Kyoshabire squeezes cash out of hibiscus

Sustainable agriculture and farming is on the rise on a national level, but it's not often so simple to get into the practice, especially for those that are new to the U.S. A farmer training program based in Washington County, Minnesota is trying to change that by enrolling a small group of interested Somali-Americans in a curriculum focused on becoming the next generation of farmers in America.

A Kenyan government initiative is helping a growing community of residents to tackle food insecurity in one of the largest slum areas in Africa, championing an unusual form of urban farming: sack gardens.

Slovak farmers meet increasingly sophisticated demand by growing tomatoes with a flavor that can’t be imported. Greenhouse-grown tomatoes serve as a good example of how modern-day Slovak farmers are using the latest technology to bring produce to the market with taste rivaling that of home-grown.

In the U.S., a movement of Black farmers is trying to reclaim their legacy as agrarians. Only 1.7 percent of farms were run by Black farmers according to the U.S. Census of Agriculture. Black farmers are forming collectives, creating land trusts, creating conferences.

Native American communities combat pervasive food insecurity with novel approaches to their Food Distribution Program which is a part of the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). The Spirit Lake Reservation has applied this FDP to a grocery store as part of a triple-pronged approach that seeks to give recipients more agency over their food system through physical grocery stores, gardening programs, and cooking lessons using cultural ingredients.

Many sustainable farming practices originate from African roots, yet the industry in the United States is largely dominated by people who are white. Leah Penniman, an African American farmer based in a food desert in New York, saw the need to change this and began teaching her neighbors growing techniques and management practices, while also addressing social issues such as racism and food access.

Project Feed the Hood, a community effort to increase food access and security for lower-income families, has established gardens and pilot programs at ten schools in Albuquerque. The program originally aimed to convert lawns into gardens while giving youth an alternative to military recruitment. Now, it is run by community volunteers and also offers paid internships for youth. “We’re here to resist, to reclaim our food systems, our community spaces,” explains one of the project's dedicated staff members.

Farmers play a vital role in the health of people around the world, yet often are not financially compensated in a sustainable way to survive. Entrepreneurs in India are attempting to shift this reality by introducing start ups that help low income farmers bring in a consistent income.

As skepticism increases around the health of consuming meat products due to inhumane ways the animals are being reared and raised, this Vermont packinghouse is embracing transparency by letting the public see all. From tours of the facility to learning how the animal was raised and later killed, this slaughterhouse is trying to change the narrative around the secrecy behind the meat on your table.

In response to rising hunger across sub-Saharan Africa driven by climate change and over-reliance on maize, African communities and policymakers are reintroducing indigenous, drought-tolerant "orphan crops" such as sorghum, millet, and legumes. Though it’s still early stages, initiatives like the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) seek to improve these traditional crops through genetics research, breeding, and farmer education to withstand droughts and provide nutritious food to people in the area.