Blog for People, Food and Nature

A recent article from Reuters news argues that there is no one-size-fits-all for a green agricultural revolution. What the climate editor, Laurie Goering, refers to as “myriad ‘green bullets'” resonates with the site-specificity promoted in an integrated agricultural landscape approach. What do these ‘green bullets’ include? Transitioning to crops ...

A newly released report by the U.N. Division for Sustainable Development, Food and Agriculture: The future of sustainability, provides strategic input to the “Sustainable Development in the 21st Century Report” to be launched at the Rio+20 Summit. On our current trajectory, severe disruptions to national and regional food systems are highly likely to happen – ...

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) Rio+20 takes place in less than two months, the 20-22 of June, in order to forge a future with reduced poverty, improved social equity, and enhanced environmental protection. With agriculture forming the basis of many developing countries, it will likely play an important role in the upcoming […] ...

Humans have been farming for thousands of years, and while the practices and tools have evolved significantly over that time period, some time-worn agricultural methods may prove invaluable in solving our modern-day dilemmas. A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explores how a specific pre-Columbian indigenous Amazonian agriculture ap ...

The international consortium of agricultural research facilities – the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) – recently launched their newest research program on Water, Land and Ecosystems. CRP5, as it is known, is devoting an initial US$75 million to research on how agricultural intensification can go hand-in-hand with the protection of ...

It’s all about the soil. And a recent Nature news article postures soil fertility as vital to food security and poverty alleviation in Africa. Soil in many parts of Africa is deficient in organic matter, as well as key nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous. Crop yields are the lowest in the world, and synthetic inputs […] ...

In support of a recent book published on Integrated Natural Resource Management in the Highlands of Eastern African, Ethiopian scientist Tilahun Amede discusses lessons from the working on natural resources management in the region. Dr. Amede, who has a joint appointment with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), ...

One of the challenges inherent in something as multi-faceted as the Landscapes for People, Food and Nature Initiative, is developing a common language for communicating the various messages and ideas around integrated landscape approaches. We began the discussion on this topic looking at the terminology surrounding “landscapes for people, food and nature.” The Lexic ...

What do trees, and goats have in common? Researchers at Cornell University are advocating for a move toward livestock grazing in woodlands. Through properly managed grazing rotations in forests, these silvopastoral systems have the potential to benefit the productivity of timber stands, provide shade and improved feed for livestock, and now qualifies for tax credits in New [& ...

A recent article from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) presents the complexity of the land use choice between multi-functional agro-ecosystems and agricultural intensification plus land preservation. Traditionally, there has been little or no middle ground between the dichotomous “land sharing” and “land sparing” camps. But this art ...