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Urban farming has arrived: here's four ways to make a success of it

Anoush Darabi

June 15, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, The Hague

As urban farming proves to be a viable solution for the need to produce more food, many find the landscape of city-farming difficult to navigate due to space and expenses. In The Netherlands, however, a handful of small-scale solutions have stood out and allowed farmers to find success.

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How land under solar panels can contribute to food security

Frank Jossi

June 04, 2018 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Minnesota

As land for solar energy production has increased around the world, cities have discovered that the same land can provide robust “pollinator-friendly” crops. These lands function as “dual-farms” because the agriculture grows under “solar canopies,” thus serving more than one purpose. They cut down on electricity costs, and increase crop production as well as the amount of pollinating insects in the surrounding areas.

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Kenyan farmers embrace new and sustainable way to build resilience

Leopold Obi

June 01, 2018 |

Down To Earth |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nakuru

Motivated by crop devastation from a severe drought, farmers in parts of Kenya took action to prevent a similar event from impacting them in the future. Working together, these small-scale farmers implemented conservation agriculture practices to ensure crop viability during even the harshest climate conditions.

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How Healthy Soil Practices Balance Anecdotal and Scientific Observation

Christopher Biddle

May 15, 2018 |

KSJD |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Gunnison, Colorado

There's a movement rising to promote better cattle farming practices through the use of healthy soil, which means introducing more carbon into the land. Farmers throughout the agriculture industry are finding that by feeding cattle in carbon poor pastures, they are able to rejuvenate the land through leftover carbon-rich hay and manure.

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Saving Our Food Supply in the Face of Climate Change

Rowan Jacobsen

May 01, 2018 |

Eating Well |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Arizona

"Sometimes going backwards is making progress," says Dennis Moroney, a rancher in Arizona working alongside other ranchers, scientists and farmers to find a viable solution for growing crops in an increasingly warm and dry climate. This mindset has turned to methodology for this group. Rather than try to adapt current land to the hot temperature, they're finding that the best bet may be to utilize crops and livestock already known to thrive in hot, arid climates.

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Can Dirt Save the Earth?

Moises Velasquez-Manoff

April 18, 2018 |

The New York Times Magazine |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Marin, California

One tactic for combatting climate change has to do with soil health. Soil can withdraw and store carbon from the atmosphere—at a higher rate when covered by manure—and also supports long-term soil sustainability and saves farmers money. Because agriculture already consumes much of the world's surface, proponents of carbon farming envision a world where large swathes of land act as a carbon sink. Potential drawbacks and things left to explore include how to produce compost without creating more energy than it saves and how to use cows effectively when they also contribute much of the carbon in the atmosphere.

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Cooperative agroforestry empowers indigenous women in Honduras

Monica Pelliccia

April 16, 2018 |

Mongabay |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Honduras, Gualcince

Restoring biodiversity to agricultural land improves food security and helps to sequester carbon. In Honduras, the revival of indigenous agroforestry techniques includes the use shade-grown organic coffee, grown alongside fruit-producing trees and other useful crops. Cosagual Lenca, an all-female cooperative of coffee growers, works to introduce and popularize the techniques.

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Innovative Greenhouses Help Farmers Adapt to Climate Change

Janice Cantieri

April 11, 2018 |

National Geographic |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Telangana

In India, 15 farmers are piloting a program that utilizes greenhouses to grow crops that would otherwise perish in the unpredictable climate. The income generated from this capability is allowing families to pay for their children's education. In addition, women are being given opportunities to play a part in the agricultural success through training and networking.

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Years of eavesdropping on insect sex talk is starting to pay off for grape growers

Christopher Bobryk

April 04, 2018 |

Ensia |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Italy

Leafhoppers may sound like a harmless term to the untrained ear, but vineyard owners will quickly disagree. These insects have a history of invading and devastating vineyards across the U.S. and Europe. Entomologists may have uncovered a solution however, via studying how the leafhoppers mate. By replicating their vibrational mating calls, so to speak, they are able to hinder the species ability to mate, thus slowing down their reproduction rates.

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Farmers in Some of the Toughest Places to Do Agriculture Are the Ones Innovating for Climate Change

Frani Halperin

April 01, 2018 |

H20 Radio |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Vona, Colorado

It's not easy sustaining historical agricultural practices amidst a backdrop of climate change. Nate McCaffrey of eastern Colorado knows this all too well. So, instead of continuing the conventional ways of farming he had grown up to know, he decided to try out a no-till farming approach, and then went a step further and planted cover crops. Although not without its limitations, this switch in both mindset and practice has allowed him to cultivate healthier soil and save on fuel costs previously allocated towards his old tilling machinery.

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