Scientific World

Digitisation

Use of mobile phones holds great promise for identifying and understanding gendered climate change adaptation strategies in rural areas of the Global South. Our authors describe the methodology and results of a case…

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Development policy

The spread of COVID-19, and the range of policy responses to contain the pandemic, exert wide-ranging effects on agri-food systems and livelihoods. The ‘COVID-19 Policy Response (CPR) Portal’ of the International Food…

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Knowledge sharing

Germany’s Thünen Institute has increased its activities in Africa in recent years. Scientific training and education are a crucial part of many of these activities. Specific examples are presented in this article, as are…

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Food systems

An international group of almost 50 scientists have identified 75 emerging innovations and has drawn up eight action points with the aim of accelerating the transition to a sustainable and healthy food system.

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Forestry

Brazil is one of the hotspots of the corona pandemic, and the Brazilian Amazon is particularly hard hit. Deforestation rates have risen in the last months due to weak controls because of COVID-19 restrictions.

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Rural development

Based on a four-dimensional approach - diversification of farming systems, seed accessibility, capacity building and gender integration - the International Crops Research Institute (ICRISAT) intends to improve resilience…

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Biodiversity

Species defaunation, i.e., the extinction of animal species due to overhunting and habitat loss, has been identified in a study as a main trigger for the global biodiversity crisis.

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Health

A fungus that lives in malaria-carrying mosquitoes could boost global efforts to control the disease, which kills about half a million people– mostly children under five– every year.

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Plant breeding

New plant breeding technologies (NPBTs), including genetically modified and gene‐edited crops, offer large potentials for sustainable agricultural development and food security. A study by an agricultural economist of…

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Biodiversity

Human impacts on biodiversity are increasingly being viewed as a possible cause of the current COVID-19 pandemic. The topic was addressed as part of a series of live interviews with experts on linkages between COVID-19…

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