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The Africa Cup of Nations proved to be "a big stumbling block" when Manchester United discussed signing Victor Osimhen, according to former coach Benni McCarthy.

Ein Blick-Leser wird in einer Migros-Filiale in Uster ZH stutzig: Die Verpackungen für Fresca Medjool-Datteln geben als Herkunftsland Israel an. Auf dem Migros-Preisschild steht aber: Palästina. Eine heimliche politische Botschaft?

Lady Diana sorgte 1981 mit ihrem Verlobungsring für einen Eklat. Mit ihrer Ring-Auswahl brach sie mit mehr als einer royalen Tradition. Für die weltweite Presse ein Skandal – für Diana ein bewusstes Statement.

Welches Gemüse kann wann gesetzt oder gesät werden? Mit dem Aussaatkalender behält man den Überblick im Gartenbeet.

Der Nationalrat berät Mitte März über neue gesetzliche Regeln für den Import von Stopfleber (Foie gras). Der Bundesrat plädiert für ein Nein, wie seiner am Mittwoch veröffentlichten Stellungnahme zu entnehmen ist.

Die Kantonspolizei St. Gallen hat am Mittwochmorgen auf der Autobahn A1 zwischen Oberbüren und Gossau fünf Gaffer angezeigt. Sie filmten von ihren Autos aus mit ihren Handys einen Unfall.

Women farmers clearing farmland in Northern Bangladesh. Credit: Naimul Haq/IPS

By Máximo Torero
ROME, Feb 25 2026 (IPS)

Farmland has long been one of the most important sources of security across generations. Writing about China nearly a century ago, Pearl S. Buck noted in The Good Earth, “If you will hold your land, you can live.” That holds true today. When farmers own land, they invest in it. When they don’t, they extract what they can today without thinking of tomorrow.

This household-level decision becomes a structural problem at scale: land degradation — today, 1.7 billion people live in areas of declining agricultural productivity — reflects systemic underinvestment in land, often rooted in insecure land tenure. The good news is that this means reforming and enforcing land tenure can be a powerful tool to combat land degradation and food insecurity.

Globally, only about a quarter of land is formally recognized. In sub-Saharan Africa, where customary systems dominate landholding, communities have been exposed to encroachment, weak dispute resolution, and exclusion from services and finance. More than 1.1 billion people believe they could lose rights to their land the next five years. This perceived insecurity has intensified amid rising financial pressure and displacement.

Land degradation reflects systemic underinvestment in land, often rooted in insecure land tenure. The good news is that this means reforming and enforcing land tenure can be a powerful tool to combat land degradation and food insecurity

Evidence from Ghana and Malawi shows that farmers with informal or seasonal rental agreements are significantly less likely to invest in soil restoration, water management, or productivity-enhancing practices. This is because they could lose access to the land before those investments generate returns over multiple years. Without land as collateral, farmers also struggle to access credit, insurance, and financial services needed to finance such improvements.

Customary systems have persistently disadvantaged women, who make up half of smallholder producers, in inheritance and transfer rights. Globally, women hold only 15% of agricultural land, and even when they do, they are susceptible to losing it in case of divorce or death of a spouse.

Limited legal access to land, combined with weak access to credit, insurance, and inputs, has reinforced cycles of low productivity, land degradation, and vulnerability for women farmers.

Where land tenure is weak or contested, rising land demand can fuel conflict. In Colombia, post-conflict agricultural expansion into forest areas has generated tensions where land claims remain unresolved. Similar disputes have emerged in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, where weak legal recognition of customary rights and insecure land claims make households vulnerable to land disputes, especially when large-scale land acquisitions occur.

These recurring tensions have reinforced the case for strengthening land governance as a foundation for stability and development. In fact, some 70 countries have initiated land policy reforms since 2012, when the UN endorsed internationally agreed principles protecting legitimate tenure rights, including customary ones. But many legislative reforms have been slow to translate into practice on the ground. Dispute resolution systems remain weak, and the rights of women, Indigenous Peoples, and customary landholders are still inconsistently recognized.

