This Issue of Nature & Faune puts forward the case of “African Youth in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development”. It comprises twenty one articles from authors of various backgrounds, including: policy makers, conservation NGOs; the private sector; civil society groups; research and academia as well as youth groups.

Ce numéro de Nature & Faune met le focus sur « La place de la jeunesse africaine dans l’agriculture, les ressources naturelles et le développement rural ». Il compte vingt et un articles contribués par divers auteurs experts dans les secteurs suivants : les politiques, les ONG travaillant dans le domaine de la conservation ; le secteur privé, les groupes de la société civile, la recherche et le milieu universitaire ainsi que les associations de jeunes.

This guide describes two of the main approaches to greenhouse gas mitigation planning in developing countries: Low-Emission Development Strategies (LEDS) and Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs). It explains the possible relationships between them and their status within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). National mitigation planning processes have policy, technical and institutional dimensions that need to be addressed in an integrated and iterative manner. For each of these dimensions four key elements are outlined.

This review of national greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation planning in the agriculture sector provides national policy makers and others in the agriculture sector with an overview of national mitigation planning processes to aid them in identifying the relevance of these processes for promoting agricultural development. It also gives policy makers and advisors involved in low-emission development planning processes an overview of mitigation planning in the agriculture sector and highlights the relevance of agriculture to national mitigation plans and actions.

The Southern Africa Food Lab (SAFL) and the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies at the University of the Western Cape (PLAAS) are engaged in a project called Supporting Smallholders into Commercial Agriculture: A social dialogue and learning project. This project has been designed to ensure strong linkages between academic research and processes of social dialogue, policy debate, media dissemination and institutional learning among stakeholders involved in the development of smallholder agriculture. This report documents the proceedings of the first innovation lab.

January 14, 2014 — This study analyzing the impact of the Girls Project, a pilot program designed and implemented by a partnership between the Indian government and Landesa, has found that participating girls are more likely to: stay in school longer, marry later, inherit land, and have an economic asset in their name.

The article examines the European share in large-scale land acquisitions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper aims to identify correlation between biofuels policy and large-scale land acquisitions in Sub-Saharan Africa and the consequences of this phenomenon. It first identifies the backgrounds that caused the increased interest in biofuel production and, consequently, African land acquisition in recent years. Then, it examines growth in the number of land transactions that take place on the continent. Finally, the paper investigates the share of European capital in land transactions.

In a rural agrarian economy like that of Nepal, land has traditionally been a primary source of livelihood and security, as well as a symbol of status. Thousands of poor farmers are completely dependent on land for their livelihoods, yet not all of them have access to or control over this fundamental resource. Negotiation for access to land has been a lengthy and complicated process. It remains so in the changed political context of Nepal, where increasing numbers of emerging actors need to be considered, often with conflicting claims and counterclaims.

This report was produced by a private consultant Alexander Gvaramia a legal expert on land laws and issues and a member of the Swiss Development Cooperation funded Mercy Corps Georgia implemented Alliances Kvemo Kartli Programme, Helen Bradbury, a market development programme working in the dairy, beef and sheep value chains in Dmanisi, Tetritskaro and Tsalka municipalities of Kevmo Kartli. The International Centre for Conflict Negotiation (ICCN) a partner of Alliances KK was responsible for facilitating the concept and production of the report.

This paper was prepared within the “Cooperatives and their alternatives” component of the Agrarian Structures Initiative (ASI) which a regional program of FAO in Europe and Central Asia. This paper outlines some of the main issues influencing the development (or not) of farmer and rural organisations and presents in further detail the specific situation in Armenia, Georgia and Moldova. All three countries returned ownership of the majority of land to the rural population.

Up to 75% of deforestation in Brazil is associated with cattle ranching. To reduce forest conversion and increase sustainability in the cattle supply chain, government, private sector and civil society support interventions based on combinations of institutions and policies, incentives, and information and technology. In this paper we analyse the observed and expected interactions among the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) Standard for Sustainable Cattle Production Systems certification program and other interventions associated with livestock and deforestation in Amazonia.

To ensure a food-secure future, farming must become climate resilient. Around the world, governments and communities are adopting innovations that are improving the lives of millions while reducing agriculture’s climate footprint. These successful examples show the many ways climate-smart agriculture can take shape, and should serve as inspiration for future policies and investments.