World Food Day is on Sunday, October 16, and this year’s theme is “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too.”
Food security is one of the biggest climate change related issues facing people around the world today. Farmers, fisherfolk, and pastoralists are among those hit hardest by rising temperatures and increasingly frequent weather-related disasters. The global population is also steadily growing, requiring more sustainable, productive, and resilient food systems to keep up with demand.
Global Greengrants’ grantees are tackling these problems head on, implementing sustainable and organic farming practices that keep food supplies safe and promote farming in ways that are healthy for humans, soil, and water.
Farmers of the Future
Swanirvar is a community organization in West Bengal, India, that seeks to enhance food security and alleviate poverty at the local level by educating youth and encouraging the development of home- and school-based organic gardens. The organization used a Greengrant to develop programs at 11 schools, instructing students in organic vegetable gardening and local ecology—engaging 300 students in the development of a seed bank. In addition to these programs, Swanirvar is encouraging economic security and environmental sustainability by educating more than 100 girls and young women in nutrition and organic farming methods. Read more about Swarnirvar here.
Planting Hope in Brazil
Communities in the mountains of Minas Gerais, Brazil, are blessed with ample clean water and have maintained their traditional organic agriculture practices. However, poverty has forced many young people to leave their communities to work in extractive industries, threatening the sustainability of their hometowns. With a Greengrant, Terra Viva Network hosted communal workshops to enable and increase the production of agriculturally-based products such as papaya candy, sugar cane bars, and straw hats, which are then sold in markets. By bolstering family incomes, Terra Viva Network provides youth the opportunity to remain in the countryside, while still contributing to the economic well-being of the community. To find out more about Terra Viva Network, click here.
Poisoned by Pesticides in Pakistan
According to a report by the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) as many as 10,000 Pakistani farmers are poisoned by legal and illegal pesticides each year. Khoj Society for People’s Education seeks to lower this number by working with farmers in Pakistan to reduce the prevalence of pesticide poisoning in Pakistan’s agricultural sector. The organization is focused on educating the population about the harmful effects of pesticides, and how to mitigate the risk of poisoning. The resulting education campaign focuses on alternatives to pesticide use, avoiding cross-contamination of food preparation and living spaces, safe storage and application of pesticides, and educating women on the gender-specific risks of pesticides to their health and the health of their children. Find out more about the project here.