World Bank lends money for Mexican pork initiative

Reuters / The World Bank’s private-sector lender is loaning $40 million to Norson, a joint venture in Mexico of local investors and the world’s largest pork processor Smithfield Foods, to expand production and cut greenhouse gas emissions at its plants. The International Finance Corp. (IFC) said the loan will help Norson Holdings increase production, processing



Agriculture causes much of global warming

Reuters / Food production accounts for up to 29 per cent of man-made greenhouse gases, twice previous UN estimates, according to a new study. The new study looked at emissions across the food system — including forest clearance, fertilizer production and transport — rather than just farming itself. But agriculture could profit by cutting its

More trade could end African food shortages

Reuters / Africa could avoid food shortages if it reduces the tangled web of rules, fees and high costs strangling regional food trade and by putting large swathes of uncultivated land to productive use, according to a World Bank report. Just five per cent of Africa’s cereal imports are now provided by African farmers, according



Agriculture Hall of Fame

Five Manitobans were honoured for their contribution to agriculture and their community at an induction ceremony for the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame July 12. The Co-operator is featuring each in consecutive weekly editions.

Herb Lapp was born and raised on a farm at Alameda, Saskatchewan. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a pilot during the Second World War. In 1949, he graduated in agricultural engineering from the University of Saskatchewan. In 1962, he obtained an MS in agricultural engineering from the University of Minnesota. Herb


Agricultural research funds escape austerity cuts

Reuters / Public spending on agricultural research is on the rise, despite austerity drives in many countries, as price spikes and problems linked with climate change propel food security towards the top of government agendas, the head of a leading research body said. “People have realized that feeding the world without destroying the environment is

Global food prices on the rise again

reuters / Global food prices are rising again, pushed higher by costlier oil, strong demand from Asia and bad weather in parts of Europe, South America and the United States, the World Bank said April 25. The latest World Bank food price index showed the cost of food rose eight per cent between December and