Though California has year-round citrus availability, it is late-season fruits of early spring such as Ojai pixies that garner much appeal. The pixie is a small tangerine that measures 3 inches across its cross-section. It has an easy-to-peel orange skin that harbors a juicy, seedless, sweet flesh. The fruit grows only in eponymous Ojai Valley, north-east of Los Angeles, courtesy...
Farmers in Uttar Pradesh harvest potatoes and nurture “black potatoes”
On March 19, 2024, Soraon village in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh (UP) in northern India welcomed the state’s annual potato harvest. At the same time, others in the state are growing new black potatoes. The harvest follows India’s bumper 2023 crop that amounted to 59.7 million tonnes, a 3 million-tonne rise from 2022. India has two main potato harvest seasons, rabi (December...
Across the states on National Agriculture Day, USA
The United States celebrated National Agriculture Day on March 19, the first day of spring, with festivities across all states. This year’s celebration marked an update of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s 2021 initiative known as Food System Transformation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) updated 2024’s 41st national Ag Day theme to “Agriculture: Growing a Climate for Tomorrow.” From Pandemic to Climate Protection...
Food inflation in Indonesia dampens Ramadan shopping
Food inflation in Indonesia has quieted expectations of a price relief during Ramadan until at least Eid al-Fitr. A lengthy dry season in 2023 cut local production and overshadowed a time when the country’s 231 million Muslims fast. Indonesia’s news site, Kompas, reported on March 18 rising prices of kitchen staples such as garlic, pepper, sugar and vegetable oil. Arguably, the hardest hit food...
Botswana sets March 21 for pioneer citrus export from Selebi-Phikwe
Botswana’s trailblazing Selebi-Phikwe Citrus Project with its 811,000 fruit trees is preparing for the country’s first ever citrus export on March 21. The South African nation expects to sell 70% of the harvest abroad and has already met international market protocols. Out of some cultivated 1200 hectares sitting on a 1500-hectare piece of land, citrus trees occupy 800 hectares, mostly lemon. The Ministry...
Argentina about to clinch MSC certification for red shrimp
Argentina’s red shrimp sector looks forward to finally gaining the coveted Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification after a 10-year chase. Ever since the country’s Patagonian toothfish won the certificate in March 2023, hope has been bubbling in the equally important shrimp industry. MSC certification with its “ecolabel” on harvested fish is increasingly becoming an essential proof of responsible fishing in seafood markets. For this...
Australia’s botanists on the path to developing disease-free crops
Botanists in Australia have developed a technology for screening disease-causing genes that stunt the growth of plants, especially wheat. In its March 2024 publication, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) cited an intention to develop disease-free crops. According to Peter Dodds, who co-heads the CSIRO project, the success could save world’s agriculture. Incidentally, farmers around the world lose $1 billion each year from crops that fail to grow properly due...
Wisconsin’s specialty crops supplant end of ginseng commercial season
The 2023-24 yearly license to sell wild ginseng in Wisconsin between September 1 and March 31 is about to end. Focus now shifts to some other of Wisconsin’s specialty crops, which will be in bloom this spring. While the harvest of wild ginseng lasts two months between September 1 and November 1, the legal sale period extends for 6 months. Specialty crops on the...
Impact of war on agriculture: Ukraine clears 300,000 acres off landmines
Agricultural land in Ukraine is fading back in the picture amid the war courtesy of a landmine removal scheme. According to a March 14 ministerial report, Kyiv had cleared 330,000 hectares of landmine-compromised agricultural land by end 2023. So far, 200,000 acres of safe land have gone back to local farmers and will ensure timely sowing of spring grains. Ukraine’s agriculture ministry’s...
More regions get green light to export Vietnam’s durian to China
Vietnam’s durian export momentum is past the point of no return after China increased export permits to 876 durian-growing areas. This comes barely a month after Beijing also allowed its southeastern neighbor, the Philippines, similar durian export allowances. Though Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia have had existing permits, not all growing regions are permissible for exports. China sets strict requirements including the cultivation of the fruit...