Over the past thirty years, most of
Sub-Saharan Africa has seen rapid population growth, poor
agricultural performance, and increasing environmental
degradation. Why do these problems seem so intractable? Are
they connected? Do they reinforce each other? If so, what
are the critical links? This book tests the hypothesis that
these phenomena are strongly interrelated. The finding -
that this nexus is very much at work in Sub-Saharan Africa -

Environmental concerns must be
integrated into the development process, but African
countries still face many challenges as they work to achieve
development that is economically, socially, and
environmentally sustainable. Many countries have already
launched National Environmental Action Plans (NEAPs) and
National Conservation Strategies; however, in preparing and
implementing them, economics was used sparingly because

The note summarizes the findings of the
Africa Forest Strategy Paper, which responded to the
problems confronting forest resources in the Sub-Saharan
Africa (SSA), providing a comprehensive overview, and
analysis of the forest sector, and mapping a set of actions
for consideration by African countries. The diagnosis
highlights the nexus between rapid population growth,
environmental degradation, and poor agricultural

Petroleum supply reforms could yield
huge savings. Training flourishes in the informal sector.
Credit is a constraint to enterprise development. cAN Africa
pay for its universities. How to double Sub-Saharan
Africa's agricultural growth rate. Upgrading farming
systems in the Sahel. Agricultural research is being revitalized.

The irrigation sector provides a rich
source of experiences and lessons in user participation.
Participation by farmers in system design and management
helps to ensure the sustainability of the system, reduce the
public expenditure burden, and improve efficiency, equity
and standards of service. Mobilizing support at all levels
and establishing the participatory process, however,
involves costs; it also demands knowledge of the incentives

These are the prepared remarks
of Robert S. McNamara, President of the World
Bank, International Finance Corporation, and the International Development Association (IDA). He declares that our common enterprise is to drive back poverty, to lift living standards and to enhance the dignity of man. The Bank intends to lend twice as much in the next five years as in the previous five. He discusses the Bank’s lending in Asia. He discusses new geographical accents. The Bank and IDA are now

In 2014-2015, the Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) implemented a project entitled “Popularizing the VGGT Among Small Scale Farmers Organizations, Relevant National Government and Inter-governmental Organizations” with the support of the International Land Coalition (ILC).

There is a very close relationship between forestry and farming. Both forests and farms are source of food (both from plants and animals), nutrition, health, and livelihoods for family farmers. Besides, forests provide sources for fuel, energy, water and medicines. Forests beautify and contribute to biodiversity in a particular landscape.

Youth is often the time when a person starts to dream of the future, think of the path to take and boldly and aggressively set his/her life in motion. In many rural villages, to be a farmer is not part of this dreamt future . Farming is a lowly job and does not earn, so better migrate to cities or abroad where there may be more opportunities and adventure. What will then be the future of agriculture and food without young farmers? No farmer, no food. No food, no life.

As opposed to agribusiness or corporate farming, FAO defined family farming as “a means of organizing agricultural, forestry, fisheries, pastoral and aquaculture production which is managed and operated by a family, both female and male. The family and the farm are linked, co-evolve and combine economic, environmental, reproductive, social and cultural functions.

“In Cambodia, Thida is happy. Her organization, Farmer and Nature Net (FNN), encouraged her to start raising organic pigs to sell to the market. A partner NGO, the Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC), gave her the necessary training on how to raise pigs the organic and healthy way. Now, she no longer needs to go to town to buy expensive feeds because she can source and make these from the various plants and materials around her.

 All over Asia, small women and men farmers are experiencing extreme and intense weather events brought about by climate change. Almost all of them are caught unprepared by changing climate patterns: rains are heavier, storms and floods occur more often, dry seasons are more intense and last longer. They do not understand why this is happening. All they know is that they have to find a way to adapt to and survive these changes.