This paper examines change in West African agricultural systems, the major challenges being faced by smallholders in the region and pathways for the future, given international pressure and domestic restraints. It aims to strengthen debate on West African agriculture, the role of family farms and trade policy at national, regional and global levels. It also aims to identify and document how agricultural patterns and livelihoods are evolving in different parts of the region, to identify winners and losers, to outline the impact of OECD trade and agricultural policy on farming livelihoods, and to highlight the opportunities for producer organisations to influence policy design and negotiations in partnership with diverse organisations and interests in West Africa.

Integrated pest management (IPM) emerged in Indonesia in the late 1980s as a reaction to the environmental and social consequences of the Green Revolution model of agriculture. A cooperative programme between the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Indonesian Government centred on farmer field schools (FFS) which are schools without walls. The FFS aimed to make farmers experts in their own fields, enabling them to replace their reliance on external inputs, such as pesticides, with endogenous skills, knowledge and resources. Over time the emphasis of the programme shifted towards community organisation, community planning and management of IPM, and became known as Community IPM (CIPM). This study assesses the extent to which Community IPM has been institutionalised in Java (Indonesia). The dynamics of institutionalising people centred and participatory processes were found to be closely dependent on the following mutually reinforcing factors: 1. Enabling national policy decisions by the State were complemented by farmer led attempts to contest and shape policies from below. 2. Actors with emancipatory values, attitudes and behaviours championed the cause of FFS/CIPM. 3. Farmer centred learning and critical education promoted ecological knowledge for sustainability, both among farmers and those who work with them. 4. Enabling organisations that emphasise farmers’ abilities, promote organisational learning and which are flexible in their structure and procedures. 5. The existence of safe spaces where farmers can get together, share problems and decide on action. Linking together these safe spaces and local groups into broader federations has helped farmers capture power back from centralised, top down agencies. 6. A context in which farmers have some control over funding decisions and allocations made by local, national or international funding bodies.

Agenda 21 called on all countries to develop and implement sustainable development strategies - a need focused on again by the preparatory process for the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

This book provides a unique set of case studies summarising recent developing country experiences of developing and implementing national sustainable development strategies (NSDSs). These are based directly on the work of country teams that facilitated multi-stakeholder dialogues on NSDSs.

Burkina Faso’s economy is based on agriculture, livestock, and forestry. Land is the mainstay of economic activity, particularly in rural areas, and it is a determining factor in the cohesion of rural communities and vital to the country’s development. Assured access to land is the first condition for encouraging increased productivity and investment in rural activities, which is why security of tenure has been one of the main concerns of those involved in development work over the last two decades. Adverse climatic conditions and increased human activity have reduced the cultivable land area, so pressure on land has become increasingly acute in many parts of the country. This paper looks at how to integrate land tenure issues into development policy and strategy by looking at the problems raised by changing approaches to development and examining the land tenure issues which may hinder more sustainable production.