FARM NEWS - AFRICA DAILY

Argentina's potash dream at risk from Vale

Mar 12, 2013 (UPI)

Argentina's hopes of becoming a major potash producer and exporter are at risk of a setback after Brazilian mining major Vale announced it is abandoning a $6 bi...

Thousands of dead pigs found in Shanghai river

Mar 11, 2013 (AFP)

Nearly 3,000 dead pigs have been found floating in Shanghai's main waterway, the Chinese city's government said Monday as residents expressed fears over possibl...

Tokyo's sale of Japan Tobacco stake worth $7.8 bn: company

Mar 11, 2013 (AFP)

Japan Tobacco (JT) said Monday that Tokyo's partial sale of its stake in the former monopoly would raise about $7.8 billion as the government looks to finance h...

Delayed EU phosphorus plans coming soon

Mar 11, 2013 (UPI)

A delayed strategy to preserve and recycle scarce phosphorus resources will be coming soon, the European Union's environment commissioner says. European Commiss...

China village chief held over land deal clash

Mar 10, 2013 (AFP)

Chinese authorities have arrested a village chief and eight other people over clashes surrounding a land deal that provoked residents' fury, as officials sought...

Millions for a mastiff at China Tibetan dog expo

Mar 09, 2013 (AFP)

Drooping eyes barely visible behind a mountain of glossy black fur, an enormous dog snoozes on stage in an industrial Chinese city. Its asking price: close to a...

Spot the difference - oranges and lemons

Mar 08, 2013 (SPX)

A computer recognition system that is 99% accurate can identify different fruits and vegetables, even the particular strain of apples or plums, for instance. Re...

Report raises concern over Europe's land-use footprint

Mar 08, 2013 (AFP)

Imports to meet Europe's ever-growing food demand require it using land beyond its borders roughly the size of Scandinavia, according to a new study that urges ...

Europe's food scandals multiply

Mar 08, 2013 (UPI)

Europe's food scandals are multiplying with the discovery of rotten meat recycled into Polish processed products and seizure of suspect Swedish food as far as C...

Stocking Florida Bass Could Alter Interconnected Streams

Mar 08, 2013 (SPX)

A genetic analysis by Baylor University biologists suggests that the stocking of Florida bass in Texas reservoirs impacts bass populations far beyond the actual...

Scientists improve transgenic 'Enviropigs'

Mar 08, 2013 (SPX)

A research team at the University of Guelph has developed a new line of transgenic "Enviropigs." The new line of pigs is called the Cassie line, and it is known...

Illinois town provides a historical foundation for today's bee research

Mar 07, 2013 (SPX)

A study published in the journal Science reveals a decline in bee species since the late 1800s in West Central Illinois. The study could not have been conducted...

Hidden genome unveils how plants adapt to global environments

Mar 07, 2013 (SPX)

Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified patterns of epigenomic diversity that not only allow plants to adapt to various environm...

African governments giving land away quickly, recognizing land rights slowly

Mar 07, 2013 (SPX)

While African governments are moving gradually towards protecting the land rights of rural people and indigenous communities, they are moving quickly to give aw...

Wild pollinators increase crop fruit set regardless of honey bees

Mar 07, 2013 (SPX)

Changes made by humans to the natural landscapes can often compromise ecosystems, which paradoxically are vital for human survival. Pollination of crops by wild...

When Good Food Goes Bad: Strengthening the US Response to Foodborne Disease Outbreak

Mar 07, 2013 (SPX)

Foodborne illness sickens or kills an extraordinary number of people each year. It also has great economic costs. Last year, an outbreak linked to contaminated ...

Discovery of genetic mechanism allowing potato cultivation in northern latitudes

Mar 07, 2013 (SPX)

An international team of scientists headed by Wageningen University, part of Wageningen UR, has discovered a genetic mechanism which allows potato plants to dev...

Loss of wild insects hurts crops around the world

Mar 06, 2013 (SPX)

Researchers studying data from 600 fields in 20 countries have found that managed honey bees are not as successful at pollinating crops as wild insects, primari...

Fighting GM crop vandalism with a government-protected research site

Mar 05, 2013 (SPX)

Genetically modified (GM) crops have been a source of great controversy-particularly in Europe-but acts of vandalism and associated security costs have made sci...

Improving climate protection in agriculture

Mar 05, 2013 (SPX)

Agriculture is responsible for around ten to twelve percent of all greenhouse gases attributable to human activities. This raises the question of how these emis...