Knowledge Portal

The so-called PICS bags can cut agricultural waste and increase the incomes of rural smallholders. The PICS bags are big plastic storage sacks made of triple-lined plastic. The use of PICS bags can increase the potential value of the food that farmers grow, as they lower the risks of losses from insects. Also, with their crop better protected, smallholders can increase their own food security and can command higher prices at the market since they are not forced to sell the product directly after the harvest season. »

In 2015 we celebrated the “International Year of Soils”. Soil sustains all our agricultural and livestock food production, wood for fuel production, filters water so that we can drink it and fish can live in it. We also use it for construction – therefore it sustains our homes and infrastructure. The FAO highlighted here are the six essentials to take away. »

This article by IIED focusses on urbanisation and rural development in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. In 2006, the authors conducted a study of the social and economic transformations in three rural settlements in the area. Almost a decade later, this paper revisits the same settlements and describes their social and economic evolutions and the key factors that help decipher three distinct but similar trajectories. »

The authors of this report argue that governments must lead in shifting attitudes and behaviors of consumers to lower meat consumption. According to the report, reduction in global meat consumption is key to mitigating climate change and keeping global warming below two degrees Celsius. Global meat consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are at all-time highs. The livestock sector accounts for 15 percent of all emissions, the equivalent to the emissions of all vehicles worldwide. »

This expert opinion of David Suttie on the INCLUDE Knowledge Platform, highlights the role that agriculture can play in tackling the youth unemployment challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa. Suttie states that integrating the dynamism, energy and innovative potential of youth in agriculture is crucial to increase agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa, to meet the food and nutrition needs of its population, and to increase the competitiveness of African food markets. »

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the African Union-Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) prepared a policy brief for the three-day high-level meeting on ‘feeding Africa’ held October 2015 in Dakar, Senegal. Improved livestock genetics, health and feed—guided by policies geared towards enabling a sustainable and business-friendly environment—are key to unlocking the potential of agriculture in Africa, according to the policy brief prepared by Barry Shapiro, senior livestock development advisor at ILRI and Simplice Nouala, chief animal production officer, AU-IBAR. »