What we’ve been reading this week

This week’s summary of the news stories, reports and blogs that have grabbed our attention. We welcome your thoughts and comments on these articles.

Biodiversity

Pollinators vital to our food supply under threat, FAO

Agricultural biodiversity to manage risks and empower the poor, Bioversity

Fairy tale hints at dark side of pulses, SciDevNet

Access to Seeds – why seed companies need to bridge the gap to reach smallholder farmers, Bioversity

Farmers in Benin adopt new natural enemies to fight pod borers in cowpea, FAO Pulses 2016

Freebee: How bees can help raise food security of 2 billion smallholders at no cost, FAO

Cities and urban development

Facing Severe Food Shortages, Venezuela Pushes Urban Gardens, The Salt

Climate change adaptation in global megacities protects wealth – not people, The Conversation

Why are so many people still living in flood-prone cities? The Conversation

Smallholder farming and finance

Financial Diaries with Smallholder Families, CGAP

Adapting to climate change: Smallholder farmers feeding the world, Devex

The new ‘golden age’ of agronomy, Thrive

A Year in the Lives of Smallholder Families, CGAP

Farmer Based Organisations (FBOs), Feeding the Future

Africa: Ending Hunger – 3 Things That Need to Happen After the Paris Agreement, AllAfrica

Cultivating Africa’s economic fortunes on the family farm, Ventures Africa

Zimbabwean farmers fear the worst as cattle, crops succumb to drought, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Innovation in Agriculture

Wetland agriculture helps entrepreneurs in Africa, Thrive

Is cassava the key to tomorrow’s food security? Thomson Reuters Foundation

New GMO rice could fight iron, zinc deficiencies in developing world, Genetic Literacy Project

How Tech can empower women through zerohunger, Zero Hunger Challenge

Kenya Gives Nod to Open-Air Trials of Bt Maize – It Could Be Selling By 2018, AllAfrica

Guest Commentary – Changing Farmers’ Lives with Science, The Chicago Council

Are these the chickens of the future? FT Magazine