Food and agriculture blogs
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Farming the future: Cuba's food transformation
19 May 2016A visit to Cuba served up a menu of innovative climate-friendly food projects for Khanh Tran-Thanh
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Chinese engagement in African agriculture is not what it seems
6 April 2016New research by IIED's Seth Cook, which features in the journal World Development, uses the agri-food sector in Ethiopia and Ghana to show how the role of Chinese migrants in Africa is poorly researched and understood
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Nurturing the shoots of China's sustainable agriculture
23 March 2016A growing trend towards sustainable food offers hope for addressing environmental, social and food safety concerns associated with China's food system
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Nourishing livelihoods: the food vendors sustaining Nairobi's slums
15 January 2016Selling food in Nairobi's informal settlements can provide cheap meals and create vital livelihoods, especially for women, but these providers are usually ignored and remain invisible
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Making sure Fort Portal's 'modernisation' plan feeds the poor
11 December 2015An innovative research project in Fort Portal, Uganda is seeking to prevent a rise in inequality as the city modernises
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A new kind of brew: smallholder coffee and carbon
8 December 2015Has shade coffee shed new light on the multiple benefits from improved agricultural systems? Ina Porras blends together a number of thoughts after a side event at the Global Landscape Forum
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Building trust through dialogue with street-food vendors
5 November 2015Street-food vendors' businesses are often threatened in the name of progress, but a new initiative from IIED and Hivos is looking to bridge the divide, protecting livelihoods and an important source of cheap food
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Building fairer food futures
16 October 2015Powerful images from Uganda and Indonesia highlight the importance of informal food vendors in the food systems of the rural and urban poor
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Zero deforestation supply chains: promoting sustainable chocolate
16 September 2015How can we make chocolate more sustainable? This was one of the questions addressed by IIED researchers in a presentation at the World Forestry Congress in Durban.
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Consultation: designing a new biocultural heritage indication
20 August 2015How can indigenous people benefit more from their biocultural heritage? A new project wants to hear your feedback on how a labelling scheme for biocultural heritage-based products could work
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For smallholders and dams, one size doesn't fit all
6 August 2015Photos taken for the Global Water Initiative in West Africa in villages around the Sélingué dam in Mali show that when it comes to the irrigation schemes surrounding large dams, there is no 'standard' example of a family farmer
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Star spice in Vietnam's forests
5 August 2015Business training for farmers in Vietnam is adding spice to their harvest – and encouraging them to form producer organisations to make more from their crop
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Insuring farmers – adapting to climate change
16 July 2015Climate change is increasing the risks for farmers, but a new form of insurance may provide support
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Rush to urbanise leaves food vendors out in the rain
7 July 2015The drive to organise and improve towns and cities in Uganda is leaving food vendors out in the rain, warns Chris Busiinge from the Kabarole Research and Resource Centre
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Informal food vendors: urban food security's invisible experts
24 June 2015One in three urban citizens in Asia and Africa live in informal settlements. It’s time to consider their priorities when shaping urban food security policies.
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Farming on the city's periphery to enhance resilience
9 June 2015Farming land on the edge of the Gorakhpur, India, can help boost the city's flood defences, support livelihoods and reduce migration, finds guest blogger Nivedita Mani
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Five ways to make farming more sustainable
20 May 2015A recent workshop in Mozambique identified five ways to sustainably intensify agriculture. In food insecure countries, large-scale investments are often considered a major driver of agricultural growth, but these can promote monocultures and intensive approaches that damage the environment and progressively decrease soil fertility.
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Sustainable agriculture in China: then and now
26 March 2015The environmental impacts of China's agricultural production affect not just China, but also the global environment. An IIED and China Agricultural University workshop explored examples and models that could help promote sustainable agricultural practices in China
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Radio and text messages keep farmers in the loop in Rwenzori
19 March 2015An innovative partner project in rural Uganda is using dialogue via radio and SMS messages to help farmers solve problems
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If food security is the answer, is it time to change the question?
23 February 2015The growing number of people living in cities – and changes in rural-urban linkages – are re-shaping our relationship with food. Policymakers need to take note
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Seven papers unpick debates on African agriculture and rural development
15 October 2014To mark World Food Day, IIED, ODI and IDS have launched the first seven of 12 new papers addressing agricultural and rural development debates in sub-Saharan Africa.
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A marriage to save the earth: Farmers and researchers innovate to conserve biodiversity
7 October 2014Traditional knowledge combined with the latest science could increase food production while safeguarding biodiversity, new research shows
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Agroecology offers FAO a 'new window' on agriculture
2 October 2014Long-neglected by mainstream development actors, agroecology is gaining momentum as a farming and landscape approach – as a recent Food and Agriculture Organisation symposium demonstrates
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Calling all energy and agriculture experts: meet, talk and collaborate
29 April 2014Many of the 500 million small farms that produce the bulk of food consumed in developing countries have no access to modern energy services. Why doesn't more research and innovation focus on getting energy to them?
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Spreading the word about the no-till agricultural revolution
31 March 2014Never heard of no-till agriculture? It's revolutionising agriculture in Australia and other drylands countries. "No-Till Bill", a pioneer in the technique, is now spreading the word in Europe