Tag Archives: land grab

Biofortified GM bananas

Posted on June 22, 2014 by argylesock

James Dale is a scientist at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT, Australia). His lab has developed a genetically modified (GM, genetically engineered) banana (Musa × paradisiaca) rich in ‘pro-vitamin A’. Here’s the QUT report. This is the ‘super banana’ … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, horticulture, knowledge transfer | Tagged Africa, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, America, Asia, banana, banana Cavendish, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, biodiversity, biofortification, biotechnology, breeding, carotenoid, child, conservation, cotton, crop diversity, crop variety, development, East African cooking banana, food security, food sovereignty, fruit, fruit variety, gene, gene gun, genetic modification, iron, land grab, local variety, marker assisted backcrossing, micronutrient, Monsanto, nutrition, patent, plantain, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, poverty, pro-vitamin A, Provit Banana, research, rice, Scuba rice, seed, soya, staple food, super banana, tissue culture, trade, Vitamin A | 2 Comments

Invest More in Agriculture Not Industries

Posted on June 4, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on Foundation for Young Farmers:
A very appropriate theme when Africa is rising, was one of my first thoughts. Participants were researchers, academics, policymakers from the UN, AU, governments and NGOs as well as people like me who…

Posted in agriculture | Tagged Africa, Asia, city, development, Green Revolution, land grab, politics, poverty, prosperity, rural, smallholder, young person | Leave a comment

The Value of Soil

Posted on April 23, 2014 by argylesock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=403sT9CGRl0 A clever little film from the ELD Initiative (http://eld-initiative.org/) on the value of soil and the reasons why we should be pursuing sustainable land management systems.

Posted in agriculture, ecology, food, horticulture, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged conservation, land grab, land use, soil, sustainable | Leave a comment

Western corporations carve up Africa

Posted on April 17, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on ECO-opia:
. A newly released report reveals how the British and American governments are facilitating the corporate takeover of African food systems. Campaigners protest outside the UK Department for International Development. Photo: WDM . Huge tracts of…

Posted in food, money and trade | Tagged Africa, America, Europe, land grab, Monsanto, New Alliance, politics, poverty, trade | Leave a comment

Food security and biofuels

Posted on April 15, 2014 by argylesock

Biofuels are renewable because they’re made from plants or animals, which grow. But sometimes biofuels are produced in ways that are not sustainable. Hungry people sometimes pay the cost. Can food security and biofuels go hand in hand? Today Léna … Continue reading →

Posted in food, knowledge transfer, money and trade, weather and climate | Tagged access to land, algae, biodiversity, biofuel, climate, development, export, farmer, fire, food security, knowledge, land grab, land use, law, livestock, plant_dicot, plant_gymnosperm, plant_monocot, politics, poverty, prosperity, tillage, trade, tradition, waste, water | 7 Comments

Food sovereignty: the next big idea

Posted on December 27, 2013 by argylesock

The Institute for Food and Development Policy (Food First) shows us an article by Raj Patel. Mr Patel says that ‘food sovereignty’ is the next big idea. My fellow blogger Noah Zerbe at Global Food Politics explains the difference between … Continue reading →

Posted in food, money and trade | Tagged access to food, access to land, agroecology, education, farmer, food, food security, food sovereignty, land grab, peasant, politics, smallholder, trade, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership | 10 Comments

Green Rush to carve up Africa

Posted on December 19, 2013 by argylesock

‘There is a gold rush happening in Ethiopia, but it’s not a hunt for the yellow metal. It’s a quest for the green gold of fertile farmland.’ So says Richard Schiffman at Farmland Grab. ‘A nation more associated with periodic … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged access to food, access to land, agroecology, banana, biofuel, cacao, coffee, crop, development, export, farmer, food security, fruit, grain, history, knowledge, land grab, legume, palm, palm oil, pastoral, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, rice, smallholder, soya, staple food, sustainable, trade, wheat | 2 Comments

Land grabbing

Posted on September 21, 2013 by argylesock

Pascal Liu at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) tells us that land grabbing is on the increase. In this hungry world, with populations rising, Mr Liu says that people with money should work with resource-poor farmers. Not just exploit … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, money and trade | Tagged development, education, farmer, finance, food, food security, food sovereignty, land grab, politics, population, poverty, smallholder, trade, war | 1 Comment

G8 and tragedy of Africa

Posted on September 20, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on ECO-opia:
DON’T SELL OUT ETHIOPIA! HOLD YOUR GROUND! Author: Latha Jishnu The white man’s burden never eases. Long after the sun set on colonial empires, the rich nations of the world who make the G8, the…

Posted in agriculture, food, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged Africa, development, farmer, food, history, knowledge, land grab, politics, poverty, seed, trade | Leave a comment

Agroecology Is Not For Sale!

Posted on July 21, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on The Noah Project:
The International Commision on Sustainable Peasant Agriculture’s booklet From Maputo to Jakarta. 5 Years of Agroecology in La Vía Campesina was made available to the delegates of the Sixth Annual Conference of the LVC as…

Posted in agriculture, ecology, food | Tagged agroecology, biodiversity, conservation, crop variety, farmer, food, knowledge, land grab, land use, peasant, politics, smallholder | Leave a comment