Fertilizer is a key source of nitrogen pollution which fouls air and water worldwide. Current regulations target farmers, but focusing on producers could spur them to develop greener products.
Water-hungry crops like cotton and rice are still worth farming in Australia.
DAVE HUNT/AAP
The farmer has long been held up in society as the ‘real Australian’, but this image ignores the role of agriculture in dispossessing Indigenous people of their lands and culture.
Guinea-pig farming is popular in Peru and is an option for African farmers.
dubes sonego/Shutterstock
Farmers should use biopesticides - naturally occurring substances that kill pests such as the fall armyworm - instead of using pesticides, which are often highly toxic.
A recent study estimates that high temperatures and drought will lead to drastic losses for all major food crops, including maize and wheat.
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Many of the crop plants that feed us waste 20 percent of their energy, especially in hot weather. Plant geneticists prove that capturing this energy could boost crop yields by up to 40 percent.
A family from the Central American migrant caravan at the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana.
Reuters/Lucy Nicholson
Donald Trump portrays migrants as a foreign problem ‘dumped’ on America’s doorstep. That view ignores the global forces that bind nations together, including trade, climate change and colonization.
Medium-scale African farmers are relatively wealthy and influential.
BOULENGER Xavier/Shutterstock
The thin layer of soil on our planet’s surface ultimately sustains us all, but it’s a finite resource. With a growing global population, perhaps it is time to start looking for alternatives.
Earth is fast approaching the red lines that scientists have urged temperatures cannot cross if we have any hope of avoiding catastrophic climate change. Here are the emergency measures we need.
Like Dr. Seuss’ imaginary truffula trees, baobabs are endangered.
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An Australian steer named Knickers broke the internet this week. The heavyweight Holstein-Friesian weighs as much as a small car, but genetically speaking he’s within the normal range (just).
Experimental field of a salt-tolerant rice variety in Bangladesh.
IRRI
Rising seas and groundwater depletion, both driven by climate change, are making soils saltier in many parts of the world. Farmers will need help adapting, especially in developing countries.
City fringe agriculture gives farmers unique access to direct markets and provides those living in cities the opportunity to connect with local growers.
Foodprint Melbourne
To improve access to locally grown food and help prevent disruptions to supply chains caused by climate change, we need to support farming on the fringes of cities.
Though agriculture is a necessity, we rarely take time to understand the realities of the farming industry and the farmers who toil on the land.
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Managing Director, Triple Helix Consulting; Chief Executive Officer, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research; Professorial Fellow, ANU Fenner School for the Environment and Society, Australian National University