stacking sacks of wheat in India

India boosts wheat subsidies to farmers

Wheat stocks already in government warehouses are nearly three times the official target

The Indian government has raised the price it will pay to buy new-season wheat from local farmers by 3.57 per cent to 1,450 rupees ($23.60) per 100 kg, encouraging the crop even though supply has exceeded demand for eight years. India, the world’s second-biggest wheat consumer, sets a price each year to protect domestic farmers

Syria plans to import one million tonnes of wheat as war rages

Jihadist rebels now control most of Syria’s wheat-growing areas

Syria plans to import one million tonnes of wheat as loss of government control over large swathes of farmland and a poor harvest have cut domestic purchases by half, a source at the state’s General Organization for Cereal Processing and Trade (Hoboob) told Reuters. “We are still studying the mode of imports, whether it will


chocolate

When gas prices drop, people buy chocolate

Twenty per cent of gas bar customers also stock up on treats

U.S. chocolate demand may have received an extra boost from an unlikely source this Halloween: the U.S. shale revolution. With an abundance of crude oil due to the country’s fracking boom pushing average U.S. retail gasoline prices to their lowest in four years, consumers have spare change to buy sweets at gas station stores, Hershey

vegetables in a store market

Small-scale farming at a crossroads

Is small beautiful or should the new motto be ‘move up or move out?”

As director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, D.C., Shenggen Fan has come a long way from his roots in rural China, where he shared a one-hectare farm with his parents and two brothers. The agricultural economist, honoured earlier this year by the World Food Program’s Hunger Hero Award for his


man and woman carrying a bag of rice

Ebola has become famine’s new friend

Hunger and displacement caused by the crisis could have long-lasting effects

The global campaign to end world hunger came face to face last week with famine’s powerful new ally: the Ebola virus. “It could lead to a hunger crisis of epic proportions,” Kanayo Nwanze, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) told delegates attending the Borlaug Dialogue, an annual event held in honour of

an orange corn cob

Golden Rice, make way for Orange Corn

Orange corn rich in vitamin A on its way

While the world continues to debate the potential for Golden Rice genetically modified to contain higher vitamin A, Purdue University researchers have found a way to boost vitamin A in corn using traditional plant-breeding methods. Researchers say they have identified a set of genes that can be used to naturally boost the provitamin A content


three apples

An apple a day could keep obesity away

Apples, especially Granny Smiths, promote friendly bacteria

Apples, especially Granny Smith apples, may help prevent disorders associated with obesity, new research published in the journal Food Chemistry says. “We know that, in general, apples are a good source of these non-digestible compounds but there are differences in varieties,” said Washington State University food scientist Giuliana Noratto, the study’s lead researcher, in a

Areas that have traditionally been considered drought prone could actually become wetter under climate change.  file photo

Climate change doesn’t follow the rules

New research suggests the drier-gets-drier and 
wet-becomes-wetter rule of thumb is broken

New research is challenging the theory that climate change will cause drier areas to get drier and wetter areas to become wetter. The simplified formula, based on models and observations, is inaccurate most of the time, a team of climate researchers suggests in Nature Geoscience. An evaluation of trends in specific regions’ humidity and dryness


Keeping young people on the farm — in Mali

A 'radio reality' series on a local radio station aims to convince young Africans that farming can be a profitable career

It’s a worldwide challenge — convincing young people that farming can be a profitable and rewarding career. In Mali, a rural radio station is taking on the challenge through a contest developed along with Farm Radio International, a Canadian organization that works with more than 500 radio stations broadcasting to millions of farmers in Sub-Saharan

Gerbert Oosterlaken standing in a production facility.

Dutch farmer finds animal health and welfare go hand in hand

Gerbert Oosterlaken wants animal welfare advocates on his side instead of the opposition

Some have described the Netherlands as a living laboratory for sustainable intensive livestock production. With 16.7 million people living with 11 million hogs, 80 million chickens and 400,000 cows in an area that is one-fifteenth the size of Manitoba, it is impossible for the animal industry to operate below the public’s radar. Growing public distaste