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Urban farmers in Richmond are helping in the fight against food insecurity

Cameron Nielsen

November 05, 2020 |

Richmond Confidential |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Richmond, California

Urban Tilth, an urban farm in California, is providing food directly to communities in need and upending the traditional food supply chain so they can help people access healthy and sustainably-grown food. They have been providing local organic food to 190 families financially impacted by COVID-19, almost six times more food they’ve distributed since the pandemic began.

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Pee fanatics want to feed the world with your liquid gold

Katy Lee

October 07, 2020 |

Wired |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: France, Bordeaux

A French startup is turning urine into an environmentally-friendly fertilizer that could replace chemical products. Early tests suggest that the urine mixture created by Toopi Organics can compete with synthetic fertilizers, which end up in waterways and can alter lake and river ecosystems. While the organic fertilizer requires a significant amount of urine to make, it could be a viable alternative to grow crops.

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The remarkable floating gardens of Bangladesh

Kalpana Sunder

September 10, 2020 |

BBC |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Bangladesh, Gopalganj, Bihar

Bangladeshi communities are reviving a traditional method of crop cultivation known as floating vegetable gardens to grow food during monsoon season. On these floating organic beds, farmers can grow vegetables like okra, spinach, and snake gourd. They can supply enough food to feed their family and be a source of income. While scaling this approach to other parts of the country can be difficult, many see this practice as a way to adapt to the effects of climate change.

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Creative programs help dairy farmers transition to plant-based milks

Jodi Helmer

August 28, 2020 |

Ensia |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Hoosick, New York

Some food producers are helping dairy farmers transition away from animal agriculture and into growing crops for plant milk. For example, Hälsa Foods, makers of plant-based milk products, contracted with an organic farm in New York State where he grows 20 acres of oats for them. While plant milks have their own environmental impacts, these partnerships can offer farmers a guaranteed market for their new crops.

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Organic fertilizers to lift African farmers out of poverty

Morgane le Cam

August 27, 2020 |

Heidi.news |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Burkina Faso, Koubri

After realizing that chemical fertilizer was doing more harm to the land than good in Burkina Faso, a Burkinese agronomist created a fertilizer from organic waste that has allowed the land to once again become fertile. Although the organic fertilizer promises a much higher increase in yields, chemical fertilizer is still widely used in the region.

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In syntropic agriculture, farmers stop fighting nature and learn to embrace it

Sandra Weiss

July 30, 2020 |

Mongabay |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Brazil, Gandú, Bahia

Ernst Götsch, an agronomist and cocoa farmer in Brazil, uses a different method of agriculture that could be more beneficial to small farmers. His method, known as syntropic agriculture, is an agroforestry system where different plants interact with each other to create more complex ecosystems and more fertile soils. While the method involves more labor and observation, it doesn’t use pesticides or fertilizers and has resulted in larger crop yields and more income on his own farm. He is sharing his process with other farmers looking to improve their farms.

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Is underground farming the future of food?

Kwon Moon

July 24, 2020 |

BBC |

Multi-Media |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: South Korea, Seoul

There’s a subterranean, organic farm in one of Seoul’s subway stations that could be another way to approach sustainable urban farming. The “vertical” farm, known as Metro Farm, uses a mineral nutrient solution instead of regular soil, and has an automated tech network to control the underground ecosystem’s temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels. While Farm8, the tech startup in charge of the venture, hasn’t made much of a profit yet, the farm produces about 30 kilograms of vegetables per day at a rate that is 40 times more efficient than traditional farming.

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Amid biting drought, sisters in Zambia fend off hunger with organic farming

Doreen Ajiambo

July 16, 2020 |

Global Sisters Report |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Zambia, Chilanga

In Zambia, where severe drought due to climate change has negatively affected agriculture, the Daughters of the Redeemer are practicing organic farming to feed hundreds of children and families whose basic needs are not being met. This group of religious sisters do not rely on rainfall to farm; they installed a drip irrigation system that has allowed them to grow crops like cabbage, maize, tomatoes, and beans. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the sisters provided training to local villages about organic farming, and this has allowed families to support themselves during the crisis.

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As a North Jersey Farmers Market Goes Virtual, It Finds a New Kind of Community

Brianna Baker

April 30, 2020 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Metuchen, New Jersey

In order to keep local farms and businesses afloat, the Metuchen Farmers Market in North Jersey went virtual. Volunteers for the market enlisted the help of the Canada-based Local Line to build the market's platform, which allows customers to place orders online for a weekend pickup.

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Philly garden activists are shipping millions of seeds to a nation fretting over food access during coronavirus pandemic

Samantha Melamed

April 27, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Across Philadelphia, people are turning to seeds to source their food instead of grocery stores and supply chains, which have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Philadelphia is home to the Cooperative Gardens Commission, helping people across the United States practice safe gardening, providing mentoring for novices, and packaging and sending seedlings. It’s just one of many localized garden initiatives working to make sure their communities and neighbors have fresh, sustainable food.

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