Today's top stories on global agricultural development and food security issues.
January 24, 2012
By Sung Lee
Researchers Aim to Flick the High-Carbon Switch on Rice, Guardian, January 24
Scientists at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines are working on changing the photosynthesis process in rice that will boost output by as much as 50 percent, bringing about another green revolution and produce enough food to feed more than 9 billion people by 2050. Rice is currently the staple foodstuff for more half the world's population, with more than 1 billion people depending on rice farming for their livelihoods.
Climate Change and Farming: How Not to Go Hungry in a Warmer World, Time Magazine, January 24
Warming isn't the only threat to our ability to feed ourselves — it acts in concert with rising population, the growing demand for grain and water-intensive meat and the civil dysfunction and conflict that often frustrates poor farmers in the developing world. That's why scientists are calling for more integrated research as the first step to adapting agriculture to climate change, to ensure that farmers know what's coming — and that they can prepare for it.
Top 5 Events in African Agriculture, Farm Chemicals International, January 23
Africa has seen a recent wave of investments and other encouraging developments in agriculture, including: 1) Ghana is on track to achieve “most, if not all” of the Millennium Development Goals – including halving poverty by 2015; 2) Rwanda has received $13 million in funding from the World Bank for agricultural developments; 3) Sofitex, the biggest cotton company in Burkina Faso, secured a $151 million loan to finance crop purchases in the 2011-12 harvest; 4) The Howard G. Buffett Foundation last week announced it would partner with Texas A&M University’s Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture to promote African agricultural research, extension, and education; 5) Tanzania approved 26 new seed varieties for planting, including varieties with resistance to drought and diseases.
Ending World Hunger Is Possible -- Davos is Part of the Process, Opinion, Perry Yeatman, Senior Vice President at Kraft Foods Inc. and President of the Kraft Food Foundation, Huffington Post, January 21
Fixing agriculture -- and in turn banishing hunger and malnutrition -- is clearly possible. We just need to change our mindset and our vernacular. We need to stop referring to insurmountable challenges as being "like solving world hunger." Because solving world hunger is NOT insurmountable. The capacity and capability to do this exists today. And against this new perspective, we then need to apply sustained collective action and demonstrated political will. The private sector is clearly part of the solution.
Thinking About Food at Davos, CNBC, January 22
While climate change may not be a focus at this year’s World Economic Forum at Davos, some analysts say its impact is still front and center on the agenda. Food prices and security, threatened by weather-caused production declines and relentless rising demand, will be a key issue at the conference of world business, political and social leaders.
Food Security is a Good Investment for the Future: Investors Can Help Promote Sustainable Farming, Opinion, Thomas Kostigen, Wall Street Journal, January 20
As a result of the recent economic downturn, the World Bank says, the ability for these countries to respond to any interruption in food supply will again be hampered. Therefore, the private sector’s role in fostering self-reliance is huge. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for one, is investing in everything from seeds and farms to equipment and technology. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation is betting on food, too.
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