As atividades relacionadas à produção agrícola estão entre as que mais têm gerado impactos sobre o meio ambiente. A produção intensiva é grande consumidora de energia, além de fonte de contaminação da água, ar e solo, por meio, especialmente, de resíduos de pesticidas e de fertilizantes. A expansão das fronteiras agrícolas aumenta as taxas de desmatamento, agrava os processos de degradação do solo e põe em risco a biodiversidade.

Botswana is a semi-arid, middle-income African country that imports 90 percent of its food. Despite its relative prosperity, Botswana also suffers from one of the highest measures of income inequality in the world, persistent poverty, and relatively high levels of food insecurity. The objective of this paper is to explore how political economy, climate change and livelihood dynamics are synergistically impacting household food security.

Land systems are characterised by many feedbacks that can result in complex system behaviour. We defined feedbacks as the two-way influences between the land use system and a related system (e.g., climate, soils and markets), both of which are encompassed by the land system. Land models that include feedbacks thus probably more accurately mimic how land systems respond to, e.g., policy or climate change. However, representing feedbacks in land models is a challenge. We reviewed articles incorporating feedbacks into land models and analysed each with predefined indicators.

Urban agriculture, a dynamic multifunctional phenomenon, affects the spatial diversification of urban land use, its valorization and its governance. Literature acknowledges its contribution to the development of sustainable cities. The dimension and extent of this contribution depends significantly on the particular form and function of urban agriculture. However, the complexity of interests and dimensions is insufficiently covered by theory. This paper proposes a typology for urban agriculture, supporting both theory building and practical decision processes.

Este texto aborda as questões locais do impacto dos mega-projectos de mineração sobre o meio rural e agricultura - as condições de vida das pessoas reassentadas, não havendo alguma abrangência para aspectos de natureza macro. A pesquisa analisa o percurso do El Dorado Tete e a evolução das condições de vida da população reassentada em Cateme nos últimos cinco anos. A principal conclusão é de que o El Dorado Tete implodiu e as condições de vida das pessoas reassentadas em Cateme estão em contínua degradação.

The nature and significance of China's engagements with African agriculture continues to be hotly debated in the media, academia and policy circles around the world. Although China has been engaged in Uganda’s agriculture for more than 40 years, the recent jostle for agricultural land by private Chinese investors is dystifying and justifies the need to conduct a scientific study to provide clear evidence before the issue gets bundled into the messy anecdotal media inquiry.

Large-scale rice farms are continuing to expand in scale in Japan. However, the increase in the number and extent of these cultivated areas is considered to be problematic. Given its nature, the JA Investment Agriculture Production Corporation, in particular, has difficulty with declining investment in areas that are considered to be less-favorable for rice cultivation.

The production of commodities such as palm oil and pulpwood is leading to large-scale land use change in the rural tropics to fulfil the demands of the increasing world population and overall living standard. On the one hand, such land use changes provide income to companies, smallholders and government actors. On the other hand, these can lead to land use conflicts and declines in forest cover, biodiversity, carbon stocks, and local food production.

Following the financial and food crisis in 2008 the phenomenon of land grabbing through large-scale investments in land leading to forcible displacement of rural population, increasing their food insecurity and disregarding Human Rights became a hot topic on the global agenda. At the same time it became clear, that more investments were needed into the agricultural sector to increase food security and secure agricultural productivity.

In a long-term project in Kenya, the Swiss-based Research Institute of Organic Agriculture has examined the potential of organic and conventional agriculture regarding soil fertility, the occurrence of pests and diseases, and profitability. Initial results make a strong case to implement policy measures necessary for supporting the adoption of organic management practices on a large scale.

This paper assesses past trends in agricultural land and labour productivity, as a test whether it is feasible to meet the SDG target 2.3, namely doubling productivity and incomes of smallholders within a 15-year time span, if history were to serve as a guide. The target implies agricultural productivity would need to increase by 4.6% per year on average during 2015-2030. Available country-level data on land productivity (1961-2012) and labour productivity (1980-2012) for 140 countries shows that past trends fall well short of the desired pace of productivity growth.

Utaran began work on the Sustainable Access to Land Equality (SALE) project to ensure transparency and accountability in land governance in December 2012, in partnership with CARE Internaional UK and Manusher Jonno Foundaion (MJF). The project engaged communiies in three pilot upazilas - Amtali Upazila of Barguna District, Mohanpur of Rajshahi, and Sadar of Jamalpur-to raise the awareness of vulnerable landowners about land administraion, and to effect transparent processes for selecing landless people and for khasland setlement.