Category: Foresight for better futures

WATER – A priceless yet endangered resource

March 20, 2020

By Emir Šahinović, NextGen Plant Science Network Water scarcity, water demand, clean water, water governance – these terms are increasingly being used due to the expanding effect of climate change on Earth. Climate change has significantly threatened this vital resource, influencing different facets of human life. These adverse consequences are reflected in the disruption of … More WATER – A priceless yet endangered resource

Seeds of life: The plants suited to climate change

July 15, 2019

By Matthew Tucker Photography by Rob Kesseler Source – BBC News   Experts at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, selected 11 seeds from plants and trees that may be better suited to climate change than other species. Using a scanning electron microscope, artist Rob Kesseler created striking colourised images of the seeds in extraordinary detail. The … More Seeds of life: The plants suited to climate change

Tapping the potential of Africa’s futures

December 12, 2018

Populations in developing countries are becoming increasingly youthful, with Africa having the youngest population of all. Between 10 and 12 million young Africans aged 15-35 are entering the continent’s workforce every year. On a continent where 60% of the population derive their livelihood from the agricultural sector, the massive potential of the agriculture sector to … More Tapping the potential of Africa’s futures

How artificial intelligence can speed up innovation – Partner Spotlight on CropLife International

December 6, 2018

Computer technology has been around for decades, but the machines we use today are light years ahead of where we were even a decade ago. They are faster, more accurate and easier to use. This is cutting-edge technology. Machine learning and artificial intelligence help plant scientists to run millions of “microsimulations” that give researchers insights … More How artificial intelligence can speed up innovation – Partner Spotlight on CropLife International

Innovating for Safer Pesticides – Partner Spotlight on CropLife International

December 4, 2018

Imagine spending $50 every minute for 11 years! That’s what the crop protection industry does to develop cutting edge products for farmers. Only through investment in innovation can we help farmers deal with the ever-increasing threat from crop pests, while also meeting more exacting societal expectations for pesticide products that are safe for human health … More Innovating for Safer Pesticides – Partner Spotlight on CropLife International

Nature at the Heart of Crop Protection -Partner Spotlight on CropLife International

December 3, 2018

Did you know that in one handful of soil there are more microbes than humans on planet earth? Microbes are tiny micro-organisms like viruses, bacteria or fungi, some of which can have pesticide-like qualities that can be used by all farmers, large and small-scale. These pest-fighting microbes can be found all over the world in … More Nature at the Heart of Crop Protection -Partner Spotlight on CropLife International

What is the Future of Agricultural Research and Innovations in Africa?

March 13, 2018

What is the future of agricultural research and innovation in Africa? That was the question on all our minds as participants in the training workshop on co-elaborative foresight on the futures of agricultural research and innovations, organized by FARA and GFAR. The training, which took place at the FARA Secretariat in Accra, Ghana on 12th … More What is the Future of Agricultural Research and Innovations in Africa?

Shifting Down to the Human Scale: Lessons from the Territories approach

March 8, 2018

“Territories are spaces of coordination between actors in which new forms of governance are conceived that are conducive to development and to the strengthening of solidarity.” –from Living Territories to Transform the World, Editions Quae, 2017 The Living Territories International Conference held in Montpellier, France from 22-24 January 2018 was a multi-partner event addressing a … More Shifting Down to the Human Scale: Lessons from the Territories approach

#Foresight4Ag: Empowering rural communities to determine their own futures

March 5, 2018

GFAR and FARA are leading the facilitation of a Collective Action embedding foresight into agricultural research and innovation in Africa. Climate change, population growth and migration are some of the challenges that face the future of agriculture. Caught in the middle of these challenges are smallholder farmers and rural communities who produce a substantial proportion … More #Foresight4Ag: Empowering rural communities to determine their own futures

Spurring Sustainability through Data-Driven Needs Assessment

October 24, 2017

In development, implementing targeted and responsive programs is crucial to achieving impact. The importance of creating effective programs cannot be understated for agricultural extension programs that work with some of the estimated 1.5 billion smallholders—many of whom are vulnerable to climate change, volatile markets, and conflict—who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. At the Committee … More Spurring Sustainability through Data-Driven Needs Assessment

Designing the Future of GFAR: Common Values and Commitment Required

July 5, 2017

What better way to show the commitment of a group of individuals to a cause than to tell their story with their own pictures and words? Let’s start at the beginning… “On a sunny Tuesday morning in June, we (members of the GFAR Steering Committee) gathered on an agricultural cooperative on the outskirts of Rome. … More Designing the Future of GFAR: Common Values and Commitment Required

A week in the life – share and celebrate your work as a Partner in GFAR

April 21, 2017

Have you ever wondered how you could reach a wider audience with news of how your organization is a part of the GFAR mission to transform agri-food research and innovation? Have you wished you could highlight your work with partners as a concentrated online burst, not just the occasional cross post on a website or blog? … More A week in the life – share and celebrate your work as a Partner in GFAR

GFAR: Catalyzing change through networked actions

December 21, 2016

GFAR is truly a multi-stakeholder body. GFAR involves everyone from farmers to upstream science, public, private and civil society all working together in dealing with issues of the complex, ‘wicked’ problems of agriculture, food and rural development. These are issues that require multiple actors, who may often hold fundamentally opposed views, to work together in … More GFAR: Catalyzing change through networked actions

Why future-smart ICSOs are needed

September 7, 2016

by Robin Bourgeois, GFAR Senior Advisor, Foresight and Development Policies There is a wide recognition today that international civil society organisations (ICSOs) are currently facing challenges that might as well mean their disappearance[1]. This would not be necessarily bad news if that disappearance meant that ICSOs had been successful in “working their way out of … More Why future-smart ICSOs are needed

Ecomodernism and the human-nature divide

September 1, 2016

Is the world approaching “peak farmland?”  Could the abandonment of fields to nature seen in recent decades in parts of North America and Europe soon spread to the developing world?  Might the regreening of New England soon be a model for Brazil or Indonesia? This proposition, long deemed an impossible dream, is now being seriously … More Ecomodernism and the human-nature divide

The Sustainable Development Goals: Time to Think Outside the Boxes

October 5, 2015

The new Sustainable Development Agenda, comprising 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets, has been heralded as “a universal, integrated and transformative vision for a better world ”. Commitments have been made and expectations are high. Robin Bourgeois (Senior Foresight Advisor, GFAR Secretariat) proposes taking a systemic approach to implementing the goals, paying close … More The Sustainable Development Goals: Time to Think Outside the Boxes

Becoming the change they want to see: Asia and Pacific Youth in Agriculture

September 14, 2015

Beijing was a hotspot for young professionals in agriculture, last week. The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) hosted the “APEC Food Security Training and Workshop” on September 7-9, 2015. This event, funded by the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China aimed at training over 30 young researchers from Asia Pacific Economic … More Becoming the change they want to see: Asia and Pacific Youth in Agriculture