China is Trying To Starve the World

 

Portugal - Modern slavery for an EU passport

In Portugal, workers from south Asia pick the berries that fill European supermarket shelves. It’s a back-breaking job - with pay under four euros an hour, and ten-hour days. The incentive? The hope of an EU passport.

The refugees feeding a nation - BBC News

 After the Vietnam War, France relocated a small group of 45 Hmong refugees from Laos to its overseas territory in South America, called French Guiana.

India farmer protests: Has PM Narendra Modi gone too far?

 

We debate the Indian Prime Minister’s overhaul of the country’s agriculture sector, and discuss Bangladesh’s Rohingya relocation plan.

In this episode of UpFront, we debate India’s new agricultural laws with Anila Singh, spokeswoman from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, and Yogendra Yadav, president of the Swaraj India Party. The reforms have triggered huge protests, with farmers saying the laws will put them at the mercy of big business but the government insists it will actually benefit them.

When food becomes scarce – high-tech farms of the future | DW Documentary

Agriculture will have to change drastically in the future if it is to meet global demand. Food production will become increasingly difficult in the face of growing challenges like rapid population growth, climate change and soil exhaustion.

 

Agrivoltaics: Solar Panels Bring Life to Struggling Farms

 These solar panels are breathing new life into farms struggling amid trade wars, high commodity prices, and the climate crisis.

Italy's Sikh Slaves

We investigate the exploitation of Sikh agricultural workers in Italy by organised crime amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The vast agricultural plains of the Agro-Pontino in central Italy is now one of the country's main areas of food production.

Yet it was not always the case.

This 100 mile-long stretch of land facing the Tyrrhenian Sea was marshland until a century ago when fascist dictator Benito Mussolini organised a mass migration from northern Italy to drain the swamps and turn them into fertile farmland.

Feeding the Billions: A New Frontier for Sustainable Eating | earthrise

Zero waste restaurant and jellyfish dinners: Alternative food solutions could help alleviate an impending food crisis.

With global demand for food set to increase by nearly 70 percent by 2050, sustainable food production is one of the biggest challenges for the future.

The food industry is one of the most ecologically damaging industries and we will need to completely rethink its approach if we are to keep meals on the table for generations to come.

"Food is the single biggest impact that humans have on nature. We are deforesting the earth to grow more food. It's by far the biggest user of fresh water, the single biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions, and the biggest reason why we're in the middle of the mass species extinction event, the sixth that planet Earth has faced. At least a third of the world's food is currently being wasted," says Tristram Stuart, food waste campaigner and author.

Iraq's Dying Rivers

War and pollution plague the fertile crescent's Tigris and Euphrates rivers, leaving fishermen struggling to survive.

For thousands of years, two famous rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, made Iraq one of the most fertile regions in the Middle East.

Often called "the cradle of civilisation", the first urban settlers grew up on the lands between the two ancient waterways. But today, things are dramatically different, - for the rivers and the people who depend on them.

Iraq's ancient rivers and water resources have been seriously damaged by wars, economic sanctions, the construction of upstream dams, pollution and a fall in water levels.

The Buzz Around Niue

Can Niue, one of the world's smallest countries, save a global bee population under threat?

They may be small, but the world needs bees.

They pollinate one-third of the food we eat - fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and food for livestock. But recently, bee colonies around the world have been collapsing, with bees dying at alarming rates.

While the scientists try to find a solution, there is a buzz about Niue, a tiny South Pacific island.

Here, abandoned hives of disease-free bees have been discovered deep in the jungle. Could they be the answer to one of the biggest problems facing global agriculture?

The Last Villagers of Avsar

An insight into a rural community in western Turkey which is losing its livelihood, population and hope for the future.

Avsar is a small village in south-western Turkey which, like many rural communities around the world, is gradually losing its livelihood, its population and much of its hope for the future.

It has depended on cotton farming for decades, but times have changed. Turkey's agriculture used to be the biggest contributor to the country's economy and in the 1920s, farm labourers formed three-quarters of the workforce, but now they are under a quarter.

Industrialisation and urbanisation occurred later in Turkey than in Western Europe but had a major impact on farming communities starting in the 1950s.

Pakistan: No Place Like Home

A Pakistani cotton farmer travels to Dubai to make his fortune but soon discovers he wants more from life than money.


In the remote Pakistan village of Hakimwala, farmers battle a deadly pest that is ruining their cotton crops. Many find it difficult to afford the pesticide and face mounting debts.

The elders of the village encourage the young men to travel abroad to earn better pay and help lift the village out of poverty.

Twenty-nine-year-old Sharif has lived in Hakimwala all his life. He is an only son and drives the only car in the village. He is responsible for driving the sick to the city hospital three hours away.

But with the infestation of his cotton crops and rising debts, Sharif decides it is time to seek his fortune elsewhere.

The Buzz Around Niue

Can Niue, one of the world's smallest countries, save a global bee population under threat?


They may be small, but the world needs bees.

They pollinate one-third of the food we eat - fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and food for livestock. But recently, bee colonies around the world have been collapsing, with bees dying at alarming rates.

While the scientists try to find a solution, there is a buzz about Niue, a tiny South Pacific island.

Here, abandoned hives of disease-free bees have been discovered deep in the jungle. Could they be the answer to one of the biggest problems facing global agriculture?

Japan's Future Farms

How Japan is using high tech factories to grow vegetables indoors.

By 2050, the world will need to feed an additional 2.5 billion people living in cities. Yet as the demand for food rises, the amount of land available for agriculture in developed countries is expected to decline.

In Japan, at the Fujitsu factory of Aizu-Wakamatsu which still manufactures semiconductor chips for computers, a different project is underway which may offer a solution to this problem.

The company has converted an unused part of the factory into a farm to grow food - and more specifically, to grow lettuce. Fujitsu has focused on growing a low-potassium variety, which is sold to people with kidney problems who cannot process the mineral properly.

Myanmar's Smart Farmers

How low-cost solutions are keeping farmers in Myanmar one step ahead of climate change.


Practically isolated from the global market for 50 years, Myanmar is still largely dependent on agriculture. But the country is one of the most at risk from climate change and no one feels these pressures more than the rural smallholder farmers who make up the backbone of its food system and rural economy.

Shorter monsoons and rising temperatures mean severe droughts have become more frequent in recent decades. This has led to higher levels of saltwater intrusion in important rice growing territories and an increase in the risk of complete crop failure.

Proximity Designs is a social enterprise which was founded to provide farmers with low-cost, low-tech equipment to help them adapt and thrive in their changing environment.