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Tech-Savvy Kenyan Youth Head Back To The Farm

When Francis Njoroge graduated with an engineering degree in Nairobi, he expected to earn a six-figure salary. Instead he found himself working as an electrician on a three-month contract, for 20,000 Kenyan shillings (about $200) per month. He decided to move back to his parents’ farm in Kimandi, a village...

In Berlin, Cultivating A Taste For Plants

On the Moritzplatz, in the popular district of Kreuzberg in Berlin, a colourful crowd drops its bicycles and rushes inside the Prinzessingartenfor an exchange of exchange and sale of nutritious plants. There are also several stands of environmental protection associations. The garden appears, behind the fences, as an oasis...

The Urban Ecologist at Moonwater Farm, California

Kathleen Blakistone first became interested in gardening when her son was in third grade at McKinley Elementary School in Santa Monica. She joined a group of parent volunteers, known as the “Gardening Angels,” under the tutelage of Bonnie Freeman. Freeman led the Santa Monica School Garden Project, which created...

South African Inventor Profits From Exciting New Market

South African Claire Reid has most recently won the title of Agripreneur of the Year at the global competition, Future Agro Challenge. She is the inventor of a biodegradable seed tape which takes the hassle out of growing domestic vegetable and herb gardens. Reid’s seed tape (which evolved from her...

Young Americans are Leaving Desk Jobs to Farm

Two years ago, the 32-year-old Liz Whitehurst - who graduated from a liberal arts college and grew up in the Chicago suburbs - abandoned Washington for this three-acre farm in Upper Marlboro, Md. She joined a growing movement of highly educated, ex-urban, first-time farmers who are capitalizing on booming...

Africa Needs Its Version Of Vertical Farms To Feed Growing Cities

Vertical farms use high tech lighting and climate controlled buildings to grow crops like leafy greens or herbs indoors while using less water and soil. Because it's a closed growing system, with controlled evaporation from plants, this farms use 95% less water than traditional farms. At the same time, most vertical...

Farmers in India’s First 100% Organic State Need Support

Sikkim was declared as India's first 100% organic state in 2016. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had praised the move towards traditional farming and urged other states to emulate Sikkim's organic agriculture model. Launched as an ambitious programme through a resolution passed by the Sikkim Legislative Assembly in 2003, and gradually implemented...

Exploring an Alternative Dairy Farming Model in New Zealand

Earlier the farmer owner could make an income without having to milk cows every day and the young farmer could make a good income and save the surplus. After about 10 years, the sharemilker was in a position to buy a small farm. Today, just to get onto the sharemilking...

The Man Who Saved The Lives of 4 Million Farmers

"In our country people think farmers are from another planet; the way farmers are discussed, as if farmers are not like other human beings," says 65-year-old Subhas Palekar. "For example," says Palekar, "Prices increase for everything and everyone accepts price rise for everything from toys to petrol, but somehow the...

New Regulations For Greenhouse Growers To Produce Safe Food

As the rules of the Food Safety Modernization Act are finalized, greenhouse growers will be required to ensure the edible crops they produce are safe for human consumption. The purpose of the law, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is "To ensure the U.S. food supply is safe...