Blog and news

There are approximately 400 to 500 million small farms around the world. This implies that some two billion people – a third of the world‘s population – are dependent on smallholding for their livelihoods.

In One Billion Hungry, Sir Gordon Conway, one of the world’s foremost experts on global food needs, explains the many interrelated issues critical to our global food supply from the science of agricultural advances to the politics of food security.

Weather-related crises pose a serious threat to human development and in some places it is already undermining the international community’s efforts to reduce poverty. How should we refocus and strengthen our work to become more effective?

THIS EVENT HAS NOW FINISHEDThe seminar "Cash transfers, resilience and agriculture development" is streaming LIVE!For a full description of the event, with documents and agenda, please see the Event page.If you have any questions about the live streaming or the event, please contact SIANI Programme Manager Matt

SIANI reported from the IUCN World Conservation Congress in South Korea between the 6-8th September participating in events relating to Food Security.  We produced daily digests from the events we attended and these you can find below.

Today was the main Nature+ Food day at the IUCN Congress.  There was clearly a lot on people's minds as they headed to their various morning sessions.  In summary it came out of discussions that there was a need for the conservation community to engage more directly with agriculture because it is the most significant driver of environmental change.

Today the main part of the conference got up and running, the theme was Nature+ Climate.  In the main auditorium high level dialogues were running throughout the day whilst smaller sessions between 1-6hrs were held in the surrounding conference area.  SIANI was present at two of these sessions and you can read my session notes below.

The IUCN World Conservation Congress is the world’s largest and most important conservation event. Held every four years, it aims to improve how we manage our natural environment for human, social and economic development. In 2012 it is being held on the island of Jeju, Republic of Korea.

Boys learning new ideas of masculinity around campfires in rural Africa and “sisterhoods” formed to provide a common voice to women are starting to change attitudes about African women farmers, say the authors of a forthcoming book about gender and agriculture.