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  • Can California's Organic Vegetable Farmers Unlock the Secrets of No-Till Farming?

    March 30, 2021 |

    Civil Eats |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, California

    A trial experiment with three farmers and several California universities is looking to better understand how to farm with little or no chemicals. No-till farming can boost soil health and better store carbon, but it’s not a perfect system. These farmers are testing how to reduce soil disturbance, use cover crops, and diversify their species of crops, yet so far, they haven’t found much success. “Figuring this all out has been ‘a school of hard knocks,’” says one of the farmers.

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  • Fighting the Mafia on Its Own Turf

    March 23, 2021 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Italy, Alto Belice Corleonese

    La Placido Rizzotto is one of nine farm co-ops in a network of properties that were seized from Sicily's Mafia and reused to create a productive alternative to the area's crime-based economy. Part of the Libera Terra (Freed Land) network, La Placido Rizzotto employs 22 people and its farm, winery, and tourist inn generated nearly $900,000 in sales in 2019. The government has confiscated thousands of properties in its effort to hurt the Mafia economically, but managing the properties remains a challenge that the "social use" movement addresses. Libera Terra's model has been copied by an Argentinian co-op.

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  • The magic greenhouse

    March 09, 2021 |

    BBC |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: Somalia

    A greenhouse that is cooled by seawater and the wind is allowing farmers in Somaliland to grow crops like tomatoes and vegetables despite extreme heat. By creating an environment that is higher in humidity and cooler in temperature, plants don’t need to drink as much water — almost 10 times less water because of the cooling system. There are challenges to scaling the response, but these greenhouses offer farmers the potential to increase their revenue in Africa.

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  • Should We Genetically Engineer Carbon-Hungry Trees?

    March 07, 2021 |

    Freethink |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

    As a way to combat climate change, scientists are experimenting with genetically modified trees as a way to draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to store in its leaves, roots, and trunk. The startup Living Carbon has genetically modified poplar and pine seeds in the ground and expect them to be ready by the end of the year. Some scientists are worried about how these trees can impact forest ecosystems, but they grow faster than normal trees, allowing them to study and assess the risks quicker.

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  • This seaweed can fight climate change

    February 25, 2021 |

    The Verge |

    Video |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Dover Plains, New York

    Symbrosia, a clean-tech startup in Hawaii, is taking seaweed from the ocean and turning it into a powder that can be used to feed livestock to reduce the amount of methane they produce — a key contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. The company worked with an organic farm in Upstate New York to test the product and found that sheep given a high dosage of the supplement had up to 70 percent reduction in methane emission. Creating the powder takes weeks and a lot of steps, but the startup is hopeful the product can become a mass-produced commodity.

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  • Agroforestry and land reform give Brazil cacao farmers sweet taste of success

    February 24, 2021 |

    Mongabay |

    Multi-Media |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Brazil, Ibirapitanga, Bahia

    After there was a fungal disease outbreak in the 1990s that affected cacao crops in Brazil, a group of 150 community members got together to collectively manage a farm to grow back cacao trees using agroforestry techniques. Because of their efforts, they sell their cacao to major chocolate brands and have seen their monthly income more than double.

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  • Zimbabwe's mango growers look to the sun to boost incomes

    February 15, 2021 |

    Thomson Reuters Foundation |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Zimbabwe, Gokwe

    A new dried fruit processing center in Zimbabwe has allowed farmers to turn their excess mangos into another product that can be sold to various markets around the world. The center serves more than 3,400 farmers and farmers can fetch up to four times as much for dried mangos as they would normally get from selling the fruit.

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  • Wales's "One Planet" Policy Is Transforming Rural Life

    February 12, 2021 |

    Reasons to be Cheerful |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Wales, Pembrokeshire

    Wales’ One Planet Development Policy allows people to live a more sustainable lifestyle by using only the resources on the land where they reside. For one family, they get their electricity from their own solar array, heat from firewood, and food from their gardens and livestock. Each year, they must prove that they are using only their “global fair share” of resources. So far, 46 farms have signed on to the program and the lessons learned from the experiment are helping to inform the government’s actions on other policies like housing.

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  • Egypt's farmers tap new tech to save water and boost crops

    February 10, 2021 |

    Thomson Reuters Foundation |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Egypt, Samalout

    A new government pilot program in Egypt is allowing farmers to use technology to tell them when their soil is dry and how much water it needs, which can aid the country as it navigates its water crisis. Sensors buried in the soil measure the ground’s moisture levels and sends the data to the user through a mobile app. The government has given 200 devices away for free, but some experts question the cost and if farmers will be comfortable with the technology. Still, one farmer says that because of the new system, she has been using 20 percent less water and her labor costs have also decreased.

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  • Large food companies are looking to lock carbon in soil as a way to meet ambitious emissions goals

    February 09, 2021 |

    Ensia |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Fairfield, Maine

    Stonyfield, an organic dairy company, is working with six of its suppliers to pilot how farms can measure the amount of carbon it’s trapping in soil through regenerative farming practices as a way for the company to achieve its goals to cut carbon emissions. The OpenTEAM initiative is working to demonstrate how a dairy farm could improve its soil health to reach carbon net zero and, eventually, have food companies pay its farmers to adopt the new practices.

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