Food & Agriculture

Q&A: Vote with your Fork for a World Free from Hunger

By Busani Bafana
A world free from hunger is possible but only if we change how we grow and eat food. And resetting the food system — including all aspects of production, processing, marketing, distribution and the consumption and nutrition of food — is key to securing a sustainable food future post COVID-19.

UN Warns of an Impending Famine With Millions in Danger of Starvation

By Thalif Deen
The numbers are staggering— as reflected in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which has triggered a new round of food shortages, famine and starvation.

Overcoming the Digital Gap and Food Insecurity: a Complementary Target

By Mario Lubetkin
Overcoming the digital gap to face food insecurity with the use of artificial intelligence practices in agriculture is part of a growing debate that seeks to simultaneously safeguard natural resources and address the difficulties generated by climate change and the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sustainable Measures Help Farmers Script a Positive Story Amid COVID-19 Uncertainty

By Stella Paul
As India continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic and a growing number of deaths, farmers here have been fighting a battle of their own against volatile pricing, uncertain demand and lack of access to the market. But in the midst of all this uncertainty, one farming couple in a village near Hyderabad are working towards a food-secure future for themselves using eco-friendly farming techniques.

CARE Offers Policies That Engender Success for Young People in Agribusiness

By Victor Manyong and Kanayo F. Nwanze
Often cited as Africa’s greatest asset, its youth are also among the most vulnerable and volatile. A large and growing population of talented young people has the potential to drive economic growth and well-being of societies across the continent but, as the African Development Bank warns, current conditions of severe unemployment are translating into poorer living conditions, higher flows of migration, and greater risks of conflict – in short, a social disaster in the making.

Does WFP Deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?

By Jan Lundius
On 10 December, representatives for the World Food Programme (WFP) will in Norway receive the Nobel Peace Prize at the Oslo City Hall. This is taking place while the COVID-19 pandemic is causing lock-downs and suffering all over world, limiting agricultural production and disrupting supply chains.

Farmers Will (Again) Feed the World

By Danielle Nierenberg
Wealthier countries struggling to contain the widening COVID-19 pandemic amid protests over lockdowns and restrictions risk ignoring an even greater danger out there – a looming global food emergency.

Redesigning Urban Markets Post-Covid

By Etta Madete and Carl Manlan
Across Africa, even in cities with relatively modern infrastructure, many shoppers prefer the informal markets. In our case, both our mothers preferred the fresh produce sold at informal markets by women from the rural areas.

WFP – ‘Focus on Starvation, Destabilisation and Migration to Avert a COVID-19 Global Food Crisis’

By Alison Kentish
Food security has become a priority in the Caribbean as COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions have hit the tourism-dependent region hard.

Growing Resilient Food Systems Post Covid Is Key for Africa

By Mavis Mavis Owureku-Asare
When it comes to food security, the challenge is not always about producing more - it’s also about quality: producing food that is wholesome and preserved safely.

The Path to Global Food Security

By Esther Ngumbi
This year, the Nobel Peace Prize recognised the inextricable link between hunger and conflict. With climate change as a further complicating factor, research, investment, and coordination with local farmers are critical for ensuring food security for all.

Using Traditional and Indigenous Food Resources to Combat Years of Successive Drought

By Busani Bafana
For Zimbabwean farmer Sinikiwe Sibanda, planting more sorghum and millet than maize has paid off. As the coronavirus pandemic has led to decreased incomes and increased food prices across the southern African nation -- it is estimated that more than 8 million Zimbabweans will need food aid until the next harvest season in March -- Sibanda's utilisation of traditional and indigenous food resources could provide a solution to food security here.

Can Agroecology Feed the World?

By Elena L. Pasquini
Producing food and ensuring nutrition security, protecting the environment and restoring biodiversity, building sustainable and fair food systems: That’s the promise of agroecology.

‘The Sahel – a Microcosm of Cascading Global Risks Converging in One Region’

By Samira Sadeque
The European Commission this week pledged $27.8 million in humanitarian support to the Sahel region as floods and the coronavirus pandemic exacerbate the stability in a region deeply in conflict. While the figure is less than 2 percent of the $2.4 billion that the United Nations has appealed for, Amnesty International researcher Ousmane Diallo told IPS that despite past donations from international development partners to Sahelian countries, the situation hasn’t improved over the years.

Food Security Bursts Onto the Global Agenda

By Mario Lubetkin
The month of October 2020 will be recalled as one of the most important moments in raising awareness about world food security, whether in the global debate or in the search for possible concrete solutions.

Why Food System Transformation Needs Water

By Dr. Mark Smith
The impact of Covid-19 on supply chains and food security has dealt a blow to the already faltering global development ambition of ending hunger.

NESFAS Partner Communities Celebrate World Food Day

By Damica M Mawlong
World Food Day, a day dedicated to tackle world hunger, is annually celebrated on October 16, 2020 globally. To commemorate this day, the North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS) along with its partner organisations — Society for Urban and Rural Empowerment (SURE) and North East Network (NEN), Nagaland — hosted several programmes across 27 communities in Meghalaya and Nagaland. It may be mentioned here that all government SOPs and measures were followed during the events.

Why a Zimbabwean Farming Project Failed: Lessons for Rural Innovation

Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa commit resources to promote agricultural innovations. This is based on the assumption that rural livelihoods are mainly agricultural and that the innovations will increase agricultural production and household income.

Q&A: Food Systems need to Mimic Nature

By Samira Sadeque
Despite the World Food Programme (WFP) being awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for its work in addressing global hunger, sustainable food systems expert Emile Frison believes a lot more needs to be done. This includes the rethinking of approaches to agricultural production, establishing deeper relationships between consumers and producers, and taking a wholistic approach towards socio-economic factors.

Food Citizenship: Innovative Partnerships for Healthy Food Systems

By Frank Mechielsen
Food is high on the political agenda. The need to make food systems more resilient to external shocks like climate change and Covid-19 is now well acknowledged among states and other actors. Green, healthy, and inclusive food systems should become the new normal. But to make this happen we need to reshape the entire food system, with citizens driving bottom-up innovations.

Working Animals’ Role in SDGs and Addressing Climate Change, Pandemic Crises

By Mike Baker and Roly Owers
As we prepare to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the  Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), it is time to recognise the role of working animals in livelihood systems, addressing climate change and in human health, which has been overlooked for too long. The Working Animal Alliance seeks to change this. 
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