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Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations

REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon

The Chocolate Revolution: Central American Startup Seeks To Grow Sustainable Cocoa Production
Smallholder cocoa farmers are underpaid and impoverished. But there is a new, more ethical chocolate movement going on. By removing middlemen and shortening the value chain, both farmers and buyers are increasing their value and quality, ultimately bringing large-scale social impact to farming communities and driving systemic change in the industry.

One-Third of Food Is Lost or Wasted: What Can Be Done
The FAO estimates that one-third of food produced for human consumption worldwide is annually lost or wasted along the chain that stretches from farms to our collective kitchens. If there's anything good about the shocking scale of global food waste, it's the huge number of opportunities it presents for improvement.

Africa’s Agricultural Potential
The average African farm performs at only about 40% of its potential. So how can these farms rise to their potential to address hunger and malnutrition while boosting livelihoods and promoting inclusive growth? It's not pity and handouts that are needed. It is access to markets and finance, land tenure security, knowledge and technology, and the right policies.

Grow Lights and Drones: How California’s Drought is Driving Farmers into High-Tech
California's grappling with one of its worst droughts in history. Some in the agricultural industry are beginning to explore technology that may help them adapt to the new, arid reality. Increasingly, farmers are interested in grow lights. Recent developments have made grow lights far more energy-efficient, enabling them to be fielded on a much larger scale.

This Week's Edition of the Global Food for Thought News Brief

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Image: The Last Hunger Season Film Series/Roger Thurow

Norman Borlaug Centennial Q&A with Margaret Catley-Carlson

This post was originally published by the World Food Prize Foundation. The World Food Prize 2014 Borlaug Dialogue international symposium is being held from October 15 – 17 in Des Moines, Iowa to address the question: “Can we sustainably feed the 9 billion people on our planet by the year 2050?”

Norman Borlaug Centennial Q&A's with Experts

In order to shine a spotlight on the amazing agricultural work being done today, and in honor of the Borlaug Centennial year, The World Food Prize invited 2014 Borlaug Dialogue speakers and experts from around the globe to respond to questions regarding their work, their goals and their inspiration.

Margaret Catley-Carlson, Water Expert and Member of the World Food Prize Council of Advisors

If Norman Borlaug posed the following questions to you- what would you tell him?

Q. What’s the one thing – the single most important – that we need to address to solve food insecurity?

A. There is no single thing – that’s why it is so difficult.  Are there roads?  Is there any access of ag inputs?  Is water supply reliable?  Any access to improved seeds?  Any access to credit?  Is it blocked by ownership arrangements for females? And on and on.  Each one of these can be THE single most important, depending on the circumstances – and they interact.

Q. Do you think we can feed 9 billion people by the year 2050? If so, why? If not, why not?

A. We could but we probably won’t. Problems of the poor just aren’t that interesting to the relevant national governments.

Q. Where are the biggest gaps right now in the food system?

A. I really think Extension services – either new forms of electronic communication if they work and really talk to people and are accessible, or more classic forms.  Next would be rural roads.

Q. What’s one piece of advice you would give to young people?

A. If you want to help, start by listening.  Don’t start by bringing solutions to problems.  Understand problems.

Q. How would you explain what you do, and why it’s important, to a 10-year-old?

A. Many people in the world don’t have access all the time to the water they need for their families and to grow food.  All over the world, there are groups and people and governments trying to help them; I try to make these more effective and efficient.

Q. Within your area of expertise, what is one misunderstood or neglected topic you could shed some light on for readers?

A. Genetically modified foods, and the need to pay for water services or systems will suffer.

Q. What is the most interesting project going on right now – yours or someone else’s - that more people should know about?

A. Fertilizer Deep Placement – 2 million Asian farmers have increased yield and decreased fertilizer use AND therefore water pollution.  It could work for the Toledo reservoir and reduce hypoxic zones in the Gulf of Mexico, too.

Q. What’s one thing the general population could do to make an impact on global food security?

A. Stop wasting food – today – in restaurants, from lunch boxes, from your own refrigerator.  If 40% of the food grown is wasted or thrown out, that’s the equivalent of throwing out 40% of the water we use to grow food (and 70%+ of our water use goes to food).

Q. What is one of your favorite quotes or words to live by?

A. "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." - Albert Einstein

Q. Share with us one of your most unique life experiences and what it taught you.

A. Sitting on a hillside in India, looking at a valley that was restored simply by changing the social arrangements to give the rural people access and ownership and the ability to gain livelihoods – and therefore interest in protecting it.  As I sat in the warm autumn sun, a spring which had reappeared after being non-existent for years glinted in the sun – and a peacock swooped down and washed his extended tail feathers in the sparkling water.  Four years earlier, the little valley was desertified and the spring was dry.  What it taught me?  Ask what the problems are before rushing in with solutions.  They may be very simple – but since power relationships are always involved, very difficult.

