In other news…

Actions to create resilient and sustainable food systems in Africa to increase food security and incomes, underpinned discussions at this year’s Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRF) Summit. Held in Kenya, a record number of scientists, farmers, government officials and heads of development organizations attended the summit to engage in sessions around the future of Africa’s agri-food systems. Coming just weeks before the UN Food Systems Summit on 23rd September, prominent speakers highlighted the critical importance of Africa in The post Building Sustainable and Resilient Agri-Food Systems Tops Agenda at AGRF Summit appeared first on Farming First.

2021 Recipient of the Borlaug Field Award announced! Dr. Elliott Dossou-Yovo, a scientist and agriculture specialist who has spearheaded innovative water management systems for resilient rice production, has today been announced as the 2021 Recipient of the Norman E. Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application. Dr. Dossou-Yovo’s ground-breaking research and close collaboration with smallholder farmers has empowered thousands of rice farmers throughout West Africa to use climate-smart cultivation techniques to earn greater incomes, achieve food and nutrition security, and The post AfricaRice Scientist Wins 2021 Borlaug Field Award for Work in Water Management for Resilient Rice Production appeared first on Farming First.

Matthew Reynolds, Jeffrey L. Rosichan and Leon Broers write that failure to collaborate will ultimately result in unsustainable food systems, which not only renders seed companies obsolete but threatens a prerequisite of civilization: food security. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed vast inequalities when it comes to food security. But there is an even larger and more concerning crisis waiting for us: global food shortages caused by climate change. Nobody knows when or how hard it will hit, but we inch The post Seed Giants Must Collaborate or Be Dwarfed By Threat of Climate Change appeared first on Farming First.

Tenin Fatimata Dicko, Financial Sector Specialist at the World Bank, explores how increasing access to financial services can support smallholders and bolster development. Agriculture remains the backbone of the economy in developing countries. It has an average contribution to GDP between 25–50 per cent, and it is a source of employment for more than 70 per cent of the population. On top of that, the sector is up to 3.2 times more effective in reducing the number of poor people The post A Financial Dilemma Threatening our Plates and Stomachs appeared first on Farming First.

World hunger and malnutrition levels increased last year, according to the recently published 2021 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report.  The report, entitled “Transforming food systems for food security, improved nutrition and affordable healthy diets for all’, offers the first global assessment of food insecurity since the Covid-19 pandemic and warns that hunger was spreading around the world before the pandemic. Other causes of food insecurity include conflict, climate variability, economic downturns and the unaffordability of The post 2021 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World appeared first on Farming First.

Howarth Bouis, HarvestPlus Founding Director and World Food Prize Laureate The recent approval in the Philippines of Golden Rice, a variety enriched with pro-vitamin A, adds another long-awaited tool for treating vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). Carefully controlled scientific studies in the 1980’s showed that death rates among 1-5 year olds, could be lowered by an astonishing average of 24% through administration of high dose vitamin A capsules once every six months. Since the The post More Health-Giving, Life-Saving Vitamins and Minerals Through Modern Agricultural Techniques Applied To Food Staples appeared first on Farming First.

The UN Food Systems Summit Secretariat has published a synthesis report based on insights from more than 100 Independent Dialogues featuring 10,000 participants globally.  Included in the review were the takeaways from the Farming First Independent Summit Dialogue which was hosted this past spring focusing on discussing the needs of farmers in future food systems.  Released ahead of its Pre-Summit taking place from 26–28 July, the synthesis report found 10 common criteria for successful food systems transformation: Transform food systems The post UN Food Systems Summit Publishes its Independent Dialogues Synthesis Report appeared first on Farming First.

Dorine Odongo, Communications Manager at African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), outlines the importance of ensuring the representation of women in science to strengthen research and innovation in our food systems. Science has been at the forefront of public consciousness for the past 12 months, as a result of the global Covid-19 crisis and the race to develop an effective vaccine. Although we cannot immunise against the food insecurity and malnutrition that the pandemic has exacerbated around the The post Equitable Food Systems Need Equitable Science appeared first on Farming First.

Mathieu Denis and Lizzie Sayer, Science Director and Senior Communications Officer at the International Science Council, outline the importance of ensuring inclusive resilience in our food systems as the world sets out to build back better. Around seven million children in West Africa currently benefit from school feeding programmes, and for many of them, this food makes up an important part of their diet. When schools across the region closed for lockdown, family food supplies in the most vulnerable households The post Efficiency Must Go Hand-in-Hand with Equity to Build Resilient Food Systems appeared first on Farming First.

Didier Coulomb, Director General of the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), investigates the potential of an extended cold chain in the Global South to help strengthen food security, health and livelihoods, while protecting the planet. Refrigeration extends the shelf life of food products, and thus prevents losses throughout the supply chain – from the producer to the consumer via its use in transport, storage and marketing. It is a key element of global food security which also has an impact The post Harnessing an Expanded Cold Chain to Safeguard Food Security and Strengthen Livelihoods appeared first on Farming First.