Farmers' Choice

Helene Bie Lilleør, Ulrik Lund-Sørensen

Food security is an urgent international priority. However, agricultural extension methods that relied on imposing centrally-developed technological solutions have been ineffective, since small farmers in developing countries often cultivate marginal lands, working under constraints for which these...

Negotiating the Seed Treaty

Stuart Coupe, Roger Lewins

The International Seed Treaty came into force in 2004 was the culmination of over 20 years of negotiation. The need for a treaty arose out of a growing awareness that crucial plant genetic resources are being irretrievably lost. This book describes the complex process by which a wide range of partie...

A Farmers' Jury

Stuart Coupe, Jon Hellin, Absolom Masendeke, Elijah Rusike

This ITDG Working Paper analyses the experience of a farmers' jury in Zimbabwe. Representatives of poor farmers mapped out their vision for the future of agriculture in their country after hearing from policy makers and technical experts of every shade of opinion. The ITDG Working Papers are designe...

Cultivating Biodiversity

Harold Brookfield

The United Nations University project on People, Land Management and Environmental Change (PLEC) has used the traditional skills of smallholder farmers - for cultivating their crops, managing the soil, water and vegetation and maintaining their livelihoods in difficult circumstances - to produce thi...

Cultural and Spiritual Values of Biodiversity

Darrell Posey

Weaving together philosophical, historical, legal, scientific and personal viewpoints, this book gives a rich sample of the vast web which makes up our cultural, spiritual and social diversity. The volume highlights the central importance of cultural and spiritual values in the appreciation and pres...

Cereal Processing

Focuses on the processing of four cereals - maize (or corn), rice, sorghum and wheat. A useful guide for those intending to set up a cereal-processing enterprise. Topics include harvesting, threshing, storage, milling, hulling, baking and fermenting.

Root Crop Processing

Covers the most common processing techniques for the major root crops including potato, cassava, sweet potato, yam and other edible aroid crops. Includes sections on basic food science principles, small-scale processing methods and case studies.