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This week's round up of the latest news, research, and policy developments from across global agriculture.
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CONTENT
January 26 - February 1, 2018
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Global Food Security Symposium 2018
March 21-22 | Washington, DC
Space is limited, register now for our early bird rate!
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By 2050, Africa’s population will double, with 1 billion projected to be under 18 years old, and many others regions are experiencing similar trends. How can we harness the potential of this promising demographic to secure economic growth and stability? Global leaders, innovators, disruptors, and trailblazers are shaping the future of food and agriculture. Attend this year’s symposium to learn why this transformative moment is a crucial to global food security and stability.
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The Next Generation: Youth Populations and the Demographic Dividend Window, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, January 30
There are great challenges and opportunities for agricultural systems in a world with unprecedented numbers of young people. As these young people grow into maturity, they can either contribute to unprecedented economic development for their countries and the world via their energies and ingenuity, or, starved of opportunity, they can become a destabilizing force that impacts security across the globe.
Bill Gates to Fund Agriculture Research to Fight Poverty, Scotsman, January 26
Bill Gates pledged more than $39 million to Edinburgh University’s research to improve livestock health for millions of farmers in Africa and Asia. UK International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt also announced a $128 million funding package for disease-resistant “super crops” as well as nearly 6 million to the Center for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health based in Edinburgh and Nairobi.
SEE ALSO: Bill Gates, UK Announce Funding for Innovative Agricultural Projects in Scotland, BusinessDay, January 27
World Food Prize Critical to Advancing Important Issues of Our Time, Opinion, Paul Schickler, Des Moines Register, January 25
The World Food Prize and the Borlaug Dialogue recognize that a variety of methods and practices, based on sound science, are needed to ensure food security now and into the future. Perhaps the most underrecognized aspect of agricultural development, and arguably the most important, is its contribution to national security.
'Price of Conflict Is Too High': Hunger at Crisis Levels in Eight Countries, Guardian, January 30
In 2016, the number of hungry people in the world increased to 815 million people, with more than half of them—489 million—in conflict zones. Francis Mwanza, head of the World Food Program office in London, said: “Eighty percent of WFP expenditure occurs in conflict zones. If we want to reach zero hunger, ending conflict is a major step in reaching that goal.”
SEE REPORT: Global Early Warning – Early Action Report on Food Security and Agriculture, FAO, January 4
SEE ALSO: ‘We Stand No Chance of Ending Hunger’ without Peace, UN Says, Reuters, January 30
Tyson Takes Stake in Cultured Meat Startup, Wall Street Journal, January 29
Tyson Foods Inc. has invested in Memphis Meats Inc., a Bay Area startup that grows meat from animal cells, a bet on alternatives to chicken farms and cattle feedlots. Memphis Meats and other startups working on alternatives to the traditional slaughtering of livestock tout the technology as a cheaper and more environmentally friendly way to produce meat for a growing and increasingly affluent global population.
SEE ALSO: Tyson Invests in Lab-Grown Protein Startup Memphis Meats, Joining Bill Gates and Richard Branson, Forbes, January 29
Cape Town’s Water Crisis Should Be a Wake-Up Call, Editorial, Financial Times, January 28
After three dry years, dam levels of usable water in Cape Town, South Africa are at 17 percent and the authorities are preparing to shut off residential supplies by mid-April, leaving about 4 million residents reliant on daily queues at standpipes. This should be a wake-up call for city authorities and national governments around the world.
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GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES
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Meet the Millennial Everyone Calls When Disaster Strikes, Forbes, January 31
Gabriele Almon has worked with various UN agencies to pilot important projects that have improved response times and industry-wide understanding of emergencies. Whenever a hurricane makes landfall, an earthquake strikes, or wildfires break out, Almon is on the digital frontline, utilizing her tools, network, and expertise to connect communities with targeted relief and aid.
Nigeria: Agriculture Sector Records 3 Percent Growth Despite Recession, All Africa, January 30
Ben Akabueze, director-general of Nigeria's Budget Office of the Federation, has revealed that despite the economic downturn fueled by recession, the agricultural sector of the economy grew by three percent. He disclosed that agricultural sector is one of the industries that the government is focusing on and it has seen some reasonable growth.
