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Tuesday, July 28, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Food Systems
Renewed Hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz Threaten to Compound Global Supply Chain Costs
A continuation of hostilities within the Strait of Hormuz is once again threatening one of the world's most critical supply chain arteries, posing another wave of disruption which could choke the global energy, shipping and commodity markets. With roughly a quarter of global seaborne oil trade transiting through the Strait, alongside significant flows of liquefied natural gas and fertilizers, further constraints on commercial traffic could send new cost pressures cascading through supply chains that have yet to absorb the full effects of the earlier conflict.
How Farmers Are Learning About Restoring Soils and Scaling Agroecology in Kenya
At Yumbuni Village in Kenya’s Makueni County, farmers from Vihiga and Kakamega counties have travelled over 560 kilometres to join their colleagues in Kathonzweni Ward and see the progress of experiments being carried out on different homemade organic fertilisers and other farm inputs.
Why Pastoral Production Requires Regional Coordination, Harmonised Policy
At the 64th sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies (SB64) under the UNFCCC in Bonn, Germany, the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) underscored the importance of ethically and equitably incorporating indigenous values and knowledge and local knowledge systems such as pastoralism into climate policies and actions ahead of the 31st Conference of Parties on climate change (COP31).
Invasive Prickly Pear Turned into Food, Clean Energy Source
An international academic partnership is helping turn one of Laikipia County’s most destructive and invasive plants, the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia stricta), into a source of food security and clean energy while also helping end perennial resource conflict in the region.
Dry Monsoon in South Asia: Looming Fears of Agricultural Loss, Extreme Heat, and Disaster
Monsoon season in South Asia, including Nepal, is a period of frequent rainfall, extreme heat, and a busy time of the year for farmers. Most farmers in Nepal depend on monsoon rain to plant paddey, the main source of food.
Smart Farming Is Not the Future. It Is Already Here
Farmers today are producing food under pressures that would have been unimaginable to previous generations. Input costs are rising and supply chains are unreliable. Water is scarcer. Weather is less predictable. And for a growing number of farmers — in Sudan, in Ukraine, in Myanmar, in Gaza — the challenge is producing food at all, in the middle of active conflict. These are not marginal conditions. They describe the reality facing hundreds of millions of people who grow the food the world depends on.
The Forgotten Triumph of Rinderpest Eradication, and the Cost of Ignoring Its Lesson
Animal disease is no longer a distant concern for farmers and veterinarians alone. It is increasingly visible in household budgets: global egg prices surged more than 60% during recent bird flu outbreaks. In South Africa, foot-and-mouth disease pushed beef prices up by 34%. These are not isolated fluctuations in price. They are reminders that when prevention falls short, families, farmers and food systems all pay the price.
From Nets to Numbers: How Kenya’s Small-Scale Fishers Use Data to Save Their Ocean
As the afternoon sun casts a golden glow over Mukwiro village on Wasini Island on Kenya’s Indian Ocean South Coast, Mwanasiti Mwalola, 26 and Mzungu Mohammed Dhossa, 45, stand at the community fish landing site, carefully receiving baskets of freshly caught fish from returning fishers. A weighing scale hangs before them, with a pen and notebook in their hands; the two have one duty: to collect data on the stock being delivered by artisanal fishers.
In a Post-Aid World, Investing in Sustainable Livestock Farming Is an Investment in Global Stability
Smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia are likely to still be reeling from the fuel and fertilizer crisis caused by conflict in the Middle East when what forecasters expect to be a “super” El Niño arrives later this year.
In West Africa’s Benin, Women Make Centuries-Old Salt Production Methods Sustainable
It is barely noon, and a group of women sit near the beach on the outskirts of Djégbadji village, in West Africa’s Benin, sifting through mounds of salt harvested from the Gulf of Guinea’s ocean.
How AgricTech Cuts Labour for Zimbabwe’s Female Farmers
Long burdened by the labour-intensive nature of agriculture, Zimbabwe's female farmers are finding relief in new agritechnologies that significantly reduce the time they spend in the field.
India: How a Tool Bank Beats Poverty in Rural Maharashtra
Dharashiv is one of the poorest districts in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Located in the semi-arid region of Marathwada, it has no major river and is not blessed with good reservoirs.
New Geopolitics Threatens More Food Crises
Recent geopolitical trends threaten more food crises, especially in developing countries. A new IPES-Food report urges a strategy of ‘resilient self-reliance’, proposing available opportunities to improve equity, sustainability and solidarity.
Connecting the Dots: Quality Seed, Resilient Food Systems and Good Health
It is often said that the quality of seed determines the quality of the produce and, consequently, the sustainability of the entire agricultural value chain, influencing everything from crop yields to nutritional value.
The Iran War Exposes the Fragility of Our Fuel-Dependent Food System
Sharp surges in energy, fertilizer, and food prices triggered by the ongoing conflict in the Persian Gulf strikingly illustrate the deep interconnections between geopolitical conflict, food insecurity, and the fragility of fossil fuel–dependent food systems.
Field-Based Research Is a Lifeline for Zimbabwe’s Food Security
Agriculture sustains millions of people in Zimbabwe, serving as a vital source of both food and income. But climate-related pressures affecting land, crops, rainfall patterns, and increasing pest outbreaks are threatening smallholder farmers’ harvests, leaving them food insecure.
The GEF Leads Global Drive to Tackle Shipping Threat to Oceans
Under the warm waters off Tanzania’s Mafia Island, marine scientist Asha Mgeni hovers above a coral reef she has studied for years. Small fish dart through the currents. To most divers, the reef appears pristine. But Mgeni notices something unusual.
Food Systems and Policies Undermining Food Security
Transnational agribusinesses increasingly shape food policies worldwide. Claiming to best address recent food security concerns, they seek to profit more from innovations in food production, processing, and distribution.
Want to Feed the World? Invest in Food Systems
As the global target to eliminate hunger by 2030 is fast slipping out of reach, investing in how the world feeds itself is the only way to ensure progress.
Cleaning Up the Fields: Across Africa and Asia GEF is Helping Farmers Rewrite Their Pesticide Story
For decades, pesticides have been a quiet pillar of Malawi’s agriculture, guarding crops against pests, improving yields, and sustaining millions of livelihoods. But beneath this success story lay a troubling reality: weak regulation, unsafe handling practices, and growing threats to human health and the environment.
Famine in South Sudan Projected to Worsen Without Humanitarian Intervention
In 2026, the humanitarian situation in South Sudan has taken a considerable turn for the worse, with widespread food shortages, ongoing disruptions to food production systems, and rising rates of malnutrition affecting over half of the population. Compounded by the vast scale of needs and an overwhelming lack of access to basic services, humanitarian experts warn that nationwide levels of hunger are projected to worsen to catastrophic levels if urgent intervention is not secured.Next Page »
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