Daily Current Affairs – 2020

Topic: For Prelims and Mains

Food System Vision Prize 2020

10^th Aug 2020

Why in news?

It is an invitation for organizations across the globe to develop a Vision of the regenerative and nourishing food system that they aspire to create by the year 2050. 

The prize awards a cash incentive of USD $200,000.

It was launched by the USA-based ‘The Rockefeller Foundation’, in partnership with the other two organizations – Second Muse and Open IDEO- in 2019.

What is a Food System Vision?

It is really a story about the future that addresses the following six interconnected themes:

1. Environment
2. Diets
3. Economics
4. Culture
5. Technology
6. Policy

Why in News?

The Rockefeller Foundation has selected Naandi Foundation (a Hyderabad based non-profit organisation), as one of the top 10 ‘Visionaries’ in the world for the Food System Vision 2050 Prize.

Naandi was recognised for its Arakunomics

What is Arakunomics?

It is a new integrated economic model that ensures profits for farmers, quality for consumers through regenerative agriculture.

This model is a tribute to the tribal farmers of Araku region for the world-class coffee produced and launched in Paris in 2017 as well as for the high carbon landscape transformation they did in over 955 villages there by planting 25 million trees.

Why Naandi was chosen?

• The success of Arakunomics in Araku region led to Naandi replicating the model to support the livelihood of farming communities in the villages of Wardha, Maharashtra, and later in New Delhi.
• Naandi hopes to expand its “food-print” by creating thousands of farm livelihoods by transforming their agriculture over one million acres spread across India.
• Also, Arakunomics model leads to Food Vision 2050 that follows an “ABCDEFGH” framework centering on:

1. Agriculture
2. Biology
3. Compost
4. Decentralised decision-making
5. Entrepreneurs
6. Families
7. Global Markets
8. Headstands or turning current approaches on their head.

Facts for Prelims:

Loya Jirga:

It is a mass national gathering that brings together representatives from the various ethnic, religious, and tribal communities in Afghanistan.

• It is a highly respected centuries-old consultative body that has been convened at times of national crisis or to settle national issues.
• According to the Afghan Constitution,a Loya Jirga is considered the highest expression of the Afghan people. It is not an official decision-making body and its decisions are not legally binding.
• Kavkaz 2020:

It is the Russian strategic command-post exercise.

Why in News?

• India will take part in the Russian Kavkaz 2020 strategic command-post exercise next month.
• The invitees for the exercise also include China and Pakistan apart from other member-states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).