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Agriculture & Environment: Food security

Opinions

Here is a list of the latest articles

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Agriculture can adapt to climate change

Innovative agricultural technologies can produce crops that meet climate change challenges, says ICRISAT head William Dar.

20 November 2009 | EN

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Satellites can help monitor and manage African droughts

Kenyan MP and remote sensing expert, Wilbur Ottichilo, argues the time is ripe for using satellites to spot developing African droughts.

11 November 2009 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

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Global community must urgently tackle undernutrition

An editorial in The Lancet highlights the extent of undernutrition in the developing world and calls for urgent global action.

Source: The Lancet

4 November 2009 | EN

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Can GM food mitigate world hunger?

Six experts, writing in The New York Times, discuss options for ensuring food security in the face of growing populations and climate change.

Source: New York Times

28 October 2009 | EN | 中文

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CGIAR reforms make research decision-making distant

CGIAR reforms take research decisions too far away, says Hartmann, director-general of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

6 October 2009 | EN

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The forgotten farm labourer

Helping farm labourers access new technologies and knowledge should be a priority for policymakers, argues innovation expert Anil Gupta.

13 August 2009 | EN | 中文

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Research collaboration crucial to meet food demands

Agricultural researchers in the North and South must work together to help farmers boost crop yields, says agriculturalist Adel El-Beltagy.

Source: TWAS

13 August 2009 | EN

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Climate change brews up trouble for coffee growers

Governments need to regain control over their agriculture to combat climate change, says commodities specialist Peter Baker.

5 August 2009 | EN | 中文

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Africa needs agroforestry to cut forest emissions

Growing trees among crops could sustain both environments and livelihoods in Africa, say F.K. Akinnifesi, B. Muys and O.C. Ajayi.

8 July 2009 | EN | ES | FR

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US should focus foreign aid on food, health and water

The United States should boost funding for food, health and water, says Thomas R. Pickering, former US ambassador to the UN.

7 July 2009 | EN | 中文

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Agricultural genetics could help ensure food security

Translating genetics research is easier in agriculture than medicine, says a Nature Genetics editorial, and existing technologies can be used.

Source: Nature Genetics

4 June 2009 | EN

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Balancing the global need for meat

Worries that meat consumption is driving climate change should not be allowed to impact on farming in poor countries, says Carlos Sere.

Source: BBC Online

9 April 2009 | EN | 中文

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Better food safety crucial for Africa

Africa must improve food safety by investing in food production systems and staff, says Ruth Oniang'o.

Source: African Journal of Food Agriculture Nutrition and Development

19 March 2009 | EN

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Innovation alone is not enough to secure food supplies

Innovation will help feed the world in the twenty first century, but only with political will and social justice, argues Alex Evans.

Source: OurWorld 2.0

10 February 2009 | EN

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Agricultural R&D key to preventing food crises

Investing in agricultural research and development could cut food prices and lift millions of people out of poverty, says Joachim von Braun.

Source: Nature

17 December 2008 | EN

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African Union support crucial for agricultural progress

African nations must not only bring industry and activists to the table, but also follow up on their report, says an editorial in Nature.

Source: Nature

1 December 2008 | EN

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GM crops deserve more reasoned debate

Debates around the potential benefits of GM crops for developing countries must be reasoned and evidence-based, says Albert Weale.

16 October 2008 | EN | ES | 中文

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Answers to the food crisis

Three essays, published by the International Food Policy Research Institute, offer perspectives on the global food crisis.

Source: IFPRI

16 October 2008 | EN | 中文

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Voluntary co-operation can work on global problems

Voluntary collaboration between governments and international organisations can be an effective way to address global scientific issues, says Michael Williams.

Source: IISD/MEA Bulletin

15 September 2008 | EN

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Invest in water for farming, or the world will go hungry

Super crops won't be enough — the planet will run short of food by 2030 unless we invest to avoid an imminent world water crisis, says Colin Chartres.

10 July 2008 | EN | 中文