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☆ Russia says it has delivered 200,000 tons of grain to African countries
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Russian Ministry of Agriculture said Tuesday it had shipped 200,000 tons of grain in humanitarian aid to six African nations, fulfilling the Kremlin’s pledge to the continent last July. Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev said late Tuesday that Burkina Faso, Mali, Eritrea, and Zimbabwe each received 25,000 tons of grain while the Central African Republic and Somalia got 50,000 tons each, Russian state news agency TASS reported. Somalia and Eritrea had previously sourced 90-100% of their grain needs from both Russia and Ukraine before the conflict, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). ‘A strategic donation’The Kremlin’s grain initiative has been described by analysts as a “strategic” move as Putin’s African alliance broadens. So, it’s contestation.”Many African states took a neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in perceived loyalty to the Kremlin.

Persons: Dmitry Patrushev, Vladimir Putin, “, ” Patrushev, ”, Godfrey Kanyenze, Kanyenze, they’ve Organizations: CNN, Russian Ministry of Agriculture, Central African, United, Agriculture Organization, FAO, Labor and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe Locations: Burkina Faso, Mali, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Somalia, United Nations, Turkey, Africa, St . Petersburg, Russia, Ukraine, rocketing

Joseph Ataman/CNNAfter many foreign workers fled Israel following the October 7 attacks, farmers were forced to abandon crops or rely on volunteers for the harvest. Inbar’s remaining foreign workers quietly motor up and down the rows of zucchini. Hamas fighters torched the barns holding hay for the dairy cows on Kibbutz Alumim, riding unopposed into the settlement before massacring foreign workers and attendees of the nearby Nova music festival. “The foreign workers run the farm, they do all the milking,” farm manager Stevie Marcus said of the working of the farm before October 7. Joseph Ataman/CNNStanding among Inbar’s zucchini, tech worker Avi Leibovich - volunteering on a day off from his day job - said he came to help Israeli farms survive.

Persons: Thais, Nattaphong Duangchan, Matan, Yosi, Joseph Ataman, Avi Dichter, ”, Lior Simcha, Stevie Marcus, Yosi Inbar, it’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Inbar, “ We’re, Lisa Perlman, Inbar’s, Avi Leibovich, Danny Parizada, hadn’t, Mei –, Mei, “ Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Palestinian, West Bank, Milk Producers Association, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, of Housing, Brothers, Sisters, Volunteers Locations: Thai, Israel, Gaza, Hamas, Thailand, Thailand’s, Sri Lanka, Israel’s, Egypt, United States, Nova, Kibbutz Alumim, Gaza City, Tel Aviv

☆ Hard Hit by Loss of Thai and Palestinian Workers, Israeli Farmers Call for Volunteers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Miriam Jordan | More About Miriam Jordan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israeli farms, core to the country’s national identity, for years employed Palestinian and Thai workers. “My workers are gone because of the war; I’m panicking,“ said Gabi Swissa, 61, from his farm outside Kadima in central Israel. For decades, he has counted on Palestinians and Thais to plant, harvest and pack strawberries. Volunteers he had expected to help on his farm one day last week had not shown up. Since the outset of the war, he said, farms are lacking at least 15,000 workers.

Persons: Thais, I’m, “, Gabi Swissa, Swissa, ”, Yuval Lipkin Organizations: Volunteers, Ministry of Agriculture Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ Exclusive: Argentina's soy crushers face 'disaster' as bean shortage sharpens, chamber head says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Maximilian Heath | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Soy plants are seen in a farm near Pergamino, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires in Argentina April 27, 2021. "With those 3 million tons we have to survive until May 2024," he said. "Argentina may total 10 million tons of (soy) imports this year," Idigoras said, a new estimate. Government data show a record 8.2 million tons of soy imports until August, already over the 6.4 million tons for the entire drought-hit 2018. Last season's wheat harvest was cut in half to some 11.5 million tons, according to the local Rosario grains exchange, which estimates a better 15 million tons for the current season.

