Extreme weather, agricultural carbon emissions, adaptation, and mitigation strategies.
The film *Nei Sha* opens with an immediate explanation of its title. On the banks of a reed bed in winter, Teacher Tang, an organic farmer, explains to a visiting professor: this is the mouth of the Yangtze River, where shifting sands have deposited over time to gradually form islands.…
Foodthink’s Take When discussing the impact of climate change on rural areas, we often say that “farmers are at the mercy of the elements”. But is it really as simple as that? What kind of agricultural systems and rural realities do today’s farmers actually live in? How should the macro-issue…
I. The Seed Bottleneck Farmers in Guzai Yao Ethnic Township, Mashan County, north of Nanning, saw their incomes rise sharply from growing chayote seedlings. Yet since last year, they have found themselves with nothing left to plant. 2024 brought multiple spells of extreme rainfall to Guangxi. In Mashan, the relentless…
I. Why is maize sprayed with pesticides six times? “I wouldn’t dare buy maize from outside,” Old Lei said with a smile. The remark threw me off. As a city office worker, a boiled cob is my favourite breakfast on any morning I oversleep. I had set out to conduct…
Foodthink Says In response to the climate crisis, many advocate harnessing capitalist market mechanisms to cut carbon emissions. The model discussed here operates on one such premise: companies pay for carbon credits, with the proceeds directed towards reducing deforestation and fostering alternative livelihoods in a given region, thereby offsetting their…
This year, whether in town or in the countryside, everyone agrees that vegetable prices have soared. Yet as we complain about rising food prices, those working the land face challenges like never before. Few stop to ask: why have prices climbed so sharply, and are the farmers growing them…
Foodthink Says This year is on track to be the hottest on record. Yet at the recently concluded twenty-ninth UN Climate Change Conference, nations continued to dispute funding allocations, repeatedly bringing negotiations to a standstill. The climate finance gap for agriculture, in particular, remains staggering. So, when we talk about…
Sichuan Pepper Trees Are Moving Uphill In 2004, I was conducting field research in a village in Mao County, Sichuan. A local resident remarked, “Sichuan pepper trees are moving up the mountains.” He meant that these trees once thrived in the river valleys, but conditions have changed. They now grow…
Today, 13 October 2024, marks the 35th International Day for Disaster Reduction. Established by the United Nations, this observance aims to draw international attention to the importance of disaster prevention and mitigation. Over the past year, increasingly erratic natural disasters ravaging regions across the country remain the greatest threat to…
Last week, the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai region endured back-to-back strikes from two typhoons registering Category 10 or above, all within four days—a historic rarity. Around 7:30 am on 16 September 2024, Typhoon Koppu made landfall near Lingang New City on the Pudong coast, Shanghai. At landfall, it packed Category 14 winds near…
