Student volunteers walk through gerberas growing in a polyhouse in Satara district, south of Mumbai. / REUTERS/Vivek Prakash
“Thousands of Young People Ready to Build New Farms”
According to the 2017 National Young Farmer Survey, young farmers are operating smaller farms and are capitalizing on the demand for local food by selling directly to consumers. The main concerns for young farmers are access to land, student loan debt, availability of skilled labor, and access to health insurance.
The Facilities Where Scientists Breed Plants to Survive the Future
Someday, greenhouses may be our last defense against large-scale crop loss. One such greenhouse, funded by the USDA, scans plant genomes to identify beneficial genes and uses tissue culture analysis to capture the desirable traits of one plant to introduce into another.
Knowledge Is the New Paradigm for the Future of Food and Agriculture
Agriculture is poised for another major transformation as gains from the Green Revolution come up against natural resource limits. The future of agriculture is not input-intensive, but knowledge-intensive. To provide people with healthier food, there must be action in each step of the food system.
Africa—Nurturing Young Entrepreneurs as the Next Generation of Hunger Fighters
The Electronic Wallet (E-Wallet) platform was introduced to Nigeria's food production and distribution chain. Through the E-Wallet, the Nigerian Government delivers subsidized farm inputs to local farmers through private agro-dealers. The farmers, in turn, get to redeem these subsidized inputs from the agro-dealers using e-vouchers, which they can access through their mobile phones.
Prickly Pear Cactus Is 'Miracle' Crop for Dry Regions: Experts
The spiky, alien-looking prickly pear cactus could help alleviate hunger in arid regions due to its ability to thrive in harsh conditions and its multiple uses. As climate change brings erratic rainfall and prolonged droughts, countries should look to the cactus pear, which can grow in desert-like conditions. Cactus pear plantations can function as a water reserve can absorb carbon dioxide in arid and semi-arid regions.
The Ancient Andean Tradition of Eating Clay May Have Helped To Protect Health
While there are many theories about the origins of clay eating, scientists now think this unusual culinary tradition may have served a protective purpose. There is preliminary evidence that clays from Andean highlands can detoxify wild potatoes, which naturally contain higher levels of toxins called glycoalkaloids, by absorbing their toxic chemicals. Modern day breeding has led to many non-toxic potato varieties.