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Land Tenure Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa
Books
By analysing the results of several case studies this book assesses the impacts of land tenure reform interventions implemented in Benin, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe. It focuses on how these interventions impacted tenure security, agricultural productivity, and social inclusion under different socio-political and economic contexts. The authors argue that inadequate attention paid to the core characteristics of rural social systems obscures the benefits of achieving tenure while overlooking the potential for social reform.   
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Research revealing links between weed killer and Parkinsons deliberately suppressed and manipulated by Syngenta
News and resources
Leaked internal documents from Syngenta reveal how the company has repeatedly buried evidence that links its best selling herbicide Paraquat with Parkinson’s disease. The documents reveal a history of tactics to confound scientific research including; funding scientists and researchers to publish papers on Paraquat without disclosing conflicts of interest, enlisting lawyers to push scientists away from using “problematic language” and preventing a prominent scientist studying Parkinson’s from sitting on the US Environmental Protection Agency advisory panel, which regulates US pesticide usage.
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The promises of regenerative agriculture: How lessons from the past bring words of warning
Essay
A number of sustainable agriculture approaches, and their supporting narratives, have been put forward over the decades in attempts to weaken the stronghold of industrial agriculture in the food system. Recent interest has centred on regenerative agriculture, with some of its proponents seeing in its appeal to farmers and corporations an ability to unite disparate agricultural approaches in a manner that might facilitate increasing ambition. In this essay drawing from recent research, Anja Bless compares the genealogical histories of organic agriculture, sustainable intensification, conservation agriculture and agroecology with regenerative agriculture, finding elements within each that resist absorption under the regenerative umbrella.   About the author: Anja Bless is a PhD Candidate at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney. Her PhD research is exploring the politics of regenerative agriculture, with Australia as the national case study. A component of this research project is exploring the origins of regenerative agriculture, in particular the social-ecological factors that have driven its rise in popularity and how it fits among existing sustainable agriculture narratives. Anja holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Government and International Relations and Sociology from the University of Sydney, and a Master of Environment (with Distinction) majoring in Sustainable Food Systems from the University of Melbourne.
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How diversifying the agrifood systems can ensure global food security
Journal articles
The conflict in Ukraine has spotlighted significant insecurities in the global food system. Many countries with restricted access to imported staples have seen their food prices soaring and populations become increasingly food insecure, with effects most pronounced in the world’s poorest countries who tend to be import reliant. This paper highlights the impacts of current international crises on food security, highlights over-reliance on imports as the major threat to food security, and offers four suggestions as to how food systems can be diversified to enhance future food security
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Decarbonising the energy sector threatens food security by reducing the availability of synthetic fertilisers
Journal articles
The dramatic increases in agricultural yields over the 20th century have been supported by the broad spread application of fertiliser containing, amongst other elements, phosphorus. Whilst phosphate can be obtained from mining, the vast majority is obtained from cheap sulphur, which is a byproduct of refining fossil fuels. As the energy sector decarbonises, there will therefore be a large decrease in the availability of sulphur, leading to a rapid increase in price.  
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Impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict: Shocks to production determine global food availability
Journal articles
The authors of this article present a multi-layer network model that analyses the propagation of shocks in the global food trade system. The authors recognise that shocks, such as extreme weather events and political or geopolitical crises, have become more frequent over time. They therefore propose a model that simulates the complex interactions between countries, production processes, trade networks, and product allocation to study the impact of production shocks on food availability in different countries or regions.
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The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023
Reports
With 122 million more people hungry in 2022 than in 2019, the latest UN State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report highlights that the world is regressing in its goal to end world hunger by 2030. The report highlights that there has been a deterioration in nutrition goals since the outbreak of the pandemic, with around 700 million people (compared to 579 million in 2019) not having enough to eat and a further 3 billion unable to afford a healthy diet. 
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