While interest is generated over new and emerging technologies, there is a diversity of knowledge, technologies and practices in agriculture, health care, conservation and sustainable use of natural resources and ecosystem management. Many of these support the livelihoods of small farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples and local entrepreneurs affecting millions of people and communities across the world, especially in developing countries. In many cases, national industries have developed from traditional knowledge and endogenous technologies.There are thus vast potential and promises in these sustainable systems and practices, requiring investment and mainstreaming into development policies at the national, regional and international level. A holistic approach to technology assessment and choice would develop sophisticated principles, criteria and indicators that enable countries to benefit from sustainable production and conservation systems.

Call for Shift to Low-Carbon Food Production

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food called for a global transition from unsustainable industrial agriculture to low-carbon ways of producing food. […]

Sustainable Agriculture in India

This report shows how sustainable agriculture can help India’s farmers – especially those in poor, remote areas – pull themselves out of poverty. […]

Colombia: Climate Science Reaching Out for Traditional Farmers’ Wisdom

The wide-ranging knowledge about climate variation possessed by native people and other small farmers has been shown to match scientific measurements recorded on high-tech instruments. […]

Agriculture is Not a Carbon Commodity

Agriculture is the most important sector in many developing countries. It should not be treated as a commodity in the search for solutions to address climate change problems. […]

Guaranteeing Food Security in a Changing Global Climate

Experts at a meeting made a strong call for a rapid and significant shift from conventional, monoculture-based and high-external-input-dependent agricultural production towards sustainable production systems. […]

Ecological Agriculture is ‘Development-Smart’

TWN briefing on ecological agriculture as the solution for food security, farmers, livelihoods and addressing climate change. […]

Making Agricultural Research Work for Small Farmers and Agroecological Approaches in West Africa

This paper highlights some of the outcomes of recent farmer deliberations on the governance and priorities of food & agricultural research in West Africa. […]

Organic Farming Benefits Outweigh Agrochemical-based Agriculture

A comprehensive study of the sustainability benefits of organic farming systems could have far-reaching implications on global agricultural practices. […]

Indigenous Crops to Solve Food Crises amid Climate Change

African scientists cautioned that agricultural development in rural areas based on Western-style methods could lead to increased loss of indigenous plants that are important as reliable and nutritious food sources. […]

Ecological farming: Drought-Resistant Agriculture

This Greenpeace report examines strategies to withstand drought in agriculture using ecological farming based on biodiversity. […]