Agriculture

Rural residents who stay in the countryside must stand center stage in the next phase of Indian development. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mckaysavage/3975862441/in/set-72157603822434767">mckaysavage (flickr)</a>

share

Indian Development: Act II

At long last, the rural poor are stepping into the spotlight of Indian economic development.

While corn is not native to Malawi, it has become the country's staple crop. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nglklm/5081662199/">Nathan Laurell (flickr)</a>

share

The Successes (and Failures) of Seed Subsidies in Malawi

Teach a man to fish and you feed him for life; if you give a family seeds, do you feed them forever?

The average consumer in a developing country wastes 24 pounds of food. In comparison, the average western consumer wastes about 220 pounds. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps

share

Reducing Waste and Improving Global Food Security

As food prices soar, one culprit might be our relationship with the landfill.

More than 70 percent of the population in the Congo is impoverished, making the country extremely vulnerable to price shocks. Photo: Jenny Vaughan/Mercy Corps

share

Wildfires in Russia. Revolution in the Middle East. Rising oil prices — these seemingly unconnected events have cumulated in a weak global harvest that will place additional burden on families whose budgets are already stretched thin.

Although Pakistani women have generally been excluded from land ownership, flood recovery is prompting the government to take action. Photo: Miguel Samper for Mercy Corps

share

Empowering Women in the Recovery from Pakistan’s Floods

Severe weather has proven to be a catalyst for women’s rights in rural Pakistan.

Youth finish work on an embankment to hold back floodwaters in Borini Sharifow, a small farming village in Jamame district, Somalia. Photo: Mohamed Jama/ Mercy Corps

share

A second scramble for Africa?

"The African continent is going to be the golden continent of the period," raves a business leader at the 2011 World Economic Forum in Davos.

Fair-trade farmers like these in Ghana benefit from mid-level lending. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/crankyshooter1/230070463/">Crankyshooter1 (flickr)</a>

share

A Lending Program for the 'Missing Middle'

What prevents many subsistence farmers from taking their business to the next level? Access to capital.

This UNDP Human Development Report graph shows the decline of Zimbabwe's Human Development Index rating -- a number based on three indicators: health, education and income. Photo: <a href="http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/trends/">UNHDR</a>

share

In Times of Record High Inflation, Bartering is Back

When inflation climbs so high that your national bank notes lose their value, how do you pay for a visit to the doctor?

share

Green School

At Green School in rural Bali, K-12 students learn not only the staples of a traditional education — reading, writing and arithmetic — but also how to grow organic rice and build with sustainably produced bamboo. Students from the local community, as well

share

Basic Technology Boosts Incomes in Zimbabwe

This has been reposted from the Mercy Corps blog.

share

A Fruitful Endeavor Combats 'Food Desert' in Detroit

It's really hard to get fresh fruits and vegetables if you live in inner-city Detroit. Fast food joins are abundant but until recently, the liquor store was your best bet if you needed a head of lettuce. In fact, there are 26 times more liquor stores than grocery stores in Detroit.

A U.S. soldier in Afghanistan gathers a soil sample as part of his work on an army agricultural development project. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/4174406216/">The U.S. Army (Flickr)</a>

share

War and Development: Do They Mix?

The U.S. army’s “surge” in Afghanistan marked a new focus on development in addition to an increase in the number of combat troops. Development has not typically been part of the military’s purview.

share

Cell Phones Ultimately Provide Irrigation Answer for Indian Farmers

share

Spotlight on Young Global Leader: Heather Fleming

Heather Fleming has been named one of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders for 2010.

Haitians load bags of food donated by the United States onto a truck for distribution to earthquake victims in Port-au-Prince after the January earthquake. Photo: Jenny Vaughan/Mercy Corps

share

Earthquake Shocks Haitian Rice Market

In Haiti, rice is king. It’s consumed at every meal and forms an important source of income for many people — wholesalers, street vendors, and farmers. But the January earthquake has left the rice market in shambles.