AU Launches AATS - a Revolutionary New Tool to Drive Agricultural Productivity and Development, All Africa, January 29
The African Union today launched the Africa Agriculture Transformation Scorecard and presented the Inaugural Biennial Review Report. The report reveals that only 20 of the 47 Members are on track towards achieving the commitments set out in the Malabo Declaration. Best performance to achieve the Malabo Declaration goals and targets by 2025 was scooped by Rwanda.
SEE REPORT: Inaugural Biennial Review Report of the African Union Committee on the Implementation of the Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods, African Union, January 28
Aid Groups Feel Heat as Sanctions on North Korea Intensify, Washington Post, January 29
As sanctions on Kim Jong Un’s government intensify, aid groups operating in North Korea are facing economic restrictions and bureaucratic hurdles that could cripple life-saving work. The United Nations provided food for more than 800,000 North Koreans last year, and sanctions may be adversely affecting that help. Seventy percent of North Koreans still suffer food insecurity, and 2 in 5 are undernourished.
Crop Munching Pest in Africa Raises Hunger Threat, Reuters, January 26
A crop munching fall armyworm is spreading rapidly across Africa, threatening food production and the livelihoods of millions of farmers already struggling with conflicts and drought. The larvae form of the worm prefers maize but can feed on more than 80 plant species including many vital crops. The invasive species, first detected in Central and Western Africa in early 2016, has now spread to virtually all of sub-Saharan Africa.
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USDA Launches MARS, Delivering Market Data to Agricultural Producers around the Globe Faster and Easier, USDA, January 31
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service announced the launch of a new electronic data platform to deliver market price information to the commodities industry. The new web-based platform, Market Analysis and Reporting Services, uses state-of-the-art technology to present detailed data sets in a more customer-focused way to better support competitive markets for producers and help stabilize food prices for American families.
As NAFTA Talks Continue, Your Hamburger Hangs in the Balance, Washington Post, January 29
American farmers ship corn for cattle feed to Mexico and Canada. Mexico and Canada ship cattle to the United States for slaughter. The United States ships finished steaks and burgers back to its neighbors. This supply chain is highly specialized by country and attuned to changes across the market. If NAFTA ends, economists fear the system that gives us ground beef could be disrupted by tariff increases, supply chain disruptions, and new protectionist trade barriers.
SEE ALSO: US Farmers Have Much to Lose If NAFTA Deal Collapses, Reuters, January 28
NAFTA Talks That Were Supposed to End Last Year Might Continue into 2019, Washington Post, January 28
Talks aimed at reaching a new trade agreement involving the United States, Canada, and Mexico are expected to continue for months beyond a March deadline and even into 2019. President Trump’s threats to withdraw from NAFTA have prompted Mexico and Canada to look for alternative suppliers for products they buy from US companies in a move some see as a warning of what would happen if the deal collapses.
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BIG IDEAS AND EMERGING INNOVATIONS
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Meet Aqua Pod, the New Floating Food Truck in Dubai, Forbes, January 31
Aqua Pod is a sustainable floating drive-through with a capacity of up to six staff that will serve The Dubai Palm Lagoon. According to the architect, some of the key features include a desalinating function that makes sea water potable without releasing brine discharge, plus a built-in garbage system that collects floating trash and disposes waste responsibly onshore.
Spooked by Monkeys, Bosch Looks to Oysters and Cattle for Profit, Reuters, January 30
Germany’s Robert Bosch, the world’s biggest automotive supplier, is betting on farming technology to boost profits this year. It introduced new smart farming solutions, including sensor-based technologies to help farmers cultivate asparagus and strawberries, manage cattle or even to farm oysters. According to Bosch, the digital agriculture market is expected to grow more than 70 percent by 2020.
Can Seagrass Save Shellfish from Climate Change?, NPR, January 30
At least a quarter of the carbon released into the atmosphere is soaked up by the ocean and makes seawater more acidic. It's harmful for animals that build shells, like oysters, and spells big trouble for the Pacific shellfish industry, worth more than $100 million. Seagrass can reduce acidification around it, but potentially only in certain locations or at certain times of year.
This Startup Is Raising $3.5 Million to Add Machine Learning to Fish Farms, Forbes, January 30
Machine learning and vision startup Aquabyte has raised funding to build out a team to refine its software, which is geared towards using machine learning and vision to reduce costs for fish farming. The company's ultimate goal is to more finely control the amount of food that fish farmers use. If it's successful, the company claims it could save fish farmers 20-30 percent of the cost of food currently used.
