Towns and cities in the world's developing countries are growing on an unprecedented scale. Ten years ago, an estimated 40 percent of the developing world's population - or 2 billion people - lived in urban areas.

Hope for global conservation is what we wish to evoke in our readers with some of the more upbeat environmental stories from the past year that we have pieced together from around the world in this list. These include some of your favorite happy stories, from the expansion of protected areas for wildlife, cancelled reclamation projects that posed coastal ecosystem threats, to the impactful role of indigenous communities in conservation.

As it is practiced today, agriculture is one of the biggest environmental offenders – yet it is necessary for our survival. Agriculture contributes one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, uses 70% of freshwater resources, and harms wildlife through conversion and fragmentation of biodiversity-rich habitats, water diversions, pesticide poisoning and creation of oceanic dead zones.

China increased its corn production estimate for 2018-19 to 257.33 million tonnes based on the nation’s most recent agriculture census, Reuters reported on Jan. 11.

Trying to get to grips with what to expect from Africa’s economies in 2019 can be broken out into three categories of discussion: the good, the underwhelming and the disconcerting.

Scientist Brad Lister returned to Puerto Rican rainforest after 35 years to find 98% of ground insects had vanished Damian CarringtonEnvironment editor.

Look left, look right, look upwards before you go out in 2019 because the biggest threat could come from the skies. We’re not talking about bombers, nor meteorites from outer space, merely the destructive wrath of mother nature.

For many, Africa holds a special place in our hearts. It is the birthplace of our species; an epic landscape stuffed with biodiversity and humankind’s oldest traditional practices.

If 2018 was the year of the global heatwave, then 2019 looks set to bring even more extreme weather with early indications of an El Niño event in the next three months.

After rapid economic growth averaging 10% every year between 2004 and 2014, Ethiopia has emerged as an engine of development in Africa.
How investment in irrigation is paying off for Ethiopia's economy

Li Tie, a Chinese businessman who has been trading Chinese manufactured agricultural machinery in Africa for almost 20 years, always sees his Indian counterparts as strong competitors in local market.

Is your morning coffee an espresso or a skinny latte? Is it from a darkly roasted French or Italian blend? If it’s a high quality brew, it’s almost certainly made with beans from the Arabica species (Coffea arabica), which is known for its finer flavours.

At its 72nd Session, the United Nations General Assembly officially adopted a resolution declaring 2019 – 2028 as a “Decade of Family Farming”. The resolution is aimed at providing a framework for the promotion of better public policies on family farming.

Avocado goes on toast, in a smoothie, and yes, on pizza.

Nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium are the three elements that support the productivity of all plants used for agriculture, and are the constituents of commercial fertilizers that farmers use throughout the world.

A researcher in Edinburgh is leading efforts to develop gene-edited farm animals for poor farmers in Africa.Prof Appolinaire Djikeng is developing cows, pigs and chickens that are resistant to diseases and more productive.

Africa has been a fast-growing grain import market for more than a decade, and not just because its population is mushrooming. Take wheat, for example.

In recent years, agribusiness analysts have predicted that agricultural commodities could become “the new oil” in Africa, a continent with a booming population, a growing economy with potential for even greater expansion, and 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land. This all adds up to an incredible opportunity.

 Food companies doing business in Africa risk becoming bogged down in decades-long legal disputes over land that could cost tens of millions of dollars, according to a report released on Monday.

Evidence is now in and the verdict is that Africa’s agriculture is powering economic transformation in the region. African agriculture has shown remarkable improvement compared to its precarious state 15 years ago.