Forests in South China have been increasingly replaced by monoculture ecalyptus plantations grown for wood fiber for the pulp and paper industry. Even forests under official protection haven’t been spared. Xidamingshan Forest Reserve is one of these, losing so much of its native forest over the past decade that it was delisted by the World Database of Protected Areas in 2018.
The Bayer Foundation today launched its new EUR 20 million Social Innovation ecosystem fund by awarding EUR 3 million to four pioneering social innovators – myAgro, MercyCorps, Path and Living Goods. The fund aims to scale up technology and entrepreneurial solutions that empower African smallholder farmers to lift themselves out of poverty.
South Africa’s biotech crop adoption went up a further 3% in just one year between 2017 and 2018, a new report has revealed.
As the world has watched with fear and fascination the fires burning in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, satellite images show a far greater number of blazes on the African continent.
Food and agriculture stand today at a crossroads, with an increasing population putting pressure on limited resources. With a number of initiatives, the United Nations is striving to promote sustainable agriculture and show the impact this can have on tackling the world’s greatest challenges.
Although donor funds have assisted with training farmers, providing inputs such as seeds and machinery, and building agriculture-related infrastructure, the sector has experienced limited growth. Ultimately, institutional reform lies at the heart of sustainable agriculture development in southern Africa.
