Humanity is facing its greatest challenge. To produce 70% more food by 2050 without destroying the environment means doing much more with less. Partly due to the abundant food and record-low food prices achieved by the Green Revolution, overseas development assistance for agriculture dropped...

A sustainable strategy to nourish the planet and its people must also promote biodiversity conservation. This strategy will have to include reduction in land degradation and unsustainable overuse of fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, and irrigation water. A case can be made for...

Mining of energy resources and minerals is clearly the running down of a large but finite, and non-renewable, resource. It is important also to recognise the nonrenewable aspects of food production: in particular, net consumption of nutrients and soil as well as the direct and embodied...

Africa’s abundant mineral resources offer opportunities for its countries’ governments to work with mining companies so that minerals exploitation can benefit both company and country. Well-managed mineral exploitation can underpin broad-based sustainable growth and socioeconomic...

This paper provides an overview of first- and second- generation biofuels. First-generation biofuels are ethanol-derived from food crops such as grains and sugar cane, and biodiesel, which use feedstocks of vegetable oils and animal fats. The technologies for manufacturing first-generation...