A new legal study by University College London urges the European Commission “to take action and to block the proposed merger between Bayer and Monsanto, whether viewed through a narrow competition lens or a wider scope of social and environmental…
Category: Food & nutrition
Time to help young farmers now
Danielle Nierenberg A new report from the American National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) discusses the results of the 2017 National Young Farmer Survey. The number of American farmers is decreasing and their average age is increasing, as reported by the…
Peasants not food corporations feed the world
The latest edition of a report from ETC Group “Who Will Feed Us?” is a synthesis of research over several years which produces critical, much needed information to guide decision-make much-needed and agriculture. The report states that it is the…
IFAD looks at impact of dev projects on life in rural BD
Rome, 26 Nov – A delegation of member state representatives from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) begins a five-day working trip to Bangladesh today, with planned visits to IFAD-funded projects designed to increase incomes and improve living conditions…
Pesticides driving mass extinction in the Anthropocene
We are in the Anthropocene and likely experiencing the Earth’s sixth mass extinction, the first to be caused by humans. In 1962, Rachel Carson warned in her book, ‘Silent Spring’ that the decline of birds (primarily due to DDT exposure)…
For a healthy, safe, and sustainable thanksgiving holiday!
Dear Mostafa, Greetings from St. Louis, Missouri! As many of us travel this week to spend American Thanksgiving with our families and friends, let’s really be mindful of the amount of food we are wasting. Between Thanksgiving and the New…
BD experts for safe food production
Agriculture experts at a seminar in the city today underscored the need for ensuring safe food production by using the organic cultivation system. They said currently 87 countries across the globe are farming following the organic policy and standard.
Global food and health crisis vs big corporate interests
By Rosemary Mason and Colin Todhunter Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is the new director general of the World Health Organization (WHO). With a $4 billion annual budget, WHO’s decisions affect us all and its decisions also affect the bottom line…
Good to know (perhaps) that food Is being ‘nuclearised’
By Baher Kamal Rome, Nov 16 (IPS) – It might sound strange, very strange, but the news is that scientists and experts have been assuring, over and again, that using nuclear applications in agriculture –and thus in food production—are giving…
Food production shortfall one million tons
Untimely floods in Bangladesh have caused food production to drop by 943,000 tonnes in fiscal 2016-17, says the government. The figures by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics were revealed at a media briefing by Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Thursday.
Yemen: End blockade; avert famine
By Chandra Muzaffar The threat of mass famine in Yemen is as real as ever — in spite of the reopening of the port of Aden and the Wadea land crossing on the Saudi-Yemen border. This is not enough, according…
24 US farmer organizations aiming to hit Paris Deal goals
Danielle Nierenberg The international community will gather in the second week of November to evaluate the progress that the 196 signatory countries to the Paris Climate Agreement have made since 2015. This will be the first global meeting of the…
First ‘Robot Restaurant’ launched in Dhaka
Dhaka – The first Robot Restaurant open to the customers in Dhaka on Thursday. The restaurant located inside the Family World Convention Center at Asad Gate, Mirpur Road will use robots to serve food to customers, its management said on…
$82 million for Pak Poverty Graduation Program: IFAD
Rome, 14 Nov – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Government of Pakistan have signed an agreement today to improve livelihoods, living conditions and income-generating capacity for 320,000 poor rural households in Pakistan. The programme will be…
Climate change poses threat to food security in Pacific islands
By Razeena Raheem ROME, Nov 12 (IPS) – A high-level meeting of political leaders -– hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) -– sounded an ominous warning: that climate change poses an “alarming threat to food systems and food…
BD experts against indiscriminate groundwaer extraction
Rajshahi, Nov 13 – Water experts at a workshop here on Sunday called for stopping indiscriminate extraction of groundwater for lessening the gradually mounting pressure on it in the vast Barind area.
Recent floods to affect BD’s food production growth: FAO
A sequence of floods has dampened the outlook for Bangladesh, likely translating into a third successive season of little or negative food production growth, mainly rice, says FAO. Barring major setbacks, production recoveries could instead permit Bangladesh and Sri Lanka…
UN, aid groups warn of ‘starvation and death’ in Yemen
Sanaa, Nov 09 (AP/UNB) — The United Nations and more than 20 aid groups said Thursday that the Saudi-led coalition’s tightening of a blockade on war-torn Yemen could bring millions of people closer to “starvation and death.”
18 Veterans programs feeding the food movement
Danielle Nierenberg This Veterans Day, Food Tank brings you 18 initiatives from around the United States that are working to help veterans transition to healthy, productive civilian lives through farming and agriculture.
Five killed in quarrel over possession of water body
The violence that broke out on Thursday afternoon and continued for two hours also left more than 50 people injured, said Mithamoin police OC Alamgir Hossain
La Nina rains, winter to reduce global supply of natural rubber
Bangkok, Thailand – 8 November – The International Rubber Consortium (IRCo) — comprising representatives from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia — has forecast a reduction in the supply of natural rubber (NR) for the global market amidst strong sentiments for its…
Taka 13bn to help enhance income of farmers
Dhaka – The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday approved the “Smaller water resources development (2nd phase)” project involving an estimated cost of Tk 1,285.96 crore in a bid to boost agricultural production and thus increase incomes…
Why water, soap and toilets are keys to ending malnutrition
By Tim Wainwright London, Nov 6 (IPS) – I started work this morning feeling disillusioned. A report had hit my desk that painted a very bleak picture of the state of the world’s health – and for a moment I…
Short variety coconut plants yield 4 times higher
Dhaka, Nov 6 – The government has started distributing short and high-yielding coconut plants to farmers this exotic variety produces 200 nuts in a year as compared to the local variety yield of 50-60 nuts.
Food sovereignty of peasants needed to sustain agri-biodiversity
A new paper traces the roots of agricultural biodiversity, threats, benefits and how to sustain it. Agricultural biodiversity is the product of the dynamic management of species and ecosystems, especially by smaller-scale food providers, their families and communities, who have…
Organic soils store more carbon, cut emission from agriculture
Conventional agriculture is one of the main causes of the depletion of carbon in the soil and the increased presence of carbon in our atmosphere. The decline in soil organic matter (SOM) is of particular concern due to its key…
A sustainable food journey
by Clelia Daniel cdaniel@csr-asia.com and Janet Salem janet.salem@unep.org Do I need to be vegan to eat responsibly? Does my seabass come with a side of slavery? Do I need to finish my plate? On average, consumers take less than two…
Clean water, sanitation remains big challenge for Rohingyas
Dhaka, Oct 31 – The settlements for Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district are dangerously congested and overcrowded and the pressure on sources of clean drinking water and basic sanitation are enormous. Clean water, sanitation remain big challenges as Bangladesh copes…
The roots of exodus: What compels people to leave their homes?
By Baher Kamal Rome, Oct 30 (IPS) – Facts are facts, and one of them is that while everybody talks about the growing forced movement of people –be they migrants or refugees—decision-makers haven’t seriously acted on the root causes of…
Stopping child marriage forever
By Shahiduzzaman Dhaka, Bangladesh, Oct 30 (IPS) – The mother moved in like a tigress to save her cub. In 2015, when her 13-year-old daughter Shumi Akhter was about to be married off, Panna Begum pleaded with her husband, Dulal…