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Digital technologies have been revolutionising farming for some time. Smartphones make it possible to identify plant diseases and their treatment, measure soil fertility and facilitate the marketing of farm produce. Yet Agriculture 4.0 also poses challenges.

The world population has reached eight billion people. Experts agree that food for all can only be ensured in the long term if the system undergoes transformation. This, they say, is the only way to protect the food system from the consequences of wars, pandemics or climate change.

The Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) has adopted a cross-cutting approach to support a circular economy project to improve food security and living conditions in the urban areas around four African cities.

Global food insecurity

Deadly conflicts have been raging in Africa’s Great Lakes region for decades.  Women especially are paying a heavy price: unspeakable atrocities have been committed against them. But they are getting back on their feet, supporting each other and working for peace.

In the Goascorán River basin in Honduras, an SDC programme has improved the livelihoods of smallholder farm families and reduced their vulnerability to climate change. The watershed management model has been so successful that it is now being adopted across the country by the Honduran government.

The diversity of species and ecosystems on our planet is declining rapidly. A new global framework containing clear-cut goals and indicators aims to revitalise efforts to protect and restore biodiversity.

The African continent is rich in flora and fauna, and unique ecosystems. It plays a key role in the conservation of global biodiversity. However, Mariam Mayet, Executive Director of the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), warns that indigenous peoples and smallholder farmers are being driven off their land in order to promote nature conservation.

An initiative aims to mainstream ecological agriculture into national production systems in Africa by 2025. This will strengthen farmers and protect biodiversity.

Switzerland is strongly committed to implementing the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems endorsed by the UN Committee on World Food Security in 2014.

Millions of people in Zimbabwe are living hand to mouth because of political, economic and climate-related crises. The SDC helps them set up micro enterprises, making them more resilient to recurring shocks.

Research can play a vital role in reducing poverty and environmental degradation, as has been clearly illustrated in the case of food security. Researchers have helped to achieve remarkable breakthroughs – but they face huge challenges.

Efficient humanitarian aid begins even before the onset of a disaster, says Maarten van Aalst, director of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre. Early warning systems linked to financing mechanisms are critical for strengthening the resilience of vulnerable groups to climate shocks.

Forty years ago, one of the most brutal chapters in world history came to a close in Cambodia. A quarter of the country's population had been killed by the murderous Khmer Rouge regime, the economy was destroyed, society was traumatised. Yet, ever since the 1991 peace accords, the Cambodian economy has been growing at a faster pace than most other Asian countries and poverty has been reduced. On the political front, however, the country is increasingly turning into an autocracy.

As the UN's Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, Mark Cutts is a man who sees the big picture. In this interview, he discusses the current situation in Syria, his biggest worry and why he remains hopeful despite all the negative news.

In the South Caucasus, animal husbandry is an important source of income for the rural population, but many farmers produce just enough to feed their families. In a bid to reduce poverty, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is helping them to develop their businesses and sell their produce.

In recent years, Tanzania has been successful in combating corruption but it has also done away with freedom of expression. Women have borne the brunt of these social changes: their day-to-day life is harder and incomes have fallen.

Zero hunger by 2030 – the international community set this goal for itself in 2015. But with current methods of agricultural production that goal will remain elusive. A fundamental shift towards agroecology is necessary.

Data specialist Shaida Badiee considers publicly accessible data to be at the heart of the current data revolution. Her organisation, Open Data Watch, regularly monitors whether governments are making their data freely available to the public.

The most vulnerable population groups typically benefit less than average from development programmes, and the situation is no different in Benin in West Africa. One reason is that such groups are often insufficiently represented in statistics. Benin is consequently focusing its statistics on the most vulnerable 20%.

A day in the life of...

Once we'd finished primary school in our village, we had to go to secondary school at the foot of the mountain. There weren't any roads or paths back then. We'd set off through the woods and over rocks in groups of three or four each Sunday. Our parents built a small hut for us that we could live in during the week. On Friday afternoon, we started to make our way back home. It was a difficult time. There were no adults to take care of us, no telephones, and we didn't have any contact with our families during the whole week.

IN DIESEM DOSSIER

Mehr Schweinefleisch und Einkommen, weniger fossile Energie und Belastung der Böden – kein Ding der Unmöglichkeit, sondern das Ziel eines DEZA-Projekts in Kuba. Bauernfamilien erzeugen dort Biogas und Biodiesel für den Eigenbedarf.

IN DIESEM DOSSIER

IN DIESEM DOSSIER

Neue und anlaufende Projekte der DEZA

Die NGO Access Agriculture produziert mit Unterstützung der DEZA Lernvideos für Bäuerinnen und Bauern. Rund 200 Filme in 76 Sprachen erreichen weltweit ein Millionenpublikum.

Die NGO Access Agriculture produziert mit Unterstützung der DEZA Lernvideos für Bäuerinnen und Bauern. Rund 200 Filme in 76 Sprachen erreichen weltweit ein Millionenpublikum.

IN DIESEM DOSSIER

IN DIESEM DOSSIER

IN DIESEM DOSSIER