For CORAF, training youth is not just a matter of preparing for the rising age of researchers or increasing unemployment, but a matter of enhancing the food system as a whole.
Sustainable Agriculture
2018 San Diego Food Tank Summit: Improving Food Sustainability Panel
In a food system that pushes cheap and fast food production, the impact on health, social justice, and climate change is unsustainable. Join our panelists at Food Tank’s San Diego Summit to discuss the true cost of food.
2018 Food Tank San Diego Summit: Science–Ag–Tech Connect
At the 2018 San Diego Food Tank Summit, Michelle Lerach, Josh Henretig, Ryland Engelhart, and more talk about the possibilities of science, agriculture, and technology for the future of sustainability.
The Growing Case for Returning to Cover Crops and Small Grains in the Midwest
While baby steps such as cover cropping are getting the Midwest closer to protecting their water and soil, more needs to be done to revive soil and water health.
World Soil Day: Soil Health is Key to Environmental and Human Health
“Land and soils constitute the foundation for sustainable agricultural development, essential ecosystem functions, and food security,” according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). “They are key to sustaining life on Earth.”
“Farming Is Who I Am”
Niman Ranch Farmer Tim Roseland is welcoming the next generation back to his farm, spreading his family’s tradition for sustainable and humane farming practices.
Controlling Food: An Excerpt from Nourished Planet
The control over food often signifies power over others. While women make up the majority of the agricultural labor force worldwide, they retain little control over their lives. With more resources, female farmers have the potential to regain this control while bringing millions out of hunger.
Who Will Feed the Future?
These farmers, photographed by world-renowned photographers, upend the dominant story that industrial agriculture—dependent on synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, pesticides, and drug cocktails in animal operations—is key to feeding a growing world population.
Aquaculture Improves the Livelihoods of Disabled Farmers in South Africa
INMED has received a grant from USAID for expanding its Adaptive Agriculture program. INMED will improve the livelihoods of farmers with disabilities through updating and installing aquaponics systems in Free State, South Africa.
Agricultural Intelligence: What AI Can Do for Smallholder Farmers
Farmers have always been natural data scientists, conducting experiments and collecting data in their fields. Now, with the advent of Big Data, there are new opportunities to create information systems like the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture that can make farming more efficient, profitable, and sustainable.
Farming the Cities: An Excerpt from Nourished Planet
The majority of the world’s population will live in urban areas in the next 30 years, making cities central to the future of food production. Urban farmers play a key role in the development of innovative agricultural methods.
Ditch the Discounts This Coffee Day
National Coffee Day in the United States is September 29. Choosing more sustainable options can support farmers and help drive demand for sustainable coffee. This year, Fairtrade America and Conservation International suggests celebrating coffee in a way that honors the people and the work that goes into it.
Re: Response to Fred Haberman on Making Organic Mainstream
“I was dismayed to read the article ‘Making Organic Mainstream.’ I am one of a group of old-time organic farmers who have been battling against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for allowing hydroponic, aquaponic, etc. to be certified ‘organic.'”
From Little Things, Big Things Come
Native Alaskans from the Sitka Tribe depend on weekly barge deliveries by sea for their food. Subsistence foods like salmon and herring roe are an integral part of their cultural tradition. Unfortunately, 60 percent of the Tribe are not able to consume as much traditional food as they want. Marine resources need to be managed more conservatively.
Making Organic Mainstream
Fred Haberman’s marketing agency and aquaponics farm have helped push organic into the mainstream, leading the way for a more transparent food system and, little-by-little, reducing our dependence on chemical agriculture.
Innovations in Climate Smart Agriculture offer South Asian Farmers Prosperity, Part 2
The challenges associated with food security in South Asia are exacerbated by long-term changes in average temperatures, precipitation, and climate variability. Adaptation to climate change is necessary to ensure food security and protect livelihoods of poor farmers.