Ancient Maya forestry and agriculture in Central America
Understanding the scope and culture of ancient civilisations provides valuable insight into the roots of human society and the ways in which we have been changing the world around us for thousands of years.
Microloans make farming profitable for Kenyan smallholders
This article was originally published on SciDev.Net This article is supported by the CASA programme. For 40-year-old Beatrice Mulwale, a smallholder farmer from western Kenya, poor yields and low income had been par for the course for most of her farming life.
Craving chocolate – how to supply increasing demands in cocoa crops
A recent article in Canada’s The Globe and Mail, discussed some of the upcoming issues associated with out-dated cultivation methods for cocoa crops. Demand for cocoa, and the end product chocolate, is increasing in Asian countries as salaries increase and demands shift. While it has been suggested that this might contribute to a world cocoa…
Experimenting with Aquaponics farms in Nairobi
by Daniel Moore, danieljamesmoore.wordpress.com Some people say my business partner Jacquie and I are a little bit crazy. We are starting an aquaponics farming business in Nairobi, Kenya in the midst of poverty, pollution, power cuts, and corruption. We are doing this because we want to improve food security, job opportunities and create new business…
Rise of Agriculture in the past 300 years
This glimpse of agricultural expansion over recent centuries, courtesy of Bill Rankin, tells us a compelling story of the importance of farming in the modern world. However, the increaase in land dedicated to farming does not necessarily translate to the increase in food and income to sustain people- not while 40% of these crops is lost to pests before it can even be harvested. Is it time to grow more…
Farm makeovers in Kenya – Shamba Shape Up
http://youtu.be/lQABDLVoQWM This Kenyan TV series may be quite different to other reality shows you've seen. Here, farmers get a makeover of their shamba with advice on how to get the most out of their land, including planting tips, which seed varieties to use, and how to store harvested crops.