Global Agriculture Work
Reducing the Vulnerability of Our Global Food Supply
Work with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
Global conversations on food security have focused for decades on the quantity of food. More recently, the dialogue has come to include the importance of quality and diversity, addressing micronutrient deficiencies and non-communicable diseases related to obesity, alongside persistent hunger. Over the past 50 years, nutritionally rich traditional and local foods around the world have been replaced with staple commodities like wheat, rice, maize and potatoes. While this change has helped feed the world, it has contributed to more homogenized diets, which may be accelerating the worldwide rise in obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
Protecting African Herders from Harsh Weather
Work with the International Livestock Research Institute
In the pastoral societies of East Africa, life for millions of people revolves around livestock. And when harsh weather arrives and animals perish, lives are ruined. Yet providing insurance against livestock loss in the region faces multiple challenges.