Fidel Castro’s Daily Moringa Regimen

Fidel Castro inspecting a moringa tree in 2012. Photo credit: Guerrillero Newspaper.

In CNN’s April 4th website coverage of Fidel Castro’s recent public appearance, they note that, “Cuban state media Saturday released images of a rare public appearance by former leader Fidel Castro, who met with a group of Venezuelans who were on a solidarity mission to the island.”

The CNN story goes on to say that, “La Radio del Sur, a Venezuelan radio station that first reported Castro's appearance, said the leader met with the group for about 30 minutes and also talked to them about moringa, a plant with medicinal qualities that the former leader is cultivating at his home in Havana.”

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Global Food Industry Reluctant Leaders of Smallholder Farming Revolution

REPRINT > by Hugh Locke for Huffington Post "What's New" / April 1, 2015

In recent years the global food and beverage industry has surpassed development agencies and donor governments when it comes to improving the productivity and income of smallholder farmers in developing countries.

Food and beverage companies did not set out to champion smallholder farmers: for the most part they simply wanted to secure an ongoing supply of agricultural commodities and respond to changing consumer preferences. Companies of all shapes and sizes—from global giants like Nestlé, Unilever and Heineken to modest artisanal producers—started purchasing increasingly large amounts of agricultural output from smallholder farmers in middle income and developing nations.

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Revitalizing Lime Production in Haiti

The Smallholder Farmers Alliance (SFA) is growing lime trees as part of an initiative in which the Clinton Foundation has brought partners together to revitalize high-quality lime production in Haiti.

"In the 1980s, Firmenich sourced high quality lime oil from Haiti. Over time, the lime industry in Haiti disappeared. Now, more than 25 years later," said David Shipman, North America President of Firmenich, a leading flavors and fragrances company, "it is exciting to partner with the Clinton Foundation in distributing lime seedlings to smallholder farmers in Haiti to re-launch this important and much needed crop. In addition to providing farmers with a cash generating crop, this project also provides environmental benefits in the reforestation of Haiti." 

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Moringa as possible cancer treatment?

As a follow-up to the moringa study SFA released on Monday, it is interesting to read what the world-renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has to say about moringa: 

"Products derived from the herb are used to treat a variety of conditions, including asthma, diabetes, ulcers, infections and cancer."

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Haiti Moringa Study Released Today

Moringa Combines Reforestation and Agricultural Export in Haiti

A study launched today entitled “Moringa: Export Market Potential for Smallholder Farmers in Haiti” is a virtual handbook for everyone from farmers to exporters to government officials interested in ensuring this “miracle tree” becomes a new agricultural export for the country.

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Celebration of Trees in Haiti

Trees are part of seasonal holiday celebrations in many parts of the world, but in Haiti they are also being used by farmers to earn their way out of poverty. 

The country's current political turmoil may be in the limelight, but there is another story from Haiti worthy of headlines: thousands of small-scale farmers are using a new business model to help feed and reforest the nation.

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Commercial Moringa Production Study in Haiti

“It is hard to rein in the use of superlatives when describing the benefits of the Moringa oleifera tree, long known to rural Haitians for its highly nutritious leaves eaten raw or added to soup,” said Hugh Locke, President of the Smallholder Farmers Alliance (SFA), when announcing a commercial Moringa production study in Haiti. “Rich in vitamins A, B, C, D and E, the leaves also contain unusually high levels of calcium, potassium and protein. In addition, the tree’s abundant bean seeds contain oil that has a range of applications.”

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The Future of Food

In an eight-month series on The Future of Food, National Geographic is exploring how we will feed two billion more people by 2050 without overwhelming the planet. Their extraordinary in-depth coverage represents a turning point in understanding the complex and interconnected issues around this global challenge.

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