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Common ground on sustainable agriculture: A Family Affair
She's a scientist who studies the genetic basis of resistance to disease and tolerance to stress in rice. He's an organic farmer, prohibited by organic certification rules from using GE seeds and plants in his fields.
Alliance Director Sarah Evanega wins 2021 Borlaug CAST Communication Award
Cornell Alliance for Science Director Sarah Evanega, an imagineer, international leader and icon of young science communication professionals, has been awarded the coveted Borlaug CAST Communication Award. “With her ability to communicate on a variety of issues facing science, agriculture and technology, she is a worthy recipient of the 2021…
Fall armyworm adds bitter note to farmer’s ‘sweet and sour journey’
For 83-year-old Florence Wambui Theiru, a life of farming in Central Kenya has been a sweet and sour journey. Over the decades, she’s seen it all. But fall armyworm, a devasting new pest that is devouring the maize crops that she depends on to feed her family and provide fodder…
The Alliance for Science journey through 2016
AFS Contributor, Joan Conrow, writes about the successes of the Cornell Alliance for Science from 2016.
Price of fear: Estimating cost of delayed uptake of GM crops in Kenya
Decades ago, while working as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Oxford’s Institute of Virology and Environmental Microbiology (IVEM), I witnessed the powerful potential of genetic modification to address persistent challenges in agriculture. We were on the cusp of breakthroughs that could help plant breeders combat crop losses caused by pests,…
It’s time for agricultural revolution as Africa’s food crisis worsens
Rates of hunger in Africa are unacceptably high and getting worse. The UN State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 report reveals that food insecurity in Africa is the highest of any world region. The prevalence of undernourishment is 20.4 percent (some 298.4 million Africans)…
World Food Day: Global ceremony highlights the right to nutritious and affordable foods
The global ceremony marking World Food Day 2024 took place in Rome, Italy today, with participants underlining the need for universal access to enough diverse, nutritious, affordable, and safe foods. The event came amid growing global tensions, conflicts, and climate shocks, which are among the factors contributing to the…
FAO helps foster new food frontiers with African orphan crops
Aspiring and established plant scientists from around Africa gathered in Nairobi, Kenya for a workshop to review what has been achieved so far by the African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC). In its first decade, the AOCC has empowered more than 172 scientists, nearly 40 percent of whom have…
South Africa: Poverty and malnutrition to blame for obesity
In all its forms, malnutrition includes undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight), inadequate vitamins or minerals, overweight, and obesity. South Africa has undergone a nutritional transition over the past 30 years characterized by the triple burden of malnutrition: households are simultaneously experiencing undernutrition, hidden hunger, and overweight or obesity due to nutrient-poor…