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Indian farmers plant GMO seeds in civil disobedience ‘satyagraha’ protest
Some 1,500 farmers gathered in India today to illegally plant government-banned genetically modified (GM) seeds, which they say could improve their livelihoods and help reduce pesticide use. The farmers massed in a field in Akot, a village in Maharashtra, where they symbolically planted pest-resistant Bt brinjal (eggplant) and herbicide-tolerant cotton…
Helping smallholder farmers is a capital idea
Of all the available tools that can help smallholder farmers improve their livelihoods, there is perhaps one that is the most important: money. Martha Brantley, director of strategic partnerships for the non-profit investment fund Shared Interest, works to help smallholder farmers, especially women, get the capital they…
Nigeria is revolutionizing cassava breeding across the globe
Nigerian scientists are engaging large numbers of diverse farmer groups to help them evaluate new varieties of cassava in research that is already revolutionizing cassava breeding around the world. Typically considered a “poor man’s crop” in sub-Saharan Africa, cassava is the fourth most consumed food staple in the African continent after…
Ensuring access to ag innovation: an African perspective
These views were shared at a recent informal meeting hosted by the World Bank at its Washington, D.C., headquarters for some of the 2018 Cornell Alliance for Science Global Leadership Fellows. To ensure access to agricultural innovation, international stakeholders such as the World Bank Group (WBG) need to do these…
Ugandan livestock farmers call for improved breeds amid myriad threats
“Kafuuzi!” Grace Bwogi shouted. A black and grey goat turned in the caller’s direction before shifting her gaze and continuing to graze with rest of the herd on this three-acre farm in southern Uganda. “Kafuuzi is my favorite goat. She lost her mother at birth,” Bwogi said as she leaned…
Alliance for Science Fellows advocate for ag in DC
The Cornell Alliance for Science 2018 Global Leadership Fellows will be in Washington, D.C., Nov. 13-16 to share their stories with US and international policymakers in hopes of attracting support for advancing agricultural innovation in their countries. Though the 27 Fellows come from a variety of backgrounds — farming,…
Ugandan scientists poised to release vitamin-fortified GMO banana
Ugandan scientists are eying a 2021 release date for genetically modified bananas fortified with vitamin A, provided the nation passes its biosafety law. In 2005, Ugandan scientists began using the tools of biotechnology to breed bananas fortified with vitamin A. Their goal was to help rural families suffering from a…
World Food Prize to focus on challenge of feeding 9 billion by 2050
When policymakers, farmers, researchers and executives gather in Des Moines, Iowa this week they will be taking a multifaceted look at how to meet the massive global challenge of feeding an estimated nine billion people by 2050. ‘Rise to the Challenge’ is the theme of the 2018 Borlaug Dialogue, the…
2018 Alliance for Science Fellows urged to tackle global food crisis
Dr. Kathryn Boor, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University, has spurred the 2018 Alliance for Science Global Leadership Fellows to find ways of resolving the pressing world problems of food security and extreme poverty. During a recent reception welcoming the 29 Fellows, who represent nine…