Smallholder farmers can benefit from partnerships with large organizations, but power dynamics can put them at a disadvantage. For centuries, life for smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia was relatively simple. They grew crops, kept the necessary amount to feed their families and then sold the rest at the local market. But these days, the […]
Climate-smart agriculture, including agroforestry and other diversified farming practices, is the future of farming. The world can no longer rely on monocultural, commercial practices to feed the two billion new mouths expected by 2050. While the world is facing a looming food shortage thanks to inadequately preparing for the extra two billion people expected to […]
In addition to addressing climate finance, one of the main topics discussed at the Global Landscapes Forum: The Investment Case was decoupling deforestation from supply chains. “The Paris Agreement is significant because it brought forward the aspiration of staying below 2 degrees Celsius and put forests in the text,” said Marco Albani, Director of the Tropical Forest Alliance […]
Originally published by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security. Current agricultural interventions will only deliver 21-40% of target, indicating need for transformative technical and policy options. The Paris Agreement, signed in 2016 by 177 countries and counting, indicates a global commitment to limiting climate change to 2°C. In parallel to […]
Soya: a hot commodity The soya industry is booming across the world. Since April 2011 the global production of soya has risen 35% in response to widespread demand for the hardy, protein-rich bean. It may come as a surprise to some that it is a common ingredient in chocolate and soap, in addition to its […]
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the centre of the world’s decades-long palm oil boom. Between them the two countries have planted more than 15 million hectares of oil palm, employ about 4 million workers, and produce 84% of the world’s palm oil. It is the biggest and fastest rural transformation the countries have seen. Palm […]
The recovery and acceleration of economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa since about 1995 has been widely recognised. But less is known about the extent to which this growth has led to improvements in welfare and poverty reduction in particular. In our recently published, open-access book, we attempt to provide a comprehensive assessment of growth and […]
Women make up approximately half of the world’s farmers, but there is massive inequity between male and female farmers—especially in the developing world. These inequities are most pronounced in terms of women lacking equal access to and control over productive resources. To address this ‘gender gap’ in agriculture, there are numerous NGOs, multilateral agencies, and […]
Brazil’s economy is teetering on the edge of collapse. The country’s political regime has been rocked by recent corruption scandals, and impeachment proceedings are encircling the nation’s leaders. And yet things couldn’t be much better for Brazil’s soybean farmers. At the beginning of the last decade, Brazil emerged as a major soybean exporter. Today, Brazil […]
Internationally traded agricultural commodities – such as soy, beef and oil palm – are a multi-billion-dollar segment of the global economy and play a key role in driving development across the tropics. But production of these commodities is often linked to heavy social and environmental impacts. This is the case for most of the Latin […]
Most of us would agree that human well-being depends to a large extent on healthy ecosystems and the services they provide. For example, fertile soil enables us to grow food crops, and nutrient cycling in watersheds is needed for water purification to ensure we have clean water to drink. But what role does biodiversity play […]
Australia’s agricultural lands help to feed about 60 million people worldwide, and also support tens of thousands of farmers as well as rural communities and industries. But a growing global population with a growing appetite is placing increasing demands on our agricultural land. At the same time, the climate is warming and in many places […]
E.F. Schumacher, an economist who founded Practical Action, wanted to help expand aid programs through technology. Fueled by the idea of developing and promoting appropriate technology to reach a greater segment of the underprivileged population of the world, he published an article in The Observer, on August 29, 1965 titled “How to help them help themselves.” […]
The rapid rise of interest and action in integrated landscape management in the last few years has exceeded anything I had anticipated. While the environmental community was earliest to recognize the necessity of coordinating strategies with other sectors, the agribusiness and food sectors are rapidly innovating towards landscape partnerships; farmer organizations are beginning to take […]
Written by Gabrielle Kissinger (Consultant, UNEP) with input from Ivo Mulder (REDD+ Economics Advisor, UNEP) and Johan Kieft (Green Economy Advisor, UNORCID) UN-REDD Programme This brief corresponds to the session: ‘Changing agricultural fiscal policies to stimulate sustainable economic growth, food production, and reduced deforestation‘ happening at the Global Landscapes Forum, 11.30 – 13.00, Sunday, 6 December, […]