Persons: Agustin Marcarian, Gustavo Idigoras, CIARA, Idigoras, Maximilian Heath, Nicolas Misculin, Adam Jourdan, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, Bunge, Cargill, Neighbor, Ministry of Agriculture, Thomson Locations: Pergamino, Buenos Aires, Argentina, BUENOS AIRES, Parana, Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, Rosario

☆ Mexico declares country free of H5N1 bird flu
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Test tubes labelled "Bird Flu" and eggs are seen in this picture illustration, January 14, 2023. The decision will facilitate the sale of live poultry, as well as poultry products and by-products originating from Mexico, the gazette said. To guarantee Mexico remains free of the disease, the country will maintain in place epidemiological surveillance, traceability, control of movement and other strict safety procedures, according to the document. The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, commonly called bird flu, has killed poultry flocks in the United States and Europe since last year. Report by Raul Cortes Fernandez Editing by Drazen Jorgic and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Raul Cortes Fernandez, Drazen Jorgic, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, MEXICO CITY, Gazette, Ministry of Agriculture, Organization for Animal Health, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, Nuevo Leon, United States, Europe, South America, Brazil, Ecuador

☆ Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to defy EU and extend ban on Ukrainian grain imports
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia will defy the European Union and extend a temporary ban placed on Ukrainian grain imports, in a move likely to anger the bloc’s leadership. On Friday, the EU announced plans to suspend a temporary ban placed on the export of Ukrainian grain to a select number of countries in Eastern Europe. The temporary measure adopted in May saw a ban placed on the imports of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seed to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia to counter the risk of farmers in these countries being undercut by a bottleneck of cheap Ukrainian grain. “We will extend this ban despite the European Union’s disagreement,” Prime Minister Morawiecki said, according to Polish state news agency PAP. Earlier Friday, European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis called on countries to “work along the lines” of the new agreement and “refrain from unilateral measures” on Ukrainian grain imports.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Mateusz Morawiecki, “, Morawiecki, der Leyen, Tusk, Weber, ” Morawiecki, Alexander Ermochenko, Piotr Muller, Viktor Orban, ”, ” Orban, Valdis Dombrovskis Organizations: CNN —, European Union, EU, ”, country’s, Twitter, Slovakia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Facebook Locations: CNN — Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Eastern Europe, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Berlin, Zaporizhzhia, Russian, Africa, Brussels

Ruined rice crops in India's Haryana state. More than three billion people worldwide rely on rice as a staple food and India contributed to about 40% of global rice exports. India's rice stock is piling up as a result of the ban. Vijay Bedi/CNNAt one of New Delhi’s largest rice trading hubs, there are fears among traders that the export ban will cause catastrophic consequences. “The export ban has left traders with huge amounts of stock,” said rice trader Roopkaran Singh.

Persons: India CNN — Satish Kumar, “ I’ve, ”, Kumar, Vijay Bedi, Niño, ” Kumar, ” Satish Kumar, Ukraine —, ” Arif Husain, Pierre, Olivier Gourinchas, ” Husain, “, CNN Surjit Singh, Harayana, …, El Niño, Roopkaran Singh, Husain Organizations: India CNN, CNN, United Nations Food, Agriculture Organization, India wasn’t, United Nations, Food Programme, ” Workers, Thai Rice, Association, India’s Ministry of Agriculture, Monetary Fund, Farmers, Reuters, Meteorological Organization Locations: Harayana, India, India’s Haryana, “, India's Haryana, Ukraine, Global South, United States, Russia, Rice, New Delhi, CNN Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand, Thai, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, El, India’s, West Africa

☆ France and EU to spend $215 million shoring up struggling wine producers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Paris CNN —The French government and the European Union will spend 200 million euros ($215 million) to help the country’s wine producers, who are struggling to cope with falling prices and waning demand. High demand for the voluntary buyback program, which was announced in June, prompted authorities to stretch its budget to $200 million, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement Friday. France was, as of 2020, the world’s second-biggest wine producer and its biggest wine exporter. EU wine exports from January to April this year are also 8.5% lower than last. The French government is also encouraging wine growers to look to alternative crops to cope with climate change and changing market forces.