Change couldn’t come sooner. Reversing even 10% of degraded cropland could feed 154 million more people annually. Without government intervention, the world could face a farmland deficit twice the size of India by 2050.

Of course, secure land tenure alone won’t automatically restore land. Half of global farmland is controlled by the largest 1% of producers many of whom operate intensive production models that can accelerate land degradation when not paired with strong environmental safeguards. So land tenure reform must be accompanied by effective regulation, targeted incentives, access to finance and extension services, and strong institutional capacity.

Rising land demand, climate stress, and large-scale land acquisitions will continue to test the durability of these reforms. Whether these pressures translate into instability or resilience depends on policy choices. If governments want farmers to restore the land, they must first ensure that farmers can hold it.

Excerpt:

Máximo Torero is chief economist of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome

Le système d’entrée au Royaume-Uni se modernise. L’ambassade britannique à Alger vient d’officialiser le passage au « tout numérique » pour les demandes de visa, permettant aux […]

L’article Le Royaume-Uni lance l’e-visa : ce qui change pour les Algériens dès ce 25 février 2026 est apparu en premier sur .

Der Bundesrat will auch nach dem Entscheid des obersten US-amerikanischen Gerichts über die Importzölle mit Washington im Gespräch bleiben. In den kommenden Wochen sollen laut Bundespräsident und Wirtschaftsminister Guy Parmelin die Verhandlungen weitergeführt werden.

The Commission should, MEPs say, propose EU legislation establishing a common definition of rape based on the concept of freely given, informed and revocable consent.
Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

The Commission should, MEPs say, propose EU legislation establishing a common definition of rape based on the concept of freely given, informed and revocable consent.
Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

The Commission should, MEPs say, propose EU legislation establishing a common definition of rape based on the concept of freely given, informed and revocable consent.
Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

The Commission should, MEPs say, propose EU legislation establishing a common definition of rape based on the concept of freely given, informed and revocable consent.
Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Rund jede zehnte erwerbstätige Personen hat ein suchtähnliches Verhältnis zum Job. Arbeitssucht ist schwer zu erkennen und kann zum Burnout führen.

Keine grosse Überraschung: Mit die beliebtesten Babynamen bei Schweizer Eltern sind nach wie vor Emma und Noah. Seit über zehn Jahren stehen entweder diese beiden Namen in den Top Ten der gewählten Namen. Was macht sie zu den Favoriten der Eltern? Eine Spurensuche.

SEDE-AFCO Joint Public Hearing on Institutional aspects of the Common European Defence Union - 24 February 2026

The Committee on Security and Defence jointly with the Committee on Constitutional Affairs held a hearing on "Institutional aspects of the Common European Defence Union" on 24 February. The Committees looked into the existing institutional framework supporting the Common European Defence Union. The hearing will help to identify the challenges and opportunities within current institutional arrangements, and it will propose recommendations for closer cooperation among Member States and EU's internal governance mechanisms.

Location : SPAAK 1A002
Programme
Poster
Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

En ce mois de Ramadan, période où les rassemblements familiaux et les repas collectifs se multiplient, le ministère de la Santé alerte la population sur […]

L’article Vague d’intoxications alimentaires : le ministère de la Santé appelle à la vigilance en ce Ramadan est apparu en premier sur .

Le critique de cinéma Anis Koussim a réagi à la plainte déposée par le Syndicat national des praticiens de la santé publique auprès de l’Autorité […]

L’article Polémique feuilleton « El-Mouhadjir » : un critique de cinéma descend en flammes le SNPSP est apparu en premier sur .

Die laufende Weltcup-Saison ist die letzte in der Karriere von Jason Rüesch. Der Davoser Langläufer und WM-Silbermedaillengewinner tritt am Ende des Winters zurück.

Bei einer europaweiten Aktion gegen den illegalen Onlinehandel hat das Bundesamt für Zoll und Grenzsicherheit 85 in die Schweiz adressierte Sendungen mit Dopingmitteln beschlagnahmt. Die Meldestelle Swiss Sport Integrity prüft nun Verbindungen zum Schweizer Sport.