The politics of global food security

Published on Nov 1, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish
Researchers are warning that rising global temperatures could see a shift in the world’s traditional staples and who grows them. They predict that maize, wheat and rice will decrease in many developing countries – forcing farmers to replace them with crops more resistant to heat, drought and flooding.

The Science of Climate Change

Nov 24, 2011

Climate negotiators are meeting in Durban, South Africa beginning Monday (November 28-December 9) to discuss the planet’s changing climate. VOA’s Suzanne Presto in Washington tells us about the science of climate change.

Ghana – Agricultural Insurance for Small Farmers

By the end of this century, climate change is expected to have driven up the average temperature in Ghana by three degrees celsius, and reduced rainfall by up to 27 percent. This would result in more frequent droughts, meaning financial ruin for many small farmers.Ghana’s government wants to protect the rural population from the risk of crop failure by offering farmers affordable insurance. The new index-based insurance would be linked to the data provided by local weather stations. This saves the insurers having to travel to individual farmers to assess their claims – pushing down the cost of insurance. The only problem is not all the weather stations are intact.

FLOW – Official Theatrical Trailer

Irena Salina’s award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century – The World Water Crisis.

Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.

Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question ‘CAN ANYONE REALLY OWN WATER?’

Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround.