Food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation in Australia rose by the weakest margin  since September 2022 at 0.6% in quarter 3, 2023. Data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on October 25, 2023 groups food and non-alcoholic beverages among 6 other sectors that eschewed a general inflation rise of above 1.2% between July 1 and September 30, 2023. The other sectors’ rises include home...

650 bean varieties, up from the official 450 new cultivars by a research body have come to redefine African legume farming.   The Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) says that its cultivars have reached 32 African nations. This comes at a critical time when cheap protein sources have become mandatory in Africa amid degrading soils. A 2016 research states that 60% of the continent’s bean...

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg’s suggestion to import hormone-injected beef into the UK to beat inflated meat prices has riled Somerset farmers. “I’ve eaten beef from Australia,” went Sir Rees-Mogg’s opinion, describing it as quite sumptuous and worthy of importing.  Beef producers termed the comments by the member of parliament for Northeast Somerset constituency as shameful. The farmers wondered how the MP from their...

Pomfret, Vermont, home to Sleepy Hollow Farm, reopened its picturesque feeder roads on October 16 after mid-fall closure. As one of the most photographed places in New England, the town had recently restricted non-resident viewing of its colorful maple trees.  Locals crowdsourced to force the authorities to ban interstate visitors from coming here between September 23 and October 15, 2023. The town’s administration had...

China on October 23, 2023 inked separate agricultural import deals with the United States and Russia. The U.S. ceremony in Des Moines, Iowa was a contractual agreement between private Chinese importers and American grain suppliers.  Multiple firms signed 11 purchasing deals during the China-U.S. Sustainable Agricultural Trade Forum, which U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) organised. The deal will see China, the world’s largest soybean...

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...