Panama City. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched the project “Seeds for Development”, which aims to encourage the creation of rural enterprises in Central America. The plan expects to assist 12,000 families that are small producers of grains like corn, beans, sorghum and rice in Central America, the majority of these will […]
Bunge sued over biotech corn ban
24/08/2011 by
Syngenta AG (SYNN), the world’s largest maker of agricultural chemicals, sued a unit of Bunge Ltd. (BG) over claims it’s illegally refusing to accept corn produced from the company’s bioengineered seeds. Bunge, which operates a network of grain elevators and receiving stations, posted a notice on its website and at several locations that it is […]
Most Feared Pest Found in shipment at O’Hare
24/08/2011 by
Customs officials in Chicago have found what they call one of the “most feared” pests in the world in a shipment of rice that came from India, officials announced today. According to a release from the Chicago office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Khapra beetle was found Aug. 16 at O’Hare International airport […]
Use Your Loaf: Why food prices were crucial in the Arab Spring
30/07/2011 by
People in Arab countries have always relied on bread as a low-cost source of sustenance. In Yemen alone there are more than 20 different kinds of bread, each made and baked differently. In Egypt, bread is known as aish, meaning “life”. It is the inseparable companion of all dishes, even some desserts. The Fertile Crescent, […]
Cargill Defines Food Chain While Assailing Government Hoarding
27/07/2011 by
Cargill Inc. Chief Executive Officer Greg Page, who runs the largest agricultural company in the U.S., has a good idea whom to blame for the global surge in food prices at the end of 2010: governments. Page urged 708 delegates and guests at the National Grain and Feed Association convention in San Diego in March […]
Rural property investor PrimeAg is to raise $125 million from the issue of new shares to help kickstart a new agricultural fund.
24/07/2011 by
The fund will invest in Australian cropping properties and water entitlements and is targeting $600 million in assets under management. PrimeAg said on Wednesday that an institutional investor which had requested to remain anonymous had committed at
Climate Change Threatens World Security: UN
21/07/2011 by
United Nations – Climate change is generating an “unholy brew” of extreme weather events that threaten global security, the UN chief said Wednesday as the Security Council recognized the issue’s potential effect on world peace. But the 15-member council apparently failed to agree on whether climate change itself was a direct threat to international peace […]
Turkish wheat producer to expand abroad
19/07/2011 by
Turkey’s leading private wheat producer, Doruk Group, which ended last year with a total of 700 million Turkish Liras in turnover, targets to expand abroad and total $1 billion this year. The company aims to reap $5 billion in annual turnover by 2020, according to Hasip Gençer, board chairman of Doruk Group, which embodies 12 […]
Saudis Want Grain Venture
19/07/2011 by
Saudi Arabia has proposed forming a joint venture to export Russian grain, Saleh Al-Shoaibi, head of the Saudi Shura Council economic affairs and energy committee, said at a meeting with Federation Council Deputy Speaker Ilyas Umakhanov on Monday. The Saudi delegation also visited the Agriculture Ministry. The joint venture could build grain storage capacity in Saudi Arabia and sell grain to neighboring countries, Al-Shoaibi said. “It will […]
Potash Group’s ‘Cupboard Is Bare’ for India After China Pact, Mosaic Says
19/07/2011 by
Canpotex Ltd., the export arm of North America’s largest potash producers, has no spare supply to sell to India this quarter and won’t resume negotiations with Indian buyers until “late” in the period, said Mosaic Co. (MOS) Chief Executive Officer Jim Prokopanko. Canpotex’s “cupboard is bare,” Prokopanko said yesterday in a telephone interview from Mosaic […]