Posts tagged: agriculture

Celebrating Agriculture & Food Security’s first birthday

Rhiannon Meaden on April 23, 2013 at 1:50 pm - 0 Comments

Last Friday marked the first anniversary of the launch of Agriculture & Food Security. To celebrate this important milestone in the journal’s history, an anniversary editorial has been published, describing the achievements of the last year, and reiterating the importance of research on this significant global issue.

Following a highly successful launch event at BioVision Alexandria – of which a highlights video is now available online – Agriculture & Food Security has had a rewarding first year of publishing. Over the last year, a number of highly accessed articles by eminent scientists in the field have been published. Topping this list is Albert Sasson’s review on tackling the food insecurity crisis …

Highlighting need for climate smart agricultural policies

Rhiannon Meaden on April 12, 2013 at 3:53 pm - 0 Comments

Agriculture & Food Security publishes a new thematic series on ‘Climate Smart Agriculture’.

Global warming represents one of the greatest threats to society worldwide. The dual burden of climate change coupled with exponentially increasing populations means that our agricultural systems are under increasing pressure to produce food in unstable environmental conditions. The struggle to reach required productivity means that food security is fast becoming a significant threat to lives worldwide. Furthermore, in recent years it has become clear that not only is agricultural productivity threatened by climate change, current agricultural practices may in fact be accelerating atmospheric changes; agriculture is the leading cause of methane and nitrous oxide emissions, as well as a significant cause of deforestation and …

Building trust in agrobiotechnology public-private partnerships

Rhiannon Meaden on November 1, 2012 at 10:41 am - 0 Comments

The role of agricultural biotechnology may be key to enabling food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. Following a number of food shortages and volatility in food pricing, ensuring agricultural supply meets demand is of crucial importance. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) may provide a useful way to inject investment from private funders into public sector initiatives for the good of local people and society.

However, there has been much resistance to adoption of these schemes in many regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in relation to GM crops. The McGloughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health has spent five years undertaking research into the causes of public participation failure in these PPPs. They found that a lack of trust underlies one of the most critical …

The Global Hunger Event, the Olympics and two recent additions to the BioMed Central journal portfolio

Fiona Pring on August 9, 2012 at 3:21 pm - 0 Comments

Over the last few weeks the world’s eyes have been on London. Athletes from around the globe have been striving to achieve their ultimate potential in the sporting events they’ve trained to their limits for.

Among the research published in Extreme Physiology & Medicine, a new open access journal launching in September, will be articles that address the physiological and medical implications of exposure to intense or endurance exercise. This research has the potential to maximise the chances of future Olympic athletes to ‘Go for Gold’.

For some children, this chance is denied them before they even reach the age of two. Nutritional insecurity leads to stunted growth and affects physical ability. The …

Celebrating the launch of Agriculture & Food Security

Fiona Pring on May 11, 2012 at 3:26 am - 0 Comments

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina emulates the Ancient Library of Alexandria as a major centre for scholarship and dissemination of knowledge. It is in this spirit that the Library organises the biennial BioVisionAlexandria meeting, bringing together distinguished speakers, including Nobel Laureates, from around the globe.

The ideology of BioVisionAlexandria 2012 is reflected in our vision for Agriculture & Food Security. Thus, the meeting seemed the perfect setting to celebrate the journal’s recent launch, which was marked by a session at the meeting chaired by one of the Editors-in-Chief, Malcolm Elliott, on ‘Towards Global Food Security: The 21st Century Challenge’.

Editorial board member Nina Fedoroff – current President of the American Association for the Advancement of …

Agriculture & Food Security – a new journal launched today!

Fiona Pring on April 19, 2012 at 7:12 am - 1 Comment

According to the United Nations’ Demographers, the global population exceeded seven billion at the end of October 2011. Ensuring sustainable food production to provide adequate sustenance and nutrition for everyone therefore continues to be a matter of significant and urgent import.

In March, the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change published their report on ‘Achieving Food Security in the Face of Climate Change’. The international Commission of experts, chaired by Sir John Beddington FRS, recommended seven key policy changes and actions that are needed in order to achieve food security in the face of climate change.

One of the Commissioners, Molly Jahn, joins with Malcolm Elliott and Magdy Madkour as a joint Editor-in-Chief of …