Food and agriculture news

The Bolivian diet: women’s voices and choices

8 March 2019 To coincide with International Women's Day on March 8, a photo exhibition explores Bolivian women's attitudes to traditional foods

Mountain communities stress the importance of biocultural heritage for global food security

15 February 2019 Ahead of an intergovernmental forum on biodiversity and food security, the International Network of Mountain Indigenous Peoples has published a report highlighting the importance of biodiversity and indigenous knowledge for climate adaptation

IIED and partners urge citizen involvement in international food policy debate

5 February 2019 IIED and Hivos will highlight the importance of listening to citizens' voices at an international conference on sustainable food systems this week

IIED webinar: Incentive-based contract farming and agricultural commodities exchanges

17 September 2018

Join our webinar on 3 October 2018 to discuss experiences of supporting farmers in contract farming arrangements

Forest and Farm Facility launches Phase II

20 July 2018

On 20 July IIED and partners will launch Phase II of the Forest and Farm Facility, the second stage of a highly successful international partnership that is providing support to forest and farm producer organisations across Africa, Asia and Latin America

IIED webinar: How to support small-scale farmers in negotiations with agribusiness

26 March 2018

Join our webinar on 16 April 2018 to discuss how small-scale farmers can be supported when negotiating with companies.

IIED and Hivos film calls for life beyond maize in Zambia

10 October 2017

A new film launched ahead of World Food Day highlights the importance of diversifying agricultural production in Zambia, from farm to fork, in order to improve the nation's diet

Mountain indigenous peoples call for support for biocultural landscapes to achieve the SDGs

28 June 2017

The International Network of Mountain Indigenous Peoples has called for support and legal protection for biocultural heritage landscapes and community conserved areas following an event in Peru

Biocultural heritage territories film now in Spanish

30 August 2016 A visually stunning photofilm that profiles three biocultural heritage terriritories and their role in biodiversity conservation and locally determined development is now available in Spanish. Biocultural heritage territories protect indigenous and traditional land tenure and use land management to preserve fragile ecosystems and promote locally determined patterns of development

IIED webinar: using web platforms to promote transparency and strengthen land rights

9 June 2016 Join us for a webinar on 6 July, 2016 to discuss how web platforms can be used by civil society organisations to support communities whose land rights and livelihoods are affected by agricultural projects

Mountain communities being devastated by extreme climate impacts

18 November 2015

For those mountain communities living at the extreme edges of the world, climate change is already a very real threat. Researchers are calling for vulnerable communities to be given special consideration in the Paris negotiations next month

Mountain communities rebuild diverse, climate-resilient crops

6 October 2015 The Sustainable Development Goals have been agreed, but for mountain communities around the world this action can't come quickly enough. Climate change is already here, threatening their food security, nutrition and livelihoods

Unmissable opportunity to build food security and reduce GHGs at Paris COP

12 February 2015 International research organisations are stressing the need for climate agreements to support traditional farming, given its role in both adaptation and mitigation

Toulmin: "Soil is the foundation for a prosperous society"

10 December 2014

IIED director Camilla Toulmin tells the BBC's Science in Action that much of the soil across sub-Saharan Africa needs urgent attention if it is to feed the continent

Return of potatoes from CIP to Andean farmers proves critical for climate adaptation

27 November 2014 Peru's farmers are able to access a greater diversity of potato varieties for climate adaptation, thanks to the continued work of a ground-breaking agreement between CIP, ANDES and the Association of the Potato Park communities

Indigenous mountain communities call on governments to support traditional knowledge-based adaptation

18 June 2014 An International network of Mountain Indigenous Peoples has been formed to advocate for community biocultural heritage rights and help achieve food sovereignty and climate change adaptation

Large scale irrigated rice farming: the state must take farmers' perspectives into account

3 June 2014

New report by the Global Water Initiative stresses importance of considering views of farmers in agricultural policies

Indigenous farmers from Peru, China and Bhutan agree to share seeds for climate adaptation

8 May 2014 In the spirit of the International Year of Family and Peasant Farming, indigenous mountain farmers from China, Bhutan and Peru have agreed to share seeds in an effort to cope with global climate change

Indigenous spiritual values guide climate change adaptation in mountain communities

25 April 2014 Cultural and spiritual values of indigenous peoples and climate change will be the focus of an international event in the Potato Park, Cusco, Peru

Study reports double-digit growth in market performance of 'eco-labels'

31 January 2014 Private sector sourcing commitments are driving major market growth for sustainable commodities, according to the State of Sustainability Initiatives (SSI) Review 2014 published today by an alliance of international organisations.

IIED and Hivos set up 'Change Labs' on food and energy

22 January 2014 IIED and development organisation Hivos have today launched a two-year strategic partnership to provide research-based policy advice to improve sustainable food systems and access to energy in developing and emerging countries.

First international gathering of forest producer organisations underway

25 November 2013

The representatives of farmer and forest producer organizations from around the world are gathering today at an international conference held in Guilin, China

IIED strengthens policy and research links with China

13 November 2013 IIED will share some of its research on key issues in global agriculture with an audience of Chinese academics, government agencies, policy researchers and nongovernmental organisations at a meeting in Beijing on 15 November.

Feeding the World: Why we must do more than just increase yields

5 July 2013 A new paper published today by the journal Science argues that to ensure sustainable food supplies for the Earth’s growing population, policymakers must focus on more than just food production.

New paradigm for African agriculture sees sustainable intensification in a new light

18 April 2013 The new report from the Montpellier Panel – a panel of international experts led by Professor Sir Gordon Conway of Agriculture for Impact – provides innovative thinking and examples into the way in which the techniques of sustainable intensification are being used by smallholder farmers in Africa to address the continent’s food and nutrition crisis.