Persons: rosés Organizations: Paris CNN, European Union, French Ministry of Agriculture, distillers, Agriculture Ministry Locations: France, Europe, EU, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal

☆ China suspends all seafood imports from Japan after treated radioactive water is released from Fukushima
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

China on Thursday suspended the import of all aquatic products from Japan, including edible seafood, hours after its neighbor started releasing treated radioactive water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant. Seafood imports from Japan include red sea bream, scallops, and mackerel, according to Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The discharge of the treated water was expected to start after 1 p.m. Toyko time, according to media reports citing state owned electricity firm TEPCO. The IAEA will have a presence on site "for as long as the treated water is released, in line with Director General Grossi's commitment for the IAEA to engage with Japan on the discharge of ALPS treated water before, during, and after the treated water discharges occur." ALPS refers to the Advanced Liquid Processing System that at Fukushima, which removes radioactive material from the wastewater before it is released.

Organizations: Tokyo Electric Power Company, Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, TEPCO, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Japan's Embassy Locations: Tokyo, China, Japan, Fukushima, London

CNN —Days of heavy rain have caused severe flooding in China’s leading grain-producing region in the northeast, killing 14 people and raising concerns about food security as floodwater inundated farmlands. As the storm moved further north, another 14 deaths were reported Sunday in the city of Shulan in Jilin province. Firefighters operate a drainage machine near a village in the city of Mudanjiang in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province on August 5. A cornfield is submerged by floodwater in a village in Hebi city, Henan province on August 5. A flooded farm in Xinxiang city, Henan province on August 5.

Persons: Doksuri, Zhang Tao, floodwater, Typhoon Khanun, Xi Jinping Organizations: CNN, Xinhua, Firefighters, China’s Ministry of Water Resources, Communist Party, Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Affairs, National Bureau of Statistics, China Meteorological Administration, Qiushi, Communist Locations: China, Beijing, Hebei, Shulan, Jilin province, Heilongjiang, Mudanjiang, China's Heilongjiang, Jilin, Harbin, Shangzhi, Wuchang, Liaoning, Hebi city, Henan province, Henan, Xinxiang city

Indian rice stocks, including unmilled husk varieties at state warehouses, totalled 37.6 million metric tons on Aug 1, the sources told Reuters. Stocks held as of Aug 1 include 24.6 million metric tons of rice and 13 million metric tons of the unmilled variety, the sources said. State-run warehouses must have 13.5 million metric tons of rice, including strategic reserves of 2 million metric tons for the quarter beginning July 1, according to local government rules. FCI bought 84.6 million metric tons of rice paddy from domestic farmers during the 2022-23 marketing year, yielding around 57 million metric tons of rice. Indian farmers harvested a record 135.5 million metric tons of rice in 2022-23, according to the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.

Persons: Rajendra, Stocks, Krishna Rao, Rao, Mayank Bhardwaj, Rajendra Jadhav, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Food Corporation of India, FCI, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, El, Rice, Association, Thomson Locations: Kakinada Anchorage, Andhra Pradesh, India, DELHI, MUMBAI, Delhi, B.V

☆ Drought-stricken Mexico is flying planes into clouds to make it rain
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

In July, the country kicked off the latest phase of a cloud seeding project that aims to artificially stimulate rainfall. However, some scientists remain very cautious about the effectiveness of cloud seeding and warn that it is not a solution to drought. Jose Luis Gonzalez/ReutersMexico contends that its current cloud seeding project, which it has been running since December 2020, has had a positive impact. “But is the rain from cloud seeding or is it not from cloud seeding? Cloud seeding “should be considered only as one element” in a much broader strategy, wrote García and Martínez.

Persons: Roelef, Bruintjes, Jose Luis Gonzalez, ”, Fernando García García, Guillermo Montero Martínez Organizations: CNN, Ministry of Agriculture, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Startup, Reuters, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development Locations: Mexico, United States, China, Coyame, Chihuahua, Reuters Mexico, Wyoming, Idaho

