In 1999, Aspen and David Edge bought Semilla Besada, a 12 hectare farm in southern Spain, with the intention of re-establishing its family farming tradition. They faced various challenges: the dryland environment, lack of markets and little social support.
Rajendra Uprety, an agriculture extension officer in Nepal, came across an article in LEISA Magazine on SRI, the System of Rice Intensification. It was new to him and made him curious. He contacted the author for more information, and then decided to try it out. The results were amazing.
Farmers in the Yoro and Otoro regions of Honduras have organised themselves into agricultural research teams to improve the diversity and resilience of their farms. Supported by local and international organisations, these farmers have diversified their plant genetic resources and developed hardier varieties that grow well on their soils.
Tribal farmers in India are being encouraged to plant underutilised indigenous wild trees on their land. This is in response to the fact that, in recent times, farming systems in central India have become less diversified and natural resources are becoming scarcer. Tribal communities living in remote areas are especially affected.
Spreading risk is an essential means to reduce vulnerability, especially for already vulnerable people. Increasing the use of underutilised crops is one of the better buffers to help farmers diversify, and sustain, nutritional, environmental and financial security in times of change.
Livestock rearing contributes to climate change, but at the same time it brings many benefits to small-scale farmers. Do these benefits outweigh the disadvantages in terms of greenhouse gas emissions? And how can these emissions be reduced?
