Studies on the enabling factors for household food security (HFS) most often used simplified econometric models looking into the links with a selected set of variables. In this research, a livelihood approach of HFS was used and aimed at determining the most significant livelihood assets for HFS in dryland agricultural systems. Elements of the five livelihood assets were assessed through questionnaire surveys with a random sample of 180 households, and six focus group discussions in three communities along the rural-urban continuum, in Southern Mali.

The agriculture sector is the backbone of Ethiopia’s economy and livelihoods. Yet, heavy reliance on rain-fed systems has made the sector particularly vulnerable to variability in rainfall and temperature. Climate change may decrease national gross domestic product (GDP) by 8–10% by 2050, but adaptation action in agriculture could cut climate shock-related losses by half. • Climate risk management interventions and long-term adaptation actions need to match localized vulnerabilities and impacts.

Our goal is to provide the scientific basis for development investments and policies that promote more productive, profitable agriculture, and healthier diets at no environmental cost. Low-income, smallholder farmers face significant challenges across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). High population growth is coinciding with migration to the cities as younger populations seek out higher income-earning opportunities. Inadequate infrastructure and few markets for agricultural production in rural areas, for example, are leading to stagnated opportunities for smallholders.

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) time-series Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) products are regularly used for vegetation monitoring missions and climate change analysis. However, satellite observation is affected by the atmospheric condition, cloud state and shadows introducing noise in the data. MODIS state flag helps in understanding pixel quality but overestimates the noise and hence its usability requires further scrutiny. This study has analyzed MODIS MOD09A1 annual data set over Sri Lanka.

We conducted a systematic review on the effects of land tenure recognition interventions on agricultural productivity, income, investment and other relevant outcomes. We synthesise findings from 20 quantitative studies and nine qualitative studies that passed a methodological screening. The results indicate substantial productivity and income gains from land tenure recognition, although gains differ markedly by region. We find that these effects may operate through gains in perceived tenure security and investment; we find no evidence for a credit mechanism.

This paper explores assumptions about the drivers of forest cover change in a Payments for Environmental Services (PES) and Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) context in the Lam Dong Province in Vietnam. In policy discourses, deforestation is often linked to'poor' and 'ethnic minority' households and their unsustainable practices such as the expansion of coffee production (and other agricultural activities) into forest areas.

Political transitions often trigger substantial environmental changes. In particular, deforestation can result from the complex interplay among the components of a system—actors, institutions, and existing policies—adapting to new opportunities. A dynamic conceptual map of system components is particularly useful for systems in which multiple actors, each with different worldviews and motivations, may be simultaneously trying to alter different facets of the system, unaware of the impacts on other components.

La particularidad de la Asociación de jóvenes productores ecológicos de Paucartambo integrada por 14 jóvenes (mujeres y hombres) entre 18 y 29 años de edad, es su involucramiento con la agricultura. Sus miembros, anteriormente migraron a la ciudad o a otros lugares pero decidieron retornar para quedarse en sus comunidades campesinas. Promueven a agroecología.

La Paz, Bolivia
20 de diciembre de 2017
 
Entre maíces sustitutos y la resistencia de los maíces locales de la comunidad Guaraní de Palmarito en el Chaco cruceño de Bolivia
 
María Bárbara Giavarini Blanco