☆ Immense Crowds Protest Poland’s Governing Conservative Party
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Referring to the opening line of the Polish national anthem, he added: “It’s over. Warsaw’s City Hall, which is controlled by political foes of the government, put the turnout at half a million. That was almost certainly an exaggeration but, even accounting for inflated numbers, the march on Sunday appeared to be the biggest antigovernment demonstration since street protests in the 1980s in support of Solidarity. TVP Info, a state-controlled news channel, reported that only 100,000 people had taken part at most and focused its minimal coverage of the march on obscenities voiced by some protesters, a tactic often used by pro-government news outlets to portray critics of Law and Justice as foul-mouthed infidels opposed to the Roman Catholic Church. As huge crowds gathered on Sunday afternoon, TVP Info led its news bulletin with a report on the “National Parade of Farmer’s Housewives’ Circles,” a modestly attended event organized by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Persons: Lech Walesa Organizations: Solidarity, Law, Justice, Communist, Roman Catholic Church, Ministry of Agriculture Locations: Poland, Warsaw’s

☆ China approves safety of first gene-edited crop
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, May 4 (Reuters) - China has approved the safety of a gene-edited soybean, its first approval of the technology in a crop, as the country increasingly looks to science to boost food production. Shunfeng claims to be the first company in China seeking to commercialise gene-edited crops. Several additional steps are needed before China's farmers can plant the novel soybean, including approvals of seed varieties with the tweaked genes. Getting gene-edited crops onto the market is expected to be faster however, given fewer steps in the regulatory process. Aside from the United States, Japan has also approved gene-edited foods, including healthier tomatoes and faster-growing fish.

☆ Ukraine's cheap grain exports are causing an awkward rift with its European neighbors and staunch allies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The move to ban Ukraine's agricultural imports has angered the European Union given that the bloc has sought to help Kyiv maintain its exports as an economic lifeline for the war-torn country. Slovakia's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development told CNBC that despite its temporary ban on Ukrainian imports, the country continued to be open for "solidarity transit," meaning that Ukrainian grain could still pass through its territory to other countries. The ministry added that "we would appreciate the whole-European solution [to] the Ukrainian grain because the topic is relating to the protection of the whole internal European market." It also said it recognized the impact of the "oversupply" of Ukrainian imports on EU farmers, particularly those in bordering nations. Ships, including those carrying grain from Ukraine and awaiting inspections, are seen anchored off the Istanbul coastline on November 02, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey.

☆ China's pig farms battle new surge in African swine fever
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Dominique Patton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Data from swine fever virus testing companies show that the number of positive detections exploded after the new year holiday. "We guess that the current swine fever infection area in northern production areas may be reaching 50%," it added. We feel it hasn't ended yet, that's the problem," he said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of disease outbreaks in China. HARD TO ASSESSChinese farms typically do not report disease outbreaks to the government, making it challenging to get an accurate picture of the extent of the infections. Though not as serious as in 2019, the disease could reduce production by more than 10%, Huachuang analyst Xiao Lin told Reuters.

☆ Chile announces biological corridor to protect endangered deer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Rewilding Fundation Chile/Handout via REUTERSSANTIAGO, March 6 (Reuters) - Chile launched a program on Monday to protect the huemul, an endangered southern deer, by creating a biological corridor that includes an area recently donated by the family of the late philanthropist and founder of the North Face, Douglas Tompkins. The Rewilding Chile Foundation, Tompkins' legacy, along with Chile's Ministry of Agriculture, said that the "Huemul National Corridor" will be made up of approximately 16 connected, state-protected areas alongside other private conservation initiatives. Last week, Kristine Tompkins, co-founder and president of Rewilding Chile, met with President Gabriel Boric to donate 93,492 hectares (231,024 acres) for the creation of a new national park in the Magallanes region. The huemul is one of two species of native deer found only in the Patagonian forests of Argentina and Chile. Despite being originally found in areas in central Chile, the huemul can now be seen mainly in the southernmost regions of Aysen and Magallanes.

SAO PAULO, March 2 (Reuters) - A confirmed case of mad cow disease in Brazil discovered last month is "atypical," the agriculture ministry said on Thursday, adding it will work to lift beef export suspensions swiftly enacted by several countries in Asia. In a statement, the agriculture ministry pointed to an analysis conducted by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) that confirmed the unusual case of mad cow disease. The case of mad cow disease, known scientifically as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), was found in a nine-year old bull from northern Para state. Earlier on Thursday, three additional Asian markets - Thailand, Iran and Jordan - slapped temporarily bans on beef imported from anywhere in Brazil. Officials explained that atypical cases of mad cow disease can occur spontaneously in cattle populations and such infections do not depend on ingestion of feed contaminated by abnormal pathogens known as prions.

