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Crop diversity strengthens livelihoods in periurban Hyderabad

womanIn periurban Hyderabad, India, leafy vegetables are increasingly grown along the Musi River and sold in urban markets. This agricultural biodiversity can significantly help urban and periurban farmers become more resilient to the impacts of such changes. Read this article (pdf 5.5 MB) in the latest issue of Urban Agriculture Magazine.


Posted on : Jul 20 2009
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Posted under Publications |

Out Now: LEISA magazine 25 No. 2

Farmers as entrepreneurs

LEISA252_thumbSmall-scale farmers and their support institutions are becoming more convinced that there is little future for them unless they become more entrepreneurial in their approach to farming. Which means that they produce increasingly for markets – local, regional as well as global, and with a profit motive. There’s nothing new about rural entrepreneurship. But the challenges faced by family farms in the South right now are unique in scope and scale. What options are there for small-scale farmers to become more entrepreneurial?

Read more


Posted on : Jun 26 2009
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Descriptors for Farmer’s knowledge of plants

The list of Descriptors for Farmer’s knowledge of plants, is a first attempt to combine a documentation system traditionally used in controlled environments (genebanks, breeding institutes) with an approach that involves people and their knowledge ‘in the field’. We hope that this list, which is the result of many years of review of fieldwork by scientists and field practitioners, will become an important tool for integrating scientific and traditional knowledge. The list is primarily targeted at the plant genetic resources community, to increase the range of knowledge recorded during plant collection, its widespread use by others, including communities and organizations, is encouraged. It is intended to be user-friendly and practical, whilst balancing inclusiveness and concision.

Read the full arcticle at The Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research.


Posted on : Jun 02 2009
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Posted under News, Publications |