Agro-forestry is a collective name for land-use systems and technologies where woody perennials (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos, etc.) are deliberately used on the same land-management units as agricultural crops and/or animals, in some form of spatial arrangement or temporal sequence. Agro-forestry is a dynamic, ecologically-based, natural resource management practice that,…
Conservation Agriculture (CA) is an agro-ecosystems management approach aimed at improving and sustaining agricultural productivity, increasing profits and food security while preserving and enhancing the resource base and the environment. CA is characterised by three interrelated principles.
Integrated agriculture provides high quality food and other products by using natural resources and regulating mechanisms rather than polluting chemical inputs to secure sustainable farming. The agronomic techniques and biological / physical / chemical methods are carefully selected and balanced taking into account the health of people (i.e. farmers and…
This section addresses integrated farming approaches that have been promoted as alternatives to Green Revolution agriculture since the 1990s for self-sufficient farming. The New Theory farming system in Thailand and the VAC system in Vietnam (VAC in Vietnamese is Vuon, Ao, Chuong which means “garden/pond/ livestock pen”) consist in highly…
Organic agriculture aims at sustaining the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and natural cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of chemical inputs with potentially adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote…
The System of Rice Intensification, known as SRI is an agro-ecological approach for increasing rice productivity (and more recently other crops) by changing the management of plants, soil, water and nutrients.
ALiSEA Online Library contains a wide range of agro-ecology’s documents: backgrounds, case Studies and initiatives fact sheets, presentations, policy documents, toolkits and IEC Materials. All documents are searchable via their Agro-ecological School(s), country, or type. Access now.
original source: laofab.org June 3rd, 2020 SSWG on Agrobiodiversity update participants on the Lao PDR “Green and Sustainable Agriculture Policy Framework Discussions. The main activity of the SSWG will be to build on the Green and Sustainable Agriculture Framework by means of analyzing and documenting the success factors for the commercialization efforts by the private sector for three ABD-based products, specifically: Houaphanh shaded coffee, wild tea, and river weed. The intent is that this documentation will assist in leveraging the commercialization of additional unique, Lao ABD-based products, Lao clean agriculture products support green, and sustainable agriculture policy. Moreover there update on WOCAT sustainable land management technologies and practices was presented. The day will end with an update on the rapidly expanding PhaKhaLao Agrobiodiversity website database, activities and future directions. Chairs and Co-Chairs by FAO and NAFRI The photos of SSWG on ABD meeting as below: National Sustainable Land Management knowledge management database, visit the website click here For the presentations are available to download below: Strategic Framework for Green and Sustainable Agriculture in Lao PDR: Regional Workshop Results and Beyond Potential Climate-Smart Futures for agricultural production and commercialization Scaling-up Sustainable Land Management (SLM) practices by smallholder farmers Lao: ການຂະຫຍາຍເຕັກນີກການຈັດການຄຸ້ມຄອງທີີ່ດິນແບບຍືນຍົງ ໂດຍຊາວກະສິກອນຂະໜາດນ້ອຍ Clean agriculture production […]
COVID-19 has exposed multiple weaknesses and failures of the corporate and finance capital dominated, globalized world we live in. As lockdowns around the world kicked in, global and national supply chains of essential goods and services were disrupted. Decades of neoliberal and austerity policies manifested in the overload and collapse of public health systems in many countries. Measures to contain the spread of the SARS CoV-2 virus underlined the extreme vulnerability of the global food supply chain, which started to break down as millions of agricultural workers—many of who are seasonal migrants—were shut out by closed national borders and bans on domestic travel. Many countries in the south failed in ensuring that millions of citizens, especially itinerant workers, who had lost jobs overnight did not go hungry. Farmers struggled as farmgate prices collapsed and market linkages were broken. Undoubtedly, making sure that the global food chain is free of disruptions is a short-term priority to address unemployment, and prevent starvation and increased poverty. At the same time, it must be recognized that the global food supply chain is magnifying the Covid 19 fiasco, that its having displaced local and regional food production systems and making countries less self-sufficient in food has made many of them more vulnerable to […]
“African swine fever” (ASF) is an extremely resilient virus that has spread at an accelerated path in the region since 2019: originating from China, it hit Vietnam hard since the beginning of last year before spreading to Cambodia and Laos, Burma, the Philippines, Indonesia, Timor Leste and Papua New-Guinea (see FAO cartography and OIE bulletins). The crisis is settling worryingly in the region, and probably for a long time in the absence of a vaccine, given the resistance and contagiousness of the virus (which remains active for 6 months in carcasses even buried, or processed food, and is transmitted by footwear, tires, etc. where the virus can remain for several weeks or even months if not disinfected appropriately), and knowing that it can also be transmitted by wild fauna (wild boars and wild pigs) and that borders in the region are porous and difficult to control. The impacts for family producers are worrying: – Risk of food and nutritional crisis: pork is the second source of protein after fish in Lao PDR, already strongly affected by malnutrition in rural areas; – Risk of economic and social crisis: pork is an important security capital for rural families, providing them with quick cash for the […]
