Ahmad Abed al-Aal carries his four-year-old family rooster in the southern Lebanese village of Halta. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi

GM 'Surrogate Hens' Could Lay Eggs of Rare Chicken Breeds, Scientists Say
In a radical plan to preserve rare varieties of chickens, scientists at the University of Edinburgh have bred GM chickens designed to act as surrogates that would be capable of laying eggs from any rare breed. The scientists’ ultimate goal is to create a “Frozen Aviary”—a gene bank of chicken breeds preserved for posterity.

Cucumber Seeds and Beekeeping Kits: The New Ways to Fight Famine
Emergency aid for Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria, and South Sudan means far more than just sacks of grain being trucked out to remote areas. The material being delivered today includes highly nutritious “super cereals,” seeds and tools for fishermen and farmers, boat engines, irrigation pipes, and beekeeping kits. Non-food aid, too, is increasingly prominent, with cash transfers delivered via credit cards for use in local markets.

China's Massive Farming Potential Could Be Unlocked by Mortgages
Here's one way to unleash the economic potential of rural China: implement reforms that encourage farmers to take out mortgages. Doing so would offer the nation's near 900 million rural residents a new channel to raise capital to fund innovation and entrepreneurship, according to new Paulson Institute report. That's because land use rights are a main constraint to farmers getting credit—even after major reforms since 2003.

Importance of Tracking Global Food System Sustainability
How can we achieve environmental and climate goals without compromising current and future food needs? The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Food Sustainability Index is a tool to help answer this question. By assessing important dimensions of the food system—nutrition, sustainable agriculture, and food loss and waste—it gives stakeholders information about the strengths and weaknesses of their country’s food system.