Cargill Hunts for Scientists to Use AI and Sharpen Trade Edge, Financial Times, January 28
Cargill, the agricultural trading titan, buys and sells tens of millions of tons of crops and meat a year using an expansive network, but the wider availability of data—from weather patterns to ship movements—has diminished the value of inside knowledge of commodity markets. The company attempts to better exploit the seven petabytes of information in its proprietary data network by hiring data scientists to help it turn a bigger profit
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FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ISSUES
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Zimbabwe: January Disease Kills 2,000 Cattle, All Africa, January 30
At least 2,000 cattle have died of January disease, also known as Theileriosis, a tick born disease— and the government is urging farmers to intensify dipping of their livestock in anti-tick chemicals as a prevention measure. The government has also intensified awareness campaigns in affected areas and deployed teams to assess the situation.
Honeybees Help Farmers, but They Don't Help the Environment, NPR, January 27
Bee species play a vital role in the ecosystem. Many are in peril; some species have disappeared. And then there's the honeybee: raised and managed by beekeepers in order to make honey or to pollinate crops. It's an agricultural animal, in the same way that sheep and cattle are. In many landscapes, farmed honeybees can compete with wild bees for food, making it harder for wild species to survive.
How Toyota Helped Create a Thriving Japanese Food Culture in Kentucky, NPR, January 26
Since Georgetown, Kentucky became the location of Toyota Motor Corporation's first manufacturing plant in the United States, its success prompted other Japanese-run businesses to move to the area. Just as the Japanese immigrants wanted a taste of home, the new American workforce was eager to try the foods of Japan, especially after many of them visited the country as part of their training.
Episode 820: P Is for Phosphorus, Planet Money Podcast, NPR, January 26
Phosphorus is irreplaceable. Nothing can live without it and it's only economically recoverable in a few places. Most of our phosphorus—or phosphate, which is its usable form—goes into fertilizer. The farmers pile it on, and then the bulk of it just washes right off into the rivers and then the ocean. In this podcast, we scour the earth for one of the building blocks of the modern world, and life itself.
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Farming the Next Big Food Source: Crickets, Forbes, January 30
Terreform, a non-profit urban architecture and design group, has been working on a project to update a centuries-old technology: the emergency shelter. The organization's design can serve as a modular habitat for a food source that people can harvest: crickets. Expanding meat consumption is expensive and can have damaging environmental consequences, but it's easier to keep crickets as a protein source.
The EU’s Distortion of Public Health Unfairly Hurts US Agricultural Produce, Opinion, Dr. Bernard D. Goldstein, Hill, January 30
The European Union’s Precautionary Principle has been applied to ban American produce, such as GMO grains and beef from cattle treated with growth hormones, from sale in the European Union in order to protect European agriculture. The European Food Safety Authority has not provided support for the European Union’s contention that health risks occur through eating American chicken, beef, or grain. This unnecessary stringency cost Sub-Saharan nations $700 million a year in exports.
The Hollow Eyes of Hunger in Indonesia's Papua, Al Jazeera, January 27
Papua has been a sensitive region since it became part of Indonesia in the 1960s following a referendum. Ignored by health workers and government officials, many of the children were never immunized or given basic healthcare. Hundreds of children have died from malnutrition and measles outbreak. Efforts to bring economic progress to the region mainly benefited newcomers from other parts of Indonesia who started their small businesses, selling nutrient poor instant food.
In London, the American Food Aisle Is Filled with Nostalgia and Preservatives, NPR, January 26
To Americans abroad, comfort food so often looks like junk food. Plenty of food shops in London have sections catering to American immigrants, as well as to the large population of Brits who have spent time in the US and developed some American tastes. Pop-Tarts and Cheetos aren't just "junk food," they are the undeniable tastes of home.
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ENVIRONMENT, WATER, AND CLIMATE
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Climate Change Could Ravage Indian Farmers, Quartz, January 28
A new economic survey in India noted that the impact of temperature and rainfall on agriculture is more adverse in unirrigated lands compared with irrigated areas. Given that around 52 percent of India’s arable land is still unirrigated and rain-fed, the change in agricultural productivity patterns as a result of climate change could reduce annual agricultural incomes by between 15-18 percent on average, and between 20-25 percent for unirrigated areas.
