Knowledge Portal

This extended report showcases the changes in livelihood and food security among indigenous shifting cultivation communities in South and Southeast Asia. It focuses on the challenges for indigenous peoples in countries that experience rapid socio-economic transformations with case studies from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal and Thailand. The case studies identify external and internal factors that hinder and facilitate livelihood creation and food security. »

The article in Desalination explains the Bubble-Greenhouse: A holistic sustainable approach to small-scale water desalination in remote regions. The Bubble-Greenhouse idea develops an existing seawater greenhouse concept, which uses the evaporation and condensation of salt water to produce fresh water for irrigation and to create a cool, humid environment inside a greenhouse, meaning crops need less water »

This article (PDF) in Ambio Journal elaborates on the ‘LivestockPlus’ approach, as an effort to intensify in sustainable ways the management of grasses, shrubs, trees, and animals in the tropics. By decoupling the human food and livestock feed systems, these efforts would increase the resilience of the global food system. »

For this research article at PlOS One, a comprehensive list of sustainable sourcing issues was collated in order to better structure the complex relationships and assess any gaps. The issues were pulled from the following three perspectives: major global sustainability assessments, sustainability communications from global food companies, and conceptual frameworks of sustainable livelihoods from academic publications. These terms were then integrated »

The past 50 years witnessed a remarkable spread of smaller-scale rural mechanization in some regions of South Asia, mostly characterized by the spread of single-cylinder diesel engines. Despite the evidence, international and local policy debates do not reflect the significance of these patterns of rural mechanization for agricultural and rural development. This paper by IFPRI starts with a discussion of three main generalizations arising from the spread of smaller-scale technology. »

This Background Note by AGRA was intended for the High-Level Side Event on African Economic Transformation held in the margins of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, 13-16 July, Addis Ababa Ethiopia. It highlights potentials and challenges for transformation of African agriculture for sustainable growth. »