Blog for People, Food and Nature

On May 22, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) held their third annual Malthus Lecture in Washington, DC. Addressing the theory put forward by Thomas Malthus in the 19th century that eventually population is checked by famine and disease, this event strives to tackle an issue still relevant today […] ...

Climate-smart agriculture addresses the impacts of a changing climate on agriculture and presents solutions to both mitigate the contribution of agriculture to greenhouse gas emissions and to feed an ever-increasing global population. Particular practices, such as incorporating trees into farms, water capture technologies, inter-cropping, and integrated livestock-crop systems, ...

For the past few weeks we’ve been following organizations working in agriculture on the way to Rio+20. Last week, the blog highlighted the CGIAR Consortium‘s one stop shop for anything related to the research institutions and their activities in the lead-up to the UNCSD conference. And other organizations are producing reports and hosting side events. However, [&he ...

The reliance upon water for the many services ecosystems provide, forms the basis for a recent report published by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).  Releasing the Pressure: Water Resource Efficiencies and Gains for Ecosystem Services,  produced by researchers at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), argues for a broader approach to agricultural water manage ...

Challenges of food security, poverty, climate change, ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss have risen to the top of the African development agenda. To address these issues, African leaders are seeking to move beyond zero-sum strategies that solve one problem but exacerbate others. The Inaugural Summit for Sustainability in Africa this Thursday and Friday, convened by [&h ...

Global climate change is expected to increase temperatures, strain water resources, and exacerbate extreme weather events, threatening food supplies and putting those least able to cope at risk. The United Nations World Food Programme has developed a Hunger and Vulnerability Index to assist policy and decision makers target areas particularly under pressure, and devise interven ...

The UNCSD Rio+20 presents an unparalleled opportunity to further the goals of the Landscapes for People, Food and Nature Initiative – as poverty alleviation, food security, and environmental protection are all key themes of the meeting. With Rio+20 less than a month away, we are seeing many organizations expand their coverage of relevant activities, publications, and [&h ...

Conservation agriculture has been promoted as a means to increase water and nutrient efficiencies in semi-arid regions of African, through a suite of practices such as cover-cropping and no-till agriculture. However, adoption of conservation agriculture on the continent has been low. A recent article in the journal Field Crops Research explores the reasons behind this lack [&h ...

Tromping through rice fields in the dark felt like a surefire way to twist an ankle, but I was thrilled since the existence of these fields meant that our project was working. Verifying this was the purpose of my visit to Vohimary, a village on the edge of the Fandriana – Vondrozo protected area in […] ...

New Agriculturist‘s May issue of stories and news pieces focuses on “climate sustainable agriculture.” It looks at how within agriculture, productivity is being increase and farmers’ income improved, all while increasing resilience and mitigating the impacts of climate change. Below is a modified version of one of the articles, specifically focused on th ...