Obtaining enough food for survival is a fundamental challenges in most of the developing countries. The livestock sector is of paramount importance to sustain the agrarian production, where mixed farming system is practiced. The possibility of increasing the consumption of animal protein in such countries requires an acceleration of the livestock's productivity. One of the most feasible solutions in this regard is to enhance the efficiency of livestock farmers where intervention of development projects play decisive role. This book presents a stringent analyses of such interventions on socio-economic and environmental aspects at households level. The major issue is to isolate the impact on innovation in smallholder peasants, food self-sufficiency, natural resource management, institutional development, gender equity and production efficiency due to such intervention, and its overall effect on the living standard of beneficiaries and other stakeholders of the community. Besides, spillover impact was considered in terms of physical changes due to combined effect of activities transferred into the periphery as percolation. A With-Without project evaluation approach was applied as a research methodology. The findings are based on the primary information collected through household survey. The collected cross sectional information was analyzed using descriptive statistics, econometric models and qualitative analyses. The empirical findings obtained from such analyses confirm a substantial contribution of a project intervention as long as the activities are institutionalized for the sustainability of the accrued benefit over time.

Mountain agriculture is a socially and culturally unique system, but also a regionally important economic sector. In a globalising world, it is clear that fertile areas on all continents will always be used to produce large quantities of agricultural products in order to feed the world and, increasingly, provide biomass as a source of energy. It is far less clear, however, how land use in steep and more peripheral regions will evolve. By definition, farmland in mountain areas is more difficult to work because of steep slopes and missing accessibility. Climate conditions and poor soil quality often add to these adverse conditions. Through overcoming limited views from one region only or from one discipline, this book intends to draw a first truly international perspective on the issue of mountain farming.

The Tanzanian coastal areas are socially, nutritionally, economically and environmentally important, yet they are vulnerable to both over-exploitation and degradation of their habitats. This book demonstrates the extent which various socio-economic dimensions of rural coastal households influence livelihood pathways, production efficiency and attitudes towards conservation initiatives.

This report aims to support impact evaluation in the energy sector by assessing what has been produced against what might be possible. It reviews 85 impact evaluations of energy interventions in developing countries, summarizes findings on outcomes, identifies evidence gaps, and proposes ways forward. A majority of studies has so far focused on rural electrification and improved cookstoves, while most investments are in power generation and transmission. After considering the body of evidence available, directions and approaches are proposed for future impact evaluations to best contribute new evidence regarding the sector.

This article reports on a cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted in 120 villages in rural Burkina Faso evaluating a multifaceted intervention (SELEVER) that seeks to increase poultry production by delivering training in conjunction with the strengthening of village-level institutions providing veterinary and credit services to poultry farmers. The intervention is evaluated in a sample of 1,080 households surveyed following two years of program implementation. Households exposed to the intervention significantly increase their use of poultry inputs (veterinary services, enhanced feeds, and deworming), and report more poultry sold and higher revenue; however, there is no evidence of an increase in profits. This evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that the return to inputs in the poultry market may not be sufficient to counterbalance the market costs of these inputs.

This book provides insights on innovative strategies to build resilient food systems in the wake of challenges posed by climate change. Providing food security to the growing population especially in developing countries without exacerbating the environment is a major challenge. Climate change is expected to reduce agricultural productivity, leading to a decline in overall food availability and significantly increasing the number of malnourished children in developing countries. Interventions for enhancing the adaptive capacity of farmers especially of small holders needs immediate impetus. The policy formulation and development programs must reorient in the wake of the new expectations and deliverables. This book comprises of sixteen chapters that discuss the trends in global agriculture development and food system. The book highlights different aspects of household food and nutritional security. The chapters covering diverse aspects address food system, rural and urban food chain, factors affecting their sustainability and short and long term solutions to make them climate resilient. Important issues having significant implications on climate change such as Waste management, Value chain, Agri-marketing, etc. are also covered. The book would be an important resource for researchers in food science, environmental sciences and agriculture. It would also be beneficial for students and future scientists working on sustainable agriculture and food security.