Rural transformation
Raising awareness of, and direct policy attention to, the socio-cultural, nutritional and environmental benefits of millet cultivation.
Presentation held by Carolyn Glynn, SLU Global, at the seminar "Fostering rural transformation – a pathway to a sustainable, peaceful and equitable development?"
The food security discourse has weak focus on the agro-pastoral systems typical for sub-Saharan drylands. These regions have 40% planetary land cover and host 1/3 of its population - often among the poorest. Much of these lands are degraded for food security and livelihood potentials. Trees are important structural components in these systems and related to attempts of restoration.
The world is becoming a more urbanized place, currently about 50% of the worlds´ population lives in cities and the proportion is expected to increase to almost 70% in 2050. The increase is likely to be particularly prominent in Africa and Asia, where urban population is expected to double between 2000 and 2030.
The development of knowledge based bio-economies is increasingly seen as a pathway towards a sustainable economic growth based on renewable resources, moving away from the fossil fuel economy and responding to pressing local and global challenges, including climate change.
Energy and food security are often dealt with separately, yet energy is directly and indirectly embedded in food production and preparation. Bearing in mind the expected population growth, food production needs to be increased by 70% to feed the world in 2050.
There is a growing need for a deepened knowledge among different stakeholders in Sweden and globally about the need for a transition of the agriculture sector to an approach based on biodiversity and ecosystem services (as for example biological control, water regulation, nutrient circulation processes) and on local knowledge, creativity and initiative combined with cross-learning over networks
Biochar has recently gained attention in scientific and popular media for its potential to sequester carbon and enhance soil fertility (World Bank 2014). There are also opportunities to improve energy efficiency through pyrolytic cookstoves, improve health through reduced indoor air pollution, and reduce drudgery through reduced need for firewood etc.
The overall aim of the group is to examine how shortages of food and water lead to vulnerability to ill-health, abuse, and exploitation at the local level.
Focali researcher Matilda Palm is currently working at Ruth DeFries lab at Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Department (E3B) at Columbia University. Read this interview with her to find out how it was to move from Sweden to work and live in New York.