Agriculture & Food Security
Feeding families and nations — modern farming, protecting harvests, and food that reaches every table.
Starter edition · Last reviewed 13 Nov 2026The challenge
The world grows enough food in total — yet hundreds of millions of people are hungry. The causes are tangled together: conflict that empties farms and markets, climate extremes that break rains farmers have trusted for generations, harvests lost between field and market, and healthy food priced beyond reach.
For the farming family, food security is practical: soil that holds water, seed that suits the land, harvests stored safely, and knowledge shared at the right moment. This centre focuses on what works at that level, and on the global picture behind it.
What the evidence says
Practical solutions
- Feed the soil first: compost, manure, mulching and crop rotation rebuild the organic matter that holds water and nutrients — the cheapest fertiliser is the fertility you stop losing.
- Use water like it is precious: drip irrigation, planting pits and mulching deliver water to roots instead of the sky; harvest rain where you can.
- Choose seed for your land, not the catalogue: locally adapted and improved varieties, matched to your rainfall, usually beat exotic seed. Your agricultural extension officer knows what is proven nearby.
- Protect the harvest: a large share of food is lost after harvest to moisture, insects and mould. Thorough drying and sealed (hermetic) storage bags protect grain for months without chemicals.
- Diversify: mixed crops, legumes in rotation (they add nitrogen), small livestock and a home garden spread risk across seasons and markets.
- Sell together: farmer groups and cooperatives get better prices on inputs and harvests, and share transport, storage and knowledge.
- Use the phone in your pocket: weather forecasts, market prices and extension advice by SMS/app help decide when to plant, spray and sell.
Cut post-harvest losses in five steps
- Harvest at the right moment — not too early (immature, mould-prone) and not late (shattering, pest damage in the field).
- Dry thoroughly before storage — grain should be hard and dry (it cracks, not dents, when bitten). Dry on clean tarpaulins, not bare earth.
- Clean and sort: remove damaged, mouldy and infested grain; one bad portion spoils the store and can carry dangerous aflatoxins.
- Store sealed and raised: hermetic bags or airtight containers, off the floor, away from walls and rain. Check monthly.
- Rotate stock: first in, first out — eat or sell the oldest first, and keep the store tidy enough to spot trouble early.
Test yourself
Questions people ask
Where can I get farming advice for my own area?
Your local agricultural extension service — in Ghana, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture’s district officers; in Canada, provincial agriculture ministries and producer associations. Local advice matters because soils, rains and pests differ field by field.
Is organic farming always better?
Not automatically. What matters most is soil health, sensible inputs and protecting the harvest. Many farms blend both worlds: compost and rotation (organic strengths) plus targeted mineral fertiliser or treatment when the crop truly needs it.
What is the single highest-value improvement for a small farm?
It depends on the farm — but protecting what you already grow is often the cheapest "new" harvest: drying and sealed storage can save a significant share of grain that farmers currently lose after harvest, with no extra land or seed.
References
Facts above are labelled with their sources and dates. Where this centre offers guidance, it is educational information to help you decide — not a substitute for advice about your own situation.