Back to the Future: Scientists Want 'Rewilded' Crops to Boost Agriculture
Scientists should "re-wild" food crops by inserting lost genetic properties of ancient, edible plants in order to boost agricultural output for a growing population, a new study says. The scientists suggest using biotechnology to re-insert desired genes from wild varieties of popular crops into widely consumed strains in order to improve food security.
Broadcasting Central & West African Agricultural Innovation
Employing videos to connect with stakeholders, the CORAF/WECARD is becoming a vehicle for West and Central African smallholder farmers to share innovation in agriculture. The organization has produced more than 70 short films (with over 8,100 views on YouTube) featuring farmers who achieve advances in agricultural productivity and sustainability in their communities.
How Technology Can Prevent Food Waste in Developing Countries
Up to 40 percent of food produced in the developing world is wasted before it reaches the market, according to FAO figures. Lack of access to cold chain technology and reliable energy sources are the major reasons for crops perishing after harvest. Better cold storage, education about food handling, and improved infrastructure could help to transform this situation, but investment remains the major barrier to scaling up such technologies.
Solar Power Can Provide Hot Meals for the Masses
Each day, 3 billion people around the world cook their meals using fuels that create deadly smoke, killing more than 4 million people a year. Clean cooking fuels and improved cookstoves are not a complicated answer to these issues, and they can be affordable and pragmatic solutions for all. We should be investing in these technologies and working towards making them more accessible to the people who need it the most.
How Shifting to the Cloud Can Unlock Innovation for Food and Farming
Cloud computing services make the ideal home for key climate data. This rationale is the basis for a brand new partnership between CGIAR and Amazon web services. By making this data publicly available on the Amazon cloud, researchers and developers will be empowered to come up with innovations to solve critical issues inextricably linked to food and farming.