Improving Native Bee Abundance for Sustainability

Next Generation Delegation 2014 Commentary Series 

By Robyn McCallum, MSc Candidate at Dalhousie University’s Agricultural Campus and 2014 Next Generation Delegate

As a Next Generation Delegate, I was delighted to participate in discussions at The Chicago Council’s Global Food Security Symposium 2014 regarding a variety of aspects of sustainable agricultural production, particularly in the face of threats from climate change. As a Master of Science student at Dalhousie University’s Agricultural Campus in Truro, Nova Scotia, my project is comprised of examining practical techniques to increase native bee abundance in wild blueberry cropping systems.  Wild blueberries are a major industry in Atlantic Canada, which includes New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.  As this crop continues to grow, so does the need for pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and moths.  The health of pollinators and honey bees has garnered increasing attention recently, with discussions around the causes of and remedies for issues such as Colony Collapse Disorder.

Accordingly, ensuring native abundance couldn’t be more pertinent to global food security. In Atlantic Canada, many producers rely on managed bees, such as the honey bee (Apis mellifera) to carry out pollination, but native bees such as the bumble bee (Bombus spp.) and mason bee (Osmia spp.) have demonstrated more efficient pollination.  To achieve more efficient pollination, interest is growing in boosting native bee populations.  However, bees globally face hurdles of insufficient nesting sites and food resources.

My project examines two techniques to promote population increase: providing habitat and providing food in the form of flowering plants.  More specifically, I have placed various types of habitat, or trap nests, in the field to appeal to mason bees.  The aim of the experiment is to discover the most favorable nest type for mason bees in order to promote artificial nesting substrates for this type of bee.  In terms of providing food to bees, I have planted buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) along blueberry field edges.  Throughout the summer, I observed and recorded which types of native bees forage on the buckwheat.  The following year, I will determine if the buckwheat provided suitable food and habitat to retain more queen bees than sites without buckwheat. My hope is that my findings prove useful to improving bee abundance and, as a result, improving sustainable food production as well.

I am interested in practical ways to efficiently increase native bee populations, as they are a crucial part of sustainability and food security. As producer interest in bee conservation continues to grow, performing this research is essential and timely.  I see great potential to build on these fundamental experiments.  Clearly, my research relates directly to food security as the majority of food crops require pollination, and bees fill most of this need.  With increased awareness among consumers, producers, and policymakers surrounding bee health and conservation, I believe we can realize healthy native bee populations in order to ensure sustainable production and food security well into the future.   

Guest Commentary - Critical Factors to Meet the Greatest Challenge in Human History

By Margaret M. Zeigler

This week, close to two thousand leaders from across the United States and the globe came together in Des Moines, Iowa to debate, discuss, learn and forge solutions to feed the world. The World Food Prize 2014 Borlaug Dialogue, honoring Dr. Norman Borlaug who pioneered the green revolution agriculture technologies in wheat that helped feed millions of poor farmers in India and Pakistan in the 1960’s, centered upon the greatest challenge in human history. By 2050, there will be 9.6 billion people on the planet, most of whom will now be participating in middle class economies and eating more protein based diets. The world’s greatest challenge lies before us: how will we feed the world’s growing middle class by 2050, in the face of climate change, and with limited natural resources?

There is an urgent need for farmers to find new ways to adapt to volatile weather and climate change patterns that we face. Population and income growth are increasing the demand for food, feed, fiber and fuel. The emerging consensus by economists, scientists, political leaders, and farmers participating in the World Food Prize is simple: we must act now to produce food sustainably in the face of climate change. As the devastating drought in California and the southwest of the United States enters its third year, the message is being driven home – improving productivity and new methods and practices in agriculture, coupled with technological innovation and clear public policies will be the solutions to feed the world using less water and land, and conserving the resource base.

There are three critical pieces to in this productivity goal – maize, rice, and wheat, the “Big Three” staple crops that the world depends on. If the current trends are not altered, by 2050 climate change could decrease global maize yields by up to 18 percent, rice yields could drop by 7 percent, and wheat yields could decline by up to 36 percent. 

So how can farmers in the US, and indeed the rest of the world, be supported to become more resilient to the changing climate and ensure we all have enough food on our tables? 

Norman Borlaug Centennial Q&A with Ndidi Nwuneli

This post was originally published by the World Food Prize Foundation. The World Food Prize 2014 Borlaug Dialogue international symposium is being held from October 15 – 17 in Des Moines, Iowa to address the question: “Can we sustainably feed the 9 billion people on our planet by the year 2050?”

