Foreign Farm Investors Must Avoid Resentment

Foreign investors must avoid provoking resentment as they buy and lease farmland from developing nations by using local manpower instead of industrialized agriculture, the head of a UN body said. Investors, mostly from the Gulf Arab region and South Korea, began buying and leasing farmland in developing countries in Africa and Asia to cut their

Rapid City Growth Threat To Africa’s Development

Rapid and chaotic urbanization is threatening sustainable development in Africa, the head of the UN housing agency said Feb. 8, but taking steps to mitigate climate change could help tackle some of the problems of cities. The populations of l a rg e, f a s t -e xpanding cities in Africa, such as Lagos


Afghans Would Rather Farm Than Fight

Afghans would rather be farmers than fighters, the U. S. agriculture secretary said Feb. 3, highlighting a U. S. focus on farming jobs to lure people from the battlefield and curtail the opium trade. Separate from the Afghan-led reintegration plan announced by President Hamid Karzai at a conference in London recently, Washington sees its agriculture

Australia Bush Fires Could Worsen

Australia faces a possible 300 per cent increase in extreme bushfires by 2050 unless world leaders can agree to dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions, a new report said Jan. 28. The report, commissioned by Australia’s firefighters and environmental group Greenpeace, said the failure of UN climate talks in Copenhagen to agree on a treaty to


Excess Liquidity Driving Up Food Prices

Excess liquidity in global markets is driving up prices of farm commodities, which could be potentially dangerous in the near term, World Bank president Robert Zoellick said Dec. 11. With global interest rates at historic lows, investors are piling into different markets and asset classes in search of higher returns, raising concerns about possible asset

Buying Of Developing Countries’ Farmland Slows: UN

“Maybe some of them don’t want to take this political risk, reputational risk and economic risk.” – JEAN-PHILIPPE AUDINET, IFAD The pace at which investors in richer countries have been buying farmland in developing nations has slowed with the fall in food prices this year from peaks hit in 2008, United Nations farming experts said


Future Food, Fuel Conflict Can Be Avoided

An increasing shift away from fossil fuels such as gasoline to alternatives derived from plants and waste need not produce an increase in food prices, U. S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Reuters. Speaking on the sidelines of a UN climate conference in Copenhagen, Vilsack added he expected the U. S. Department of Agriculture to

In Brief… – for Jan. 7, 2010

Approved labs only: The Canadian Flax Council is warning producers to be sure they have their flax samples checked for the presence of the genetically modified variety CDC Triffid by an approved lab before attempting delivery. In addition to the labs that have been approved by the Canadian Grain Commission, several grain companies have indicated


World Bank To Start Agriculture Fund With $1.5 Billion

The World Bank will start a trust fund to boost agriculture in poor countries with an initial $1.5 billion, its president Robert Zoellick said Nov. 24, warning of the risk of another food price crisis. Crop shortages in India and the Philippines combined with increased speculation in commodity markets by investment funds have increased the

New Agricultural Alliance To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Canada has joined an international network devoted to helping farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The group called the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases will collaborate on research and exchange information on mitigating greenhouse gases from agricultural activity. Besides Canada, the alliance includes the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Ghana,