Water is scarce in India's semiarid zones of Rajasthan. Climate change is putting additional pressure on the rare resources. Irregular or no rainfall forces many small farmers to abandon their fields, at least temporarily, and seek work in the towns. Participative water management projects as practiced in Bhipur village, growing crops with low water requirements and more sustainable farming practices are adaptation strategies that allow farmers to continue their activities despite climate risks.

Interest in the notion of «state failure» has seen a dramatic upsurge in recent years. As a rule, changes in global framework conditions are held responsible for this decrease in state control and legitimacy. But the prominence of this topic in the international debate easily overlooks the fact that the phenomenon of failing states is not new, but has existed since the division of the world into nation-states. Moreover, it is almost impossible to establish a uniform pattern of state failure.

The Voluntary Guidelines on the human right to food provide a further instrument of international law in the fight against world hunger.The Guidelines promise to be a powerful new weapon in combating malnutrition.They forge an alliance between development policy and human rights in the struggle for the right to food. The «human rights approach» has become the new watchword in the fight against hunger.

The world food crisis has spurred foreign direct investments (FDI) into arable land in developing countries. While significant financial inflows into agricultural sectors could be beneficial on a global scale, it could negatively affect local livelihoods. This article provides an overview of the different types of FDI in land. In addition, examples of investment flows are illustrated in an overview and a sustainable impact matrix outlines the occurring effects. Finally, requirements of avoiding negative effects are presented, to achieve a Pareto-efficient win-win situation.

The Voluntary Guidelines to support the Progressive Realisation of the Right to Food have served the very useful purpose of placing the right to food squarely on the international development policy agenda.To avoid practice lagging behind theory, concerted efforts are required by governments, development agencies and donors to implement these Guidelines to accelerate the realisation of the right to food at country level. Lessons learned from such learning by doing will help show how to put the right to food into practice.

Dar es Salaam is one of the fastest growing cities in sub-Saharan Africa. In its rapidly expanding peri-urban fringe poor migrants from distant rural areas settle down on plots they can afford that provide access to urban markets. They engage in commercial poultry farming establishing sustainable livelihoods and improving food security in the city.

Although «urban» and «rural» development are often considered as in opposition to each other and seen as competing with each other for investment and support, many urban centres owe much of their economic base to agriculture. Ironically, one of the best tests of whether rural development is working is whether local urban centres are booming - as increasing agricultural output is served by markets and producer services there, and as real increases in income for a wide range of rural households are reflected in increased demand for goods and services provided by urban-based enterprises.

Agricultural value chains link urban consumption with rural production. Changing demand, as a consequence of urbanization, emergence of «modern» consumption patterns or new trends in international trade, impacts on rural areas along value chains and spills over to marketing and production systems.These rural urban linkages bear challenges but also mutual benefits for producers and consumers and can be promising entry points for development interventions.This is illustrated with the case of the Kenyan potato value chain.

Until 1978, the Afghan state was weak but stable. In contrast, rural regulatory structures that complemented the state have always been strong. It was only the attempt to establish a strong state on the basis of foreign ideologies and military over the heads of the rural population that ultimately led to chaos and collapse.Whereas the central state sometimes broke down, many state
institutions in the provinces demonstrated remarkable resilience, leading to a definite nation-state consciousness throughout large sections of the population.

La crise des prix alimentaires qui sévit actuellement est la

Les pays du sud et de l’est de l’Afrique sont confrontés à des pénuries alimentaires récurrentes. Pour lutter contre l’urgence alimentaire et éviter que les produits alimentaires ne quittent le pays, les gouvernements imposent des restrictions commerciales et interviennent sur les marchés. Dans ce contexte, les échanges transfrontaliers entre les zones défi citaires et excédentaires sont susceptibles de contribuer à la sécurité alimentaire régionale. Cet article est basé sur les résultats d’une étude menée dans la région frontalière entre la Tanzanie et la Zambie.

Le Sud-Kivu est l’une de 11 provinces de la République démocratique du Congo qui a connu une série de guerres à répétition. Le cheptel animal (bovin, ovin, caprin, etc.) a été pillé et, dans certaines circonstances, des récoltes ont été ravagées et/ou emportées au détriment des petits producteurs. La pauvreté et l’insécurité alimentaire n’ont fait que gagner vertigineusement du terrain.