Developing Countries Must ‘Double’ Food Production

Food production will have to increase by 70 percent to feed the expected world population of 9 billion by 2050, says a report released Monday by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Agricultural output in developing countries will have to double, the report says.

BIODIVERSITY: Watching Over the Future

Her husband died last year, but "he will be forever a guardian of biodiversity."

BIODIVERSITY: ‘Culture Integral to Agriculture’

Biodiversity in agriculture is about culture. Traditional knowledge and culture are as important as research and investment, say farmers, researchers and academics gathered in Rome for the International Day for Biodiversity on Saturday.

Q&A: Equality Is Feminism

"I think that Islam has been misinterpreted. No Islamic law says violate women's rights and repress women," says Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. "Democracy, human rights and women leadership are absolutely not hostile to the Islamic doctrine." And women in Iran are well aware of that, she says.

RIGHTS: Burmese Rape Survivors Speak Out

"Seven Burmese military soldiers attacked me and three of my friends," said Chang Chang, from the northern Kachin State of Burma.

EUROPE: Violence Comes Home

Development does not protect women. The number of women physically and psychologically abused at home is at alarming levels across Europe.

Q&A: Gender Missing in Climate Agreements

Women are known to be innovators when it comes to responding to climate change. The question is how to ensure that the role of women and gender equality are reflected in climate change agreements.

DEVELOPMENT: Farmers Not Invited to Food Summit?

World farmers are not part of the official delegations at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) food summit on food security that opened here Monday. But they came anyhow to express their views, since, they say, it is their communities that are most impacted by the food crisis.

ITALY-LIBYA: Migrants Returned To Face Abuse

"They beat us. They beat everyone, men and women. They usually beat us in the same room where we were kept. But they took some people out of the room. Not me, but they took other women out of the room."

RIGHTS-ITALY: Trafficking From Nigeria Rises Sharply

An alarming rise has been recorded in the number of Nigerian girls trafficked to Italy.

Q&A: Agriculture Can Lead Poverty Reduction

Agriculture is vital to the economies of West and Central African countries, but poverty remains a reality in the region's rural areas.

Q&A: ‘Farmers Can Gain From Crisis’

The financial crisis could actually boost agriculture in Latin America, Josefina Stubbs, director of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) division for Latin America and the Caribbean tells IPS in an interview.

G8: ‘Just Invest in Women’

Investment in the health and the rights of girls and women can help economic recovery, civil society groups are telling G8 leaders.

G8: Not Everyone Is Following the Leaders

Many civil society organisations are staying on in Sardinia island in support of a region severely affected by the economic crisis, after the G8 leaders summit was moved from there to the city of L'Aquila.

Q&A: ‘Biodiversity Is Essential Ingredient in Agriculture’

The promotion of biodiversity in agriculture needs political backing, Emile Frison, Bioversity International Director-General tells IPS in an interview. This kind of biodiversity can provide food security and promote health, he says.

Q&A: 'Variety Can Protect Against Famine'

How many varieties of date palm or melon exist? And why should we care? IPS spoke to three 'Guardians of Diversity' so named by Bioversity International for their contribution to conservation.

DEVELOPMENT: Think of the Women Farmers

The new president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development takes over at a time when women farmers are becoming a growing force - without a growing voice.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: For a People’s Fight Against Organised Crime

Civil society groups are looking to the World Social Forum this year to strengthen their campaign for justice in the face of organised crime.

DEVELOPMENT: 40 Million More Go Hungry

Rising prices have plunged an additional 40 million people below the hunger threshold this year, a new FAO report says.

Q&A: Urgent Seeds for Haiti

The participation of the most vulnerable people is essential for Haiti's development programmes, says Kanayo Nwanze, vice president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which this year earmarked 10.2 million dollars for aid to help the poorest country of the Americas survive the current food crisis.

Urgent Seeds for Haiti

Haiti's food security requires the availability of seeds and improvements in harvests and irrigation, asserts IFAD vice-president Kanayo Nwanze in this Tierramérica interview.