Hunger is increasing in southern Madagascar due to consecutive years of drought, and has already affected half the region's population, or 1.5 million people, according to the World Food Programme (WFP). The figure is three times the number projected mid-year, with women and children comprising most of those experiencing “crisis” or “emergency” conditions caused by hunger. 

The European Court of Human Rights will order 33 European governments to respond in a lawsuit lodged by six young activists and already defined as historic. The countries – the EU27 plus Norway, Russia, Switzerland, the UK, Turkey and Ukraine - will be obliged to respond by 23 February to the complaints made by the plaintiffs, who say governments are moving too slowly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are destabilising the climate. 

The British government explains that in order to access post-Brexit funds, farmers will need to reduce emissions, create more space for wildlife and make improvements to animal welfare. When UK leaves the EU and its common agricultural policy next year, the government will immediately begin phasing out direct payments to farmers, with a view of ending them completely by 2027 

Last year Singapore set the goal of producing 30 per cent of its own food by 2030, compared to less than 10 per cent today. According to ministerial sources, efforts have increased to help local farmers increase production over the next six to 24 months. In September, the Singapore Food Agency awarded close to $40 million under its 30X30 project. 

The world’s most important award for environmental activists has gone to six “heroes” from Mexico, Ecuador, Bahamas, Ghana, Myanmar and France. The projects and actions recognized this year range from single-use plastic to coal, from the struggle for indigenous rights to the creation of protected areas at home. 

All 10,500 turkeys on the Northallerton farm will be culled to limit the spread of the disease, while a temporary control zone of 3 and 10 km will be established to stop its spread. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said avian influenza posed little risk to public health and that this particular strain of the virus (H5N8) did not affect food safety.