FARM NEWS - AFRICA DAILY

Key Pacific panel agrees to 50% cut in young tuna catch

Sep 04, 2014 (AFP)

Countries and regions that fish in the northern Pacific agreed Thursday to cut by half the number of young bluefin tuna they catch in a bid to double the ocean'...

Smart farming the key to China's food problems: study

Sep 03, 2014 (AFP)

Clever farming techniques would provide China with more than enough grain to feed its escalating population in the coming decades while easing stress on its env...

Chinese scientists' team efforts in dissecting rice complex agronomic traits in recent years

Sep 03, 2014 (SPX)

Rice is a main food source for more than half of the global population and is a model plant for genome-based research. Since the turn of the century, Chinese sc...

New study charts the global invasion of crop pests

Aug 29, 2014 (SPX)

Many of the world's most important crop-producing countries will be fully saturated with pests by the middle of the century if current trends continue, accordin...

Water 'thermostat' could help engineer drought-resistant crops

Aug 29, 2014 (SPX)

Duke University researchers have identified a gene that could help scientists engineer drought-resistant crops. The gene, called OSCA1, encodes a protein in the...

How to prevent organic food fraud

Aug 29, 2014 (SPX)

A growing number of consumers are willing to pay a premium for fruits, vegetables and other foods labelled "organic", but whether they're getting what the label...

Locust plague descends on Madagascar capital

Aug 28, 2014 (AFP)

A thick grey swarm of locusts engulfed Madagascar's capital on Thursday, sending children scuttling and causing florists to burn tyres in panic. A bank of raven...

Fonterra and Beingmate team up on China baby formula

Aug 27, 2014 (AFP)

New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra announced a joint venture with Hangzhou-based Beingmate Group on Wednesday aimed at increasing its presence in the multi-billio...

Australia's McGuigan seals wine distribution deal in China

Aug 25, 2014 (AFP)

The owner of Australia's McGuigan wine label said Monday it had won a distribution deal with China's state-owned food conglomerate COFCO, giving it a chance to ...

Efforts to confront Africa's soil crisis triples farm yields

Aug 25, 2014 (SPX)

With the steady drain of essential nutrients from African soils looming as a major threat to food security across the continent, a new report finds that over th...

Napa Valley wineries shake off major earthquake

Aug 25, 2014 (AFP)

Vintners in California's prestigious wine country on Monday were shaking off the effects of a major earthquake and thanking the very soil from which their prize...

Cooking, pollution linked to high blood pressure in China

Aug 25, 2014 (AFP)

Women in China who are exposed to pollution from cookstoves and highways face a greater risk of high blood pressure, researchers said Monday. The study publishe...

Drought, blight threaten to press up olive oil price

Aug 24, 2014 (AFP)

Shoppers risk paying more for their olive oil this year as a drought in Spain and a blight in Italy wither trees in the two top producers, driving up prices. Mo...

Nut price surge could leave Nutella-lovers shelling out

Aug 24, 2014 (AFP)

Fans of chocolate spread Nutella or the hazelnut-filled Ferrero Rocher could soon be facing rising bills for their nutty treats because of poor weather in Turke...

Earliest evidence of snail-eating found in Spain

Aug 21, 2014 (UPI)

Apparently, humans have been eating snails for some 30,000 years. The Paleolithic humans on the east coast of Spain may not have been dousing their escargot in ...

Study measures steep coastal costs of China's GDP growth

Aug 21, 2014 (SPX)

A new study by a team of Chinese and American conservation biologists quantifies the serious consequences of China's recent economic growth on its coastal ecosy...

Seafood substitutions can expose consumers to unexpectedly high mercury

Aug 21, 2014 (SPX)

New measurements from fish purchased at retail seafood counters in 10 different states show the extent to which mislabeling can expose consumers to unexpectedly...

Tide turns for shark fin in China

Aug 20, 2014 (AFP)

A sprawling market floor in Guangzhou was once a prime location for shark fin, one of China's most expensive delicacies. But now it lies deserted, thanks to a b...

France fights back Asian hornet invader

Aug 20, 2014 (AFP)

They slipped into southwest France 10 years ago in a pottery shipment from China and have since invaded more than half the country, which is fighting back with ...

Pangolins under threat in Gabon as demand surges in Asia

Aug 19, 2014 (AFP)

Hunted for generations for its tasty meat, the scaly-skinned pangolin is under threat in Gabon as demand for the small mammal surges in Asia, where it is used i...