Norman Borlaug Centennial Q&A's with Experts

 In order to shine a spotlight on the amazing agricultural work being done today, and in honor of the Borlaug Centennial year, The World Food Prize invited 2014 Borlaug Dialogue speakers and experts from around the globe to respond to questions regarding their work, their goals and their inspiration.

Ndidi Nwuneli, Co-founder of AACE Foods

If Norman Borlaug posed the following questions to you- what would you tell him?

Q: Where are the biggest gaps right now in the food system?

A: Tremendous global effort is being placed on the importance of seed, soil health and protection systems to increase yields. However, in West Africa 20-60% of produce goes to waste, with significant variability by value chain, because there has been little to no focus on storage, logistics and processing. There is an urgent need to invest in addressing this glaring imbalance if we plan on seriously addressing the food security crises that confronts the West African region.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you would give to young people?

A: To young people, I urge you to use your talents, time, and energy to change our world for the better. I pray that you will find your life’s purpose early in life, and that you will pursue it passionately, diligently and ethically.

Q: How would you explain what you do, and why it’s important, to a 10-year-old?

A: I am a social entrepreneur. What this means is that I work with others to create organizations to address some of the most pressing challenges facing my people. 

LEAP Africa is focused on creating a new generation of principled, dynamic and creative leaders on the African continent, by providing training, coaching and research. We work with young people and business owners and help them become change leaders. Since we started, LEAP has published 10 books and trained over 30,000 people, who have started over 500 change projects, impacting over 200,000 people in their communities.

AACE Foods sources herbs, cereals and grains from smallholder farmers and makes them into spices, sauces and food for the Nigerian population. Our products are sold in supermarkets across the country and are also used by other large companies to prepare food. 

Sahel Capital provides advice and financing to enterprises who work in agriculture to enable them grow and employ more people.

Q: What is the most interesting project going on right now – yours or someone else’s - that more people should know about?

A: Over the past few years, there have been significant innovations in financing in the agribusiness landscape in Nigeria, linked to the Agricultural Transformation Agenda being spearheaded by Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the Honorable Minister of Agriculture. 

I am fortunate to be engaged in one of such innovations called the Fund for Agriculture Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN) which Sahel Capital – a leading agribusiness fund management and advisory firm focused on West Africa– was recently selected to manage in late 2013. This $100 million private equity fund was initiated by the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the German government via KFW Development Bank, and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority to address the large gap in long-term, growth-oriented finance for SMEs in the agricultural sector. 

FAFIN is an innovative, agriculture-focused investment fund that provides tailored capital and technical assistance solutions to commercially viable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and intermediaries across the agricultural sector in Nigeria using quasi-equity, equity and debt instruments to structure investments. The Fund will invest in such enterprises as part of its mission to catalyze agriculture-led inclusive investment growth in Nigeria, and increase the amount of commercial capital available for agriculture in the country.  Investments will be made in a range of companies which include input providers, producers, processors, logistics and warehouse providers, and financial intermediaries that help catalyze additional capital for SMEs operating along the agricultural value chain.

In addition through FAFIN’s Technical Assistance Facility, which is a unique component of the Fund, it will provide capacity building to agro-processors in which it invests to enable them more effectively partner with smallholder farmers. This could include the provision of extension services, and access to improved seeds and fertilizer, which would enhance farmer yields and livelihoods. 

Ultimately, FAFIN will enhance food security and generate inclusive growth in the agriculture sector, including job and wealth creation, while generating commercial returns for its investors.

As a partner with Sahel Capital, I actively engaged in raising funds for the Technical Assistance Facility and building partnerships with organizations that are interested in supporting agricultural development in Nigeria.

Q: What’s one thing the general population could do to make an impact on global food security?

A: The general population must embrace locally grown and processed food and discard the belief that “foreign” food is higher quality and better for them and locally produced food is inferior. This mindset continues to cripple many agroprocessors in Africa who struggle to compete with importers, and this invariably affects the entire agricultural landscape in the region. Sadly, many of the products that come back into Africa as processed products were actually exported from the same countries as raw materials. In addition, while the government has an important role to play in creating an enabling environment for their local agroprocessing industry, sustained demand from the local population will ensure that these agroprocessors can survive and thrive in the medium-long term, and eventually be able to compete globally. This will, in turn, strengthen agricultural value chains in the countries, creating opportunities for all actors, ensuring local investment, profitable growth and food security.

Q: What is one of your favorite quotes or words to live by?

A: My favorite quote is an African proverb which states, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go with others.” I strongly believe that we can only sustainably address the global food security crises when we partner across sectors, regions, disciplines and divides, sharing knowledge and expertise and human and financial resources, to collectively develop and implement innovative solutions. 

