Environment

Well, it has been a week since the whirlwind started. It feels like a long time already. The disruptor has arrived, and what is becoming evident now is that he was well-prepared, while the whole world even his own country seems caught off guard on many issues. It has become a norm now that he is on the cover page of every newspaper, both electronic and paper. The news from yesterday quickly becomes irrelevant and old today. Let me be clear: I am not an ardent supporter of the Democrats. They interfere in my continent’s politics and day to day life far more than he does, and their actions in Gaza are abhorrent.  But, both before and increasingly after his election, I keep asking myself:What does his election mean for Africa? Is there any good in it?

The post What Donald Trump’s Election Mean for Africa’s

REGENERATIVE agriculture has quickly become the darling of the coffee industry. From trade show stages to corporate branding, the buzzword dominates discussions, promising to be the “next big thing” in sustainable production. 

Agriculture must change from chemically intensive degenerative industrial systems to regenerative, biological, biodiverse, nature-based ones to regenerate our ecosystems, climate, health, and communities. Such systems improve resources, reduce, and ultimately avoid synthetic chemicals. It is not based on animal or plant cruelty. Instead, its foundations are biodiversity, plant biology, living soil science, and humane livestock systems.

A two-year study by Weijing, et al published in Scientific Reports shows biochar and bentonite improve sandy soil health, increasing water retention, nutrient availability, and crop yield by 36.6%. They also enhance carbon sequestration, offsetting 100 million tons of CO₂ annually, offering a sustainable solution for agriculture and climate resilience in degraded lands.

North Waikato organic beef farmers, Hamish Browne and Robyn Budd, are now in their eighth year of farm ownership and bring very different skills to their new roles as farmers. Brought up on a dairy farm, Browne took a farming course but couldn’t see a path to farm ownership and changed to a mechanical diesel apprenticeship.

The journalist John Vaillant’s book “Fire Weather” begins in the spring of 2016 in the boreal forests surrounding the remote Canadian city of Fort McMurray, where a fire is growing. Although wildfire is a regular part of life in northern Alberta, this fire was destined to be different. “A new kind of fire introduced itself to the world,” Vaillant writes.

The Kampala Declaration, a 10-year strategy adopted at an AU summit, shifts Africa’s agricultural policy to focus on sustainable and inclusive agrifood systems, setting ambitious goals for resilience, investment, and governance by 2035.