Dar es Salaam. ‘Permaculture’ is an approach to land management and philosophy that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems.

As it happens, the Zanzibar-based firm is working around the clock to promote permaculture in Tanzania.

Permacul Design Company Ltd is developing permaculture in Tanzania as part of its role in the implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Permaculture originates from ‘permanent agriculture,’ which was later changed to ‘permanent culture’ with the aspect of incorporating social aspects.

The global thirst for palm oil has never been more ravenous. Caught between it and a multigenerational war on Thailand’s poor are the farmers of the Southern Peasants’ Federation, who simply want a piece of land to call their own.

Main photo: Palm tree jungles and the mountains of Surat Thani Province in southern Thailand.

Angola and IFAD to promote sustainable agriculture and boost food security in the face of climate change

The International Fund for Agricultural Development of the United Nations (IFAD) today announced support for a new project to boost agricultural productivity, improve food and nutrition security and build the resilience of at least 218,000 rural families in Angola who are vulnerable to climate shocks.

The land transfer has fueled anger and rumors about Kyrgyzstan’s new populist leadership.

Zholdosh Omorov says the news that a huge reservoir near his house could be entirely handed over to Uzbekistan came like a bolt out of the blue. 

Gender inequality doesn't make sense on any level.

By marginalising women, we deny ourselves the opportunity to lift millions of men, women and children out of poverty. Not to mention the chance of a just and fair world.

From birth, girls, boys, women and men are expected by society to play certain roles and behave in certain ways, based on traditions, religion, and other beliefs.

These behaviours are learned and shaped by the gender norms in a society.

Land grabs facilitated by multinational corporations, foreign investors and local governments in a pursuit for agribusiness have been escalating during the last decade. Huge acquisitions of farmland have led to violent displacements of rural populations. Although reports of the practice are not as recurrent in the media, the problem is far from over.

Timothy Njakasi, a vastly experienced agronomist, is an organic farmer with an unconventional outlook.

Kasenge Riverford Organic Agricultural Centre is located near Mbalala stone quarry in Mukono District, an infertile stony piece of land about 30km on Kampala-Jinja Highway.

Njakasi’s farm, which acts as a demonstration farm, is the last arable piece of land as you ascend the hill to the quarry.

AN agribusiness company, Jatu Public Limited Company is planning to raise 7.5bn/- through an initial share offer due this year with a target to invest in irrigation farming in various crops including maize and sunflower.

Jatu Plc which will sell 15 million ordinary share when its IPO starts in mid July and ends at the
end of the same month this year, has already secured 5,000 acres of land in Kiteto district of
Manyara region where it plans to cultivate maize and sunflower.

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has finalised the proposed legislation to protect agricultural land and green areas and prevent illegal construction activities on agricultural lands.

The African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) gathered representatives from 31African Countries, the private sector, national and international organizations, and youth ambassadors in Kigali, Rwanda, to participate in its Fifth Annual Partnership Meeting.

They have a common goal: tobeginrestoring100 million hectares of land by2030.The hybrid event was a first of its kind for the partnership and featured thelaunch of a documentary film,AFR100 Presents: The Grand African Green Up,which highlights local action for restoring biodiversity, food systems, and theclimate.

The government has embarked on fresh negotiations with land owners in Amuru District to secure land for the establishment of a Shs70 billion irrigation scheme.

On Monday, Ms Brenda Akao, the spokesperson of the Water and Environment ministry, said their officials are in Amuru trying to secure land for constructing the facility meant to boost farming in the district.

Reports of a shortage of land for agriculture in some rural areas are surprising, to say the least. A few years ago it was reported that hundreds of youth in Arumeru District, Arusha Region, were relocating to Kenya because of a lack of farmland in the area.

This state of affairs is surprising because it is quite unusual for rural residents to complain about a shortage of farmland in their areas, where agriculture is supposed to be the mainstay of the local economy.