid programs through technology. Fueled by the idea of developing and promoting appropriate technology to reach a greater segment of the underprivileged population of the world, he published an article in The Observer, on August 29, 1965 titled “How to help them help themselves.” […]
The rapid rise of interest and action in integrated landscape management in the last few years has exceeded anything I had anticipated. While the environmental community was earliest to recognize the necessity of coordinating strategies with other sectors, the agribusiness and food sectors are rapidly innovating towards landscape partnerships; farmer organizations are beginning to take […]
Written by Gabrielle Kissinger (Consultant, UNEP) with input from Ivo Mulder (REDD+ Economics Advisor, UNEP) and Johan Kieft (Green Economy Advisor, UNORCID) UN-REDD Programme This brief corresponds to the session: ‘Changing agricultural fiscal policies to stimulate sustainable economic growth, food production, and reduced deforestation‘ happening at the Global Landscapes Forum, 11.30 – 13.00, Sunday, 6 December, […]
The Sustainable Development Goals, adopted last month by the UN General Assembly, include goals on ending hunger, promoting good nutrition and health, and making agriculture sustainable. The important contribution of forests in achieving these goals is becoming increasingly evident—and increasingly discussed, as food, land-use and nutrition experts work together to find integrated solutions. On World […]
The Amanalco Valle Bravo Basin in central Mexico provides vital water and forest resources to millions of people. But recently the land has suffered due to population pressures and unplanned development. CCMSS has built the capacity of 1,500 families of smallholder farmers for sustainable agriculture and forestry management over 15,200 hectares. They also are piloting […]
In some of the most biodiverse regions of the world, people have farmed for centuries, shaping magnificent agricultural landscapes. Multifunctionality recognizes agriculture as a multi-output activity producing not only private (market) goods such as food, feed, or fibre, but also public (nonmarket, non-excludable, non-rival) goods such as agricultural landscapes, farmland biodiversity, water quality, or soil […]
