The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
MAKING fuel from the solar energy stored in living organisms by photosynthesis is a tempting idea. It sounds inherently green, and so biofuel schemes—ranging from fermenting starch, to recycling cooking oil, to turning algae into jet fuel—have drawn more than $126 billion in investment since 2003, according to Bloomberg New …
Knowing where in the world individual crops are cultivated, their production patterns, and whether they are irrigated or rain fed are essential components for ensuring adequate, sustainable food production and safeguarding food security. Yet this critical data is often inadequate or non-existent, leaving policymakers unable to formulate the best policies …
A virulent new strain of fungus from the Himalayas threatens to wipe out up to a quarter of the wheat crop in some areas of the UK this harvest season, experts have warned. Farmers are struggling to deal with Warrior, a new strain of the deadly yellow rust disease that …
The UK transport industry must embrace biofuels if it is to meet EU decarbonisation targets, a Government-backed report has claimed. The Transport Energy Task Force concluded that there is a 'clear role for biofuels' in UK transport despite the increasing popularity of electric and hybrid vehicles. The report added that …
An initiative has been launched to help improve smallholder farmers' access to a wider array of modern, more productive food crop varieties. The African Seed Access Index (TASAI) monitors the state of the continent's seed sector and highlights problems that prevent seeds reaching farmers. Organisers hope the scheme will shake …
A new nutritious sweet potato breed has been rolled out in selected districts in the country to help in the fight against mulnutrition. The breed has been introduced by Scaling Up Sweet potato Through Agriculture and Nutrition (Sustain) project in partnership with Rwanda Agriculture Board (Rab). The move aims at …
(Reuters) - Japan's weather bureau said on Tuesday that the possibility of an El Nino pattern forming by summer is higher than the 50 percent it projected in its previous monthly forecast. Normal weather patterns may continue, but there is higher chance of an El Nino, which is often linked …
In this first report of the GMO Inquiry 2015, investigate what genetically modified (GM) crops are grown in Canada and around the world, where they are being grown, how much of each one is being grown, and where they end up in our food system. Where in the world are …
Wheat was present in Britain 8,000 years ago, according to new archaeological evidence. Fragments of wheat DNA recovered from an ancient peat bog suggests the grain was traded or exchanged long before it was grown by the first British farmers. The research, published in Science, suggests there was a sophisticated …
A European Parliamentary committee on Tuesday backed a new limit on traditional biofuels made from food crops that critics say stoke inflation and do more harm than good to the environment. Those seeking to promote a new generation of advanced biofuels made from seaweed or waste welcomed Tuesday's vote. But …
On a fenced plot not far from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home, a field of mustard is in full yellow bloom, representing his government's reversal of an effective ban on field trials of genetically modified (GM) food crops. The GM mustard planted in the half-acre field in the grounds …
The food ministry’s opposition to the Shanta Kumar committee’s suggestion of diluting coverage of the Food Security Act is likely to rekindle the debate over subsidy burden. The committee, for reform of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), had recommended lowering of coverage to 40 per cent of the population, …
Ministry of Environment & Forest and Climate Change vide its notification No. S.O. 3232 dated 17.12.2014 has, in consultation with the National Biodiversity Authority, declared that the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation may, from time to time specify such crops as it considers necessary from amongst the crops listed in …
A leading microbiologist has warned of the increasing threat that killer fungi poses to humans and the environment. New figures show that fungal diseases cause hundreds of thousands of deaths annually, following severe respiratory illness and infections of the blood stream. And now an expert has warned that fungi kill …
This paper shows that any dedicated use of land for growing bioenergy inherently comes at the cost of not using that land for growing food or animal feed, or for storing carbon. It recommends several policy changes to phase out forms of bioenergy that use crops or that otherwise make …
The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture had started a central sector scheme, “Monitoring of Pesticide Residues at National Level” in food commodities and environmental samples during 2005-06 with the participation of various laboratories representing Ministry of Agriculture, Indian Council of Agriculture Research, Ministry of Health and Family …
This study uses panel data for 39 years and 13 districts to estimate the yield sensitivity of major food crops to climate change in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. First estimate the marginal impacts of climate variables on crop yield using Panel Corrected Standard Error (PCSE) models. These …
This IWMI review documents impacts of arsenic contamination on the food chain and human health in Eastern Ganges basin and calls for urgent new research and long-term monitoring of data to understand and tackle arsenic contamination in the region. Arsenic (As) is one of the hazardous elements found in the …
Awka — Federal Government has earmarked about $100 million to boost the cultivation of rice and cassava in the country. Chief Technical Adviser of the National Programme for Food Security (NPFS), Dr Oyesola Oyebanji, stated this in Awka during the sensitisation of key stakeholders in Cassava and Rice Value Chains …
