Transects of two smallholder farms developed by farmers and technical staff during a training course in Ruyigi Provence, eastern Burundi on farmer-research-extension linkages. All farms contained indigenous trees that were retained for their products. Part of the training included participant teams working with ‘their’ farmers in collecting portions of the trees or plants used, and their use and status of the trees.
FAO will be convening an International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition, that aims to:
… increase understanding of the crucial role that forests, trees on farms and agroforestry systems can play in improving the food security and nutrition of rural people, especially in developing countries. It will propose ways to integrate this knowledge in policy decisions at the national and international levels (13-15 May 2013).
Preparation for the conference includes an interactive Learning event on agroforestry, food security and climate change:
We welcome those interested in agroforestry and climate change mitigation to participate in an online learning event organized in the Community of practice for climate change mitigation in agriculture. The event is organized jointly by the MICCA Programme and the Agroforestry Programme of FAO’s Forestry Department in collaboration with key agroforestry partners, including the
By way of providing background information to participants and other interest persons, here follows links to past blogs that relate to agriculture, livestock, agroforestry, indigenous plants, and related topics. These blogs are directed to the general public as ways of opening knowledge that is often not well-known, and are based on my own field work and research in Africa and the Middle East.
An Upcountry Training in Semi-savannah Crop-Livestock-Tree Dynamics
Livestock Restocking in Burundi: More Complicated than ‘The Gift of a Goat’
Dreams of Agroforestry in the Highlands of East Africa
Multipurpose Crops in Africa & Dates in the Sahara, 1859
Medicinal & Indigenous Plants
Changing Paradigms in African Agriculture: Learning from the Locals
Eating Weeds and Insects
More on Eating ‘Weeds,’ Insects, and Creepy-Crawlies
Colonial Musings on Mount Cameroon: Out with the Plantains! In with the Coffee & Sugar!
Wild Mango Relish from West Africa, 1873
More about Wild Mango Relish from West Africa
West African Cuisine and Hunger Crops, 1800s
Shea Butter in the 18th Century, Better than English Butter according to Mungo Park
More about Vegetable Butter in West and East Africa
Sorghum ‘Stew’, Dry Land Bamboo – & Spatial Analysis in the Gum Arabic Belt of Sudan
Thanksgiving – and A Military Coup – in Sudan
Wild Coffee and other Indigenous Species in Central Africa
Coffee Culture in Africa – an Historical Peek
Sir Burton Expounds on Coffee, Preserving Meat, and Local Bread in East Africa, 1860
Recent Botanical Studies on Plant Materials from Ancient Egypt
Ebony & Other Modern Words that Survive from Ancient Egypt – What, How and Why
Blogs currently under preparation – check back!
- Bamboo in Central Africa
- Oil Palms in Burundi
- Date palms in the Nile Valley and Sahel
- Dom palms in the Nile Valley
- Coconut palms along Lake Tanganyika
- Olive trees in the Nile Valley
International Year of Forests (Photo credit: Sepehr Ehsani)
Related articles
- Improving Food Security Using Agroforestry Schemes (plantwise.org)
- How agroforestry schemes can improve food security in developing countries (guardian.co.uk)
- Sahel Region Learning to Reap the Benefits of Shade (ipsnews.net)
DIANABUJA'S BLOG: Africa, The Middle East, Agriculture, History and Culture 