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Can Satellites Solve the Farmer Suicide Crisis in India?
Researchers from the University of California, Berkley, have found a strong correlation between rising temperatures and the rate of suicides, with an increase of 1 Celsius associated with an average of about 70 additional suicides per day. Droughts have ravaged the country’s crop yields, sharply reducing farmers’ income across the sector and disrupting the predictability of revenue.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- agtech, climate change
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Why Startup Accelerators Won’t Create the Global Climate Technology Revolution
Accelerators may be a great way to launch the next Pokémon Go app or even Airbnb, but they're not as suited for climate startups in low- and middle-income countries. Jean-Louis Racine, leader of the infoDev Climate Technology Program at the World Bank Group, explores several reasons why accelerators are "at best an incomplete tool for building climate tech sectors."
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Social Enterprise, Technology
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“Recovery lending” helps disaster-stricken African farmers get back on track
Accessing credit has long been a major hurdle for small-scale farmers in Africa, who produce some 70 percent of the continent’s food. Not only does this mean yields fall far below their full potential, but the ability of farmers to manage the increasingly frequent and severe weather shocks brought about by climate change is also greatly reduced.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment
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‘Internet Access is Like Oxygen’: Converging Connectivity and Energy Access
Microsoft’s Affordable Access Initiative is providing grants to internet access and related services companies and startups reaching underserved communities in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and North America. In June, the tech giant announced the second year of grantees. Paul Garnett, senior director of the Affordable Access Initiative at Microsoft, explores how internet connectivity can have a ripple effect.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Technology, Telecommunications
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Dangote to invest $450m on agriculture in Niger
Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the President, Dangote Group on Monday disclosed that the company would invest $450million in agriculture development in Niger State over the next three years.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- impact investing
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To Feed the World, Improve Photosynthesis
By reworking the basic metabolism of crops, plant scientists hope to forestall devastating food shortages.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Technology
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Kenya’s Twiga Foods raises $10.3m Series A funding round
Kenyan mobile-based business-to-business food supply platform Twiga Foods has raised a US$10.3 million Series A funding round to enable it to increase the number of vendors it serves, diversify its product portfolio, and introduce advanced supplier services.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Farmers are the secret ingredient for Ghana’s most innovative startups
In the space of just a few years, Williams would go from studying space to selling beauty products sourced from the moringa, opening a new commercial opportunity for local farmers through the process. His company, MoringaConnect, is part of a wave of savvy young entrepreneurs who are turning to the country’s troubled agricultural sector, and the millions of farmers toiling in it, as source of inspiration for their ideas.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- agtech
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