Opinion corner

Food systems

Even after 50 years of permanent shortcomings in rural financing, governments and banks are still bent on old-school thinking, the Secretary General of the Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association…

Fisheries

Can subsidised crop insurances contribute to rural development? The European Union allows subsidies for insurances of aquaculture stocks, and the FAO suggests this helps to increase seafood production. However, studies…

Youth

Africa’s burgeoning youth population can play a key role in contributing to sustainable development. Our author argues that while young people do face barriers, agriculture holds many potential opportunities for them –…

Agroecology

Industrial agriculture, based on monocropping and use of agro-chemicals and other energy-intensive inputs, is presumably unsustainable for food, feed, fibre, and fuel production because of its adverse effects on the…

Soils

The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health has set itself the goal of improving soil health globally. Co-Leader Leigh Ann Winowiecki explains the barriers which have to be cleared on the way there and why she is optimistic…

Soils

More than 40 per cent of soils in Latin America and the Caribbean are classified as degraded. Fernando Schwanke describes how the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) is supporting governments…

Soils

In January 2020, Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture presented guidelines for the sustainable development of its agriculture. In addition to “land governance and environmental compliance”, they refer to “innovation and…

Soils

Healthy, productive soils are a prerequisite for global food security – one of the priorities of German development cooperation. State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth on Germany’s efforts to support sustainable land…

Soils

It’s been nearly 15 years since a vanguard of African countries first committed to restore degraded farms, forests, grasslands and other ecosystems through the Great Green Wall movement. Salima Mahamoudou, a Research…

Nutrition

Taking Biodiversity Focus Areas under production or abandoning lower yielding, more extensive production systems is the wrong approach to mastering the looming global food crisis, our authors maintain.