World News
FAO lauds India’s successful use of drones to combat desert locusts
Under the Make in India initiative, the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW) is indigenously developing a vehicle mounted Ultra Low Volume, ULV sprayer for locust control. The Mechanization and Technology Division of DAC&FW got a prototyp...Read more
ISF elects Donald Coles as president
Australian seedsman and business leader Donald Coles has succeeded Eduard Fito as President of the International Seed Federation (ISF), the 10th person to hold the position since the merging of FIS and ASSINSEL in 2002. He will serve a term of two years. Donald Coles was former First Vice President of the ISF Exe...Read more
World Economic Forum recognizes Stellapps by Technology Pioneer award
Stellapps, the Bengaluru based market leader in the Indian dairy tech space, was selected among hundreds of candidates as one of the World Economic Forum’s “Technology Pioneers”. Stellapps is a farm to consumer dairy digitization service provider, improving productivity, quality and e...Read more
Eminent Soil Scientist Dr Rattan Lal receives World Food Prize 2020
Leading soil scientist Dr Rattan Lal was announced as the 2020 World Food Prize Laureate for developing and mainstreaming a soil-centric approach to increasing food production that conserves natural resources and mitigates climate change. The 2020 Laureate Announcement Ceremony featured pre-recorded remarks from ...Read more
CIMMYT genebank preserves 28,000 unique seed samples of maize to bring new varieties
Seed security is the first step towards food security. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) preserves 28,000 unique seed samples of maize and 150,000 of wheat at its genebank in Mexico. The Global Seed Vault in Svalbard opened in 2008. Since then, CIMMYT has duplicated and deposited 50 mi...Read more
International Seed Federation to host ‘Virtual Congress’ in June
Just as farmers must continue to plant seed and steward the land, the companies and organizations behind that quality seed must continue to operate and innovate. That’s why the International Seed Federation will host a Virtual Congress, powered by Seed World, June 8-10. The issues and priorities of im...Read more
Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes becomes new Director General of ICRISAT
Dr. Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes, a well-known plant health expert and leader in international agricultural research, took charge as Director General at Hyderabad based, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). Owing to travel restrictions, Dr Hughes assumed office from the Ph...Read more
IFAD commits US $40 mn funds for farmers during Covid-19
With the Covid-19 pandemic and economic slowdown threatening the lives and livelihoods of the world’s most vulnerable people, the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) committed US$40 million, and launched an urgent appeal for additional funds, to support farmers and rural c...Read more
Rabobank expects global sugar deficit of 6.7 MMT during ’19/20 season
Rabobank anticipates a 6.7million metric tonne global deficit through the 2019-20 season (i.e., between October 2019 and September 2020), as deep cuts in Thai and Indian production are partially offset by higher prospects for Brazil. Looking ahead to 2020/21, the analysts’ early expectations point to ...Read more
FAO urges G20 to ensure non-disruption of food value chain
The Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), QU Dongyu, has urged leaders from the G20 countries to take measures for global food systems to continue to work well, particularly in relation to access to food for the world's poor and most vulnerable during the...Read more
Zespri cautions of COVID-19 disturbance hazard
Kiwifruit promoter Zespri has flagged the danger of low returns for producers this season as it attempts to survey the potential for upset conveyances in worldwide markets and picker deficiencies here. The firm, which has sent its first payload of SunGold natural product to Japan this season, said interest for ne...Read more
ISF World Seed Congress in Capetown postponed to 2022
As developments move forward with the coronavirus, the International Seed Federation (ISF) sent out a letter recently to announce that the ISF World Seed Congress in Capetown, South Africa, is postponed until 2022. “During these unpredictable times, one thing is certain: the health and well-being of our mem...Read more