Farmers’ leader Peter Kendall has warned that Britain’s food trade gap will widen even further unless action is taken to reverse the trend. And government has a vital role to play in ensuring that farmers and growers can rise to the food production challenge of the next 20 years. Mr Kendall, president
Napa Valley Grapegrowers report: Quiet time in the vineyards
02/01/2011 by
Winter is a special season in the vineyard — dormant, still and full of potential. Harvest is over, cover crops have been planted and erosion control measures are in place. It’s our one quiet season and a time to reflect on the challenges and successes of previous vintages and to begin planning for the next. […]
Top Economic Stories of 2010/Agricultural Inflation
02/01/2011 by
1. European Union (EU) Debt Crisis The bailout of Greece and Portugal in 2001 put strains on the whole Euro system. A single currency with competing national capitals and a diverse range of economies is unsustainable. Portugal is unlikely to survive beyond the first half of 2010 without a bailout. Spain is the big one […]
Australia Underwater In 2011
02/01/2011 by
According to AgForce, a farmer’s lobby collection, the flooding has left half of Queensland’s agricultural crop damaged. More than a few coal establishments in the region have implemented force majeure. Under this ruling, companies will not be detained liable for missed deliveries as a result of conditions beyond their control. The Queensland Resources Council, a […]
An onion of a problem
02/01/2011 by
High food price volatility is likely to linger for some years. It will serve us well to focus on the deeper, more lasting solutions. On the back of the wettest spring on record, Australia’s Queensland region is being ravaged by a “once in a hundred year” flood. Europe and parts of north-eastern US have had […]
Chinese economy to be fired by coal-to-chemicals
02/01/2011 by
China is obsessed with setting the pace for the world to follow. Except that its stock market failed to pack a punch. The Shanghai Composite fell 15 per cent in 2010 and remained inside the shadow of its far more spectacular cousins, the vibrant commodities markets. Will China retain its prominence inside the global commodity […]
The inspiring, rags-to-riches story of a farmer
28/12/2010 by
Some 20-odd kilometres off the Pune-Mumbai road, near Baner, a fork to the left goes to Hinjewadi. Just five years ago, the landscape was lush with green fields that produced rice, jowar, bajra, sugarcane amongst other crops.Off late, Hinjewadi has become famous as an information technology hub that houses the creme de la creme of […]
Unravelling the secrets of strawberry
26/12/2010 by
Auckland, New Zealand. 27 December 2010…Scientists have unravelled the genetic secret of a Christmas favourite – the strawberry. Scientists from 38 organisations in ten countries, including scientists at Plant & Food Research, have collaborated to publish the complete DNA sequence of woodland strawberry. This genome sequence will be utilised by scientists in identifying genes and […]
FieldFresh Foods expanding contract farming in eastern India
26/12/2010 by
FieldFresh Foods said it was expanding its contract farming to east India to source pineapples, as it looks to widen its product portfolio of fresh fruits and vegetables. The company, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Philippine’s Del Monte Pacific, said it had partnered with farmers in Siliguri,
Sweet peppers leave Gaza for first time since ’07
26/12/2010 by
“The first shipment of Gaza sweet peppers together with strawberries and carnations is on its way to Europe,” a Dutch statement announced on Sunday, following long efforts to expand the list of goods permitted for export from the coastal enclave. The 11 loads of goods, grown as part of a Dutch initiative to support cash […]