“Earth to COP. For those who have eyes to see, for those who have ears to listen, and for those who have a heart to feel. 1.5 degrees is what we need to survive”. This quote is from an arresting speech from Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados at...

On farms, rodents consume and spoil animal feed, damage infrastructure and are a considerable threat to animal health and to achieving optimal health and wellbeing recognising the interconnections between people, animals, plants and their shared...

‘Mobilizing’ just one cassava root takes an enormous amount of time, energy, logistics and hard work. Once harvested, this tropical root crop – an important staple food – needs to be processed quickly, for fresh cassava roots begin to deteriorate...

NRI experience in improving cassava production and value addition in sub-Saharan Africa has focussed on many steps along the value chain, from farm to fork. As fresh cassava roots are highly perishable and must be consumed or processed within 72...

The work of social scientists involves taking an in-depth look at the many, often interlinking aspects of how society works. In order to understand certain facets of social relationships in more detail, it is sometimes necessary to apply a specific...

Terms such as ‘1.5ᵒC’and ‘Net Zero’ have entered the forum of public debate and will likely be assimilated into more common parlance as reporting on these issues continues. The volume of climate-related content in the media is increasing,...

Climate extremes – including droughts, floods, or tropical cyclones – are becoming more frequent, intense, and lasting longer, as demonstrated by the IPCC [1]. Many of these extremes, caused by climate change, can lead to devastating impacts on the...

The relentless anthropogenic warming of the Earth’s climate poses a real security threat for people and communities in fragile countries. This threat has been expressed by a variety of actors at COP26 in Glasgow [1] and advanced in UN Security...

Who ‘holds’ the land? Land tenure refers to “the terms under which land and natural resources are held by individuals, households or social groups”. When we are sure of who holds the land where we live, or farm, and we are sure of the conditions of...

Take a look in your store cupboard, your fridge, your fruit and vegetable rack, your bread bin… How much of that food will be eaten? How much will be wasted? Read on to find out more, including 14 easy actions that we can all do now to reduce our...

“Eating is an agricultural act” – Wendell Berry, US farmer, poet and philosopher. Agriculture is fundamental to human prosperity, but it is also in direct competition for space with other land ecosystems. While agriculture is called upon to...

Coffee production and prices have always been sensitive to climate change. For over a century now, whenever Brazilian producers are affected by a frost, prices rise, and supply becomes reduced. Even as recently as this year, key coffee-growing...