The International Water Management Institute is the lead institute for the Ganges Basin Development Challenge research project titled Water Governance and community-based management in coastal regions of Bangladesh. This study is one out of five research projects in the Ganges basin commissioned and funded by the CGIAR challenge Program on Food and Water inundation, salinity intrusion and severe flooding in the coastal areas is a frequent occurrence in Bangladesh. This leads to loss of life and property as well as severe impacts on livelihoods.

The Province of Huaphan is implementing Land Use Planning (LUP) as a way to achieve national development goals such as reduction of rural poverty, investment in land and reduction of competition over land. This report covers the process of land use planning; the results of consultations with villagers and district and provincial officials; and the next steps to implement land use planning in Huaphan Province.

This paper critically examines theories of accumulation, dispossession and exclusion for analyzing the agrarian transformations that result from contemporary large-scale land acquisitions across the Global South. Building upon Marx's primitive accumulation, Harvey's accumulation by dispossession and Hall et al.'s Powers of Exclusion, conceptual lenses are developed through which to examine how land grabs transform property and social relationships of resource-based production.

Low water use efficiency is a challenge to crop production in Sub-Sahara African countries. Water is getting continuously scarce due to increased demand and shrinking availability induced mainly by climate change. As agriculture is the major consumer of water, improving crop water productivity is among the ways of overcoming the challenge. Crop production under rainfed system is the major livelihood strategy for smallholder farmers in Ethiopia.

The work described in this report is a
first step to addressing the longer-term issues related to
the competitiveness of South Sudan's farmers in a
regional context. It focuses on the options for increasing
the amount and value of agricultural production in the crop
sector, the potential contribution of rural roads to
increasing crop production and how to sequence and
prioritize rural road investments in a way that maximizes

The objectives of the study are to
assess the impact of operational efforts in farmland
restructuring and sustainable agricultural land management
on vulnerability amongst rural households in Tajikistan; and
to provide context and improve strategies for current
operations in land reform, rural growth and sustainable land
management given the challenges of economic transition,
institutional, economic and environmental fragility, and the

One of the legacies of saffron farming practice for centuries in and around the Pampore Karewas of Kashmir in India is that this ancient farming system continues to inspire family farmers and local communities through their livelihood security that it provides for more than 17,000 farm families. Kashmiri village women contribute to this agriculture heritage site through traditional tilling to flower picking over 3,200 hectares dedicated to the legendary saffron crop cultivation at Pampore.

In order to check and promote the positive synergies between private companies and rural households, an analysis of past and ongoing experiences of contract farming is required. It represents the main objective of this report. The objectives of this study are to: describe the effects of contract farming schemes, characterize the factors limiting or promoting these various impacts, identify key findings to promote the emergence of positive synergies.

Saffron production is confined to a limited geographical area in the State. Saffron has traditionally been associated with the famous Kashmiri cuisine, its medicinal values and the rich cultural heritage of Kashmir. Its role in enriching the local cuisine, its medicinal value and its use in important religious rituals is well known. However, Saffron production is currently suffering on several counts, especially those relating to productivity as well as post harvest management. This has resulted in lower production and poor quality.

In the future scenario for livestock development, there is a continuing role for smallholder producers, particular for dairy and small ruminants, relying heavily on grass and crop-residues, however in a growth mode, intensifying production, and enhancing the efficiency of resource use (less land, labor and feed resources per unit product). In particular improving the efficiency of converting feed into milk and meat will be critical to increase their income.

Synthesis of dialogues and evidence presented at the International Conference on Food Security in Dry Lands, Doha, Qatar, November, 2012