Food Systems

ST. JULIAN’S, VALLETTA and MOSTA, Malta — Mediterranean countries, under the guidance of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), are investing in the development of aquaculture as a solution to overfishing. But they farm mostly carnivorous fish, causing concern among experts and NGOs about the risk of worsening the burden on wild marine stocks […]

COLOMBO — Sri Lanka is a nation where agriculture is a pivotal factor of the country’s economy. However, the past two years were bleak for the agriculture sector following the government’s agrochemical importation ban in April 2021, triggering a severe economic and food crisis. Although the financial nosedive also impacted scientific research and development, Sri […]

VAN PHONG BAY, Vietnam — A bold mariculture experiment in this shimmering bay ringed by hills in central Vietnam is aiming to neutralize a globally significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. An international team of scientists at Greener Grazing, an R&D company, is growing a feathery, fern-like red seaweed called Asparagopsis taxiformis in a […]

SOUTH PAGAI, Indonesia — A white coastal beacon stood in place against the surf as gales hurtled across the Indian Ocean here off South Pagai, one of the Mentawai Islands off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. When conditions subside, fishers like Sutrisno Madogaho will make their way to the beach, untie their boats […]

New acute respiratory infections in Indonesia’s Palembang city, on the island of Sumatra, are on track to surpass the total number recorded there in 2022, as firefighters scramble to confront wildfires brought on by this year’s El Niño dry season. The health department in Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra province, said health workers in […]

Salinity intrusion triggered by different factors, including sea-level rise, commercial shrimp cultivation, and decreased upstream transboundary water flow, have directly affected agriculture in Bangladesh’s southern coastal districts in Bangladesh, some of which are also major producers of rice, the national staple. Bangladesh is the fourth-highest rice-producing country in the world, producing around 39 million tons […]

The state of Assam in northeastern India has one of the highest incidences of human-elephant conflict in the country, with more than 70 people and 80 elephants dying every year in these encounters. The shrinking natural habitat of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) has long led to conflict over food and space between them and humans. […]