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Research in Real Time
Dear Naresh,
Since
2009, Nourishing the Planet has been informing our readers about
innovations in sustainable agriculture that are working to help
alleviate hunger and poverty, while protecting the environment.
Our
audience continues to expand and now reaches several thousand farmers,
researchers, policymakers, and activists around the world. We are
constantly trying to improve our website and want to hear back from
you.
What
do you like about Nourishing the Planet? What posts do you look forward
to? What suggestions do you have on topics that we should cover?
Please feel free to email me your comments and ideas. I look forward to hearing from you!
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All the best,
Danielle Nierenberg
Nourishing the Planet Project Director
Worldwatch Institute
Here are some highlights from the week:
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The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the European Commission have
announced a €5.3 million (approximately US$7 million)
three-year project to promote "climate-smart" approaches to
agriculture. FAO says that "climate-smart" agriculture
"sustainably increases productivity, resilience (adaptation), [and]
reduces/removes greenhouse gases (mitigation) while enhancing the
achievement of national food security and development goals."FAO reports
that crop agriculture is responsible for 14 percent of
global greenhouse gas emissions. Efforts, therefore, will need to be
aimed at both improving livelihoods of farmers and improving food
access, as well as reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.
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Last
week, PBS NewsHour featured the One Acre Fund and their work helping
small farmers in East Africa. The organization supports farmers by
providing them with credit, good-quality seeds and fertilizer, and
insurance. The report on the One Acre Fund is part of the Food for 9
Billion project, which looks at the challenge of feeding the world in a
time of social and environmental change.
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As part of its THRIVE campaign, the grassroots organization The One Campaign has released a report, FOOD. FARMING. FUTURE. Breaking the Cycle of Malnutrition and Poverty.
The report points out that reactive measures, such as early warning
systems, safety net programs, and coordinated humanitarian responses,
have not been enough to prevent the food crises and famines that result
from drought and national disasters. A more preventative approach,
beginning with increased investment in agriculture-and the financial and
infrastructure systems that support it-is needed to increase incomes
and eradicate food security.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
plans to fully implement a high-speed poultry production model that
allows industry and private companies to take over inspection at poultry
production plants. The model includes cutting 1,000 USDA poultry
inspection employees and replacing them with plant inspectors who have
to examine 165-200 birds per minute (bpm), from the original 140 bpm.
That's the inspection of more than three chickens per second. The
program could pose a serious health risk by allowing a greater chance
for contaminated meat to reach consumers.
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On April 5th, the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of International Studies (SAIS)
hosted a discussion on hunger and food production with Bloomberg's Alan
Bjerga and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' Roger Thurow. Both
journalists stressed that for smallholder farmers to be able to increase
their yields, they need access to inputs and training. Inputs,
including seed, fertilizer, storage, financing, crop insurance, and
education can all make a dramatic difference in crop production and
farmer livelihoods.
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In
thisCitywatch post, food policy analyst Wayne Roberts discusses the
importance of policies that stimulate resource conservation and the need
for a "resource revolution" for better economic and environmental
health. "Imagine how long a city citizen to-do list could be if it
incorporated such personal measures as increase composting or backyard
gardening or reduce meat-intensive diets (which require half the grains
grown in the world). Such measures of resource productivity not only
save money; they also boost personal and environmental health," says
Roberts.
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Nourishing
the Planet received some exciting press coverage this past week. Our
research on land grabs was featured in Colombia's Semana Magazine while our research on global livestock production was featured in Barron's.
And our article on how agriculture can help address some of our most
pressing social and environmental challenges, including hunger and
climate change, was published in the Harvard International Review.
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