The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on Tuesday declared Bangladesh’s floating garden agricultural technology as globally important agricultural heritage site (GIAHS).
Category: Food & nutrition
Costs and benefits of agriculture
Danielle Nierenberg As climate leaders gather in Paris for the 21st Session of the Conference of Parties (COP21), farmers and food leaders are paying close attention to negotiations, which will determine how global environmental policy will continue to affect the…
How agroecology can transform agro-food system, nourish planet
A new book discusses how agroecology can nourish the world and transform the currently unsustainable agro-food system. The focus is on small-scale farmers who, all over the world, are prone to food insecurity, but who nevertheless feed more than 80%…
Agroecology in Africa addresses climate change, hunger, poverty
The Oakland Institute today released 33 case studies that shed light on the tremendous success of agroecological agriculture across the African continent in the face of climate change, hunger, and poverty. “Released just two weeks ahead of the COP21 Conference…
Waste-free thanksgiving
Danielle Nierenberg This week, Food Tank is grateful for the farmers, researchers, and activists who are working tirelessly to improve the food system every day. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), getting food onto Americans’ plates accounts for…
Demand a national food policy
Danielle Nierenberg The American food system is broken. Chronic diet-related diseases cost US$500 billion annually, and agriculture is the main source of water pollution in America. The Food and Drug Administration reports that 80 percent of all antibiotics are fed…
Vague results in harmonised plant variety protection questioned
Sangeeta Shashikant (London): A major issue at the upcoming meetings of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) will be whether there is a need for a centralized harmonized mechanism for the filing, examination and…
Contentious negotiations over farmers’ rights resolution
Geneva (Sangeeta Shashikant) — Negotiations on the Farmers’ Rights resolution became particularly contentious during the 6th meeting of the Governing Body of the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) when certain delegations such as Australia,…
Alfatoxins left by fungi lead to Malawi’s toxic harvest
Alina Paul Floods followed by drought have led to a 30 per cent reduction in Malawi’s maize harvest and left the country facing its most severe food crisis for over ten years. Between now and March, more than two million…
Pigeonpea ‘a life changer for Malawi’s drought-stricken farmers
Malawi-Hyderabad , India – ‘• Be it in India or Africa, there is the same problem of youth wanting to leave the farms and have other careers. Attracting youth to agriculture has become an issue on the government agenda in…
10,000 fishing boats sail into Bay after 15-day ban to save hilsa
Chittagong – After end of prohibition period over Hilsa fishing, about 700 fishing boats sailed for sea for fishing on first day on Saturday. The prohibition period ended at 12 midnight on Friday. Feringhee Bazar fish market sources said about…
Ending rogue fishing
Maria Damanaki , Yoriko Kawaguchi and Jane Lubchenco London – Seafood is by far the most highly traded commodity globally,feeding billions of people worldwide. Unfortunately, however, theindustry is plagued by illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing,which undermines conservation efforts and handicaps…
Fishermen jailed for catching Hilsha
Several mobile courts on Friday sentenced 15 fishermen to one year’s imprisonment and fined 17 others for catching hilsas in the Padma and Meghna rivers in Munshiganj and Chandpur districts defying the ongoing ban.
Zinc-enriched rice for food, nutrition security stressed
Enhanced cultivation of high yielding zinc-enriched rice can ensure food and nutrition security preventing deficiency of zinc, iron and vitamin-A for normal growth of children and increasing disease resistant capacity.Experts viewed this at a farmers’ field day organised by RDRS…
$460 million global investment in food tech, media space
Danielle Nierenberg The fall semester is in full swing and many students are enrolled in courses focused on food and agriculture. They realize that the food system is at a crossroads. Nearly a billion people suffer from hunger while at…
Giving a voice to the youth
Danielle Nierenberg Young people are the future of food security. By 2050, youth, ages 15-24, are expected to reach 1.4 billion, or 14 percent of the population. At Food Tank, we recognise youth as the next generation of food system…
Global consumption trends break new records
Worldwatch Institute’s Vital Signs exposes latest global peaks of production and consumption, as well as associated impacts Washington, D.C. – From coal to cars to coffee, consumption levels are breaking records. According to the Worldwatch Institute’s latest report, Vital Signs,…
What’s the true cost of food?
Danielle Nierenberg Conventional agriculture isn’t cheap. From the use of artificial fertilizer and pesticides to the obesity epidemic, our current food system has a number of hidden costs to the natural environment and human health, far outweighing the benefits of…
Khulna district expects to yield 2,24,417 tonnes of Aman
The southwestern Khulna has set a target of yielding 2,24,417 tonnes of Aman in the current year as plantation of two varieties of the major crop is underway in the district, agriculture officials said yesterday.“Transplantation of Aman seedling (Bree-23) or…
Local fruits disappearing fast in Narsingdi
Different varieties of local fruits are disappearing fast in the district due to adverse impact of climate change, use of agro-chemical in the ground and want of planning on production.Earlier, there were various indigenous fruits like Gab, Deowa, Kathbal, Safeda,…
Climate change shrinking Uganda’s lakes and fish
By Wambi Michael KAMPALA, Aug 22 2015 (IPS) – Climate change is reducing the size of several species of fish on lakes in Uganda and its neighbouring East African countries, with a negative impact on the livelihoods of millions people…
The real cost of food
Danielle Nierenberg There is no such thing as cheap food. Industrial agriculture is externalizing the environmental and health costs associated with food production. Worldwide, 75 billion tons of soil is lost every year, costing approximately US$400 billion per year, or…
Arum farming gains momentum in Rajshahi region
In the wake of gradually increasing demand and lucrative market price, cultivation of arum has brought smiles on the faces of farmers in Rajshahi region including its vast Barind tract as they are getting good profit by cultivating it on…
T-Aus paddy harvest completed in Gaibandha
Harvesting of T-Aus paddy of the current season has been completed in the district in the first week of the current month amid much enthusiasm.
Seeking truth in the food system
Danielle Nierenberg I grew up in a small, rural community in Missouri. As a young girl, I was encouraged to ask questions, seek more information, and probe for answers. I was taught to always tell the truth, even if it…
Protecting cows was Mughal way to rule Indian hearts: Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh said due to the efforts taken by BSF personnel, cattle smuggling to Bangladesh has come down. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said that even the Mughals understood that if they had to rule India, they could…
Amateur farmer grows Dragon fruits in Jhenidah
Amateur farmer Borhan Uddin (45) has courageously gone for cultivation dragon fruit in Kaligonj upazila of Jhenidah and made it monstrously popular among farmers and consumers level for its high commercial and nutritional values. Borhan Uddin services as a marketing…
Arum farming brings fortune for Jhenidah farmers
Jhenidah: Arum, locally known as ‘Latiraj’.The arum cultivation, a summer vegetable, has gained much popularity among the farmers of Ragunathpur Village in Kaligong upazila in Jhenidah district. Arum cultivation brings fortune for many farmers in the village.
Bubble desalination latest effort to boost crop growth
Ian Randall Researchers in Australia are seeking to build a prototype ‘Bubble-Greenhouse’ that could provide remote, arid places with a low-tech, low-maintenance way to turn salt water into fresh water to grow food. The engineers from Murdoch University, who published…
28 inspiring urban agriculture projects
Danielle Nierenberg Around 15 percent of the world’s food is now grown in urban areas. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), urban farms already supply food to about 700 million residents of cities, representing about a quarter…