Four food crops - wheat, maize, rice and soybean - provide two-thirds of the world’s food supply. This begs the question: What has become of the thousands of other crops that farmers have been producing for centuries?
Prolinnova (Promoting Local Innovation in ecologically-oriented agriculture and natural resource management) is an initiated international learning network to promote local innovation in ecologically oriented agriculture and Natural resource management.
Prolinnova started with a first grant from IFAD as a GFAR Global Partnership Programme (GPP).
Dr. Ismahane Elouafi has studied plant breeding, agriculture and genetics, and in November became the first Chief Scientist at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. The staff of GFAR Secretariat, hosted by FAO’s new Office of Innovation (OIN) which Dr. Elouafi heads, congratulate her on her new role.
Food as Community The global food system, while highly efficient, has obscured the journey from farm to plate, disconnecting many communities from their food culture and traditions.
The Agriculture and Farmer Federation of Myanmar (AFFM) will open a research and training centre aiming to promote modern farming technology development in the agricultural sector.
In the seven years since Bangladesh approved its first genetically modified crop — insect-resistant eggplant (Bt brinjal) — the number of farmers growing it has increased from just 20 to well over 60,000. This figure includes only farmers who have obtained seeds from formal sources.
The cassava – sometimes referred to as ‘the Rambo root’. This plant could potentially help alleviate world hunger, provide economically viable agriculture and even put an end to soil erosion, according to research published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice.