Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture

Photo: Norwegian entrepreneur and project manager Osmund Ueland posing with some farmers at Masukanzi village in Iringa Tanzania. Credit: Kizito Makoye

Unlocking the Potential of Tanzania’s Smallholder Farmers

By Kizito Makoye

IRINGA, Tanzania (IDN) – When Osmund Ueland met a group of farmers to pitch his idea about starting a goat milk project at a village in Tanzania's southern highlands to help poor families improve nutrition and boost incomes, he elicited loud applause from the crowd.

Huddled in a dimly lit mud-walled house in wind-swept Masukanzi village, Kilolo district, Iringa region, local farmers unanimously approved the idea saying it was a good step to take for curbing malnutrition and fighting poverty.

: Kizito Makoye; THE WORLD; Africa; 06 March 2020

Photo: Desert Locusts in Kenya. Courtesy of FAO.

Kenya Makes Risky Bet on Pesticides to Eliminate Locust Swarm

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Desperate East African governments are weighing their options as farmers beg for the most deadly agro-chemicals in a last ditch effort against swarms of desert locusts which have already begun to eat into thousands of acres of pasture and farmland.

"This is the best time to kill them," said Mehari Tesfayohannes Ghebre, Information and Forecasting Officer for the Desert Locust Control Organization in East Africa. After Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, swarms are now reaching Uganda, Tanzania, and southern Sudan, while billions of eggs are maturing, promising the arrival of a devastating second wave.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 26 February 2020

Photo: Mijikenda Cultural Village meeting, Rabai, coastal Kenya. Credit: © Krystyna Swiderska

Protecting Indigenous Cultures for Saving Global Biodiversity

Viewpoint by Krystyna Swiderska*

COVENTRY (IDN) – Species are being lost at about a thousand times the natural rate of extinction. This is faster than at any other period in human history. Ecosystems – the vital systems on which all life depends – are being degraded across the globe.

This crisis of biodiversity loss is finally receiving some attention. But its connection to another loss – that of indigenous cultures – is rarely mentioned. From animals to insects and plants, biodiversity loss cannot be effectively addressed without tackling the rapid disappearance of indigenous cultures. The two are inextricably linked.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 17 February 2020

Photo: Dr. Agnes Kalibata, Rwanda's Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources from 2008 to 2014. Source: IFDC Website

How Agri-Business Corporations Influence UN Institutions

Viewpoint by Anuradha Mittal

The writer is the founder and executive director of the Oakland Institute.

SAN FRANCISCO (IDN) – As Dr. Agnes Kalibata arrived in Rome on February 10, 2020 to meet with Dr. QU Dongyu, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), her appointment as the UN Secretary-General Guterres' Special Envoy to the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit was rejected by over 175 civil society organizations from 83 countries.

By 2021, when the UN summit will take place, an estimated one billion people will be suffering from chronic undernourishment while climate crisis is already the defining issue of the century.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 16 February 2020

Image: Collage of pictures from UNCTAD and Deutsche Bank Research.

Trade Wars Threaten Food Security to the Detriment of the Poor

Viewpoint by Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, UNCTAD Secretary-General

GENEVA (IDN) – International trade has proven to be a critical mechanism for growth and development. It helps build stronger value chains, mitigate conflict and provides access to higher quality and quantities of goods and services.

It has also provided consumers with access to a more diversified and nutritious food basket. However, for trade to improve food security to the greatest number of people across the globe, greater international cooperation is necessary.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture; 24 January 2020

Photo: An olive tree planted in a schoolyard in the Marrakech region of Morocco. Credit: High Atlas Foundation.

Morocco Fails to Mobilize Rural Communities to Advance SDGs

Viewpoint by Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir

The writer is a sociologist and president of the High Atlas Foundation, a Moroccan-U.S. not-for-profit organization dedicated to sustainable development in Morocco.

MARRAKECH (IDN) – In recent years, Morocco has put in place the right frameworks for mobilizing rural communities to advance the nation’s Sustainable development Goals (SDGs), yet it falls woefully short when it comes to implementation. As someone who has been engaged in rural development in Morocco for the past 26 years, I have analyzed how these frameworks can work together and complement each other.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 January 2020

Photo: Children playing on the riverside in Naryn. Credit: Sehar Naz Janani

A Kyrgyz Activist Translates UNICEF Mandate into Action

By Sehar Naz Janani

NARYN, Kyrgyzstan (IDN) – His pale skin, teary eyes, shivering body and trembling voice added to the air of grave solemnity pervading the room.

Breaking the dead silence, his mouth slowly started murmuring, “I am an orphan… But, I have a sister… She beats me every now and then” and added, “She also abuses me emotionally. I could not take it anymore.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; CENTRAL ASIA; 09 December 2019

Photo: Farmers selling their vegetables and fruits from organic farming at a modest profit in the weekend market. Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne | IDN-INPS.

Grassroots Buddhism Flourishes in the Outskirts of Bangkok

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 37th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous articles.

BANGKOK (IDN) – On a Saturday morning a couple drives into the Santi Asoke community in the north-eastern outskirts of Bangkok, and walks into a large warehouse stacked with clothes, shoes, books, electrical goods, mobile phones, washing machines, furniture and other household items. The couple inspects a stack of clothes scattered on a mat, picks some up and puts it in a basket. It is then taken to a volunteer cashier, who weighs it and quotes a price.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 09 December 2019

Photo: A mother and her baby at the IDP Pissila campsite in Burkina Faso. Credit: WFP/Marwa Awad

The Humanitarian Emergency the World is Ignoring

By Kwame Buist

ROME (IDN) – Almost daily violent attacks in the Sahel nations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have displaced nearly one million people and caused emergency levels of malnutrition, the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.

“Conflict is moving forward and moving fast,” says Margot van der Velden, Director of WFP’s Emergencies Division, referring to the three countries, where it is estimated 20 million people are living in areas affected by conflict and 2.4 million people are in need of food assistance – a figure that could rise due to continued displacements.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Africa; 20 November 2019

Photo: Soil erosion is a major problem for Benin's farmers. Nuclear techniques help scientists find its exact causes, so that they can tackle erosion. Credit: E. Fulajtar | IAEA.

Two UN Agencies Reveal High Rate of Soil Erosion in Benin

By Emil Fulajtar and Joanne Liou*

VIENNA (IDN) – Harmless traces from nuclear testing more than half a century ago are helping researchers assess soil erosion rates. In Africa, about 65 percent of the continent's farmland is affected by erosion-induced losses of topsoil and soil nutrients, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Benin is among those countries severely impacted by soil erosion, which poses a major problem for economic development since agriculture represents approximately 35 percent of the country’s GDP and 80 percent of its export income. A recent study applied a nuclear technique to assess rates of soil erosion and support land conservation in Benin.