Due to political conflict, hundreds of thousands of people had to leave their homes in northern Mali in the last decade. Many have since returned to their home but struggle to regain their livelihoods. In the Timbuktu region, food insecurity is very high and 15 percent of children under 5 years old suffer from acute malnutrition. Goundam, one of the administrative districts of the Timbuktu region, is populated by livestock farmers. Among the previously displaced people, many have lost all their livestock, and with that their traditional means of livelihood.
In recent years, the international status of agriculture in the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—has been continuously improved. In 2018, the gross agricultural production of the BRICS countries accounted for more than 50% of the world’s total. Further strengthening the developing cooperation of the BRICS countries is of great significance for ensuring global food security.
Feeding the world’s steadily growing population while respecting the planetary boundaries will be a key challenge for humanity in the future. Prevailing production and consumption patterns are leading to a loss of natural resources and destroying ecosystems and their functions. More than 820 million people were affected by malnutrition in 2017. Climate change is exacerbating this development and pushing natural ecosystems to their limits, something that is having far-reaching consequences for the environment, the economy and humanity.
Sustainability is GIZ’s guiding principle and forms the basis for our contributions to shaping a society that is fit for the future. We compile and analyse all the most important climate and environmental data every year to gain a better understanding of our environmental sustainability and continuously improve our performance. Externally validated information about our activities in Germany is provided by the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).
Genetic improvement on local breeds kept by small farmers in developing countries is challenging. Even though good pedigree and performance recording is crucial and an important component of breeding programs, it remain difficult or next to impossible under conditions of subsistence livestock farming. This means that standard genetic evaluations, as well as selection and planning of mating based on estimates of the animals' genotypes, cannot be done at any level in the population of the target breed or genetic group.
Humanity is faced with the challenge of ensuring food security for all, while respecting the earth’s ecological boundaries. Organic agriculture makes a valuable contribution here. In Africa, certified organic farming is limited to just 0.2 percent of agricultural land – compared to all other continents, the smallest share worldwide. The potential for expanding organic agriculture is great, because it is economically viable in the long term, preserves human, animal and environmental health and conserves soil resources.
The study explored the contribution of information and communication technology (ICT)-based information sources to market participation among smallholder livestock farmers. Use of ICTs is considered paramount for providing smallholder farmers with required market information, and also to reduce market asymmetries. A double hurdle regression was utilized to analyze data collected from 150 smallholder livestock farmers in the study area.
This scoping review synthesizes the literature on government agricultural policy and production in order to 1) present a typology of policies used to influence agricultural production, 2) to provide a preliminary overview of the ways that impact is assessed in this literature, and 3) to bring this literature into conversation with the literature on food and tobacco supply.
Food literacy among children and youth is configured by two knowledge domains: an informal community-based knowledge, and a formal curriculum-based knowledge. This paper examines how these two domains contribute to food literacy and strengthen food security among rural youth in Nepal. In consultation with schoolteachers and local farmers, a knowledge test was developed and administered to 226 high school students. Scores were collected on agro-ecological, cultivation and consumption-related knowledge on a locally grown staple crop, as contributor to food literacy
As the COVID-19 pandemic turns into a global crisis, countries are taking measures to contain the pandemic. Supermarket shelves remain stocked for now. But a protracted pandemic crisis could quickly put a strain on the food supply chains, which is a complex web of interactions involving farmers, agricultural inputs, processing plants, shipping, retailers and more. The shipping industry is already reporting slowdowns because of port closures, and logistics hurdles could disrupt the supply chains in the coming weeks.