Thursday, August 11, 2016
News and Views from the Global South
Native Plants Boost Local Diets in El Salvador
Juana Morales is cooking one of the most popular dishes in El Salvador: pupusas, corn tortillas with different fillings. But hers are unique: they are not made with the traditional corn tortillas, but use Maya nuts, a highly nutritional seed that has fallen out of use but whose consumption is being encouraged in rural communities.
Climate-Smart Agriculture for Drought-Stricken Madagascar
Mirantsoa Faniry Rakotomalala is different from most farmers in the Greater South of Madagascar, who are devastated after losing an estimated 80 percent of their crops during the recent May/June harvesting season to the ongoing drought here, said to be the most severe in 35 years.
New Alliance to Shore Up Food Security Launched in Africa
As over 20 million sub-Saharan Africans face a shortage of food because of drought and development issues, representatives of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Pan African Parliament (PAP) met in Johannesburg to forge a new parliamentary alliance focusing on food and nutritional security.
Chronic Hunger Lingers in the Midst of Plenty
In a fraught global economic environment, exacerbated by climate change and shrinking resources, ensuring food and nutrition security is a daunting challenge for many nations. India, Asia's third largest economy and the world's second most populous nation after China with 1.3 billion people, is no exception.
Forests and Crops Make Friendly Neighbors in Costa Rica
While Latin America keeps expanding its agricultural frontier by converting large areas of forest, one country, Costa Rica, has taken a different path and is now a role model for a peaceful coexistence between food production and sustainable forestry.
‘Monster’ El Niño Subsides, La Niña Hitting Soon
As if human-made armed conflicts, wickedness, rights abuse, gender violence, cruel inequality and climate catastrophes were not enough, now the saying “God Always Forgives, Men Sometimes, Nature Never” appear to be more true than ever. See what happens.
Indigenous Villages in Honduras Overcome Hunger at Schools
Barely 11 years old and in the sixth grade of primary school, this student dreams of becoming a farmer in order to produce food so that the children in his community never have to go hungry. Josué Orlando Torres of the indigenous Lenca people lives in a remote corner of the west of Honduras.
Seaweed gains ground as a pillar of food security in South America
Seaweed, a nutrient-rich foodstuff that was a regular part of the diet of several South American indigenous peoples, is emerging as a new pillar of food security in Latin America and is providing a livelihood for thousands of people in the region’s coastal areas.
Drought Prompts Debate on Cuba’s Irrigation Problems
Five gargantuan modern irrigation machines water the state farm of La Yuraguana covering 138 hectares in the northeastern province of Holguín, the third largest province in Cuba. However, “sometimes they cannot even be switched on, due to the low water level,” said farm manager Edilberto Pupo.
Soil Degradation Threatens Nutrition in Latin America
Curbing soil degradation is essential for ecological sustainability and food security in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Traditional Mexican Recipes Fight the Good Fight
In a clay pot, Araceli Márquez mixes tiny Mexican freshwater fish known as charales with herbs and a sauce made of chili peppers, green tomatoes and prickly pear cactus fruit, preparing a dish called mixmole.
Prickly Pears Drive Local Development in Northern Argentina
Family farmers in the northern Argentine province of Chaco are gaining a new appreciation of the common prickly pear cactus, which is now driving a new kind of local development.
The Family Garden Going Out of Style in Cuban Countryside
In the past, all rural homes in Cuba had gardens for putting fresh vegetables on the dinner table. The local term for these gardens is “conuco”, a word with indigenous roots that is still used in several Caribbean nations.
Harvesting Rainwater to Weather Drought in Northeast Argentina
In a semiarid region in the northeast Argentine province of Chaco, small farmers have adopted a simple technique to ensure a steady water supply during times of drought: they harvest the rain and store it in tanks, as part of a climate change adaptation project.
Land Tenure Still a Challenge for Women in Latin America
Rural women in Latin America continue to face serious obstacles to land tenure, which leave them vulnerable, despite their growing importance in food production and food security.Next Page »
As a leading communications institution and independent news agency on global issues and development, Inter Press Service is intensifying its focus on pressing sustainable development challenges that face countries and communities throughout the world. Agricultural development and food security are key areas to address, particularly given their importance to rural people and to the challenges of vastly increasing the amount of nutritious food needed to meet a rapidly expanding global population. Building on its track-record of the past 50 years, IPS is now engaging a broad range of media and institutional partners to maximize global visibility and impact and to raise public awareness and understanding, serving as a hub for stories on major food, agricultural, rural development and environmental trends and processes.
