Livestock plays a key role in the different facet of societal life in Africa. It principally serves as source of animal protein in the diet of the populace as well as source of materials for body wears such as waist belt, shoes, blanket etc. Livestock also plays a key role in the religious life of certain sects as object for sacrifice and worship. The small ruminant constitutes a major category of the livestock that are kept by many household and it serves as source of income for the household as well as occasional source of food.

Despite the efforts to promote adoption of innovative technologies (IT) by the Government and

international development projects, the adoption rate among farmers has always been low in

Tunisia. This paper aims to investigate the determinants of farmer’s decisions to adopt IT in the

arid area of Tunisia. Economic, socio-demographic and institutional variables were selected as

factors. A sample of 200 farmers was considered; only half of them adopted the IT. A binary

Description of the project:  This project develops exemplary climate adaptation strategies in 4 communities of rural Zambia, working on women-farmers' appropriation of the challenges they are facing, and introducing new and diversified livelihoods.  Today’s main beneficiaries are 250 small-scale farming households, but further outreach to 33,000 people is planned, with a focus  on women, youth and people living with disabilities.

Upstream water use is not adjusted to reflect rainfall fluctuations, and downstream farmers of the Nagarjuna Sagar irrigation project in the state of Andhra Pradesh are increasingly vulnerable to water supply shocks. This paper documents the wide range of adjustments adopted by managers and farmers in Nagarjuna Sagar during a period of fluctuating water availability (2000-2007). Primary and secondary data indicate managerial adjustments such as rotational and timely water supplies to meet critical water demands of standing crops.

To assess the adaptive capacities of agro-pastoral communities to climate change, a participatory survey was conducted in the region between February and May 2009. The survey covered in total 175 households, covering 60 households per agro-ecological zone (i.e., the zones Séno and Gourma), with 15 households per village. In the Delta zone, 55 households were available for the interview. A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to assess the relationship between household coping strategies and selected factors.

How can a Participatory Action Learning System (PALS) help to empower women? ANANDI, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Gujarat, India, successfully used PALS to support women from poor and marginalised groups to identify, analyse and solve their own problems. Women assessed their levels of poverty and food security and spoke for the first time about personal experiences of domestic violence. They explained that empowerment for them meant having a livelihood, doing men's work, having livestock, and visiting the panchayat (village council) office.

Periodic drought, unsustainable livestock populations, land tenure insecurities, land degradation, a prolonged and intense civil war and fragmentation of farms have had severe impacts on the population of the Ethiopian highlands. Increasingly young men have found it harder to obtain land to establish their own farms and homesteads. Contributions from their own and their wives' parents are diminishing, as there are many heirs, less land available, and because traditional land tenure systems have been weakened.

In many of the world's drylands, women's traditional knowledge of and roles in natural resource management and food security are crucial. Women across the developing world spend considerable proportions of their time using and preserving land for food and fuel production, and for generating income for their families and communities. They are therefore severely affected when erosion and diminished soil fertility result in decreased crop and livestock, productivity and reduced income derived from these products.