Interview > Olivier De Schutter – “Agroecology is really common sense. It means understanding how nature works, to replicate the natural workings of nature on farms in order to reduce dependency on external inputs. Agroecology preserves the ability for future generations to feed themselves. I believe we should teach more about agroecology and encourage exchanges between farmers. We cannot continue in this impasse of an oil dependent food production system.”

Nutrition has become one of the buzz words of the year, like resilience, and landscapes. What they have in common is that they refer to complex situations with political forces competing over the backs of rural and urban communities. The nutrition challenge is clear – with a billion hungry people on this planet and another two billion overweight – it is time to act. Persistent hunger and undernutrition are inexcusable in a world of plenty. But the crucial question is: who should act and how?

We have read about poverty, vulnerability and resilience of family farming. The articles in this issue of Farming Matters have shown that there is an urgent need for a change in mindset regarding family farming, agriculture and food systems. And resilience must be the central concept in this new thinking.

Family farmers and the many ways in which they contribute to food security, healthy landscapes and thriving rural communities can be supported in a number of ways. These are some initiatives from around the world.

Even in the International Year of Family Farming there is confusion about family farming. What is it, and what distinguishes it from entrepreneurial farming or family agribusiness? Read more

Entre 1990 y 2005, Norman Uphoff, profesor emérito de Gobierno y de Agricultura Internacional en la Universidad de Cornell, se desempeñó como director del Instituto Internacional de Cornell para la Alimentación, la Agricultura y el Desarrollo Read more

Interview with Norman Uphoff, Professor Emeritus of Government and International Agriculture at Cornell University, former director of the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture, and Development (CIIFAD) from 1990 to 2005. Read more

However we look at it, the System of Rice Intensification, or SRI, is a major success story. While researchers are still debating its relevance, more and more people are getting to know about it, and more and more farmers are harvesting the results.

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Bioversity and CCAFS recently conducted a systematic review to explore the role of diversification in agricultural systems for increasing the resilience of smallholder farmers in confronting the risks associated with changing climates.
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Daniel Bornstein is a student at Dartmouth College interested in global food security. He has written columns on international development issues for PolicyMic.com, the Merrick Herald (Merrick, N.Y.), and College News Magazine. He was named a national semifinalist in the 2010 Intel Science Talent Search for his research on poplar’s viability as a biofuel—a potential alternative to the corn-based ethanol that drives up world food prices.