Crop yields are projected to decrease under future climate conditions, and recent research suggests that yields have already been impacted. However, current impacts on a diversity of crops subnationally and implications for food security remains unclear. Here, we constructed linear regression relationships using weather and reported crop data to assess …
It has taken a long time coming but basmati production in Madhya Pradesh, a state known for its wheat and soybean, is finally showing an upward trend. From a few thousand acres in 2006, the area under basmati cultivation has leapfrogged to more than 2 lakh acres in 2012, a …
Madhya Pradesh boasts of being a leader in soybean production in the country, with the crop accounting for more than half the area under cultivation. It, however, has a poor record of productivity, the average yield being lower than the national average. Millions of marginal and small soybean farmers across …
The prices of internationally traded maize and soybeans reached all-time peaks in July, following an unprecedented summer in both the United States and Eastern Europe in terms of high temperatures and lack of rain fall. Wheat prices have also soared to levels comparable to the 2011 peaks but below all-time …
Experts have warned that vital corn-producing and soybean-producing states in the U.S. are in the throes of intensifying drought conditions — a revelation that has resurrected concerns of sparking another global food price shock. In 2008, it was a spike in food grain prices in global markets that led to …
Washington The United States is facing “worst drought” in 25 years which could fuel food price inflation in the country, a top Obama Administration official said here. As many as 61% of the land mass of the United States is currently being characterised as being impacted by this drought, the …
The widespread use of Bt crops reduces the outbreaks of certain targeted pests and the need for insecticide use, leading to enhanced biocontrol of other potential pest species in the Bt crops; neighbouring non-Bt crops may also benefit.
With more intense heat on the way, the USA is in the middle of its worst drought in more than 55 years, data released Monday by the National Climatic Data Center show. How bad is it? Based on one index, 55% of the contiguous USA is in a drought, "the …
Illegally smuggled into Brazil 14 years ago, transgenic soy has proved a boon to domestic farmers and now accounts for 85 percent of total production. But five million Brazilian farmers are now locked in a legal feud with US biotech giant Monsanto, the GM soy seed manufacturer, and are refusing …
A prolonged dry spell in most parts of India is hurting the sowing schedule for paddy, a major kharif crop, raising the country’s anxiety about monsoon rains, as parched fields urgently need moisture to plant crops. The weather office has forecast normal rainfall in the June-September monsoon, but showers in …
The Sri Lankan government is to provide the fertilizer subsidy currently granted to paddy cultivation to supplementary crop cultivations as well. Wild Life and Agrarian Services Minister S.M. Chandrasena has said the Rs. 350 fertilizer subsidy granted to paddy cultivations would be granted to supplementary crop cultivations from today (21). …
President Dilma Rousseff is facing one of the defining moments of her presidency as pressure builds on her to veto a bill that would open vast protected areas of forests to ranching and farming, potentially reversing Brazil’s major gains in slowing Amazon deforestation. The Forest Code, which Congress approved in …
A fast-spreading plague of "super weeds" taking over U.S. farmland will not be stopped easily, and farmers and government officials need to change existing practices if food production is to be protected, industry experts said on Thursday. "This is a complex problem," said weed scientist David Shaw in remarks to …
Senior European Union officials failed on Wednesday to agree on how to measure the full climate impact of biofuels, prolonging uncertainty in a debate that threatens to wipe out large parts of Europe's biodiesel industry. The talks followed warnings from scientists that using biodiesel made from European rapeseed and imported …
This new study by UK-based PG Economics presents the findings of research on global socio-economic and environmental impact of biotech crops from 1996-2010, since they were first commercially planted on a significant area. This study presents the findings of research into the global socio-economic and environmental impact of biotech crops …
A coalition of more than 2,000 U.S. farmers and food companies said Wednesday it is taking legal action to force government regulators to analyze potential problems with proposed biotech crops and the weed-killing chemicals to be sprayed over them. Dow AgroSciences, a unit of Dow Chemical, and Monsanto Co. are …
New Delhi Madhya Pradesh is set for a comprehensive policy for promotion of organic method of farming through restoration of deteriorating soil health. The central Indian state's agriculture sector, which has been growing at an annual rate of 9% over the last three years and is expected to touch the …
Global food prices rose in March for a third straight month with more hikes to come, the UN's food agency said on Thursday, adding to fears of hunger and a new wave of social unrest in poor countries. Record high prices for staple foods last year were one of the …
A federal class-action lawsuit brought last year by a consortium of farmers against the agricultural and chemical company Monsanto was dismissed Monday by Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of Federal District Court. The plaintiffs, none of whom use Monsanto’s products, are seeking to have the company’s agricultural patents invalidated. They said …
European farmers are likely to fall behind in the competitive world grain market as EU consumer hostility to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) drives away research and prevents cultivation of high-yield and pest-resistant crops. The European Union has approved only one GMO grain for cultivation - Monsanto's insect-resistant MON810 maize (corn). …
