New Agriculturist

Green light for yellow cassava

In December 2011, Nigeria's National Variety Release Committee formally approved three varieties of yellow-fleshed cassava, containing sufficient pro-Vitamin A to provide up to a quarter of daily requirements. Further varieties with much higher levels are also in the final stages of testing, in research funded by the HarvestPlus programme.

Date published: January 2012

Climate change call to action issued at agriculture and rural development day in Durban

Hosted by 17 leading agricultural organisations, the Agriculture and Rural Development Day, held in parallel with the COP17 climate change negotiations, brought together more than 500 agricultural experts to discuss priorities to boost agricultural production while supporting adaptation and mitigation to climate change.

Date published: December 2011

Ethiopia: Improving community livelihoods through integrated watershed management

Like many parts of the Ethiopian highlands, the Lenche Dima watershed has suffered from severe land degradation and over-grazing. However, a watershed development project, which promoted improved utilisation and management of land and water resources, has helped to alleviate chronic food shortages and restore once degraded landscapes.

Date published: December 2011

Aqua shops, a new initiative

To complement and enhance extension services in aquaculture, FARM-Africa has established six franchised Aqua Shops in western Kenya to provide smallholders with inputs and technical advice on best aquaculture practices. The hubs also provide market information and teach fish farmers how to link their businesses with markets to generate additional income.

Date published: November 2011

DR Congo perfects the horticultural metropolis

As DRC's cities expand at an unprecedented rate, urban vegetable farmers have kept pace. Through ten years of helping them grow, FAO's Growing Greener Cities programme has learned strategies of global relevance.

Date published: November 2011

Crop residues power Indian industry

Over 8,000 farmers in India's Gujarat state are supplying their crop residues to a green energy company, for manufacture of biomass fuel pellets. The pellets are sold to local industry as a greener and more efficient alternative to coal and lignite, reducing carbon emissions and earning the farmers valuable income.

Date published: November 2011

Rubber's rich rewards

Rubber has long been an important crop for smallholder farmers in Indonesia. However, with low yielding varieties, farmers have increasingly struggled to make ends meet. With improved, higher yielding rubber varieties, a team of researchers have developed a range of alternative agroforestry systems. Today, tens of thousands of smallholders have adopted these systems and are reaping the benefits.

Date published: November 2011

Coffee farmers in Mexico struggle with global food price spikes

Price spikes in maize have hit coffee farmers in Mexico hard, forcing people to eat cheaper, less nutritious foods and cut back on other expenditures. In Chuxnaban, coffee farmers are planting more maize and have joined an organic coffee cooperative to secure better prices.

Date published: October 2011

Climate change and coffee on Mount Elgon

Up to a million trees will be provided as part of a three year climate change action plan, which began in 2010 to reforest the once verdant slopes of Mount Elgon and help safeguard the future for thousands of growers who rely on sales of their Arabica coffee.

Date published: September 2011