Achieving zero hunger, one of the Sustainable Development Goals, requires meeting another SDG: ensuring access to modern energy. In particular, the future of agriculture in the Global South depends on distributed renewable-energy solutions to address the challenges faced by smallholder farmers. By Kristina Skierka and Aisha Mohammed Mussa

It is hard to predict when exactly food prices will spike again, but there is little doubt that more shocks will come. The consequences are likely to be compounded if a few companies still hold inordinate power over the world’s food systems. By Phil Howard and Jennifer Clapp

There are 21.5 billion interconnected devices worldwide, yet 1.4 billion adults still have no access to banking. This presents an opportunity for leapfrogging straight to digital identification and the IoT for processing transactions. By Lotte Schou-Zibell and Arndt Husar

Last year’s farmer protests in New Zealand, for example, showed how abruptly climate policies can be disrupted when workers and communities feel left out. Policymakers and corporate leaders need to get in front of the issue now. By Robin Willoughby and Nico Muzi