Not so dirt cheap

by Georgina Smith | Dec 7, 2015

The coffee on your desk might never have arrived this morning. Deforestation rates in Ethiopia – one of the world’s top coffee exporters – are so high, records show, that forest is slashed from 40 to less than 3 percent of the country. As well as surviving...

Pathways for restoring soils: Strengthening local capacities in Nicaragua

by CIAT Comunicaciones | Nov 24, 2015

Two initiatives undertaken with partners are beginning to make a difference in fostering more productive use of soils and contributing to restoring soils in smallholder farming in Nicaragua. “These are motivating examples of what we can achieve if we work together...

Giving soils a voice

by Juliet Braslow | Oct 27, 2015

We don’t directly drink or breathe soil, so it’s often forgotten as we trample over it. Raising awareness and inspiring action for promoting and protecting our soils has been a central focus throughout this International Year of Soils (IYS). We need healthy soils for...

Tailor-made CSA: adapting best-bet practices for East African smallholders

by Juliet Braslow | Oct 14, 2015

Smallholder farmers are not equal. Take Susan. She is perceived as a “small” farmer in her community of Soweto (Wote) in semi-arid Kenya. She doesn’t own land. The 0.5 ha she cultivates belong to her in-laws. The average farm size in her area is between 1 and 5ha....

Is the FT4ALL initiative really for “all”?

by Martha Del Río | Mar 17, 2014

As the name states, Fair Trade for All (FT4ALL), a new certification developed by Fair Trade USA (FTUSA), is an innovative model to reach more farmers, farm workers, and communities. FTUSA split off from Fairtrade International (FLO) in 2011, aiming to expand Fair...