Stories tagged: seeds

The Importance of the Seed Industry to Feed the World and Eradicate Hunger

Alice Ingabire, Access to Seeds Index Lead at the World Benchmarking Alliance, discusses the latest Access to Seeds Index and its evaluation of the seed industry in South and South-East Asia.  

The goal of achieving ‘Zero Hunger’ must remain a priority if we want to achieve sustainable development. As the world’s population grows – now projected to increase by two billion people by 2050 – smallholder farmers, the primary food producers in developing countries must increase food production to end hunger and meet future food demands. Continue reading →

#FillTheGap! Sowing the seeds of equal access to resources in Uganda

This is the fourth post of Farming First’s #FillTheGap campaign to highlight the gender gap facing rural women working in agriculture.

As a young woman growing up in Northern Uganda, tradition didn’t allow Nancy Adong, 26, to own land, only to farm on her husband’s family’s land and only then with his permission.

Her situation is far from uncommon, presenting an immediate disadvantage for millions of rural women, who work in agriculture in greater numbers than men.

Continue reading →

Improving Yields through Better Access to Seeds and Pesticides

GM crops and crop protection products can help increase yields by limiting losses.

Since 1996, the average yield impact across the total global area planted with insect resistant traits over the 11 year period has been +5.7 percent for corn traits (or an added 47 million tonnes of corn) and +11.1 percent for cotton traits (or an added 4.9 million tonnes).

In some countries, the benefits can be much higher, such as in India, where yields from cotton have increased by 54%.