"For the practice of agroforestry to yield its full potential, it needs to bring health and nutrition to the fore.
Agriculture is fundamental to achieving nutrition goals: it produces the food, energy, and nutrients essential for human health and well-being. Gains in food production have played a key role in feeding growing and malnourished populations. Yet they have not translated into a hunger-free world nor prevented the development of further nutritional challenges. Micronutrient deficiencies (for example, of vitamin A, iron, iodine, and zinc) are now recognized as being even more limiting for human growth, development, health, and productivity than energy deficits.
Malaria, schistosomiasis (bilharzia), and Japanese encephalitis are the major vector-borne diseases whose increase or decrease can be attributed to agricultural water development (see table). Others include dengue fever, yellow fever, and filariasis. Young children in poor communities are particularly affected: malaria is among the top five causes of death among under-fives in Sub-Saharan Africa; schistosomiasis among children affects growth, nutritional status, and cognitive development; and encephalitis occurs mainly in young children...
Policymaking initiatives in agriculture and public health are often pursued in a parallel and unconnected fashion. Yet coherent, joint action in agriculture and health could have large potential benefits and substantially reduce risks for the poor. Among development professionals there is growing recognition that agriculture influences health, and health influences agriculture, and that both in turn have profound implications for poverty reduction.
This case study explores the relationships between agroforestry-based soil fertility replenishment (SFR) systems (improved follows and biomass transfer) and poverty reduction in rural western Kenya. It further examines the role that different dissemination aproaches play in the conditioning which segments of society gain access to information to the technlolgies and then uses them.
"Good health and productive agriculture are both essential in the fight against poverty. In a rapidly changing world, agriculture faces many challenges, both old (natural resource constraints, extreme weather conditions, and agricultural pests) and new (globalization, environmental degradation, problems of maintaining production in conflict situations). At the same time, new global health threats emerge, such as HIV/AIDS, SARS, and avian influenza, while old ones persist.
La agrosilvicultura trata sobre los sistemas agrícolas integrados, en que los árboles juegan un papel prominente. La agrosilvicultura puede proporcionar una variedad de funciones o beneficios para los agricultores y las comunidades. Los más fáciles de identificar son los productos forestales utilizados por los humanos: leña para fuego, madera, vigas, frutas, medicinas y resinas. Un segundo grupo de beneficios consiste en los servicios que proporcionan los árboles a otras actividades agrícolas de los agricultores: abono vegetal, sombra, conservación de los suelos y estacas.
El documento hace una comparación de los cambios ocurridos en la propuesta Yasuni-ITT, entre los términos de referencia (versión 2009) y el acuerdo entre el PNUD y el gobierno ecuatoriano (versión 3 agosto 2010). El documento forma parte de la serie Análsis de coyuntura de Comité Ecuménico de Proyectos (CEP).
En el medio rural brasileño, las relaciones sociales, históricamente complejas, todavía esperan cambios fundamentales en la garantía de la democracia, la ciudadanía y la sostenibilidad del medio ambiente. Esta entrevista gira en torno al tema de la necesidad de cambiar las relaciones entre hombres y mujeres en el campo. No hay respuestas definitivas todavía, pero hay debate intenso que se extiende por todo el país.
Soil carbon is important for soil structure and related nutrient and water holding properties. Increasing soil carbon stocks results in improved crop growth and contributes to enhanced climate resilience. In addition, the increase in soil organic carbon through sustainable agricultural land management (SALM) practices, such as the use of cover crops, residue management and agroforestry, will also reduce the need for synthetic nitrogen fertiliser at a given level of crop production.
Este documento apresenta um método de análise econômico-ecológica
de agroecossistemas. O desenvolvimento do método se fundou
na necessidade de dar visibilidade a relações econômicas, ecológicas
e políticas que singularizam os modos de produção e de vida da agricultura
familiar, povos e comunidades tradicionais e que têm sido
historicamente ocultadas ou descaracterizadas pela teoria econômica
convencional. As contundentes evidências empíricas do fracasso dos
A ideia de produzir este livro teve origem em um esforço compartilhado por organizações e redes vinculadas à Articulação Nacional de Agroecologia (ANA) de sistematizar evidências dos benefícios do enfoque agroecológico na gestão técnico-econômica da agricultura familiar, aqui apreendida em suas variadas formas de organização produtiva e expressão identitária.