November 10, 2021 | No. 35 |
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In Glasgow, I saw three big shifts in the climate conversation
One big shift is that clean-energy innovation is higher on the agenda than ever. The world needs to get to zero carbon emissions by 2050. As I argue in the book I published this year, accomplishing that will require a green Industrial Revolution in which we decarbonize virtually the entire physical economy: how we make things, generate electricity, move around, grow food, and cool and heat buildings. The world already has some of the tools we’ll need to do that, but we need a huge number of new inventions too. So at an event like this, one way I measure progress is by the way people are thinking about what it’ll take to reach zero emissions. Do they think we already have all the tools we need to get there? Or is there a nuanced view of the complexity of this problem, and the need for new, affordable clean technology that helps people in low- and middle-income countries raise their standard of living without making climate change worse? Read more
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CGIAR - Innovations to feed and nourish the world
For 50 years, CGIAR and partners have delivered critical science and innovation to feed the world and end inequality. Our original mission – to solve hunger – is expanding to address wider 21st century challenges, with the aim of transforming the world’s food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. In our experience, transformation comes through innovation. As we mark our 50th anniversary in 2021, we look back on half a century of innovations – new ideas, products, services, and solutions driven by science – that have made a difference for some of the world’s biggest development challenges. Read more
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An open letter to COP26, businesses and policymakers from global youth and allies
Food production is one of the largest drivers of climate change and environmental degradation. Current diets are contributing to a rising burden of diet-related chronic diseases. To address these intertwined issues, there is an urgent need to transition to sustainable and nourishing dietary patterns. Addressing food production through increasing efficiencies or transitioning to nature positive food production is necessary but insufficient. It is impossible to meet the 1.5 degrees goal without widespread dietary change. Consumption patterns must shift to ensure food and nutrition security, and a livable climate for a growing population. Read more
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Three Lessons Learned from Working with Kenyan Farmers and Pastoralists
The USAID-funded Feed the Future AVCD program started in 2015 with the aim of reducing poverty and hunger by transitioning households from subsistence farming to market-based farming. Kenya’s vast landscape, especially the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) in the north and southeast, means that smallholder farmers and pastoralists are dependent on different crops and livestock, respectively, to make an income. AVCD, which just ended in September, launched different projects based on the region and needs of the farmers and pastoralists. Here are three lessons learned from the program: (1) Climate change poses a serious threat to food security in Kenya, but drought-tolerant crop varieties can help farmers increase their yields and improve food security and nutrition. Read more
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COP26: Climate Threats to Smallholder Farmers Drive New Investments in CGIAR Research, Pushing 2021 Pledges Close to $1 Billion
Facing mounting evidence that climate change will fall hardest on agriculture-dependent regions like sub-Saharan Africa, a coalition of funders at the United Nations climate summit pledged $575 million today to deliver climate-smart solutions to farmers in low-income countries via the CGIAR global network of agricultural research partnerships. Combined with the $256 million recently pledged at the Global Citizen Live event, and other commitments from Sweden and Belgium, CGIAR now has secured $859 million this year to confront a host of rapidly intensifying climate challenges that could upend the global fight against hunger and poverty. There is also the potential for significant additional investments in CGIAR to emerge later this week at COP26. Read more
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Donors must double aid to end hunger - and spend it wisely
Ceres2030’s new research reveals that donor governments must spend an additional USD 14 billion a year on average until 2030 to end hunger, double the incomes of 545 million small-scale farmers, and limit agricultural emissions in line with the Paris climate agreement. This means roughly doubling the amount of aid given for food security and nutrition each year, and must also be accompanied by an additional USD 19 billion a year from low- and middle-income countries' own budgets. Read more
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Advancing gender equality through agricultural and environmental research: past, present, and future
The past decade has seen renewed, and more concerted and comprehensive interest in gender equality and women’s empowerment in the agricultural development sector. This momentum has created a unique opportunity to advance gender equality, and to institutionalize gender research within agricultural research for development (AR4D) organizations. A new book “Advancing Gender Equality through Agricultural and Environmental Research: Past, Present, and Future” is a part of this overall momentum and the growing body of evidence and ideas it is generating. Read more
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The Annual Conference of The Agricultural Economics Society will be held at K U Leuven, Belgium – 4th – 6th April 2022
Each year a diverse set of papers, centred on the discipline of Agricultural Economics, is selected for the conference programme. Sessions cover topics such as agricultural trade and policy, environmental economics and policy, supply chain analysis, food demand and policy, behavioural economics, structural adjustment of agriculture, climate change impacts and mitigation, livestock production and disease, agricultural development, technology adoption, the economics of bioenergy, modelling and analysis techniques. Submissions are possible in three categories. Read more
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The cow in the room: why is no one talking about farming at Cop26?
“The cow in the room is being ignored at this Cop,” says Carl Le Blanc of Climate Healers. “Animal agriculture has been taken off the agenda and put on the menu.” Le Blanc was one of a number of campaigners who joined climate marches on Saturday in Glasgow to demand action for a new sustainable food system. They fought strong gales to make their point with four giant inflatable animals tethered on ropes above their heads or strapped to the ground. Each symbolised a different problem of the livestock industry: a 40ft cow for methane, a chicken for Covid and health, a fish for microplastics, and a pig for obesity. Read more
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COP26: participants recognise need for sustainable food systems to ensure global food security and achieve climate objectives
On 5 November 2021, countries participating at the COP26, as part of the discussions on agriculture, agreed on the need for a transition towards sustainable and climate-resilient food systems, taking into consideration the vulnerability of agriculture to the impacts of climate change. They recognised that this transition will be crucial to guarantee food security and ending hunger throughout the globe as well as to achieve climate objectives, such as emission reductions. More specifically, to achieve this transition, participants acknowledged the key role of: Read more
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African Association of Agricultural Economists c/o University of Nairobi, C.A.V.S, Upper Kabete Campus Loresho Ridge Road, Nairobi, Kenya |
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