The UN reports that Punjab in northern India is facing acute water shortage, with farmers digging expensive boreholes 18 meters deep.  Despite living in a bountiful geographical landscape courted by five rivers, Punjabi famers are increasingly depending on depleted ground water. Industrialisation, drought and pollution account for the scarcity of water in this region, which is India’s bread basket.  Punjabi rice growers...

United States’ soymeal exports will breach the 13.9 million-ton mark in the 2023-24 season, afloat burgeoning biofuel demand. In an October 23, 2023 report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) links rising biofuel appetite to the rebound. Hence, the U.S. soymeal exports will surpass the 13.2 million tons they made in the 2022-23 market year. The report further attributes the...

India’s Nashik district managed to ship 18,000 tonnes of onions between October 1 and 14, 2023 despite 40% export duty. The margin marks a momentous renewal of exports, which had plummeted from 42,268 metric tonnes in July to 21,832 tonnes in August. September was the first month after the levy update to see a gradual recovery in exports when shipments...

As olive oil supply ebbs, fruit theft in Greece has prompted the use of thief-tracking GPS tech on orchards. For the autumn harvest, farmers have turned to GPS chips resembling olives that they hoist on trees to lure thieves. The island of Crete and northern Greece have both reported an alarming trend of berry and olive oil pilfering. Early this...

Mkisa, an agricultural company from the Republic of Georgia, is pushing the boundaries of blueberry and almond farming. Just three years into its operations, Mkisa has taken a bold, quality-oriented and technological approach to modern agriculture. The company’s first exhibition at Anuga food and beverage fair in Cologne, Germany in October 2023, was a resounding success. The product range at...

El Niño will extend to mid-2024, ending the current drought in Mexico but threatening Latin American agriculture in the long run. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) announced these outcomes in Santiago, Chile on October 19, 2023. Citing rising surface temperatures on the Pacific, the United Nations’ agricultural arm predicts abnormal rainfall in Central and South America. As a result,...

Scientists in Britain have utilized CRISPR-Cas9 to curb the multiplication of avian flu virus in poultry. This is even as bird flu, traditionally associated with Asia, continues to spread to Europe, Africa and North America. News of the breakthrough were published on the journal Nature Communications on October 10, 2023. Researchers announced that 9 out of 10 edited-gene chickens successfully...

Thanks to tight supplies, the bell pepper market is strong in the U.S., ahead of the November Thanksgiving holiday season. At the same time, there is a new ‘hottest pepper’ champ, with 1 million more heat units than its predecessor. High demand, low supplies There is currently high demand for green pepper in the U.S., as supplies diminish due to...

For the first time in 2023, the retail prices of lamb meat and mutton in Australia have slumped to AUD$10 per kg. The drop marks an initial 10% reduction of an oncoming bigger slash. This means that mutton is as cheap as chicken and may reduce further if retailers match farm gate price cuts. By October 17, 2023, farmers were...

Consumer prices of groceries in South Africa have risen but supplies of mangoes and avocado in Limpopo Province hold stead. On the occasion of South Africa’s October Food Month, officials have remarked that Limpopo is without food pressure due to its “rich and fertile soil.” Nationally, however, potato, onion and egg market prices have spiked by as high as 13%...