The tools of Big Data analytics have led to transformations in many sectors—from finance to politics to professional sports. What could these new approaches to data science do for agriculture? The new CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture is leading the way for these innovations in agricultural development, with over 8,000 researchers working to incorporate Big Data into farming research.
Researchers
New Report Provides Platform to Fix Broken Food Systems
We created the food system, so we must change it, according to Ruth Richardson, the Executive Director of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food. She discusses how new report can help facilitate this change while valuing ecosystem services.
The True Cost of Food: An Excerpt from Nourished Planet, Publishing in June 2018
Agriculture affects the environment, health, fair labor, employment, food security, and many other aspects of society. Nourished Planet explores new approaches like true cost accounting, to quantify the true cost of the food system as a way to catalyze change in the current system.
Revealing Food’s Hidden Costs: New Framework for Food and Agriculture
Culminating over a decade of research by dozens of experts, the TEEB for Agriculture & Food (TEEBAgriFood) Scientific and Economic Foundations report evaluates the impacts of the value chain, from farm to fork to disposal, including effects on livelihoods, the environment, and health.
Linking the Health of People with the Health of the Planet
Alexander Müller focuses on a holistic view of the food system and talks to us about how the full food system puzzle reveals the true cost of cheap food.
Maine Takes a Lesson from Japan in Scallop Farming
Coastal Enterprises Inc. aims to develop an economic market for sustainably farmed Maine scallops by modifying aquaculture model from Japan.
Can New Report Bring Transparency to the Food System?
Kavita Sharma talks about how a groundbreaking, new TEEBAgriFood Report helps create a more sustainable food system by shifting agriculture and food policy towards human, social and environmental health perspectives.
Combining Technologies for a Better Food System
Initially thought of as a tool for banking, blockchain technology has continued to develop and new research shows it can increase sustainability, efficiency, and transparency in the food system.
Enhancing Human and Planetary Health by Improving Agriculture
Dr. Harpinder Sandhu discusses the value of social, human, and natural capital in the agriculture and food systems and how the TEEBAgriFood report guides policymakers to a more sustainable food system.
The Bitter and Sweet: Dispatch from the 2018 World Cocoa Conference
The cocoa and chocolate sector convened at the World Cocoa Conference to discuss the future of the crop we love. Learn key insights on sustainability in the sector from conference moderator, Simran Sethi.
New Global Report Reveals Crucial Connections Between Food, the Environment, and Human Health
Renowned resource economist Dr. Anil Markandya discusses the methodologies used by TEEBAgriFood Report, and their role in addressing the challenges of monetizing non-economic aspects of the food and agriculture system.
Fusarium Wilt Disease Threatens Worldwide Banana Supply
Bananas are one of the world’s most popular fruits and more than 400 million people depend on banana crops for their livelihood. But a new strain of a destructive disease, Fusarium wilt, threatens the global banana supply.
Blockchain and Food: How the Food Industry Can Follow Finance
Initially thought of as a tool for banking, blockchain technology has continued to develop and new research shows it can increase sustainability, efficiency, and transparency in the food system.
Food and Beverage Sector Aims to Turn Climate Goals into Reality
Ceres’ new food and beverage sector report commends leadings companies on climate goals, but calls for bold plans across the sector in sustainability, water conservation, and human rights security.
“The Environment is our Economy”
Focusing on food waste, biodiversity, and externalities. Dr. Abdou Tenkouano discusses how the new TEEB AgriFood report optimizes all three.
Rebuilding Agricultural Subsidies from the Ground Up
Greater use of improved seed and fertilizer will not be enough for sustainable farming systems in Africa, according to new article on fertilizer subsidy programs.
Opinion: The Republican Farm Bill is as Broken as our Food System
As Congress battles over this year’s Farm Bill — the massive US$87 billion a year legislation dictating the nation’s food and farming policies — it’s critical we spend all this money wisely. As taxpayers and eaters, everyone has a stake in making sure this huge investment results in a healthier food system for the future.
Join the Young Champions of the Earth! Apply Now!
U.N. Environment Programme invites young adults with ideas for environmental sustainability to apply for 2018 Young Champions of the Earth award.
Leveraging Big Data for Women in Agricultural Development
Women play a critical role in agricultural development around the world while facing significant barriers from gender inequality. Researchers at CGIAR are working to dismantle these barriers, using the Platform for Big Data in Agriculture to incorporate new tools for data collection and big data analytics.
New Endowment To Help Sustain Organic Grain Research
Clif Bar & Company and the King Arthur Flour Company just announced a US$1.5 million endowment to sustain organic grains research at Washington State University’s Bread Lab.
