A South Sudanese child herds cows at dusk in Abyei town, in the area of Abyei that straddles the border between Sudan and South Sudan. REUTERS/Andreea Campeanu
Three Ways Extension Services Can Engage and Empower Rural Youth
Rural youth form a substantial share of the population within developing countries and face high unemployment rates. Engaging youth in agricultural activities is a commonly cited solution, but making this work has remained elusive. Rural youth in many developing countries are facing significant challenges finding farming-related work. Filling the gap will require building the capacity of youth and more effectively linking them to information, technologies, improved practices, land and finance.
Scientists Try to Fight Crop Damage with an Invasive Moth's Own DNA
Cabbage has been under constant threat for decades, along with broccoli, kale, and other related leafy greens. The danger? A tiny insect called the diamondback moth, an invasive marauder that has spread across the world and mutated to become immune to new chemical pesticides designed to slay it. To curb the billions of dollars of damage caused annually by this moth’s larvae, scientists in New York are trying to turn the critter's own DNA against it.
How Food Waste Could Fuel Your Car
We know that food waste is a major problem. According to the UN FAO, about 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted annually. In the US, this food waste builds up in landfills and releases methane, which is roughly thirty times worse for our environment than carbon dioxide. Many creative solutions have been devised to combat the food waste issue—some clever companies are turning food waste into booze and into new foods—while new paper has highlighted another use: Turning organic waste into a fuel source.
A New Kind of Packaging Cuts Food Waste, Replaces Plastic, and – If You're Still Hungry – You Can Eat It
It seems like all our food comes wrapped in multiple layers of plastic. Some of that packaging ends up in the ocean, where it harms the ecosystem and marine life. But newly developed packaging breaks down in water, and preserves food better than plastic. You can even eat it, if you like. A USDA recently created this new packaging from milk proteins, and they expect some form of it to be on store shelves in three years.
The World Could Run out of Food Two Decades Earlier Than Thought
By 2027 the world could be facing a 214 trillion calorie deficit, says Sara Menker, founder and chief executive of Gro Intelligence, an agricultural data technology company. In other words, in just a decade, we won’t have enough food to feed the planet. Usually cited statistics, like the world would need to produce 70% more food than today to feed the world by 2050, quantify food production by weight. But when production is quantified by nutritional value, we run out sooner than expected.