☆ Analysis: Why public health officials are not panicked about bird flu
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Julie Steenhuysen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

They say the attributes that have made this virus thrive in wild birds likely make it less infectious to people. Although the exact changes required for a bird flu virus to become easily transmissible in people are not known, a pair of landmark studies done a decade ago offer some clues. Mink have both avian and human-type receptors, but avian receptors are scarce in humans and located deep in the lungs. That change is a must if a bird flu virus is to spread easily in people. None of the experts discounted the possibility that H5N1 or another avian flu virus could mutate and spark a pandemic, and many believe the world has not seen its last flu pandemic.

☆ Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop 'war' on poultry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Argentina found the virus in wild birds, while dead swans in Uruguay tested positive. The United States, Britain, France and Japan are among countries that have suffered record losses of poultry over the past year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless. Poultry in the Northern Hemisphere were previously considered to be most at risk when wild birds are active during spring migration. Some experts suspect climate change may be contributing to the global spread by altering wild birds' habitats and migratory paths. Farmers are trying unusual tactics to protect poultry, with some using machines that make loud noises to scare off wild birds, experts said.

☆ Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop "war" on poultry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The United States, Britain, France and Japan are among countries that have suffered record losses of poultry over the past year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless. Poultry in the Northern Hemisphere were previously considered to be most at risk when wild birds are active during spring migration. Some experts suspect climate change may be contributing to the global spread by altering wild birds' habitats and migratory paths. Farmers are trying unusual tactics to protect poultry, with some using machines that make loud noises to scare off wild birds, experts said. Berkowitz said he is bracing for March and April when migration season will pose an even greater risk to poultry.

☆ India to harvest record wheat, rapeseed crop in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Rajendra Jadhav | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Higher wheat output could help the world's second-biggest producer of the grain in replenishing depleted inventories and bringing down prices from record levels. India's wheat output fell to 107.74 million tonnes in 2022 from 109.59 million tonnes a year earlier, data released by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare showed. The country grows only one wheat crop in a year, with planting in October and November, and harvesting from March. India's rapeseed production in 2023 could jump 7.1% from a year earlier to a record 12.8 million tonnes, the government said. The country's rice production from winter-sown crop could rise to 22.76 million tonnes from 18.47 million tonnes a year earlier, according to the government.

☆ Orca whales were discovered with a toilet paper chemical in their livers and skeletal muscles. It's just the 'tip of the iceberg' for one of the most contaminated marine mammals in the world.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The scientists also discovered PFAS — known as forever chemicals — in the bodies of the killer whales. The amount of 4NP found in the killer whales, which tended to be higher in the blood-rich liver tissues, reached exceptionally higher in one calf. "So we are here talking about contamination that is harmful to the environment and harmful to this species of killer whales." "And those females that are losing their calves are nutritionally deprived which of course works to increase the impacts of chemicals," Giles said. And scientists like Giles are continuing to pay attention to what other unknown chemicals killer whales may be holding in their bodies.

☆ Chinese farmers let cabbages rot as COVID curbs disrupt sales
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The situation is exacerbated by a fragmented supply chain, where small farmers sell to middlemen who purchase for large wholesale markets in cities. Cui typically sends up to 20 large trucks of cauliflower, cabbage, and lettuce to markets daily in this season. Henan produced 76 million tonnes of vegetables last year, or about 10% of the nation's supply, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Tuesday it had launched an initiative to sell Henan vegetables at large wholesale markets, selling 4,677 tonnes last week. It also set up a hotline to connect farmers with sellers, and said it would find cold storage facilities to stock winter vegetables.

☆ New desalination plant points towards Morocco's drought response
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Ahmed Eljechtimi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/6] A view shows a desalination plant in south of Agadir, Morocco, in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on November 21, 2022. IRRIGATIONSome of the worst effects of Morocco's drought have been felt in Agadir, an Atlantic coast city of 1 million people, several hours' drive south of Casablanca. The most important one -- to supply Morocco's biggest city Casablanca -- is due to start construction next year and come on stream in 2026. All the new desalination plants, including Agadir, were meant to be powered by renewable energy. But, the Agadir plant is so far being powered directly from the national grid.

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