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A Toll-free Number Helps Villagers Live With Animals

Deepa Padmanaban

July 26, 2016 |

IndiaSpend |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Karnataka

By calling a toll-free number, villagers in India can receive help for filing claims after human-animal conflicts like an elephant stomping on their crops or a tiger killing cattle. The service, known as Wild Seve, operates in 284 villages where a field agent arrives to take photos of the damage and file documentation to the government so residents can receive compensation. Field agents have helped file claims for more than 3,000 incidents. The hope is that residents can receive compensation for their losses quickly and, hopefully, are less likely to harm the animals.

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How a new source of water is helping reduce conflict in the Middle East

Rowan Jacobson

July 19, 2016 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Israel, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israel experienced extreme drought a few years ago and its water supply was very low. National campaigns to install desalination plants have helped Israel turnaround its inadequate water supply into a surplus. The water scientists who have helped make this surplus see an opportunity for water diplomacy and the de-politicization of water in the Middle East so that more of it can be shared with other geographies.

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How Vermont changed the national GMO-labeling debate

Lonnie Shekhtman

July 08, 2016 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Albuquerque, Vermont

Vermont's passage of a law requiring food that is genetically modified to be labeled spurred action at the national level to create one standard, rather than a patchwork of state laws, that offers food companies several ways to label foods with GMOs. The national bill did eventually pass, but as this piece illustrates, no one seems very happy about it. Environmentalists feel it leaves large loopholes and while the food industry likes one standard, it does not like the stigma the GMO label confers.

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A 700-year-old West African farming practice could be an answer to climate change

Lily Kuo

June 22, 2016 |

Quartz |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Ghana

Recycled kitchen waste and charcoal ash makes for healthy soil healthy that is more resilient to climate change. For centuries, women in Ghana and Liberia have used this technique on their farmlands, which are renowned for their fertility. The technique has now attracted the attention of anthropologists and researchers.

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Can Fruit Save Our Food Waste Problem?

Patric Kuh

June 15, 2016 |

Los Angeles Magazine |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles-based nonprofit Food Forward was born out of the observation that many farmers are growing more fruit than they can sell at market. To cut down on food waste and get these viable fruits into the hands of people that are food insecure, Food Forward operates as the "transfer point between donors and receiving agencies," while also coordinating volunteers to forage the local farms and farmers markets.

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Why the Gates Foundation is flooding a new rice variety with funding

Catherine Cheney

June 09, 2016 |

Devex |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Bihar

With climate changes causing extreme fluctuations in the weather, agricultural conditions and small farming operations are suffering around the world. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has funded research and initiatives that reduce poverty in the world and increase agricultural development. The Foundation supports the tools, crops, and partnerships for more robust and resilient crop yields through its Stress Tolerant Rise for Africa and South Asia initiative.

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Farming in the Desert

Deborah Fallows

June 01, 2016 |

The Atlantic |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Ajo, Arizona

Ajo, Arizona is home to a growing collective, collaboration of local agriculture and food-based initiatives. The small town coordinates actors from schools, restaurants, the farmers’ market, local gardens, and community supported agriculture initiatives in a network under the Ajo Regional Food Partnership. The network also works with the Desert Senita Community Health Center, making sure the benefits of the collaboration equitably reach all citizens.

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Researchers work to make milk greener

Elizabeth Dunbar

May 31, 2016 |

Minnesota Public Radio |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Morris, Minnesota

Researchers at the University of Minnesota's West Central Research and Outreach Center are looking for ways to make producing dairy milk less energy intensive - something consumers are increasingly demanding. They have had some initial success in increasing efficiency using techniques such as capturing heat from the milk to heat water and experimenting with solar and wind to offset some electricity use.

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Sharing the shortage

JR Logan

May 27, 2016 |

The Taos News |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Talpa, New Mexico

Farmers and land owners in the Rio Grande del Rancho region are using a collaborative, community-based approach fostered by acequias to ensure better sharing of water resources in times of scarcity.

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Can cutting down trees protect New Mexico's water?

Leah Todd Lin

May 26, 2016 |

High Country News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Albuquerque, New Mexico

New Mexico adapts an innovative forestry idea from Quito, Ecuador, to prevent unpredictable and untamable forest fires. The application of this idea, called the Rio Grande Water Fund, raises money around the Rio Grande valley to pay for the thinning of overgrown forests on private and public lands. When trees are thinned out in dense areas, it's more difficult for fires to jump from the ground to the tree tops, which inhibits the rapid spreading of flames we've seen in recent years.

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