English

The present study on the “Use of ICT for Agriculture in GIZ projects – Status quo, opportunities and challenges” is meant to be a practical guideline for projects and planning officers alike. It is based on an analysis of past, current and planned ICT4Ag experiences in GIZ, with special focus on extension, training and agricultural value chain development, and enriched with experiences and lessons learned by other developing organizations.

The objective of the study was to provide a general overview on the development, risks and potentials of ICT4Ag, to do a stock taking and compile a list of ongoing GIZ projects with ICT4Ag experience, to gain more insight in the current application and use of ICT solutions in GIZ agriculture programs and projects, to collect the available results and learnings ‘from the field’, and to match these with global lessons on ICT4D and ICT4Ag.

Agriculture remains the economic backbone of most developing countries in terms of gross domestic product, employment and rural livelihoods. This is especially true of many Sub-Saharan African countries where agriculture accounts for more than 50% of GDP output and employs around 70% of the population.

Access to and the provision of demand-driven financial services is key if agriculture is to grow and is to play a central and decisive role in reducing poverty and hunger and generating much needed jobs in rural areas. At the same time, it is also one of the main constraints holding back the development and professionalization of agriculture and the food sector. Access to financial services remains one of the key challenges for rural areas in general and for agriculture in particular.

Financing agriculture, or more broadly speaking providing access to and offering financial services for agriculture, is complex and requires not only a deep understanding of agriculture, but also of financial institutions.

Agricultural biodiversity (or agrobiodiversity) includes all components of biological diversity of relevance to food and agriculture, and all components of biological diversity that constitute the agricultural ecosystems. The main challenge for the agricultural sector is to simultaneously secure enough high-quality agricultural production for global food and nutrition security, conserve biodiversity and manage natural resources, as well as improve human health and wellbeing, especially for poor people in developing countries.

This sample of factsheets covers the following topics:

Factsheet 1: Understanding agrobiodiversity

Factsheet 2: Agrobiodiversity - plant genetic resources

Factsheet 3: Agrobiodiversity – animal genetic resources

Factsheet 4: International agreements on agrobiodiversity

Factsheet 5: Incentives for agrobiodiversity conservation

Factsheet 6: Adding value to agrobiodiversity

Factsheet 7: Agrobiodiversity for survival

How can we transfer natural risks out of rural livelihooods to empower and protect people?

In this article the term ‘African leafy vegetables’ was adopted to refer to the collective of plant species which are used as leafy vegetables and which are referred to as morogo or imifino by African people in South Africa. Function is central in this indigenous concept, which is subject to spatial and temporal variability in terms of plant species that are included as a result of diversity in ecology, culinary repertoire and change over time. As a result, the concept embraces indigenous, indigenised and recently introduced leafy vegetable species but this article is concerned mainly with the indigenous and indigenised species. In South Africa, the collection of these two types of leafy vegetables from the wild, or from cultivated fields where some of them grow as weeds, has a long history that has been intimately linked to women and their traditional livelihood tasks. Among poor people in remote rural areas the use of these types of leafy vegetables is still common but nationwide there is evidence of decline, particularly in urban areas. Cultivation of indigenous or indigenised leafy vegetables is restricted to a narrow group of primarily indigenised species in South Africa. Seven groups of indigenous or indigenised African leafy vegetables that are important in South Africa were given special attention and their local nomenclature, ecology, use and cultivation are discussed.

The manual is targeted at small-scale irrigation actors – particularly technical services, projects and programmes with the potential to develop their own good practices for use by others in the sector. e manual o-ers guidance to newcomers, helping them to identify existing successful practices. It will also serve to guide state and TFP services in their development of new programmes and projects. Lastly, this good practice manual will enable Malian actors to share their know-how with other countries within and beyond the sub-region.

Food Tank has compiled a list of indigenous fruits, vegetables, and grains from many regions that are nutritious, delicious, and contribute to sustainable livelihoods in rural communities across the globe.

Every day, plant species across the globe are disappearing. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that approximately 75 percent of the Earth’s plant genetic resources are now extinct, and another third of plant biodiversity is expected to disappear by 2050. Up to 100,000 plant varieties are currently endangered worldwide.

Unfortunately, most investments in agriculture are for crops such as wheat, rice, and maize, rather than for more nutritious foods or indigenous crops—and this focus has had devastating consequences. Global obesity rates have doubled over the last 30 years, increasing the risk of diet-related illnesses including diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease in industrialized and developing countries alike.

Many indigenous crops are environmentally sustainable, improve food security, help prevent malnutrition, and increase farmer incomes. Initiatives like the World Vegetable Center (AVRDC)’s Vegetable Genetic Resources System and Slow Food International’s Ark of Taste are working to catalog indigenous species of fruits and vegetables all over the world.

Food Tank has compiled a list of indigenous fruits, vegetables, and grains from many regions that are nutritious, delicious, and contribute to sustainable livelihoods in rural communities across the globe.

A contribution to adaptation and farmers´ resilience towards climate change in the Sahel

As women provide, on avergage, more than 40% of the agricultural labor force worldwide, this monography stresses women as key for rural development. This sample of factsheets talks about the following topics:

Brochure 1: Gender and Rural Development;

Brochure 2: Gender and Agricultural Extension;

Brochure 3: Gender and Access to Land;

Brochure 4: Gender and Food & Nutrition Security;

Brochure 5: Gender and Fischeries & Aquaculture;

Brochure 6: Gender and Livestock Production;

Brochure 7: Gender and Value Chains

Review of research findings, options for mitigation and recommendations for development cooperation