Food systems are increasingly disrupted by climate disasters, while also being a major contributor to climate change. World leaders at COP28 are vowing to do something about it.

Innovations summarized:

  • Accurate, accessible weather forecasts to help optimize planting and harvesting in mid/low-income regions
  • Microbial fertilizers to reduce the need for nitrogen fertilizers
  • Reducing or eliminating methane from livestock, which accounts for about 20% of human greenhouse gas emissions
  • Helping farmers and communities implement better rainwater harvesting
  • Lowering the cost of digital agriculture that can help farmers use irrigation, fertilizer and pesticides most efficiently
  • Encouraging production of alternative proteins to reduce demand for livestock
  • Providing insurance and other social protections to help farmers recover from extreme weather events

I would have liked to see more focus on finding ways to avoid monocropping, and a callout to the heavy risks of the steady corporate consolidation of the agriculture industry, but breaking up corporations isn’t exactly an innovation so I can see why it wouldn’t get a mention. Some of these seem fairly weak as innovations go, and some sound so inexpensive that it’s a wonder they aren’t already done, but all of them sound like decent steps to take.

Which among this list do you think governments should focus on the most?

  •  IninewCrow   ( @ininewcrow@lemmy.ca ) English
    7•7 months ago

    Always studying the problem from the bottom up and not the top down.

    The world has to deal with corporate greed at the top as it would immediately solve a lot of problems that happen at the scales of the growers and the consumers. The problems are always rooted in the corporate behemoths who contribute nothing to anyone yet want to continue generating profits for themselves are their investors.

    Start dealing with problems at the top.

    Otherwise you’re trying to put out a raging house fire with a glass of water while a maniac is freely allowed to burn down the house with a flamethrower.