Editorial: More of the same?

There’s a certain predictability to how the next round of agricultural policy discussions are unfolding. With the Growing Forward 2 suite of programs set to expire in March 2018, many expect that what follows will closely resemble what’s being replaced. That might not serve Canadian agriculture particularly well, however, since the sector is facing a


Malawian subsistence farmer Simon Sikazwe stands beside communal maize fields in Dowa near the capital Lilongwe, February 3, 2016. Late rains in Malawi threaten the staple maize crop and have pushed prices to record highs. About 14 million people face hunger in Southern Africa because of a drought exacerbated by an El Niño weather pattern, according to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP).

Smarter farming could cut hunger in drought-hit Southern Africa — researchers

Too few resources are available to educate the continent’s farmers 
about potential solutions to their problems

Southern African farmers facing hunger as a result of worsening drought know a lot about climate change but lack the resources to put solutions that work into place, agriculture and development researchers say. That is in part because government agricultural extension services, which offer training and advice to farmers, have too few agents, according to



German chemical firm Lanxess to buy Chemtura

Reuters — Lanxess AG said on Sunday it would buy specialty chemical company Chemtura Corp. for about US$2.5 billion, to improve the German company’s additives business. Lanxess’s offer of US$33.50 for each Chemtura share represents a premium of about 19 per cent to the Philadelphia-based company’s close on Friday. The world’s largest synthetic rubber maker

(EC.europa.eu)

EU, Canada seek to win over CETA doubters with declaration

Vienna/Brussels | Reuters — Canada’s trade minister and the European Union’s trade chief sought Wednesday to overcome the doubts of Austria and other EU members over a planned EU-Canada free trade deal, with a declaration spelling out the limits of the contentious pact. Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, speaking in Vienna, said the legally binding






Cut your food waste with a few helpful tips

Cut your food waste with a few helpful tips

Too often perfectly safe food is being thrown away, as much as 90 billion pounds a year

Did you eat the potatoes I gave you?” I asked my son. He has been living in an apartment for a couple of months now. I had given him some large baking potatoes. I thought they would be the basis of an easy meal. Just scrub, poke a few holes and bake. I bought him