Latest news
Agriculture & Rural Development news
The agriculture & rural development stories shaping international development and humanitarian response — curated from trusted sources, each summarised in a line and linked back to the original. Plus 173 open Agriculture & Rural Development roles →
Get the weekly Agriculture & Rural Development digest.
One free email a week: the agriculture & rural development news that matters and the jobs hiring around it. No account needed.
- Global Voices
China’s new cotton law deepens control over Uyghur farmers’ land and labor
China's recently enacted cotton-quality regulations tighten state oversight of farming communities in Xinjiang. The legal framework merges agricultural output with digital monitoring, land consolidation, and mandatory ideological training. For humanitarian and development specialists, the policy formalizes systemic labor exploitation within regional supply chains.
- Inter Press Service
U.S. Midwest Flooding Is a Growing Threat to Agriculture
Severe storms and heavy rainfall have triggered catastrophic flooding across the U.S. Midwest, prompting disaster declarations in Illinois and Indiana. The extreme weather has displaced hundreds of thousands of residents and severely damaged critical infrastructure. This unfolding crisis threatens regional agricultural production, raising concerns for food security and rural livelihoods.
- Mongabay
Pastoralists in a Changing World
Traditional pastoralist communities worldwide are facing significant environmental disruptions that threaten their mobile livestock-rearing practices. These populations depend on flexible access to rangelands to sustain their livelihoods. Understanding these pressures is critical for humanitarian and development actors designing effective resilience and land-management interventions in dryland regions.
- Mongabay
Blast fishing destroys reefs. Underwater microphones can help detect it
In South Sulawesi, Indonesia, marine researchers are utilizing underwater microphones and artificial intelligence to locate destructive blast fishing. Because underwater acoustics carry sound over long distances, this acoustic monitoring technology helps conservationists pinpoint detonations and protect vulnerable coral reefs from ongoing illegal exploitation.
- Mongabay
‘They will do it legally or illegally’: Interview with James Giahyue on Liberia’s cocoa boom
Global cacao price surges and land scarcity in Côte d'Ivoire have spurred a rapid cocoa industry expansion in neighboring Liberia. Journalist James Giahyue warns that this economic boom is driving unchecked agricultural encroachment. This trend risks accelerating severe environmental degradation and land conflicts across the West African nation if left unregulated.
- Mongabay
At global desertification conference, pastoralists call for greater recognition
At the international desertification conference, pastoralist communities emphasized the need for increased policy support as climate change threatens their traditional livelihoods. In Tanzania, Maasai herders are transitioning from cattle to drought-resilient goats to cope with intensifying water scarcity. This shift underscores the severe economic and cultural pressures facing livestock-dependent populations in vulnerable regions.
- Mongabay
EU’s deforestation rule could derail Liberia’s cocoa trade
Liberia’s cocoa exports in Grand Gedeh county face severe disruption due to the upcoming European Union Deforestation Regulation. Because the EU is Liberia's primary cocoa market, local farmers risk losing their main trade channel unless they comply with the new ban on agricultural products originating from recently deforested land.
- Mongabay
Microplastics in the Amazon
Plastic debris now contaminates aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems throughout the Amazon basin, stretching from the Negro River bed to coastal nesting areas. This widespread pollution threatens regional wildlife and biodiversity. Understanding the extent of this contamination is crucial for addressing environmental degradation in critical tropical habitats.
- Global Voices
How changing diets are creating new markets for Africa’s Indigenous crops
Shifting consumer health needs across Africa are driving demand for alternative gluten-free foods. This dietary transition is creating new commercial opportunities for traditional and native crops. Consequently, local agricultural markets are expanding to supply specialized nutritional products for individuals with specific food intolerances.
- The Guardian — Global development
‘We now live without this violence’: the Colombian farmers giving up coca for palm oil
Smallholders in northern Colombia are transitioning from illicit coca cultivation to palm oil production. Supported by government subsidies and reduced armed group activity, this economic shift is helping rural communities escape long-term conflict, improve livelihoods, and build stability in the region.
- UN News
Gaza: Only three per cent of cropland available to grow food
In the Gaza Strip, ongoing military operations have restricted farmers’ access to agricultural land, leaving just three percent available for food production. This severe constraint drastically undermines local sustenance efforts and deepens the humanitarian crisis, as residents face mounting difficulties in securing basic nourishment amid the protracted conflict.
- Mongabay
Land crisis and ‘green revolution’ practices trap millions of Malawi’s farmers
Smallholder farmers in Malawi face severe food insecurity driven by land shortages and high input costs associated with conventional agricultural practices. This agrarian crisis leaves millions struggling to secure adequate nutrition and livelihoods, highlighting vulnerabilities in the nation's dominant farming systems.
- Mongabay
‘Cocoa fever’ in Liberia’s Grand Gedeh is wiping out native forests
In Liberia’s southeastern Grand Gedeh county, rapid agricultural expansion for cacao production is causing widespread deforestation. Spurred by proximity to Côte d’Ivoire, this land-use change threatens the region's remaining natural habitats, which had remained largely intact until recently.
