Famine Prevention

David Bornstein at the New York Times profiles Root Capital, a non-profit servicing the "banking no-man's land" in rural agricultural regions--environmentally sustainable grassroots businesses too small and risky for traditional lending but too large for micro-finance programs.

The Gates Foundation holds millions of dollars of Monsanto stock and has promoted industrial farming and inappropriate technologies in struggling African communities. Tell them it's time to support real solutions to hunger, poverty and climate change with small-scale agroecological farming.

Women farmers grow the food that feeds families in developing countries, says ActionAid's report Fertile Ground. But, women farmers and the land on which they grow have historically been ineligible for the aid meant to boost agricultural production in these struggling communities. The solution, the report says, lies in targeted funding and investment in sustainable techniques.

What they make from selling organic coffee is the major income for most families in Piedras Negras, Honduras. Whatever helps their coffee helps them. So the advent of bringing wild bees into their cropping system to boost pollination and provide honey is a major step to improve their biodiversity and economic vitality.

A stunningly well animated video asks: How is it that one world, with smart farmers and good businesspeople, each making good economic decisions, has so many overweight and so many chronically malnourished?

Cuban organic farmers depend on soil health to feed crops as part of a biologically complex management approach.

Combining knowledge of indigenous farming strategies with modern agroecological science is enhancing food security while preserving ecosystems and natural resources. Agroecology applies ecological ideas to establish sustainable agriculture that promotes healthy soils, cleaner water sources and wildlife biodiversity.

The Cuban government has announced a project that promotes fruit, vegetable and livestock production in four mile-wide rings around 150 cities and towns within the country. It is hoped that the five-year initiative will rejuvenate Cuba’s agriculture and improve its economy.

Farmers around the world, including the U.S., need to be included in deciding how to sustainably raise the food their communities need to thrive.

The spring planting season that supplies Haiti with 60 percent of the nation’s agricultural production is approaching as relief efforts continue. Important infrastructure necessary for cultivation and distribution of food was damaged, with irrigation canals and storage facilities destroyed in the earthquake.