Rerooted

To understand the future of our food, we need to start at the roots.

In this series, we explore how climate change and shifting consumer habits are forcing us to rethink the way we grow staple crops, from coffee to rice.


Nature

Can an obscure grain replace rice in Indonesian diets?

With climate change and war making rice more costly, Indonesia hoped sorghum might boost food security. But would people eat it?

A person holds a handful of wheat in this illustration for the Context series Rerooted. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Karif Wat
Climate Risks

Climate-proofing India's daily bread: The race for resilient wheat

Too hot, too dry, too wet; as extreme weather threatens food security, the race is on to get new seed varieties in the ground

Nature

How to save the banana? The answer may lie in Indonesia

The Cavendish is the world's top banana but a fungus threatens to wipe it out. Can Indonesian varieties save the world's bananas?

Nature

Food waste is a billion-dollar problem. Can this spray make a difference?

Tonnes of food is wasted when it doesn’t reach shelves in time. Can a product tested by Indian mango farmers slow the clock?

Tomatoes hang as a drone flies in the background in this illustration for the Context series Rerooted. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Karif Wat
Nature

In an Australian tomato farm, drones take the place of bees

Farmers from Australia to the UK are using drones to pollinate food crops like tomatoes, but can technology ever replace bees?

Nature

Senegal relies on rice imports. Can a farming method change that?

The West African nation has long depended on imported rice, but farmers are trying to change that - by using a different growing technique

Nature

The bean that could save coffee from climate change

As climate change threatens coffee crops, Malaysian farmers hope a long-forgotten species could help coffee survive a warming world

A person shows a handful of beans in this illustration picture. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Karif Wat
Climate Risks

Forced to diversify, Guatemalan farmers plant climate-hardy beans

As climate change threatens food security, farmers in Guatemala are branching out, and betting on a drought-resilient bean variety

Soybeans spill out of cupped hands over text reading 'THE FUTURE OF SOY' in this illustration picture. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Karif Wat
Nature

Can Brazil's farmers grow more soy without deforestation?

Concern over the Amazon's destruction is fueling interest in land regeneration to boost soybean output in top producer Brazil

A farmer gathers seaweed in this illustration picture. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Karif Wat
Nature

India bets on seaweed's future as food industry appetite grows

As demand grows for extracts like agar, India wants to boost farming of seaweed - hailed as an untapped, climate-friendly resource

Millet hangs over text reading 'THE FUTURE OF MILLET' in this illustration picture. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Karif Wat
Climate Risks

From India to Lagos, can 'superfood' millet make climate comeback?

Millet is being touted for its drought resilience and nutritional value but a sustained comeback depends on consumer acceptance

A farmer holds a cassava plant over the text 'THE FUTURE OF CASSAVA' with the text 'Context REROOTED' in the bottom left hand corner in this illustration picture. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Karif Wat
Nature

Indonesia's cassava push leaves bitter taste in Borneo rainforest

Nature and Indigenous people have paid a high price for giant 'food estates' meant to boost Indonesia's food security, critics say