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Costa Rica and its coffee are synonymous Imagine a cup of coffee and its rich aroma wafting up – and Costa Rican coffee most likely figures on top of our minds. Coffee in Costa Rica is like everyday life, and it naturally culminates into great value for the country’s socio-economic and environmental system. Costa Rica’s […]

We, human beings, are turning ourselves into an urban species. Within the span of one century, urban populations have expanded from 15 to 50 percent of the total population. It’s no longer the towns and villages, but large cities that are becoming our main habitat; and such a growth pattern is changing the face of […]

‘Intensive agriculture’, or intensive farming, by its very term, is characterized by higher use of inputs such as capital and labour for every unit land area that is cultivated, and this way, it is designed to produce higher yields. By using smart farming system and techniques, intensive farming is able to produce higher yields and […]

There would be roughly 33 per cent more mouths to feed by the year 2050, say FAO estimates. But even with the current food production levels, we all know that in practice, it is impossible to continue to produce ever-increasing amounts of food to feed this burgeoning global population. This scenario is compounded by the […]

The health benefits of fruits and vegetables Health experts as well as environmental groups are unanimous in the view that increasingthe consumption of fruits and vegetables has great health benefits, such as providing valuable nutrients that the human body needs. And perhaps it matters little whether they are grown conventionally or organically. Decades of nutritional […]

Cinammon, cloves, cardamom, peppers – the spice jars that line our kitchens remind us of how much spices and its trade has changed the course of history. As early as 3000 BC, a major spice trade center had established itself – the Muziris port in Kerala, southwest India. Kerala, India’s spice garden, was where all […]

The coffee we enjoy each morning takes a long while to arrive in our cup. Three to four years is the time it takes for the coffee plant to bear the fruit or the coffee cherry that turns a bright deep red when ready for harvest. Inside this cherry is the seed, or the coffee […]

Forests hold great value – ecologically, economically, socially and even culturally. It’s a resource that billions of people rely on. For estimates, about 1.6 billion people depend on forests – through the use biomass fuels, for livelihoods, and even dwelling – as it is home to about 60 million indigenous peoples and other forest-based communities. […]

Thousands of years ago, in China, the practice of growing and harvesting fish originated.  This practice that provided a source of protein for the population has evolved into a system called fish farming or aquaculture.  In simple terms, it is the farming and harvesting of fresh or salt water fish and shell fish.  Today, a […]