Caryl Levine and Ken Lee, co-founders and co-CEOs of Lotus Foods, talk about supporting smallholder rice farmers through promoting System of Rice Intensification.
Farmers
Women Are Champions of Farming Differently, Says Kivirist
“Women all across the food system are doing things differently,” says farmer, author, and entrepreneur, Lisa Kivirist, whose approach to agricultural learning gives women the tools and resources to forge their own paths collaboratively.
Scientists Use Technology to Resist Effects of Climate Change on Crops
Crop physiologists invest in research to develop climate resistant crops for smallholder farmers in the developing world. Sorghum and millet varieties that can withstand extreme climate conditions will reduce hunger and malnutrition.
Opinion | Can a 200 Year Old Farm Pivot from Cash Crops to Ancient Grains?
The Smiths have been growing corn and soybeans for nearly 200 years. With prices continuing to fall in 2015, they tried growing teff, an ancient grain from Ethiopia.
Opinion | A Conversation with Four Food Advocates Working to End Hunger and Create a Sustainable Food System
Four food advocates discuss their views on the state of our food system. They explore the relationship between class, race, and food access, investing in local farm programs, and young people’s hopeful role in sustainable agriculture.
Wise: We Won’t Feed the World By Giving Up on Small-Scale Farmers
Timothy A. Wise describes how agribusinesses highjack policy tables, while governments neglect the small-scale farmers with solutions to feed all.
“The farmer is literally hedging their bets” in Eastern and Southern Africa
Drought tolerant crops that deliver nutrition and income to farmers could bring more food security to the region. Dr. Moses Siambi from ICRISAT explains how relying on single, water-intensive crops during dry periods can be risky.
Celebrating A Diversity of Opinions Is Key to Collaboration, Says Erin Fitzgerald
To boost transparency in the agricultural industry, Erin Fitzgerald of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance calls upon people to learn more from farmers and the diversity of ways they tend to their land.
Opinion | Cambodian Agri-Tech Centre Provides Opportunities for Rural Youth
The Green Shoots Foundation discusses the mission of the Agro-Tech Center in educating and training youth in rural Cambodia.
A New Global Agriculture: Using Big Data to Bring Farmers Together
For centuries, farmers have been isolated—geographically, economically, technologically. Big Data has the potential to transform agriculture in the 21st century and create a new global commons for agricultural knowledge that could allow farmers from Missouri to Myanmar to learn from one another.
Stephanie Race: Preparing for Future Farming Hurdles Requires Multidisciplinary Data
The urgency to transform agricultural research and data into cutting-edge solutions for growers “is as if someone turned the volume up on the stereo,” says Stephanie Race of Crop Performance Ltd. and Earth Labs.
Opinion | Why We Need Organic for All?
Pesticides such as chlorpyrifos are linked to increased neurodevelopmental problems yet little is being done to protect farmworkers from pesticide exposure; which is hundreds of times greater levels of toxic pesticides than consumers’.
Rallying the Troops: Farmers Around the U.S. Head to Iowa to Call for Better Agricultural Policy
National farm organizations to gather on March 30 in Storm Lake, Iowa, to call for a Farmers Bill of Rights and policy to thwart further consolidation in the food system.
Opinion | A Farmer’s Transformation
A former tobacco farmer reflects on his transformation toward regenerative agriculture, influenced by a farmer-driven program that aims to feed the world while improving the health of the planet.
Confronting Gender Bias in Agriculture Takes Daily Work, Says Maiga of CORAF
Mariame Maiga of WECARD/CORAF talks about how confronting gender inequity in Africa is a daily obligation for anyone working in agricultural research and sustainable development.
Making Tropical Agriculture more Resilient and Sustainable
Small-scale farmers in the tropics face many challenges. However, Dr. Ruben Echeverría of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture remains hopeful.
To Save Future Food, Youth Deserve A Better System at SXSW
At South by Southwest, Food Tank’s panel featuring Haile Thomas, The HAPPY Org; Tony Hillery, Harlem Grown; and Regina Anderson, Food Recovery Network discussed the key to a better future food system: leaders of the future.
Climate change exacerbates the challenge of plant pests
The FAO predicts that the severity of the pest problem is only going to increase with Climate Change—calling for farmers’ to enhance their knowledge and skills to best manage pests and diseases of crops.
Re-introducing a Nutrition-Packed Berry in the Midwest
In Hartsburg, Missouri, Terry Durham created River Hills Harvest so elderberry growers throughout the Central United States could benefit from shared knowledge about sustainable growing practices and marketing.