January 3, 2017

Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations

A Nepalese farmer breastfeeds her child before planting rice saplings in a rice paddy field during Asar Pandra festival in Bhaktapur. Rice is considered the main staple for Nepalese and is planted during the Nepali month of Asar, which usually lies between June and July, typically seen by locals as an auspicious month for planting rice. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

Breastfeeding Can Combat Climate Change
Combating the impact of climate change is one of the biggest issues facing the global development community. But one nutrition expert at UNICEF has suggested a major and sustainable contribution could come from an unexpected source: promoting breastfeeding.  

The Farmer Who Built Her Own Broadband
"I'm just a farmer's wife," says Christine Conder, modestly. But for 2,300 members of the rural communities of Lancashire she is also a revolutionary internet pioneer. Her DIY solution to a neighbor's internet connectivity problems in 2009 has evolved into B4RN, an internet service provider offering fast one gigabit per second broadband speeds.

App for All Seasons Could Dampen Effects of Climate Change in Mozambique
Mozambique generally has two seasons: wet and dry. When it rains, it can flood; when rainfall is scarce, crops dry up. Civil engineer Aline Okello saw how this pattern affected local farmers, who see their crops flooded year after year only to lose out again come the next big drought. So she decided to help.

Indian Firm Makes Carbon Capture Breakthrough
A breakthrough in the race to make useful products out of planet-heating CO2 emissions has been made in southern India. A plant at the industrial port of Tuticorin is capturing CO2 from its own coal-powered boiler and using it to make soda ash—aka baking powder.

About

The Global Food and Agriculture Program aims to inform the development of US policy on global agricultural development and food security by raising awareness and providing resources, information, and policy analysis to the US Administration, Congress, and interested experts and organizations.

The Global Food and Agriculture Program is housed within the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, an independent, nonpartisan organization that provides insight – and influences the public discourse – on critical global issues. The Council on Global Affairs convenes leading global voices and conducts independent research to bring clarity and offer solutions to challenges and opportunities across the globe. The Council is committed to engaging the public and raising global awareness of issues that transcend borders and transform how people, business, and governments engage the world.

Support for the Global Food and Agriculture Program is generously provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Blogroll

1,000 Days Blog, 1,000 Days

Africa Can End Poverty, World Bank

Agrilinks Blog

Bread Blog, Bread for the World

Can We Feed the World Blog, Agriculture for Impact

Concern Blogs, Concern Worldwide

Institute Insights, Bread for the World Institute

End Poverty in South Asia, World Bank

Global Development Blog, Center for Global Development

The Global Food Banking Network

Harvest 2050, Global Harvest Initiative

The Hunger and Undernutrition Blog, Humanitas Global Development

International Food Policy Research Institute News, IFPRI

International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center Blog, CIMMYT

ONE Blog, ONE Campaign

One Acre Fund Blog, One Acre Fund

Overseas Development Institute Blog, Overseas Development Institute

Oxfam America Blog, Oxfam America

Preventing Postharvest Loss, ADM Institute

Sense & Sustainability Blog, Sense & Sustainability

WFP USA Blog, World Food Program USA

Archive

Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations

Highlighting approaches, technologies, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance global food security. 


Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations

Highlighting approaches, technologies, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance global food security. 

Food Labels Natural and Unnatural

Food labels provide the public with important information about the qualities of the foods they buy and eat, but not all labels mean what you think they do. Recent polling finds that Americans have a poor understanding of the “natural” food label, complicated by the term’s lack of oversight. 

Syria's Hunger Pangs

World leaders must prioritize humanitarian food assistance for Syrian refugees.

Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations

Highlighting approaches, technologies, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance global food security. 

Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations

Highlighting approaches, technologies, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance global food security. 

Guest Commentary: Technology Can Feed the World

Dave Donnan, Oleg Kozyrenko, and Prakash Chandrasekar of A.T. Kearney detail technological innovations that are helping to improve agricultural efficiency in both developed and developing countries. 


Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations

Highlighting approaches, technologies, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance global food security. 

Agriculture, Education, and the Next Green Revolution

To feed a global population on track to hit 9 billion by 2050 agriculture must overcome huge challenges, but as investments in agricultural science remain low and science students are attracted to other fields of work, who will solve those challenges?  

Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations

Highlighting technologies, approaches, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance global food security. 


Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations

Highlighting technologies, approaches, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance global food security. 

Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations

Highlighting technologies, approaches, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance global food security.