China will accelerate development of its own genetically modified (GMO) crops, seeking to secure food security and international competitiveness, an official from the country’s Ministry of Agriculture said. The official from the ministry’s biosafety administration office also denied recent media reports that China had already approved imported GMO grain seeds for widespread planting. His remarks
China Favours GMOs, But None Grown Yet
Ethanol Consumes Extra Production
World agricultural commodity stocks have fallen sharply in the past decade and may continue to be hit by growing biofuels production and rising demand, a CME Group economist said Aug. 17. John Hill, an economist for CME – the world’s largest derivatives exchange – said the rise in biofuels output posed a threat to agricultural
World Bank Lending Arm Extends Into Africa
The International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private sector lending arm, will nearly double its investment in agribusiness in Africa to $200 million during the 2009 fiscal year, a senior official said. IFC director for global agribusiness, Oscar Chemerinsky, said the lender would continue to ramp up its agribusiness investments as part of efforts to
China Asks To Plant Jatropha In Zambia
China has asked Zambia to plant two million hectares of jatropha in the Southern African country for production of biofuels, the Biofuels Association of Zambia (BAZ) said March 31. If agreed, the deal could become one of the biggest farming land ventures by an Asian or Middle Eastern country in Africa. “China has approached the
Biofuels Largest Market For Southern Africa Farming
Biofuels offer the biggest and most secure market for agriculture in southern Africa and could help ease the region’s electricity woes in the future, a biofuels conference heard March 31. Erhard Seilar, chief executive of the Southern African Biofuels Association, said the region’s farming sector stood to gain most from the growth of the fledgling
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
