When it comes to feeding the planet, sometimes small-scale solutions can make a huge difference. That's the essence of a new report from the organization, WorldWatch called State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet.

The WorldWatch team spent 15 months visiting 250 projects in sub-Saharan Africa to discover what's working now — and what can, and should be done in the future. Danielle Nierenberg, project director, spoke with Melinda Penkava.