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New Agriculturist
Focus on...
- Neglected and underutilised species
- In this edition, we highlight the nutritional value of traditional crops such as minor millets and quinoa, as well as the niche marketing opportunities that are currently being developed, the role of conservation at international and community level, and the farmers in Bolivia, India and Nepal who are using neglected and underutilised species to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
- Making it with millets
- Agricultural biodiversity enhances capacity to adapt to climate change
- Quinoa: a promising future for a versatile crop
- Seeking an alliance between farmers and genebanks
- Storage solutions for indigenous vegetable seeds
Points of view
- Research and policy for orphan crops
- Delegates at the 3rd International Conference on Neglected and Underutilised Species (NUS) offer their views on policy and development priorities for improved use of NUS, how to convince policymakers of their importance, and ways to promote multi-disciplinary research.
Research and innovation
- Agrobiodiversity value chains
In this edition, GFAR highlights the innovative and collaborative approaches taken in Cameroon, Peru and Zimbabwe in upgrading value chains for a variety of wild and cultivated plant species.
- Baobab and marula - Zimbabwe's top tips for success
- From the mother of all chillies
- Treasures of the forest
My Perspective
- Surabhi Mittal, CIMMYT
- Surabhi Mittal, a specialist in ICT and productivity with CIMMYT, believes that effective delivery of farming advisories via mobile phone demands the combined efforts of multiple agencies, in order to ensure that the information supplied is locally relevant, well timed, practical and demand-driven.
Country profile
- Bolivia
- About two-fifths of Bolivia's population is engaged in agriculture, but the deterioration and fragmentation of land, as well as climate change, lack of adequate technologies, poor natural resource management and limited rural infrastructure are serious challenges facing the sector.
News brief
- Communities produce high-quality forest data
- Using simple tools like ropes and sticks, local communities are able to produce forest carbon data that is as good as data produced by professional foresters using high-tech devices, a recent study has found.
- Cavies - big potential in small livestock
- New research from Cameroon and DRC highlights the value and potential of guinea pigs, or cavies, to food security and poverty alleviation in the humid tropics of Africa.
Editorial
- In this edition, the value of the world's plant genetic potential is highlighted as we focus on neglected and underutilised species and how they can contribute to health, resilience and improved livelihoods. CIMMYT's Surabhi Mittal questions the value of mobile phones in delivering useful information to farmers and we review The Ecological Hoofprint, which challenges consumers to eat less meat for more sustainable living.
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In pictures
- Unsettling times for India's buffalo nomads
- Van Gujjars are nomadic water buffalo herders who live in the forests and mountains of north India. In recent years, creation of national parks in their ancestral grazing lands has put their traditional way of life at risk.
Book reviews
- The ecological hoofprint: The global burden of industrial livestock
- Tony Weiss of the University of Western Ontario describes how increased consumption of meat by an increasing population is the most serious obstacle to feeding the world's estimated 9 billion population by 2050. Large scale, industrial meat production systems based on feeding animals with cereals and oilseeds receive his strongest criticism.
- Biotechnologies at work for smallholders
- From artificial insemination to use of DNA markers in crop breeding, this collection of 19 case studies illustrates the value of biotechnologies (not including genetic modification) to support smallholder farmers in raising productivity.
Developments
- Ghana's climate friendly cocoa
- A pilot project in western Ghana aims to produce the world's first climate friendly cocoa, through education of children, training for adults, tree planting and income diversification.
- Transparent trading with smartphone technology
- The smartphone-based Virtual Cooperative software, developed with farmers in Ghana and Burkina Faso, is supporting transparent and efficient trade in cashew and shea nuts, to the advantage of both sellers and buyers.
GFAR updates
- Nothing for the youth without the youth
- A youth session at the Global Landscapes Forum showcased youth driven initiatives that are proving that agriculture can be attractive to young people when innovative solutions are applied to meet certain key challenges.
- International Year of Family Farming
- The International Year of Family Farming 2014 will be officially launched on 22 November 2013, at UN Headquarters in New York.
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