Indian state wins prize for showing 100 per cent organic “no longer a pipe dream”
Thomson Reuters Foundation India’s first fully organic state won top prize in a UN-backed award on Friday, with organisers saying its policies had helped more than 66,000 farmers, boosted tourism and set an example to other countries. The small Himalayan state of Sikkim on India’s border with Tibet was declared fully organic in 2016 after […]
Global $US500 million data drive aims to end hunger by boosting harvests
Thomson Reuters Foundation A $US500 million data drive aims to improve the harvests of hundreds of millions of farmers worldwide as rising hunger levels threaten a global goal to end hunger by 2030, organisations involved in the initiative said on Tuesday. Developing countries and donors launched the ’50 X 2030′ scheme on the sidelines of […]
World hunger levels rise for third year running, says UN report
Thomson Reuters Foundation World hunger rose in 2017 for a third consecutive year, fuelled by conflict and climate change, the United Nations warned on Tuesday, jeopardising a global goal to end the scourge by 2030. Hunger appears to be increasing in almost all of Africa and in South America, with 821 million people – one […]
With sensors and apps, young African coders compete to curb hunger
Thomson Reuters Foundation From an app to diagnose disease on Zambian farms to Tinder-style matchmaking for Senegalese land owners and young farmers, young coders have been finding solutions to hunger in the first Africa-wide hackathon on the issue. Eight teams competed in the hackathon, organised by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and a Rwandan […]
Crop-munching armyworm could threaten millions of farmers in Asia, says UN
Thomson Reuters Foundation A voracious crop-chomping pest which has wrought havoc in Africa could threaten millions of farmers in Asia, UN experts warned on Tuesday, as India battles the continent’s first reported infestation of fall armyworm. The pest – a moth which devours crops in the caterpillar stage of its lifecycle – prefers maize but […]
Moves to cut emissions could cause more hunger than climate change, study finds
Thomson Reuters Foundation Adopting some of the most stringent measures needed to curb climate change across all industries could cause hunger levels to rise by three times as much as global warming itself, according to a study released last week. Including agriculture in schemes such as a global carbon tax could put 78 million more […]
World’s fish consumption unsustainable, UN warns
Thomson Reuters Foundation A third of the world’s oceans are overfished and fish consumption is at an all-time high, raising fears over the sustainability of a key source of protein for millions around the world, the United Nations warned in a report on Monday. Overfishing is particularly bad in parts of the developing world where […]
Desert-fringed Middle East, North Africa put on new drought warning
Thomson Reuters Foundation With dusty desert sprawled across the region, Middle Eastern and north African nations must prepare better for drought as water shortages look set to worsen, the United Nations said on Friday. Over the past 40 years, droughts have become longer and more frequent in the region, where fresh water resources are among […]
REBOOTING FOOD: NEW WAYS TO FEED THE FUTURE, PART I
In part one of two part special report from Thomson Reuters Foundation, THIN LEI WIN looks at how new technologies, science and just alternative ways of thinking are helping to shape the food of the future…
Vatican and FAO call for increased action to tackle rights abuses in world’s fishing industry
The Vatican has joined with the UN Food and Agrriculture Organization in calling for intensified international action to stamp out human rights abuses, including the trafficking of people and use of forced labour, in the world’s fishing industry. At an event held to mark World Fisheries Day, the organisations also called for an increase in […]