Developments
Post-Chernobyl recovery in Ukraine's farming communities
Nearly twenty years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, rural communities in the contaminated areas of northern Ukraine continue to struggle with the long term impacts. Farming systems have had to change, becoming more mechanised, but many of the former markets have been lost...
Indian mustard (Brassica juncea), is prone to 'pod shatter', premature opening of the pods, which results in loss of seeds before harvest. However, research at the University of California at San Diego, US has resulted in a shatter-resistant strain of genetically modified (GM) Indian mustard...
The tiny island of Marakei in Kiribati is an unlikely beacon of agricultural success. However, the 800 households, which live and farm on this slender ring of coral and sand, are making impressive progress in developing more sustainable agriculture. Innovations include improved composting methods, low cost irrigation, the establishment of gene-banks...
Sudan, securing its future in sugar
Thirty years ago, most of the banks of the White Nile River were bush, with a few nomads grazing their livestock. More than 100,000 acres beside the river has been transformed into one of the world's largest sugarcane plantations. The Kenana Sugar Company's plantations and the 'company town' are something of a miracle in the desert...