- Inter Press Service
As Mongolia Hosts COP17, Pastoralists Demand Space to Move, Survive and Restore
The Silk Road Caravan has arrived in Mongolia to coincide with COP17, following a journey across Eurasia that gathered testimonies from vulnerable herders. The participants are advocating for protected migration routes and improved land restoration policies. These measures are vital to safeguard traditional animal husbandry amid escalating climate pressures and severe pasture degradation.
- Mongabay
How women farmers are helping elephants and forests in a Sumatran national park
- Mongabay
‘To speak of agroecology is to speak of farmers’ autonomy’: Interview with Olga Muthambe
- Devpolicy Blog
PNG’s declining agricultural output requires a return to commercial production
Papua New Guinea’s agricultural sector has experienced a prolonged downward trend despite numerous interventions and financial investments. To revitalize rural employment, National Research Institute Chairman Wilson Thompson advocates for a revival of structured plantation and settlement production models. This approach aims to restore the sector's historical productivity.
- The Guardian — Global development
Halting the march of the armyworm: fungus discovery offers hope to African farmers
South African researcher Letodi Luki Mathulwe has identified a naturally occurring soil fungus that effectively kills the African armyworm. This discovery provides a promising biological solution for farmers across East and Southern Africa to combat the destructive caterpillar pest and protect vital food crops.
- Global Voices
Cocoa farmers in southeast Cameroon are adapting to EU regulations, but they still want a fair price
- Inter Press Service
The Year of Pastoralists Must Be More Than Symbolic
The United Nations has declared 2026 the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists to highlight traditional livestock keepers. Observers emphasize that this global designation must lead to concrete support rather than remaining purely symbolic amid escalating humanitarian and environmental crises.
- The Guardian — Global development
‘Danger no longer only comes from the hitmen, but from the state’: the Honduran farmers labelled terrorists for protecting their land
In Honduras, smallholder farmers defending their territory face escalating violence from agribusiness and criminal groups alongside state criminalization of community leaders. This hostile environment for land defenders threatens rural populations and highlights severe rule-of-law challenges in the region's agricultural sector.
- The Guardian — Global development
A rain festival with no rain: the Indian farmers bracing for a ‘super’ El Niño as monsoon arrives late
Farmers in Odisha, India, marked the traditional Raja monsoon festival amid delayed seasonal rains that forced planting during dry conditions. The late precipitation highlights agricultural vulnerabilities as communities brace for severe El Niño impacts, threatening crop yields and rural livelihoods across the region.
- Inter Press Service
Preparing Agriculture for a New Era of Extreme Weather
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has issued a warning about an upcoming El Niño phase that could lead to increased droughts, heat waves, storms, and flooding, posing significant risks to agriculture globally. This alert underscores the need for preparedness in the face of escalating climate-related challenges to food security.
- The Guardian — Global development
‘I fell in love with the art of coffee-making’: the female baristas shaking up Somalia’s booming cafe scene
As security conditions improve in Mogadishu, a growing coffee shop industry is expanding employment opportunities for women. Female baristas are staffing newly established cafes across the Somali capital. These venues serve as vital social spaces and employment drivers amid the city's ongoing economic and urban recovery.
- Inter Press Service
Global Value Chain Trade Reaches Historic Highs, Despite Push for Reshoring
A 2024 OECD report indicates that international trade through global value chains has hit record levels. Despite increasing protectionism and geopolitical instability, these cross-border production networks remain deeply integrated, underscoring the continued resilience of the global economy against recent trends favoring domestic manufacturing.
- UN News
Gaza farmers battle to rebuild as WFP warns of West Bank settler violence
Farmers in Gaza are receiving support from the UN as they work to restore their agricultural operations following extensive damage from the recent conflict between Hamas and Israel. Meanwhile, the World Food Programme has raised concerns about increasing violence from settlers in the West Bank, which poses additional challenges to food security in the region.
- Inter Press Service
How Farmers Are Learning About Restoring Soils and Scaling Agroecology in Kenya
Farmers from Vihiga and Kakamega counties in Kenya have traveled to Yumbuni Village in Makueni County to participate in community-led agroecology research. They are evaluating various homemade organic fertilizers and farm inputs to enhance soil restoration and promote sustainable agricultural practices. This initiative aims to improve farming resilience and productivity in the region.
- The Guardian — Global development
Blockades, marches and human shields: Bolivia’s farmers resist as land opened up to industry
Indigenous groups in Bolivia are protesting against government policies that favor agribusiness and mining, fearing increased deforestation and land privatization. Activists, led by peasant farmers' union leader Vivian Palomequi, have organized marches to oppose laws that threaten protected areas and criminalize environmental defenders, highlighting tensions between economic development and environmental conservation.
- Inter Press Service
Why Pastoral Production Requires Regional Coordination, Harmonised Policy
changemaker links to news at its source and shows an original one-line summary; we never republish full articles. Headlines and summaries are provided for discovery — all rights remain with the original publishers.