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| Developments |
Green light for yellow cassava
 In December 2011, Nigeria formally approved three varieties of yellow-fleshed cassava, containing sufficient pro-Vitamin A to provide up to a quarter of daily requirements. Further varieties are also in the final stages of testing, in research funded by the HarvestPlus programme. read article |
Climate change call to action issued at agriculture and rural development day in Durban
 Hosted by 17 leading agricultural organisations, the Agriculture and Rural Development Day, held in parallel with the COP17 climate change negotiations, brought together more than 500 agricultural experts to discuss priorities to boost agricultural production while supporting adaptation and mitigation to climate change. read article |
Aqua shops, a new initiative
 To complement and enhance extension services in aquaculture, FARM-Africa has established six Aqua Shops in western Kenya to provide smallholders with inputs and technical advice on best aquaculture practices. read article |
DR Congo perfects the horticultural metropolis
 As DRC's cities expand at an unprecedented rate, urban vegetable farmers have kept pace. Through ten years of helping them grow, FAO's Growing Greener Cities programme has learned strategies of global relevance. read article |
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| Points of view |
A bright future for agricultural extension?
 Specialists from around the world offer their views on the ways forward for agricultural extension, including new models of funding, the importance of public-private partnerships, and new visions for what extension should entail. read article |
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| In pictures |
Climate change - for the better?
 In Himachal Pradesh, northern India, rising temperatures have proved a blessing for farmers who are willing and able to change their production systems and take risks with new crops. Lower altitudes are now suitable for high value vegetables and farmers in higher villages are growing apples.read article |
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| My perspective |
 Haven Ley
Whilst women produce the majority of food in smallholder production systems, they lack status and access to key resources. Haven Ley of the Gates Foundation provides her viewpoint on how a better gender balance should be supported. read article |
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| Country profile |
Côte d'Ivoire
 After gaining independence, the agriculture sector saw significant growth and by 1980 Côte d'Ivoire was the world's leading exporter of cocoa. But drought, increasing debt, political turmoil and civil war have continued to undermine the economy. read article |
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| GFAR updates |
 GFAR present a selection of brief news items based around recent international and regional events and meetings concerned with agricultural innovation and its implications in development. read article |
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| News brief |
 Recent news, including a new system which allows food crops to be irrigated with seawater, the threat of large land deals, early warning system to cut livestock mortality, and carbon calculator to mitigate climate change. read article |
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| Book reviews |
 Reviews of some of the latest agriculture and rural development publications. The lead review for this edition is Milk: A local and global history by Deborah Valenze. read article |
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Genetic diversity of crops within species is very narrow and existing agrobiodiversity is being lost at a rapid rate. However, a recent pilot scheme to pay farmers for conserving traditional crop varieties has provided a promising way to stem the loss. read article
Armed with research which revealed that coffee farms on the Indonesian island of Sumatra controlled erosion, ICRAF has been working with local stakeholders on projects that reward smallscale farmers for providing environmental services. read article
Kenya's Green Belt Movement has shifted to planning and implementing its community reforestation activities at the watershed level, looking past political boundaries to the water that flows beneath. read article
A new FAO manual on a One Health approach to managing the threat of bat-borne disease also recognises the importance of bats in protecting, pollinating, dispersing and fertilising plants. read article
In a statement calling for support on pesticide regulation and for a ban of the use of specific insecticides in rice that contribute to planthopper outbreaks, the International Rice Research Institute has offered alternative practices to better manage pests. read article
In Malawi, a group of researchers initiated a country-wide trial, comparing monocultural maize production with a more diversified system, to test the hypothesis that crop diversity would offer improved ecosystem services and enhanced food security. read article
To stabilise and improve agricultural productivity and yields in developing countries, a group of stakeholders have called for a wide array of underutilised crops to be retained and promoted. read article
