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.

Urbanisation, value chains, food systems

Growing Food for Growing Cities: Transforming Food Systems in an Urbanizing World, Chicago Council

Are cities doing enough on climate change? Residents say no, Green Biz

Shifting our Approach: Four Priorities for a More Sustainable Food System, The Chicago Council

Done sensibly, agricultural development can reduce poverty in Africa, The Conversation

Small-scale producers in the development of tea value-chain partnerships, ifad

Shifting our Approach: Four Priorities for a More Sustainable Food System, Chicago Council

Climate change

Promising climate for investment, Thomson Reuters Foundation

How should we compensate poor countries for ‘loss and damage’ from climate change? The Conversation

Why the Paris climate change goals may already be slipping beyond reach, The Guardian

Extreme weather and armed conflicts have put 240 million people under food stress, PhysOrg

Let’s enlist the Paris climate deal to build resilience, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Uganda: Farmers Embrace Field Schools to Cope With Climate Change, AllAfrica

Climate scientists are now grading climate journalism, The Guardian

Adaptation is key if Africa is to tackle climate change, The Conversation

As leaders sign climate deal, Africans go hungry amid drought, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Resource use

Is groundwater the key to increasing food security in Sub Saharan Africa? Thrive

Living in a water insecure world, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Knowledge Exchange Program Addresses Threats to Agricultural Biodiversity, Foodtank

Water-smart investment benefits ripple beyond food security, Thrive

Biotechnology

Crop Improvement, Adoption and Impact of Improved Varieties in Food Crops in Sub-Saharan Africa, CGIAR

The next generation of GMO food is here, and it’s technically not a GMO, Business Insider UK

French GMO cultivation ban declared illegal yet again, EuropaBio

Ugandan scientists start developing aflatoxin-resistant ground nuts, The Sunrise

Other interesting pieces…

Guest Commentary – The Cost of Leaving Women Farmers Behind, The Chicago Council

How I tweaked my diet to cut its environmental footprint in half, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Foundations team up to help tackle the SDGs, Devex

Technology brings advancement for Zero Hunger, Zero Hunger Challenge

What lies behind Africa’s lack of access and unreliable power supplies, The Conversation

Date Labeling Confusion Causes Food Waste, Consumer Uncertainty, FoodTank

Signs of the ‘Human Age’, New York Times