Best Practice

A practical 64-page A5 manual focusing on good agricultural practices for sorghum and millet production incorporating integrated soil fertility management techniques and practices. Produced by ASHC.

Having identified a general lack of knowledge about the value of livestock manure and integrated manure management at multiple levels in government and society, a concerted action led to the compilation of a training manual for extension workers on manure management in the (sub-)tropics. Covering the whole manure chain, from animal excretion to the final application, the manual describes the basic principles of integrated manure management. Although much information originates from more temperate regions, the manual focusses on farm practices in the tropics and subtropics.

The book uses an economic lens to identify the main features of climate-smart agriculture (CSA), its likely impact, and the challenges associated with its implementation.  Drawing upon theory and concepts from agricultural development, institutional, and resource economics, this book expands and formalizes the conceptual foundations of CSA. Focusing on the adaptation/resilience dimension of CSA, the text embraces a mixture of conceptual analyses, including theory, empirical and policy analysis, and case studies, to look at adaptation and resilience through three possible avenues: ex-ante reduction of vulnerability, increasing adaptive capacity, and ex-post risk coping.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section provides conceptual framing, giving an overview of the CSA concept and grounding it in core economic principles. The second section is devoted to a set of case studies illustrating the economic basis of CSA in terms of reducing vulnerability, increasing adaptive capacity and ex-post risk coping. The final section addresses policy issues related to climate change. Providing information on this new and important field in an approachable way, this book helps make sense of CSA and fills intellectual and policy gaps by defining the concept and placing it within an economic decision-making framework. This book will be of interest to agricultural, environmental, and natural resource economists, development economists, and scholars of development studies, climate change, and agriculture. It will also appeal to policy-makers, development practitioners, and members of governmental and non-governmental organizations interested in agriculture, food security and climate change.

The Feed Assessment Tool (FEAST) is a systematic method to assess local feed resource availability and use. It helps in the design of intervention strategies aiming to optimize feed utilization and animal production. The tool comprises two main elements:

1. A focused PRA exercise which provides an overview of the farming system with particular emphasis on livestock feed aspects.

2. A simple and brief quantitative questionnaire, designed to be completed by experts under the guidance of the Feast facilitator. Output from 'feast' consists of a short report in a defined format along with some quantitative information on overall feed availability, quality and seasonality which can be used to help inform intervention strategies

To bridge the gap between research and practice in rice production, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) developed the Rice Knowledge Bank (RKB)—a digital extension service that provides practical knowledge solutions, specialized for small-scale farmers in developing countries. RKB showcases rice production techniques, agricultural technologies, and best farming practices based on IRRI’s pool of knowledge from research findings, learning and media resources, and in-country projects. To facilitate easy access to information, RKB highlights the Step-by-step Production Stages from pre-planting to postproduction management, Decision Tools, and Agronomy Guides to help people make informed farming decisions. RKB serves to address the biggest challenge to agricultural development by supporting fast and effective transfer of technologies from the research laboratory to the farmer’s field.

The Information System, called the African Postharvest Losses Information System (APHLIS), is available on the web athttp://www.aphlis.net.

INPhO, the Information Network on Post-harvest Operations, aims at promoting good practices in post-harvest activities for agri-food products and to assist in the expansion of agribusinesses by providing access to technical data and information.  The site is currently undergoing a review to improve user-friendliness. This information resource is managed by the FAO Nutrition and Food Systems Division.

Since the 2006/2007 food crisis, the Natural Resources Institute has been a major contributor in development efforts to reduce postharvest losses. It offers strong institutional experience gained during the earlier food crisis of the 1970s. Explore this website to find the following information and interactive training resources.

This leaflet explains how you can control Striga and stemborer at the same time, without using expensive chemicals.

Climate-smart pest management (CSPM) is a cross-sectoral approach that aims to reduce pest-induced crop losses, enhance ecosystem  services, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen the resilience of agricultural systems in the face of climate change. Through the implementation of CSPM, farmers, extension workers, researchers, and public and private sector stakeholders will act in coordination to manage changing pest threats more effectively, and achieve more efficient and resilient food production systems.