CEOs need to accelerate their action plans to safeguard the production of commodities critical to the global population and economy as heat stress and drought risk rise around the world, according to PwC's report, Climate Risks to Nine Key Commodities: Protecting People and Prosperity, published. The report, which analysed nine …
U.S. ethanol production bounced back in the last week with good demand helping offset high prices for key ingredient corn. The Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that U.S. ethanol production totaled 904,000 barrels per day, up 5,000 barrels per day from the previous week. "Production is up because demand …
Studies to understand the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) resistance mechanism in European corn borer (ECB, Ostrinia nubilalis) suggest that resistance may be due to changes in the midgut-specific Bt toxin receptor. In this study, we identified 10 aminopeptidase-like genes, which have previously been identified as putative Bt toxin receptors in other …
The famine in the Horn of Africa is manmade - the result of artificially high prices for food and civil conflict, the World Bank's lead economist for Kenya Wolfgang Fengler told Reuters Tuesday. "This crisis is manmade," Fengler said in a telephone interview. "Droughts have occurred over and again, but …
Mr Narayana, a farmer from Miryalaguda in Nalgonda district, has been witnessing low yields in cotton, paddy and sweet orange in the last few years. “I have seen intense rainfall in a week and dry spells for weeks, damaging the crop. Temperature is increasing and rainfall coming down,” he said. …
Mr Narayana, a farmer from Miryalaguda in Nalgonda district, has been witnessing low yields in cotton, paddy and sweet orange in the last few years. “I have seen intense rainfall in a week and dry spells for weeks, damaging the crop. Temperature is increasing and rainfall coming down,” he said. …
In the lush forested uplands of Koraput, Domu Matpadia, a Paraja tribeswoman, is coming face to face with modern farm technology. A representative of Charoen Pokphand, a Thai agribusiness multinational, is telling her how to grow its hybrid maize seeds that the state government has given her free along with …
When representatives of the world’s largest seed company, Monsanto, began to make discreet visits to the second floor offices of the inconspicuous Van Bandhu Kalyaan Yojana in the Gandhinagar headquarters of the Gujarat government in 2007, it set in motion a process that would transform Indian agriculture in unexpected and …
Are hybrids always a precursor to a genetically modified (GM) version of the crop? In the case of maize, both the champions of GM and the opposition believe GM maize is round the corner. Currently, four multinationals are conducting field trials of GM maize in India. Monsanto India Ltd is …
In 1532, the Spanish forces led by Francisco Pizarro routed the Inca army at Cajamarca in the northern highlands of Peru, bringing to an end South America’s biggest empire. The Spanish conquistador marched to the Inca capital Cusco in regalia, but claimed the Spaniards were restrained in their show of …
Maize has become the queen of cereals, courted by state governments, seed companies, farmers and the feedstock and starch industries as the crop of the future. The golden promise of hybrid maize with its high productivity and high returns is luring farmers across the country. But this triumphal march is …
Assessment on impact of climate change on major crops in ecologically sensitive areas, viz. the Western Ghats (WG), coastal districts and northeastern (NE) states of India, using InfoCrop simulation model, projected varying impacts depending on location, climate, projected climate scenario, type of crop and its management. Irrigated rice and potato …
NANDAN Nilekani has just submitted his report on how the Centre should give direct fertiliser subsidy to farmers, but Odisha has already rolled out a scheme to reimburse maize farmers their cost of fertiliser. This will benefit about 45,000 farmers picked for a special maize scheme. Under the scheme, the …
DIFFERENT STATE governments are falling over each other in their haste to get into large-scale public private partnerships (PPPs, with some minor variations emerging in states like Odisha, as public pressure builds up) to promote hybrid maize in the name of food security. Hundreds of crores of public money go …
NABARANGPUR: Agricultural activities have come to a halt in Nabarangpur district, where 90 per cent of the population depends on farming, due to erratic rainfall. In the absence of permanent irrigation facilities, farmers here mostly depend on rains for agricultural activities. In the last two months, this agrarian district has …
A historic drought in the southern Plains intensified in the last week and contributed to dry conditions emerging in the heart of the Midwest crop belt, a weekly climatologists' report said Thursday. The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor, produced by a consortium of national climate experts, showed abnormally dry conditions affecting …
Crop prices sprang higher as warm weather settled over the central US, intensifying worries about corn that lifted other grains as well. High temperatures have blanketed farm states this week at the moment that corn enters its critical pollination stage. If hot weather were to persist, it could reduce how …
The Energy Department plans to provide a $105 million loan guarantee for the expansion of an ethanol factory in Emmetsburg, Iowa, that intends to make motor fuel from corncobs, leaves and husks. Experts say that the new factory, being built by POET, a major producer of ethanol derived from corn …
Kenya's state-run National Safety Authority is set to approve importation of genetically modified maize into the country for the first time to mitigate a looming shortage, its head said on Wednesday. The Kenyan government last week forecast a shortfall in the supply of maize, a staple in east Africa's biggest …
THERE have been many indicators that global warming could be hurting the world food production, lowering yields and increasing prices. Turns out the warming of the planet over the past three decades has already led to a measurable reduction in crop production of wheat and maize. Researchers from Stanford University …
