A farmer in Karawang, West Java in Indonesia has used liquid maggot fertiliser and boosted rice production by 25%. His results could pave way for further research on the nutritional benefits of this hydroponic fertiliser. The farmer known as Ruskim began his fertilising routine after 7 days of planting rice seedlings. He regularly sprinkled the organic fertiliser made from decomposed black...

After a rainy winter, the new February-September California avocado season looks to nearing the production capacity of the previous season. According to the California Avocado Commission (CAC), the state will harvest 208 million pounds, just 29 million pounds below last season’s margin. CAC predicted volume increment if producers waited until March to start harvesting so as to give the fruits time to...

New York’s attorney general (AG) Letitia James is suing JBS USA, the world’s biggest beef producer for “greenwashing” the public about ecological commitments. Greenwashing describes the misuse of information to manipulate the public image around a company’s environmental responsibility. In this regard, the New York AG attributes the meat packer with misinformation since beef production still leads animal greenhouse emissions....

The government of Zambia has announced a mechanization initiative to fund small-scale farmers amid a just declared drought emergency. On February 29, Vice President Mutale Nalumamgo launched the National Agricultural Mechanization Strategy, after which President Hakainde Hichilema declared a national disaster. The president said that farmers have lost 50% of planted crops after post-El Niño drought affected a million households.  For now, however, the focus is...

Turkey’s live fish production in 2023 shot past the 2020 record of 837,000 tonnes, to nearly 1 million tonnes (MT).  On February 28, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture quoted a harvest worth almost 1 million MT of aquaculture. The target for 2024 is 575,000 MT for aquaculture alone, which implies an even larger share of fish production. Fish...

Cast adrift highly speculative grain markets, corn prices have rallied to a three-year “February” high in Chicago futures markets. The best gain was at $4.281/2 a bushel in early February 28, the highest comeback month-on-month since November 2023. This was also the best second month of the year rebound since February 2020. Analysts now expect the price floor to hit the breaking...

The 13th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) began in Abu Dhabi on February 27 with a tough focus on non-beneficial fisheries subsidies. Though agriculture is of importance in the current locked-door session, it is fisheries that could earn the world’s trade ministers overtime. Just two months ago, the COP28 summit, also held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), went into overtime...

Destination Produce may be a young UK company with the incorporation date of November 2023, but it is already changing distribution chain rapport. Its main focus is the basic relationship between the producer and the consumer. As such, the company plays a complementary role that helps consumers and traders “connect/trade.”  To discover more of this spot-on approach, Selina Wamucii contacted...

Soon after the Lunar New Year, farmers in the Bac Ha highlands in Vietnam took the initiative to grow spring cereals, including corn and rice. Bac Ha is a district in Lao Cai province of northern Vietnam, famous for its weekend market. Here, villagers sell livestock, fresh produce, textile and cultural products to tourists. The focus now however is in ploughing fields and sowing...

A searing hot summer in 2023 and a freezing winter have driven U.S. crawfish shortage, with a reciprocal price gain. Consequently, price-tracking apps are back in high demand. This at a time when the lobster season, which runs from March through July each year, is just about to start. Even before the season’s start, a price-tracking app known as Crawfish App saw downloads...