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Feeding a rapidly expanding population without depleting the Earth’s finite resources, is one of the major challenges of the 21st century. These four entrepreneurs - who have all been selected as the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers for 2019 - have a vision to transform the way we farm in order to help feed the world. Mini-farms in underground parking lots In an…

A major UN conference on fighting desertification agreed on Friday to make the Sustainable Development Goal target of achieving “land degradation neutrality” (LDN), a national target for action. The Governments which are party to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), met in the Indian capital of New Delhi over ten days for COP14, adopting a series of breakthrough measures in the…

After decades of steady decline, world hunger has slowly been on the rise since 2015. An estimated 821 million people in the world suffered from hunger in 2018. If nothing changes, the immense challenge of achieving the Zero Hunger Target by 2030 will not be achieved. At the same time, overweight and obesity continue to increase in all regions of the world, according to The State of Food Security…

As the world’s only truly universal global organization, the United Nations has become the foremost forum to address issues that transcend national boundaries and cannot be resolved by any one country acting alone. To its initial goals of safeguarding peace, protecting human rights, establishing the framework for international justice and promoting economic and social progress, in…

Drylands are a vital but often overlooked resource. Those that live in drylands depend on forests and other wooded lands, and grasslands for their livelihoods and to meet basic needs. Trees and forests in drylands also provide habitats for biodiversity, protect against erosion and desertification, and help increase the resilience of landscapes and communities in the face…

1. What is food loss and food waste? In 2011, FAO presented the estimate that around 1/3 of the world’s food was lost or wasted every year. Since then, much has changed in the global perception of the problem. Food loss and waste has indeed become an issue of great public concern. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development reflects the increased global awareness of the…