Nearly one-third of tropical animal species face extinction if humans do not curb our growing appetites for beef, pork and other land-intensive meats. The Panamanian golden frog bred by the Vancouver Aquarium in this 2014 file photo may be extinct in its natural habitat.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
As much as one-third of animal species in the tropics could be eradicated if their habitats continue to be converted for monoculture farming. We can all do something to make a difference.
Critics fear the merger of agricultural giants Bayer and Monsanto will drive an increase in use of pesticides.
AgriLife Today/flickr
Many African countries are still searching for inclusive commercial farming models that can bring in private investment without dispossessing local people.
Ensuring the next 10 billion people are fed fairly will require a radical restructuring of global agri-tech.
Maize is a staple food in South Africa. Its production is likely to decline by half this year due to drought. The poor will be the hardest hit.
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South Africa has been hit by a severe drought and will not be able to produce enough maize - its staple food - in 2016. This will prompt a rise in imports and therefore food prices.
The solutions presented by GM crops are rarely tested against the other options. Take a look at our philosophy of farming and it all starts to make sense.
A young farmer selecting onion in Lusaka, Zambia. Sub-Saharan Africa should get more young people involved in agriculture.
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Young people are shunning Africa's agricultural sector despite high levels of unemployment and food insecurity. This underscores the need to demonstrate the profitability of agriculture.
An Ethiopian girl sells barley seeds in northern Tigray. The sub-Saharan Africa seed industry remains largely informal.
REUTERS/Radu Sigheti
The seed industry in sub-Saharan Africa suffers from many challenges. India, which has one of the biggest seed markets in the world, offers some lessons on how these challenges could be overcome.
Africa needs to support small and medium-sized enterprises across the value chain of the agribusiness sector.
Reuters/Noor Khamis
Over the past 60 years, China has experimented extensively with policies and programmes to encourage the growth of rural enterprises. Africa could do well by following in these footsteps.
China’s market for milk is huge, but not without its challenges.
Mark & Andrea Busse/Flickr
The clock is ticking down to the end of year deadline Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has given for sign off on a free trade agreement with China. In this China-Australia FTA series we explore what…
Today, just three companies – Monsanto, DuPont and Syngenta – account for about half of all commercial seed sales. More and more, agricultural patents are used to increase the control these and similar…
Not all that which is greening is green.
André Künzelmann/UFZ
The European policies designed to encourage a more biodiverse environment that is better able to support wildlife and plants are failing. In fact, our analysis of the reforms designed to “green” the EU…
Beef sales in Japan involve tightly controlled captive supply chains.
Andy Rain/AAP
The Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA) signed last week is a bilateral trade deal in the old-fashioned mould. In the twenty-first century, global economic negotiations tend to be preoccupied…
Australian farmland is changing hands more often, but data on who is buying and selling is inadequate.
Erin Smith
The debate about who owns Australia’s farmland is often expressed in crude and narrow ways, and not just on talkback radio. Take last year’s leaders debate at Rooty Hill during the final week of the election…
Abbott: One rule for farmers, another for manufacturers.
Andrew Meares/AAP
The announcement of drought relief funding for farmers by an Australian prime minister would not normally be a cause for surprise. But last week’s A$324 million drought package comes amid a concerted push…