SEE ALSO: Climate Change May Cut Farm Income by 20-25 Percent, Says Economic Survey, NDTV, January 29
SEE ALSO: India Food Crisis Likely If Climate Change Continues: Report, National, January 30
Uganda: Government to Develop Irrigation Policy, All Africa, January 28
The agriculture sector is the biggest employer in Uganda, employing about 90 percent of the population, but the country has no capacity to produce enough food because of unreliable rainfall. Eng John Twinomujjuni, commissioner for Water for Production, announced the development of a National Irrigation Policy to guide irrigation development and expansion and plans to construct 130 micro irrigation systems countrywide.
Less Money, More Problems – Trying to Get Fisheries Right, Conversation, January 28
Even in the absence of fishing pressure, fish populations fluctuate based on natural variations. From 2010 to 2016, official development assistance for marine fisheries decreased by 23 percent and funding for fisheries research fell by 83 percent. Considering the importance of sustainable marine fisheries for culture, provision of livelihoods, and good nutrition, the decrease in funding is surprising.
Albertsons Goes Fishing for Sustainable Sushi, Forbes, January 26
Albertsons has added sushi to its “Top 5 by 2022” project, which promises that the five most popular wild and farm-raised seafood species used for sushi in its stores will be sourced sustainably and responsibly. These frequently used sushi ingredients will need to meet new standards by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program or be sourced from farms and fisheries making measurable improvements.
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GENDER AND GENERATIONAL INCLUSION
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Grameen America Expands into Impact Investing, Forbes, January 31
Grameen America is an offshoot of the venerable Bangladesh-based Grameen Bank, founded in the 1970s by Pulitzer-prize winner Muhammad Yunus to provide microloans to women living in poverty. The microfinance organization just closed its first Social Business Fund, an $11 million impact investing fund aimed at providing additional money to low-income women looking for microloans to jump-start a business.
Sonoma Country's First Female Winegrowers President Karissa Kruse Advises: Don't Settle, Forbes, January 30
Karissa Kruse started the Sonoma County Sustainability Initiative, which has positioned Sonoma County as a global leader in sustainable farming. Grape growers commit to assessing their farming, business, and management practices against over 138 best management practices, including areas such as water use, habitat protection, and long-term viability.
Harvesting Farmers: GrowNYC Teaches Students How to Make a Living in Agriculture, The New Yorker, January 29
GrowNYC, originally created in 1970, has been running the Farm Beginnings class since 2000, aiming to develop the next generation of farmers to secure fresh products for New York City. The program recruits heavily from immigrant populations, who often have agricultural experience in their home countries but are working dead-end jobs in city. Successful graduates may end up selling agricultural products at the farmers’ markets.
Climate Change Eroding Women's Status in Zanzibar, CBS News, January 25
More than 80 percent of seaweed farmers in Zanzibar are women. Over the past few decades, trade in seaweed has brought them unprecedented financial independence and the social status that comes with it. But now, warming sea temperatures attributed to climate change are causing massive die offs, and rural women are losing their main source of income.
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MARKET ACCESS, TRADE, AND AGRIBUSINESS
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In West Africa, “Customers Prefer the Local Guinea Fowl”, Food Tank, January 31
In West Africa, the red goat of Maradi and guinea fowl are improving the lives of family farmers, stimulating local economies, and making better nutrition more accessible. These indigenous livestock species are well-suited for West Africa, with a wealth of genetic diversity that make them more adaptable to a changing climate. Up to 80 percent of the agricultural GDP in developing countries comes from livestock.
Brussels Urged to Clarify ‘Green’ Investment Guidelines, Financial Times, January 31
An influential panel of investment experts has called on Brussels to clarify what qualifies as a “green” investment and strengthen risk reporting requirements saying it has become an urgent and mainstream issue. The European Commission is expected to announce a plan on sustainable finance in March to encourage the transition to a low-carbon economy and mitigate the risks posed by climate change.
Zimbabwe: We'll Continue Backing Command Agriculture – Firms, The Herald, January 29
The private sector has pledged to continue supporting the Command Agriculture Program under the new dispensation, in response to Government calls on stakeholders in the industry to unite and work together to ensure food security, revive industry, and create employment among other things.
Nigeria: Government, AfDB Trains 8,317 Farmers, Processors on Rice Value Chain, Guardian, January 28
The Federal Government says it has so far trained more than 8,000 farmers on rice value chain activities under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Program Phase 1, in collaboration with the African Development Bank. Thanks to this program, 152,651 tons of grains had been released to the market by the beneficiaries.
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