One of the world’s most sophisticated plant research facilities – opened in Adelaide last week – is expected to make significant advances in international agricultural sustainability and deliver pronounced benefits to Australia’s agriculture and horticulture industries, according to researchers. Based at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus, the $30 million facility known as ‘The Plant Accelerator’ is the largest and most advanced public facility of... ...Read more »

World leaders convened at FAO Headquarters for the World Summit on Food Security overnight and unanimously adopted a declaration pledging renewed commitment to eradicate hunger from the face of the earth sustainably and at the earliest date. The Summit is due to tackle the issue of food security as food price fears continue to bubble and the number of hungry people continues to grow. Countries also agreed to work to reverse the decline in domestic and international funding for agriculture and promote... ...Read more »

A new report released last week has shone the spotlight on food production as the food needs of the global population are expected to soar by around 50 per cent in the next 40 years.The report, produced by Deutsche Bank, one of the world’s leading global investment banks, in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, recommended a framework for investing in sustainable agriculture against a backdrop of massive population growth... ...Read more »

With the second-highest recorded cereals crop expected this year and stocks replenished, the world food supply looks less vulnerable to shocks than it was during last year’s food crisis, FAO said in its latest Food Outlook report. But some potential dangers remain, it also noted. “In spite of strong gains in recent weeks, international prices of most agricultural commodities have fallen in 2009 from their 2008 heights, an indication that many markets are slowly returning into balance,”... ...Read more »

Science and engineering are vital to securing a sustainable food supply at a time when the world is threatened by climate change, global population growth and limited natural resources, the Royal Society of Chemistry advised at a House of Commons event in the UK overnight. Embracing new technologies, based on good science, across the entire food supply chain was the centre piece of a major report on food sustainability launched on 21 January when the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP gave a keynote address,... ...Read more »

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has warned that the current financial crisis will affect agricultural sectors in many countries negatively, including those in the developing world. World cereal production is expected to hit a new record this year as high prices boosted plantings under generally favorable weather conditions, FAO said today in the latest issue of its “Food Outlook”, a bi-annual commodity publication. World cereal production is forecast to be large enough to meet... ...Read more »

Nearly six out of 10 Americans report they have had to cut back on the quantity or quality of food they buy because of increasing prices, according to The 2008 Hormel Hunger Survey, carried out by the Opinion Research Corporation.The study, commissioned by Hormel Foods Corporation, discovered most Americans (67%) believe that food prices have ‘increased a lot’ since last year, with 61 per cent suggesting that corn-based ethanol is at least partly responsible for higher food prices. Fifty-seven... ...Read more »

World Bank Group President, Robert Zoellick, has called on leaders of the G8 as well as the major oil producers to act now to deal with surging food and energy prices, warning that the world is now “entering a danger zone”. Mr Zoellick outlined his fears in a letter to the head of the imminent G8 summit in Japan, in which the World Bank, World Food Program (WFP) and International Monetary Fund estimate that about $10 billion is needed to meet short term needs of people hit hardest by... ...Read more »

Governments around the world should resist the temptation to resort to protectionist measures in food markets if they are to help their populations through the current spike in food prices, according to the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC). A new research report, ‘High Food Prices: Causes, Implications and Solutions’ – funded by the RIRDC, provides an analysis of food price rises and says government intervention could only make the problem worse. The... ...Read more »

An unprecedented partnership among key players in agricultural development aims to significantly boost food production in Africa’s “breadbasket regions,” link local food production to food needs, and work across Africa’s major agricultural growing areas-or agro-ecological zones-to create opportunities for smallholder farmers. The agreement marks a significant transformation in the way major global agencies work with smallholder farmers to assist them in solving Africa’s... ...Read more »