Massive agriculture intensification is contributing to increased deforestation, water scarcity, soil depletion and the level of greenhouse gas emission, the United Nations warns.
To achieve sustainable development we must transform current agriculture and food systems, including by supporting smallholders and family farmers, reducing pesticide and chemical use, and improving land conservation …
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has proposed new investment strategies in Africa’s agriculture sector, which, if properly implemented, would effectively alter the market structures around the world in favour of the African farmers of major cash crops like tea, coffee, and cocoa.
AfDB Vice-President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery, …
Large agricultural harvests in some regions of the world are buoying global food supply conditions, but protracted fighting and unrest are increasing the ranks of the displaced and hungry elsewhere, according to the new edition of FAO’s Crop Prospects and Food Situation report.
Some 37 countries, 28 of which are in …
In science and medicine the terminology applied can be the difference between life and death, success and failure. Words have precise meanings, and a productive dialogue in the sciences requires adherence to a common set of mutually recognized terms. Shared meaning is like a verbal handshake that ensures a positive …
To find out why scientists are so optimistic about biofuel production in the developing world, SciDev.Net spoke with Glaucia Mendes Souza, researcher at the Chemistry Institute of the University of São Paulo.
Souza is also coordinator of the Bioenergy Research Program at the Brazilian research foundation FAPESP, and co-editor of …
Ghanaians are being urged to give Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) technology a chance as a possible tool for dealing with the country’s food security challenges.
International Plant Breeding Professor with US-based Cornell University, Sarah Evanega Davidson says Ghana stands a better chance of being food secure if the country does not …
“I believe in green energy, green agriculture, and a green economy. We can waste no more time, let us fight together for our planet, ” said French ambassador to Uganda, Ms. Stephanie Rivoal, while speaking on behalf of the European Union at the World Environment Day celebrations in Ibanda district …
The tea plant contains three billion base pairs of DNA, four times more than coffee or cacao. It took five years to unravel but the first high-quality map of the genome was published in May. Now it’s time to get to work coming up with practical applications of the tea …
Bananas are one of the most important staple crops of the tropics, transported with great care over great distances to satisfy the world’s appetite. And today, with more than half the world’s bananas coming from a single, Cavendish variety, they may increasingly become susceptible to funguses that threaten its livelihood, …
There is an increasing focus on science being linked to providing practical solutions to agricultural problems. There is also increasing awareness of technology, although the channels used for information and creating change in the way information is passed and understood by the receiver are poorly developed.
Biotechnology is no …