Norman Borlaug Centennial Q&A with Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram

This post was originally published by the World Food Prize Foundation. The 2014 Borlaug Dialogue international symposium is being held from October 15-17 in Des Moines, Iowa to address the question: “Can we sustainably feed the 9 billion people on our planet by the year 2050?”

Norman Borlaug Centennial Q&A's with Experts

In order to shine a spotlight on the amazing agricultural work being done today, and in honor of the Borlaug Centennial year, The World Food Prize invited 2014 Borlaug Dialogue speakers and experts from around the globe to respond to questions regarding their work, their goals and their inspiration.

Sanjaya Rajaram, Ph.D

Wheat Breeder and 2014 World Food Prize Laureate
Resource Seeds International, Mexico and India

If Norman Borlaug posed the following questions to you- what would you tell him?

Q: What’s the one thing – the single most important – that we need to address to solve food insecurity?

A: Perhaps there is enough food produced in the world. The most pressing problems I see are the lack of income and consequently buying power. Unemployment or under-employment is very high in low income sectors of society, especially in developing countries such as India. Some kind of training for work would solve this problem.

Q: Do you think we can feed 9 billion people by the year 2050? If so, why? If not, why not?

A: My response is that we can.  Some technological and policy interventions are needed.

These are applications of biotechnological tools, such as GM technology, to offset the effects of climate change, balancing the soil health through ameliorating micronutrients, optimizing the water use efficiency and embracing hybrid technology on a large scale, global scenario, especially on small farms.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you would give to young people?

A: Try to broaden the horizon of knowledge through a multidisciplinary approach. Do not see science through the eye of a needle; try to see the forest and not one tree. Do not get discouraged if failures come. Do not give up.

Q: What’s one thing the general population could do to make an impact on global food security?

A: In developing countries, need to bring the population down. There is no short cut to it for food security. Through technological interventions we only buy time.

Q: Share with us one of your most unique life experiences and what it taught you.

A: Humility does not mean weakness, rather respect for others. My life mission remains service to others in the broader aspect. I really do not accept failures as defeat.

Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations

REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Can Coffee Stimulate Renewable Energy in Central America
Coffee waste water is rich in organic matter, which can be used to generate energy via anaerobic decomposition. At present, the negative environmental impacts of waste water are not considered in the cost of coffee, but neither are the economic benefits that extracting its energy potential could bring.

How Three Teens Used Bacteria to Tackle Global Food Poverty
Three high-schoolers from Ireland discovered a bacterial treatment for cereal crop seeds that could potentially increase yields in areas stricken by famine. The bacteria helped the seeds to germinate much faster than usual and the students are now looking to apply their method in famine-prone areas.

The Amish Farmers Reinventing Organic Agriculture
Modern agriculture uses fertilizer specifically to increase yields, with little awareness of the nutritional needs of other organic functions. But consulting firm Advancing Eco Agriculture has discovered deficiencies in important plant trace minerals which farmers can then introduce into the soil. With plants able to defend themselves, pesticides can be avoided.

William Dar Advocates Easier Access to Published Research
Today, nearly 1 billion people suffer from hunger. Many of these are smallholder farming families in developing countries. Solutions exist, nurtured by many agricultural research institutions but far too often, these innovations remain confidential, adopted by few. Academic experts and students in the emerging world need to participate fully in the new knowledge economy. 

Roger Thurow - Zipporah’s Miracle Harvest

This post originally appeared on the Outrage and Inspire blog.

We’re excited to announce the launch of a new multi-part film series on Roger Thurow’s The Last Hunger Season. Now through October 16—coinciding with World Food Day 2014—we will be releasing new episodes from the series each week. Part 8, our final episode in the series, is now available below. See all episodes.

 

When I first met Zipporah Biketi in western Kenya while reporting The Last Hunger Season book, she and her husband and four children were living in a small mud hut with a thatched roof that leaked in the rain. The family was already two months into their hunger season. Zipporah was rationing food and reducing meals. She poignantly described the hurt of not being able to satisfy her hungry children.

At the end of the year, the Biketis were eating three meals a day. And Zipporah produced a blueprint of the new house they were planning to build, with sturdy bricks and a metal roof.

What happened?  A bumper harvest, beyond their wildest expections.  “A miracle,” Zipporah called it.

The Biketi’s maize harvest multiplied 10-fold from the previous year.  It was nearly two tons, which was double what Zipporah needed to feed her family throughout the year. That left them with a rare surplus; suddenly they could afford their dreams.

In this episode of our film series, Zipporah and her husband Sanet explain how they conquered their hunger season—and proved the potential of Africa’s smallholder family farmers to contribute to global food security.