A maize plant is seen among other dried maize at a field in Hoopstad, a maize-producing district in the Free State province, South Africa. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Could ‘Resurrection’ Crops Survive Drought and Feed a Hungry Planet?
Could harnessing the power of "resurrection plants"—with the ability to survive severe water shortages for years—hold the secret to feeding a hungry planet? Jill Farrant, a biology professor at Cape Town University, hopes that by putting resurrection plants' survival skills into crops, making them drought-tolerant, the world's population could be better fed.

Breaking the Hunger Cycle for the Price of a Bus Ticket
About 300 million people globally still have an annual “hungry season” before the new crops are ready. In an attempt to get people to cities for work, researchers offered bursaries of about $11.50—enough for the return bus fare and a couple of days of food on arrival—and found that the proportion of families from which somebody went to the city rose from 36% to 58%, offering a solution to avoid hunger during the off season.

China Confronts Issue of How to Use Up Excess Corn Stocks
How do you solve a problem like China’s excess corn stocks? Use it to make translucent film for greenhouses is one answer, its most influential agricultural expert said, as Beijing casts about for ways to rid itself of unwanted stores of corn and other agricultural commodities built up in recent years.

One Bite-Sized Solution to Our Biggest Health Threats
In South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and the US, the ecological footprint of agriculture, poor land use, and subsidies contribute to carbon-intensive agriculture systems. Additionally, these nations’ high adoption of fast food, dominance of dietary sugar and short purchasing power for fresh foods contribute to low nutrition. Common policies drive both of these public challenges, suggesting common pathways for their collective mitigation.