Skip Navigation

Agriculture & Environment: Farming practices

Opinions

Here is a list of the latest articles

Farmer in Mali

Agro-ecology methods are key to food security

Agro-ecology offers simple solutions and can align climate change with food security agendas, says UN adviser Olivier De Schutter.

Source: The Ecologist

20 December 2011 | EN

Smallholder farmer in Ethiopia

We have the tools to prevent another famine in Africa

Success stories show that food crises can be controlled with the right tools and agricultural policies, says Sam Dryden.

Source: The Globe and Mail

4 October 2011 | EN

Don't miss hotspots of agricultural innovation

Entrepreneurs are pioneering new modes of innovation to help poor farmers, and policymakers must support their creativity, says Andy Hall.

Source: OurWorld 2.0

24 August 2011 | EN

A worker tries to lift a weak cow from among the carcasses of drought-stricken livestock

Better grazing practices hold key to Kenyan droughts

The current drought in northern Kenya has deep roots in the current practices of pastoralists that need to be addressed, says conservationist David Western.

5 August 2011 | EN

Cassava

How to feed the world without destroying the planet

Combined strategies are needed to meet the world's rising demands for food without further damage to biodiversity, says Jason Clay.

Source: Nature

28 July 2011 | EN | 中文

Agave

Boosting bioenergy needn't sacrifice food security

Assessments of bioenergy must consider the potential benefits for rural development and food security, say Lee R. Lynd and Jeremy Woods.

Source: Nature

28 June 2011 | EN | 中文

Woman working in a rice field in Sichuan, China

We must learn from past agricultural successes

Past successes, such as the Green Revolution, can inform future priorities in agriculture, say David J. Spielman and Rajul Pandya-Lorch.

Source: China Dialogue

25 May 2011 | EN | 中文

Maize farmer, Malawi

Creating a climate for policy change in Malawi

A conflict between climate adaptation and food security policies shows we must create the right conditions for change, says Blessings Chinsinga.

19 May 2011 | EN | FR

Wheat showing stem rust symptoms

Fight against wheat rust needs sustained investment

Developing countries need help with crop surveillance and the development of strains resistant to wheat rust, say agricultural research leaders.

5 May 2011 | EN | 中文

Cassava root

Nigeria must press ahead with GM crops

Nigeria must pass a biosafety law so the country's farmers can reap the benefits of GM technology, says Ademola A. Adenle.

27 April 2011 | EN | FR

Maize

Conservation and agriculture must work together

We need a "new agriculture" and "new conservation" to feed the world's population and protect ecosystems, says Achim Steiner.

Source: New Scientist

19 April 2011 | EN

Nutrition should be a priority for agriculture

Development economist Lawrence Haddad argues that improving nutrition can, and should, be a central goal of agriculture.

23 December 2010 | EN | 中文

Plant biotech research from Flickr/CIAT by Neil Palmer

Farming in cities could help feed the world

With traditional food production under threat from climate change, we should switch from agriculture to cell culture, says Lucía Atehortúa.

2 December 2010 | EN | ES | 中文

Crops in Uganda

Plant clinics must take root in poor countries

Community-based plant clinics should be part of a health system for plants, say agriculture experts Solveig Danielsen and Frank Matsiko.

10 November 2010 | EN

Reality check for 'miracle' biofuel crop

The hardy jatropha tree as a biofuel source may not be the panacea for smallholders that some have claimed, say Miyuki Iiyama and James Onchieku.

27 October 2010 | EN

Farmers set up water pump for irrigation

Small-scale solutions key to water security

Small-scale water solutions are a key to increasing agricultural productivity in the face of climate change, says water expert David Molden.

15 September 2010 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

Farmer transplanting rice

Bringing agriculture and health back together

Agriculture and health experts must work together to tackle disease, poverty and malnutrition, says development expert Jeff Waage.

24 August 2010 | EN | 中文

Global network needed to monitor world's agriculture

A team of agriculture and environment experts, led by Jeffrey Sachs, call for a global network to monitor the world's farming systems.

Source: Nature

29 July 2010 | EN | 中文

Sorghum farmer in Burkina Faso

Drought-tolerance: a learning challenge for poor farmers

Drought-tolerant crops could improve food security — if researchers take downstream adoption challenges seriously, says Travis Lybbert.

14 July 2010 | EN

Feeding fish at a smallholding, Malawi

African aquaculture can flourish with support

If aquaculture is to help feed Africa's urbanising populations, we must support small and medium enterprises, says Malcolm Beveridge.

9 June 2010 | EN