On Earth Day, we take a look at climate change and agriculture

Climate change poses a threat to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, exacerbating existing risks like extreme weather and the migration of crop pests and diseases that threaten food security. Already, the climate crisis is accelerating biodiversity loss and the spread of invasive species, which cost Africa’s agricultural sector billions annually. Taken together, this can jeopardize…
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Helping communities adapt to the impacts of climate change

"Chinyunyu Plant Clinic in Rufunsa district, Zambia."
To mark Earth Day on 22nd April, we’ve highlighted three of our stories on agriculture and climate change from the past year.   The world is witnessing growing incidents of the new “normal” caused by global warming. No longer regarded as a future challenge to be faced in the next few decades, climate disruption is…
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New report calls for urgent action to tackle climate change

The world’s leading climate scientists have issued their most extensive warning yet on the risks associated with increasing global temperatures.  The authors of the new report, published yesterday in Incheon, South Korea, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), say that urgent, far-reaching and unprecedented actions are needed across society, in order to limit…
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COP21: Major climate deal agreed in Paris

  A landmark agreement to limit global temperature rises to below 2 °C has been announced After two intensive weeks of debate the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) drew to a close on 12th December with a new climate deal on the table. The ambitious global agreement commits the 195 participating parties to hold…
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Misshapen fruit and ugly veg….is it time that retailers relaxed cosmetic specifications?

           Would you eat a carrot with three roots or an overly curved cucumber? The contribution of "ugly" fruit and vegetables to food wastage is not a new problem but one that has moved in and out of the spotlight for several years.  A new BBC production "Hugh’s War on Waste", fronted…
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Climate of changing public opinion

This week is Climate Week in the UK, which aims to get the public involved in thinking about climate change. In the scientific community, there is an increasing level of consensus about climate change and the need to take drastic action to limit severe consequences. However, in order to introduce challenging policies, there must be…
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Climate Change – What Will Happen to Weeds and Diseases?

Much attention has focused on what plants will be able to grow where as the effects of climate change are felt. A key factor that plays into that analysis is what effect climate change will have on diseases and weeds.Two new papers in CAB Reviews look at those two elements and show that that the…
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World tourism leaders tackle climate change

Earlier this week, some 600 representatives from over 100 countries, representing all sectors of the tourism industry (public and private sector, NGOs and governments) met in the idyllic Swiss resort of Davos to debate the  global challenge of climate change as it affects and is affected by tourism, at the 2nd International Conference on Climate…
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