Food and agriculture blogs
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Turning up the heat – how chilli growing is conserving Uganda’s wildlife
15 June 2021Juliet Aneno explains how chilli-growing enterprises in Uganda are helping households generate non-poaching related income – supporting efforts to mitigate human-wildlife conflict around Murchison Falls National Park
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Agricultural contracts and farmer agency: a shift in perspective
17 May 2021Support initiatives should assist farmers’ own efforts to renegotiate trading relations, rather than assuming producers gain most from integration in agribusiness-led activities
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Producer agency and voice in certification schemes
26 March 2021A recent IIED webinar explored how to genuinely promote producer voice and agency in standards setting worldwide
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Promoting producer agency in agricultural value chain contracts: peer learning (in a pandemic)
16 December 2020Thierry Berger and Emily Polack summarise highlights from a recent learning event on the role of contracts in promoting the agency of agricultural producers – and reflect on the process of sharing experiences virtually
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Promoting producer agency in food systems – might new global guidelines offer any hope?
10 December 2020With a new set of guidelines on food systems and nutrition under negotiation, Emily Polack reflects on their potential to give small-scale producers a greater say in food systems governance – one key to a healthier, fairer and more sustainable future for all
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The inconvenient truth about ‘capacity’ strengthening in global development
8 December 2020To work with effective and progressive civil society movements in low-income countries, do international NGOs need to do less capacity strengthening, and work as allies of these movements instead? Drawing on lessons from a new report, Natalie Lartey discusses how advocates can advance this agenda
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Rubbish dump turned lush urban farm
3 December 2020A new urban farm, springing up on a former garbage dump in Chiang Mai, Thailand has become a lifeline for the area’s urban poor communities
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How is COVID-19 affecting wild meat consumption in rural Cameroon?
2 November 2020A series of interviews with residents from Cameroon’s Dja Faunal Reserve uncover how COVID-19 is influencing the wild meat they hunt, buy, sell and eat
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Indigenous Peoples’ food systems hold the key to feeding humanity
23 October 2020A recent workshop hosted by IIED and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew explored how the way Indigenous Peoples grow and consume food holds answers to the world’s broken food system
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Putting informal food systems at the centre of sustainable diets
16 October 2020A new report from IIED and Hivos calls for a rethink about how sustainable diets can be achieved in low-income countries, with informal food systems central to that goal
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To address food insecurity in Uganda post COVID-19 the government must act now
24 September 2020In the wake of COVID-19, food insecurity in Uganda is drastically increasing. Food Rights Alliance and Twaweza East Africa call on the government to take specific and urgent action
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The politics at play in Vietnam’s food system
16 September 2020Guest blogger Christophe Béné discusses how perception, personal beliefs and values can overrule science and evidence in policymaking – and how this is influencing policies and crisis narratives around food safety in Vietnam
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Loss and damage in Rwanda: a young climate activist reports
3 September 2020On 9 September 2020, IIED and ICCCAD are hosting a webinar on climate-related loss and damage in the least developed countries. Ineza Umuhoza Grace reports on how climate change is impacting Rwanda
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Food insecurity: an appetite for change
12 August 2020On International Youth Day, Facebook guest blogger Naomi Gammon discusses the role of young people in reshaping unhealthy patterns of food consumption
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Lima's community-organised soup kitchens are a lifeline during COVID-19
7 August 2020In Lima’s informal settlements, ollas comunes – community-led soup kitchens – are reviving strong traditions of self-organised crisis response and resilience among the urban poor.
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Exploring why people eat wild meat – and designing better alternatives
29 July 2020New research from Cameroon investigating drivers for wild meat consumption will help find sustainable alternatives that work for rural people
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Three pillars for food system change: inclusivity, joint vision and long-term commitment
16 July 2020A new paper identifies three key ingredients multi-actor initiatives need to drive change in the food system
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How can farmers in Ethiopia work safe and smart during COVID-19 lockdown?
3 July 2020What does farming under lockdown look like – and what are the options for keeping farmers safe while work goes on?
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How Dhaka's urban poor are dealing with COVID-19
1 July 2020COVID-19 presents not only a health crisis, but a food crisis for Dhaka’s poorest. Guest blogger John Taylor describes how urban poor communities have risen to the challenge
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Truly transformative change is key to combating the biodiversity crisis
30 June 2020For the Convention on Biological Diversity’s new post-2020 framework to be effective – and not more empty rhetoric – governance needs more attention
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Working with nature to build back better from COVID-19: inspirations from farmers in China
23 June 2020Yufen Chuang and Xiaoting Hou Jones reflect on why working with nature to adapt to climate change can offer valuable lessons on how to build back better from COVID-19
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Common cause with people in the food systems of the majority
22 June 2020Bill Vorley discusses why we need a much deeper understanding of and partnership with people in the food systems that feed and provide livelihoods for low-income women and men
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Uganda’s hungry food vendors: counting the cost of COVID-19
11 June 2020Interviews as part of a new study show how lockdown restrictions are leaving Uganda’s food vendors hungry and vulnerable
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Using technology to overcome challenges for farmers in value chains
27 May 2020Value chains are structured in ways that are unfavourable to smallholder farmers who often struggle to access finance, inputs and markets. An IIED webinar discussed how smallholders in East Africa can use technology to overcome those challenges and negotiate with buyers and input and finance providers from a position of strength
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Protecting indigenous foods, preserving biodiversity – the solutions are in nature
22 May 2020On this year’s International Day for Biological Diversity, Natalie Lartey and Immaculate Yossa Daisy discuss how advocacy to protect Uganda’s indigenous food is simultaneously preserving the nation’s biodiversity