FARM NEWS - AFRICA DAILY

Fonterra CEO sorry for milk scare, denies cover-up

Aug 05, 2013 (AFP)

New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra apologised Monday for a botulism scare that saw product recalls and seizures from China to Saudi Arabia, but denied accusations...

New Zealand PM accuses milk scare firm of 'staggering' delay

Aug 05, 2013 (AFP)

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on Monday accused dairy giant Fonterra of delaying sounding the alarm over products tainted with a potentially fatal bug, as...

Chinese distrust mounts after Fonterra milk scare

Aug 05, 2013 (AFP)

Chinese consumers already wary of domestic milk powder brands fretted Monday whether they could find safe formula anywhere, after New Zealand dairy giant Fonter...

World's first lab-grown burger to be tasted in London

Aug 05, 2013 (AFP)

Scientists were on Monday set to unveil the world's first lab-grown beef burger, serving it up fried to volunteers in London in what they hope is the start of a...

Roots breakthrough for drought-resistant rice

Aug 05, 2013 (AFP)

Japanese biotechnologists on Sunday said they had developed a rice plant with deeper roots that can sustain high yields in droughts that wipe out conventional r...

Polish city braces for more farmers' protests over low prices

Aug 05, 2013 (UPI)

Officials in the Polish city of Grudziadz prepared during the weekend for another round of protests by farmers angry over low cereal and oilseed prices. Leaders...

New Zealand dairy giant issues global botulism alert

Aug 03, 2013 (AFP)

New Zealand warned international health authorities Saturday of exported dairy products, including infant formula, containing a bacteria that could lead to botu...

Excessive rain in U.S. Southeast causing millions in crop damage

Aug 02, 2013 (UPI)

While half the United States west of the Mississippi River is in drought, the Southeast is getting too much rain and it's damaging crops, officials say. Rainfal...

Top French court lifts ban on growing Monsanto GM corn

Aug 01, 2013 (AFP)

A wrangle over growing genetically modified crops in France flared anew on Thursday as the country's top administrative court overturned a government ban on gro...

Fat digestibility in pigs study looks at oils in soybeans, corn co-products

Jul 31, 2013 (SPX)

Pork producers need accurate information on the energy value of fat in feed ingredients to ensure that diets are formulated economically and in a way that maxim...

Japan to lift GM-linked ban on US wheat imports

Jul 30, 2013 (AFP)

Japan said Tuesday that it would resume imports of some US wheat later this week, ending a two-month suspension that came after genetically engineered crops wer...

Research team collaborate to save the bacon

Jul 29, 2013 (SPX)

A research team from the University of Missouri and Kansas State University has been working to find a cure for a specific virus that affects pigs and costs the...

Full genome map of oil palm indicates a way to raise yields and protect rainforest

Jul 29, 2013 (SPX)

A multinational team of scientists has identified a single gene, called Shell, that regulates yield of the oil palm tree. The fruit and seeds of the oil palm ar...

France promises Malaysia no palm oil 'discrimination'

Jul 29, 2013 (AFP)

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Monday assured Malaysia that European rules on declaring product ingredients would not "discriminate" against palm oi...

Common agricultural chemicals shown to impair honey bees' health

Jul 29, 2013 (SPX)

Commercial honey bees used to pollinate crops are exposed to a wide variety of agricultural chemicals, including common fungicides which impair the bees' abilit...

Bees 'betray' their flowers when pollinator species decline

Jul 29, 2013 (SPX)

Remove even one bumblebee species from an ecosystem and the impact is swift and clear: Their floral "sweethearts" produce significantly fewer seeds, a new study...

China eyes food security options in Venezuela

Jul 26, 2013 (UPI)

China is considering investment in Venezuela's agriculture industries as part of a global strategy to secure diverse sources of food supplies for its burgeoning...

World changing technology enables crops to take nitrogen from the air

Jul 26, 2013 (SPX)

A major new technology has been developed by The University of Nottingham, which enables all of the world's crops to take nitrogen from the air rather than expe...

Climate Forecasts Shown to Warn of Crop Failures

Jul 26, 2013 (SPX)

Climate data can help predict some crop failures several months before harvest, according to a new study from an international team, including a research scient...

Secret of plant geometry revealed

Jul 26, 2013 (SPX)

Researchers at the University of Leeds have discovered how plants set the angles of their branches. While the other principle features governing the architectur...