Long-term drought in Spain and Italy has sent olive oil prices to 9 Euros ($9.71) a litre in the most affordable stores. At the same time, police in Greece, Spain and Italy have cornered counterfeiters selling ordinary oil as extra-virgin. The root for the skyrocketing price and counterfeiting lies in Spain’s dominance of the product. Producing 70%...
The city of Paris in France is growing the first urban forest of its kind in the circular Place de Catalogne roundabout. This is a part of a multi-year bid to transform the city of lights into a ‘garden city.’ In a greening project that began in 2021, the Paris City Hall targets to plant 170,000 trees by 2026....
China has unveiled an AI-run lettuce-growing farm, the world’s tallest vertical farm. The facility is situated in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in southwest China. A design by scientists, with supervision from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the 20-storey structure is wholly unmanned. One of the breakthroughs of this AI-controlled facility is the capability to produce lettuce...
A record potato crop in North America has dealt a price blow on American producers while Canada grapples with rot from surplus. In the U.S., there has been a 9% climb in production. Farmers in Idaho have seen their first major potato crop in two years and are selling at aggressive prices despite the surplus. In Canada, 89,000 acres countrywide...
By end November, 2023, Russia had threshed 99 million tons of wheat and was forecasting 65 million tonnes in exports. Some of this glut is on the way to six African nations that will receive free grain. A Reuters report from an Interfax feed showed that 98% of the grain harvest was already complete by November 29. ...
Zimbabwe’s blueberry production doubled to 7000 tons in November 2023 in line with the Horticulture Development Council (HDC)’s forecast. HDC now predicts that horticultural production in the country will treble in 5 years. Paving the way for that prediction, wheat production has already shot up to 468,000 metric tonnes. The tobacco harvest has garnered 300 million...
Farmers in the Maghreb have embraced the use of drones to conserve water amid drying up wells. This machine-learning technology has come in timely fashion across North Africa, whose nations are now among the 33 most water-starved, globally. Tunisia, which is currently experiencing long-term drought, could save 30% of conventional water use in orange orchards via drones. Farmers already practicing...
At a time when food systems contribute 31% of greenhouse emissions, climate advocates are seeking redress at the COP28 summit in Dubai. Joao Campari, head of the World Wildlife Fund’s food practice section said that food systems consume almost the entire global carbon finance. “We need to implement food systems approaches throughout COP28,” he said. The greenhouse...
Six major pork plants in the U.S. have received an extra 90-day trial period using the controversial accelerated production method. The previous trial was to have ended November 2023 but for the timely intervention of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Reuters reports that the extension revives a Trump-era law that ended in 2021 on food safety concerns...
Australia’s beef and mutton have attracted a significant price tumble just ahead of a possible El Niño summer. Aussie beef cattle have been netting a meagre A$ 2.20 ($1.46) a kilo since October 2023. This is a 150% drop from the 2021 high of A$3.50 ($2.12) per kg. For sheep, producer rates have fallen from the A$6.50 ($4.31) peak...