Blog for People, Food and Nature

With agriculture a the primary user of freshwater worldwide, there is an abundance of stories on the hydrologic challenges farmers face and the creative ways with which they persevere. Water management is of prime importance to the Landscapes Initiative, as it often involves coordinating across spatial scales, across stakeholder groups, and across land use types. For [… ...

Photo credit: Bernard Keraita/IWMI As August progresses, issues related to the quantity and quality of water abound. Drought in the United States over the past couple of months have stirred questions on water scarcity, climate change, and crop production. During Rio+20, the Landscapes Blog reported on the United Nations-led Water Day, which brought some of […] ...

As the Blog moves through aspects of the agricultural supply chain, one important stakeholder group (and a good place to conclude the week) are those at the end of the chain, the consumers. Considering the global nature of the food system, a consumer’s behavior has implications beyond an individual’s immediate surroundings. Ensuring that there is […] ...

Yesterday, the Landscapes Blog covered a publication on standards and certifications relevant to soybean production in Brazil. Such eco-standards and certification systems have proliferated over the past two decades, with growing interest and recognition by consumers, producers, businesses, and investors. But are these certifications and standards actually achieving what they s ...

Soy production has grown substantially in recent years, as both a vital protein source and feed for livestock. As one of the major producers of soy, with nearly 25% of the world’s cultivated land in the crop, Brazil is a driving force in the global value chain. And because of this expansion, augmented attention on […] ...

Whether it’s a smallholder farm or industrial scale operation, the food industry and supply chain play a critical role in dictating the trajectory of agricultural development. Companies are recognizing the business case for sustainability – how land degradation, climate change, and poor use of natural resources poses a threat to the long-term viability of their [&he ...

Photo Credit: Neil Palmer/CIAT This week the Landscapes Blog has explored some of the recent work regarding agriculture and climate change, a critically important issue for both food security and the environment. Bearing in mind the integration of people’s livelihoods, food production, and environmental conservation stressed by the Landscapes Initiative, it is important ...

Yesterday’s blog post covered the topic of climate change adaptation. But agriculture also represents an important mitigation potential. A new report produced by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and EcoAgriculture Partners explores how climate funds to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can benefit smallholder farmers and ...

Like many other countries around the globe, the United States has experienced record-setting weather events this summer, with heat waves, severe storms, and the worst drought in decades. These weather extremes exemplify what climate scientists expect from climate change, and have already begun to observe in many parts of the world. Agriculture feels the impacts acutely [&helli ...

Climate change has been an underlying theme of many of the Landscapes Blog posts, as it is becoming an integral piece of agriculture discussions. But this week, the Blog is focusing specifically on some of the recent publications with particular significance for climate change, agriculture, and food security. The High Level Panel of Experts on […] ...