Farming in Practice

This publication is a section of the WHH position paper on rural development.

Agriculture performs a variety of roles. Besides food, it has to provide fodder and raw materials for construction, energetic or chemical purposes. Additionally, agriculture creates income, is a pillar of rural social life and cultural heritage and contributes to the conservation of natural resources. To be appropriate to the location, cultivation methods must be adapted to local environmental conditions, take the cultural context into account and be based on existing knowledge.

In developing countries, increasing and stabilising yields and income through sustainable and resilient agriculture is an important driver of rural development and poverty reduction. One of the key factors in overcoming hunger and poverty is for poor peasants to become farmers whose production is economically, ecologically and socially sustainable.