High food prices are not only causing a humanitarian crisis, but also putting at risk the development potential of millions of people. Global agriculture markets are undergoing structural changes, and the next three to four years will pose great challenges for achieving an affordable and accessible food supply for the world's most vulnerable. Soaring food and fuel prices are creating a "perfect storm" for the world's most vulnerable.

"Part of the difficulty in responding to the food crisis is the lack of credible and up-todate data on the impacts of food prices on poor people and on the effects of policy responses. Such information would allow international and national decision makers to use feedback to adjust their responses and achieve maximum effectiveness. Much more investment and sound coordination is needed in this area. So far, national and international responses to the food crisis are mixed in terms of their likely effectiveness.

Over the last two decades, several seed-related programs have been initiated in eastern Kenya to improve farmers’ access to quality seeds of dryland cereals and legumes. They are provided during two occasions, regular and emergency times. But very often, the formal supply mechanisms limit their role in provision of seeds other than maize. In the absence of any formalized systems of seed provision for other dryland crops, such as sorghum and pigeon pea, farmers have preferred local markets for their seed needs, especially during distress periods.

Agricultural growth will prove essential for improving the welfare of the vast majority of Africa’s poor. Roughly 80 percent of the continent’s poor live in rural areas, and even those who do not will depend heavily on increasing agricultural productivity to lift them out of poverty. Seventy percent of all Africans— and nearly 90 percent of the poor—work primarily in agriculture. As consumers, all of Africa’s poor—both urban and rural—count heavily on the efficiency of the continent’s farmers.

Las instituciones de acción colectiva y los sistemas de derechos de propiedad moldean la forma en que la gente usa los recursos naturales.A su vez, estos patrones de uso afectan los resultados de los sistemas de producción agrícola de la gente. Juntos, los mecanismos de acción colectiva y los sistemas de derechos de propiedad definen los incentivos a los que la gente accede por llevar a cabo estrategias de gestión sostenible y productiva, y afectan el nivel y distribución de los beneficios de los recursos naturales.

This brief defines property rights and collective action and discusses the links to sustainability of natural resource management and agricultural systems and to poverty reduction, as well as the implications for policy and practice.

This paper explores the effect of land titling on agricultural productivity in Vietnam and the productivity effects of single versus joint titling for husband and wife. Using a plot-fixed-effects approach our results show that obtaining a land title is associated with higher yields, for both individually and jointly held titles. We conclude that there is no trade-off between joint titling and productivity, and so joint titles are potentially an effective way to improve women’s bargaining power within the household with no associated efficiency losses.

Esta revista é um produto do Projeto Gestão Florestal para a Produção Sustentável na Amazônia, uma realização do Governo Brasileiro por incumbência do Ministério do Meio Ambiente (MMA) e intermédio do Serviço Florestal Brasileiro e do Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade no contexto da Cooperação Brasil-Alemanha para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável. O Ministério Federal de Cooperação Econômica e Desenvolvimento (BMZ) da Alemanha apoia a execução do Projeto por meio da cooperação financeira do Banco Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).

This LEGEND bulletin takes stock of some of the recent experience in legal empowerment. The result is a kaleidoscope of approaches operating at different levels, but pursuing broadly converging agendas.

O kit pedagógico “Governação comunitária de florestas para crianças” destina-se a todos os compartes, profissionais, investigadores, professores e educadores envolvidos com as florestas comunitárias e que queiram abordar a governação comunitária de recursos naturais e a educação para a cidadania democrática com crianças e jovens. Procurando responder aos desafios atuais da governação comunitária de florestas, apresenta-se um modelo pedagógico que pretende apoiar a criação de Escolas de Verão para as florestas comunitárias.

A ciência do solo e a agricultura urbana

O II Plano Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional 2016-2019 é constituído pelo conjunto de ações do governo federal que buscam garantir a segurança alimentar e nutricional e o direito humano à alimentação adequada à população brasileira.