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 …
Improving the productivity of smallholder farms in Sub-Saharan Africa offers the best chance to reduce poverty among this generation of rural poor, by building on the limited resources farming households already possess. It is also the best and shortest path to meet rising food needs. Using examples from farmers' maize …
The National Biosafety Management Agency has issued two permits for the Commercial Release and Placing on Market of genetically modified cotton, and the confined field trial of maize, to Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Limited. This move came despite concerted efforts of many Nigerians (comprising 100 groups of farmers, faith-based organizations, civil …
This report analyzes the costs and benefits of managing nitrogen fertilizer in ways that also reduce greenhouse gas emissions in cereal production (rice, wheat, and maize) in India and Mexico. The purpose of this work is to inform finance needed for low emissions agricultural development. For each agricultural mitigation practice …
Researchers led by Lixin Wang, assistant professor of earth sciences in the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, have identified critical information about the environmental variables and agronomic factors that determine the vulnerability of maize and wheat production to drought. The study, "Global Synthesis of Drought Effects on …
Drought has been a major cause of agricultural disaster, yet how it affects the vulnerability of maize and wheat production in combination with several co-varying factors (i.e., phenological phases, agro-climatic regions, soil texture) remains unclear. Using a data synthesis approach, this study aims to better characterize the effects of those …
Genetically modified foods do not pose a threat to human health or the environment and will aid in feeding a growing world population in a sustainable manner, the Royal Society says. It published a factual Q&A; guide on 24 May aimed at dispelling myths and misconceptions about GM food. The …
FARM incomes in Zimbabwe are expected to decline by as much as 38 percent by 2050, as temperatures soar 3,4 percent in what would be an unprecedented catastrophe for agriculture, according to a new study. The study by Science Direct shows the extent of damage that climate change will have …
Due to climate change and other factors, Uganda faces a number of agricultural challenges. New crop diseases are threatening major food crops such as cassava, bananas, and maize. And it seems other conventional preventive measures have failed. Due to Banana Bacterial Wilt (BBW), Uganda loses $299.6m worth of bananas annually. …
Since 1976, in the northeastern hill region of Mizoram intensive collections of maize landraces were made by ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi and diversity of landraces maize from this region comprised 36% of the total collection from whole India, which was the highest number of accession among other regions . The maize …
Improving smallholder farmers' access to modern seed varieties is essential to tackle food security concerns An assessment of smallholder farmers' access to seeds says greater engagement from global seed companies would help boost yields and food security. The Access to Seeds Index said the large multinational companies' quality and range …
Climate change could wipe out 60 per cent of bean production in Sub-Saharan Africa, and decimate banana and maize crops in the region, a study warns. A paper published yesterday in Nature Climate Change urges policymakers to step up efforts to adapt local farming and limit the effects of higher …
Wheat, rice, maize, pearl millet, and sorghum provide over half of the world's food calories. To maintain global food security, with the added challenge of climate change, there is an increasing need to exploit existing genetic variability and develop cultivars with superior genetic yield potential and stress adaptation. The opportunity …
Malawi will import 50,000 tonnes of the staple maize from Tanzania to avert hunger after a drought that affected 2.8 million people in the southern African nation, state officials said on Monday. Agriculture is Malawi's mainstay, accounting for a third of the economy and providing livelihoods for 80 percent of …
South Africa will relax some of its tough rules on genetically modified crops so it can ramp up maize imports from the United States and Mexico to avert a potential food crisis amid a severe drought, officials said. Almost 90% of maize in South Africa is genetically modified and the …
We conducted a synthesis analysis on data from 86 published field experiments conducted from 1903 to 2014 to explore the specific consequences of post-silking N accumulation (PostN) in New Era vs. Old Era hybrids on grain yield (GY) and recovery from plant N stress at flowering (R1 stage). The Old …
Armyworms in Malawi are threatening food security by reducing crop yields with over 167 hectares of maize fields have been attached in Ntcheu fueling the risk of decreased agricultural production during the current growing season in the district. Maize field in Ndembo Village attaked by army worms One of the …
South Africa's rainbow nation faces a drought-induced corn conundrum about the color of its staple, a starchy cake-like mixture derived from maize: white, yellow or a mix of the two? In South Africa, white maize is made into what is known locally known as "pap", the main source of calories …
Public agencies and private enterprises increasingly desire to achieve ecosystem service outcomes in agricultural systems, but are limited by perceived conflicts between economic and ecosystem service goals and a lack of tools enabling effective operational management. Here we use Iowa—an agriculturally homogeneous state representative of the Maize Belt—to demonstrate an …
Davao City – The prolonged El Niño phenomenon, which experts said will extend until May or even up to June this year, has already taken its toll on the palay and corn production in Davao region, the Regional Development Council in the area (RDC-11) reported. In a press briefing held …
A new FAO book out today takes a close look at how the world's major cereals maize, rice and wheat - which together account for an estimated 42.5 percent of human calories and 37 percent of our protein - can be grown in ways that respect and even leverage natural …
