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How women in Iowa are leading farmland conservation efforts

Mark Bittman Melanie Saltzman

March 07, 2020 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV Programs |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Iowa

A group of women called The Women, Food and Agriculture Network was founded in 1998 in Iowa to educate female landowners about land conservation and implementing sustainable practices on their farms. The group has held more than 250 meetings since 2009, reaching more than 3,800 women landowners—and their surveys find that after a one-day session, 50-70% of the women go on to take an action to improve conservation on their property. Longterm, this group empowers women to play a bigger role in the future of agriculture in the state.

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Against the grain: why millet is making a comeback in rural India

Anne Pinto-Rodrigues

February 25, 2020 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Kohima, Nagaland

By reviving millet farming, farming communities are adapting to climate change. In India, the Millet Farmers Group, organized by a women’s rights nonprofit, the North East Network (NEN), helps farmers cultivate millet, an ancient grain that is less water-intensive than white rice. NEN Nagaland helps farmers from around the Nagaland district share knowledge about growing millet and obtain the necessary machinery to dehusk the grain.

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Return of indigenous crops helps reduce farm distress and restore ecosystems

Basudev Mahapatra

February 10, 2020 |

Mongabay |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Odisha

By returning to indigenous varieties of crops, farmers can increase ecological diversity and reliance to climate change. In India, hundreds of farmers in the state of Odisha have been returning to indigenous crops, like millet, vegetables, and tubers. In contrast to the high yield varieties of seeds provided by the government, heritage crops prove more resilient to changes in climate, water shortages, and local pests. Using heritage crops also reduces the need for pesticides, helping to restore ecological balance in the region.

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In the Philippines, seaweed is giving former fishers a future

Laura Villadiego

January 27, 2020 |

Equal Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Philippines, Bula

By replacing fishing with seaweed cultivation, coastal communities in the Philippines are adapting to climate change and new market opportunities. In Bula, families are increasingly looking to seaweed as a source of income. International demand for seaweed has more than doubled in the last decade. Furthermore, the crop does very well in warm coastal waters, providing a steady, safe, and sustainable income for communities.

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Are Food Forests The Future of Agriculture?

Claire Caulfield

December 30, 2019 |

Honolulu Civil Beat |

Podcast |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Hawaii

As concerns about food security grow in Hawaii amidst a backdrop of climate change, Pacific Islanders are leaning into agroforestry as a means to address the problem. Resilient to extreme weather, agroforests allow for multiple plants to be farmed together and can "grow double or triple the amount of plants in the same area of land as mono-culture."

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Indigenous women in Kenya rebuild resilience amidst an eco-cultural crisis

Wangũi wa Kamonji

December 05, 2019 |

OpenGlobalRights |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Tharaka

To build resilience against climate change, women in Kenya are spreading the knowledge of traditional farming and grains, offering sustainable alternatives to mass-produced crops like corn and wheat. By reinstating native farming practices, these women have grown less reliant on foreign imports while reinvigorating cultural traditions in their communities.

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How Peru's potato museum could stave off world food crisis

Dan Collyns

November 29, 2019 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Peru, Cusco

Climate change is impacting many crops and farmlands, but potato farmers in the Peruvian Andes are experimenting with genetic strains to diversify potatoes to help safeguard the vegetable for further climate changes. Scientists so far have found some success with one particular varietal and are now working to make it more resistant to temperature changes.

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Resisting GMOs and Preserving Indigenous Culture in Rural Mexico

Timothy A. Wise

October 26, 2019 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Cuetzalán, Puebla

A collection of remote villages in Mexico have banded together to create "a union of cooperatives that is achieving food sovereignty through agroecology." Their efforts started in the 1990s, when corporations were looming to come in and stir up ecotourism. They created The Tosepan Titataniske and zoned their own community, winning out against Walmart and Montsanto. Now the area is completely food independent, growing their own produce and making money on local coffee.

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Planting Native Prairie Could Be a Secret Weapon for Farmers

Nathan Beacom

October 15, 2019 |

Civil Eats |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Ames, Iowa

Farmers in Iowa have been experimenting with native prairie crops – using native plant species as buffers on farmlands – in an effort to bring more pollination, soil health, water quality preservation, and carbon sequestration to their land. The Iowa State University STRIPS program has been supporting farmers in this effort by connecting them with funding and the information they need to undertake such crops.

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This Charcoal-Coated Seed Could Bring Kenya's Forests Back to Life

Randi Eicher

October 10, 2019 |

The Slowdown |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

To combat the rapidly decreasing forest density in Kenya, an organization created "seedballs," or seeds from trees coated in charcoal and other nutrients that help the seeds survive long enough to germinate. The organization created a competition for schoolchildren to scatter the seeds using slingshots and encourages other creative ways to spread the seeds across the country.

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