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Feeding the growing numbers of the world's population
is proving to be one of the most important challenges
farmers have ever faced. Yet for many people, growing
enough food simply to survive is the greatest challenge.
Grow it Yourself reveals innovative ways of
improving self-sufficiency, where tradition and science
are working hand in hand.
Green
Muscle:
How can you keep bugs at bay in an environmentally friendly
way? An international collaboration has developed a
new method, which uses natural ingredients instead of
chemicals to prevent locusts destroying vital food crops.
This specially created biopesticide not only stops locusts
dead in their tracks, it also has no harmful impact
on the environment.
Green
Streets:
Agriculture is coming from the countryside to take root
within the city in Ecuador's capital, Quito. With the
growing population in this bustling city meaning more
mouths to feed than ever, resourceful residents are
making use of any available space to grow everything
they need. On rooftops, in backyards, in gardens, on
public lands; food growing is growing - urban-style.
Prime
Time:
Planting times are changing in the Highlands on north-west
Bangladesh, where farmers are finding new ways of making
the best use of their land. The traditional pattern
of growing only one crop of rice per year leaves large
amounts of potentially profitable land fallow. Now,
after years of research, farmers are growing a new crop
by new means. The simple process of soaking seeds overnight
is turning the humble chickpea into a profitable activity
for Anwaral Islam and his neighbours.
Stopping
the Rot:
Cassava is to an African farmer what rice is to an Asian
farmer. When all the other crops fail, cassava is the
one crop that keeps on growing. In drought and war-ravaged
Mozambique, where the failure of the annual harvest
can literally be the difference between life and death,
cassava has proved vital. But even this hardy tuber
has an enemy - disease. Scientists from the UK have
been educating farmers in Mozambique about cassava diseases
in the hope of ending the cycle of famine.
Farming
Fungus:
Shiitake mushrooms have been grown for over 2,000 years
in south-east Asia. Now the growing of this edible fungus,
considered one of the tastiest mushrooms around, has
spread a little further west - to Germany. Nicola Kraemer
is helping to turn mushroom cultivation into a popular
hobby for Germans. She is selling mushroom growing kits
over the Internet and ensuring Germany's mushroom-loving
population can satisfy their taste buds from their own
homes.
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