News
In new hostile climate, drought-tolerant crops, systems needed on unprecedented scale
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Source: SciDev.Net (12 Mar 2020)
Agricultural science offers solutions to deal with consequences of extreme weather.
Africa’s devastating locust outbreak exposes need for crop science on all fronts
Nutrition, health and food security
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation (9 Mar 2020)
Effective pest management is the responsibility of farmers and scientists.
For a food system at risk, women are key yet often overlooked
Gender equality, youth and social inclusion
Our climate change-ravaged food systems cannot wait for the gradual progress of gender quality.
Equal and climate-smart
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Women in Malawi are inspiring the next generation of smallholder farmers to adopt climate-smart technologies.
Why heirloom tortillas are an endangered species
Environmental health and biodiversity
Source: Maclean's (6 Mar 2020)
Preserving ancient maize landraces in Mexico is key for biodiversity, food security and future sustainability.
Four ways of strengthening gender equality in the agricultural sector in the MENA region
Gender equality, youth and social inclusion
Experts note that policies alone are not enough — they need to go hand in hand with strong initiatives to make agriculture a safer, more equal and respectful space for both women and men.
With 30,000 surveys, researchers build the go-to dataset for smallholder farms
Innovations
Source: Phys.org (3 Mar 2020)
Survey tool can help farmers face challenges of climate change, food security, nutrition, farm productivity and social inclusion.
What will be the new face of European agriculture in the coming years?
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Source: EuroNews (2 Mar 2020)
Rising temperatures pose risk for agriculture in Europe — but adaptation is under way with the help of climate data.
Spraying locusts before they can fly key for effective control
Stephen Njoka and Hugo de Groote share insights on the current locust invasion, effective control measures and how we can prepare for future outbreaks.
Pests and diseases and climate change: Is there a connection?
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Although farmers have been battling pests and diseases since the dawn of agriculture, experts warn that climate change could accelerate or expand their spread.
New publication: Scaling agricultural mechanization services in smallholder farming systems
Innovations
Study shows service provider models in Africa, Latin America and South Asia increase smallholder access to agricultural machinery, but can remain dependent on projects to tackle major bottlenecks for scaling.
Biofortified Crop Project Reaches Refugees in Zambia
Capacity development
Source: Inter Press Service (27 Feb 2020)
Refugees receive technical assistance, nutrition education and training on growing biofortified maize.
Advancing Nutritious Food Crops: The Role of the Public Sector
Nutrition, health and food security
Source: Outlook India (25 Feb 2020)
Harvest Plus supports cross-sector alliances to advance biofortified crops in India.
Smartphones drive data collection revolution, boost climate-smart agriculture in Bangladesh
Climate adaptation and mitigation
For the first time widespread monitoring examines how farmers are coping with climate stresses.
Global climate frameworks miss the ‘big picture’ on food
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Source: Thomson Reuters (18 Feb 2020)
Schemes may fall short of ambitions by dealing separately with food production, supply and consumption.