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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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2018 Global Food Security Symposium
March 21-22 | Washington, DC
Space is limited, register now!
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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: Women’s Work, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, March 6
Women, despite being the backbone of rural societies, often face structural barriers that limit their ability to strengthen their economic security. In India, women perform nearly 70 percent of agricultural labor, but own less than 13 percent of farmland. Without official recognition, women often cannot access programs or credit targeted to farmers, which holds back both female farmers and their communities.
Melinda Gates: When Money Flows into the Hands of Women, Everything Changes, Quartz, March 5
We’ll never reach our goals if we don’t also address the systematic way that women and girls are undervalued. With a new focus on women’s economic empowerment, connecting women to markets, making sure they have access to financial services, and empowering them to help themselves, we aim to help tear down the barriers that keep half the world from leading a full life.
SEE ALSO: Melinda Gates Believes Economic Empowerment of Women is the Key to Their Development, Economic Times, March 8
Guest Commentary – How Young Women Can Find Opportunities in African Agriculture, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, March 7
Across sub-Saharan Africa, millions of young women are sidelined from economic opportunities. The ILO has found that one-third of young women in the region are not working, studying, or receiving training, more than double the rate of their male peers. With more than 6 million young women coming of working age every year, African economies must create more new jobs and business opportunities for them.
Guest Commentary – Advancing Women’s Economic Empowerment in South East Asia, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, March 5
We all like to have choices in life; and, best of all, choices that appeal to us. However, the way most of the world works is that men get more choices than women—a reality that is, unfortunately, reflected in the agriculture space. This is partly about power and agency, but also because of the lack of choices offered by businesses operating in our sector.
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GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES
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Under-Pressure Donors Urged to Help Avoid Famine in Somalia, Reuters, March 5
Somalia is at risk of being ignored by donors, increasing the likelihood of famine. About 6.2 million people in Somalia need emergency aid, such as food, water, and shelter, due to unprecedented drought and ongoing conflict. During 2011’s famine, half of the 260,000 Somalian deaths occurred before the official declaration of famine. Aid agencies are calling for immediate action.
Africa is Now Home to the World’s Largest Migrant Populations, Quartz, March 4
Migration from African nations has increased dramatically–from just 1 percent in the 1990s to 31 percent by the 2000s. Many of those forced out are fleeing conflict, inter-communal violence, economic decline, disease, and hunger. The exodus of African migrants will only continue to increase in the coming decades. By 2050, around 1.3 billion people will be added to Africa’s population, and more than one in three people will live in the continent by 2100.
Staple Food Prices Continue to Rise in Sudan: FAO, Dabanga, March 4
Prices of wheat, sorghum, and millet, the main staples in Sudan, rose sharply for the third consecutive month in January, according to the FAO. Prices reached record highs, more than twice their year-earlier values, despite the recently completed main season harvest. The causes are the removal of wheat subsidies under the new budget of 2018 and the strong depreciation of the local currency.
Rwanda: New Strategy to Avert Armyworm Invasion, New Times, March 3
The government of Rwanda, in partnership with the FAO, has launched a countrywide campaign to install traps which lure and catch moths behind fall armyworm reproduction. The intervention, under a project titled "Support to the Government of Rwanda in sustainable control and management of Fall Armyworm", is worth $ 284,000.
FAO Regional Conference for Africa in Khartoum, All Africa, March 3
The 30th Regional Conference for Africa titled “Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Food Systems in Africa” discussed climate change and resilience building to address the vulnerability of Africa's agriculture and rural livelihoods. According to FAO director-general José Graziano da Silva, even though it was encouraging to see some parts of the continent have made some significant progress, significant challenges remain for all.
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USAID and Pakistan Partner to Streamline Trade and Customs Procedures, Pakistan Observer, March 7
USAID and the government of Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue partnered to host a two-day conference on the establishment of a National Single Window for trade. For Pakistan, boosting exports and enhancing the competitiveness of Pakistani industries is integral to overcoming the current trade imbalance. By making trade simpler, the National Single Window will unlock Pakistan’s economy.
President Trump Said Canada Mistreats US Farmers. This Is What He Meant, Washington Post, March 5
The Canadian practice known as supply management protects domestic dairy, egg, and poultry producers through a system of controlled production and high tariffs. US dairy farmers say Canada has cut them out of its market and abused the supply-management system to dump cheap milk products in other markets. The system threatens to become a major obstacle in the renegotiation of NAFTA.
SEE ALSO: Mnuchin Says Canada, Mexico Would Avoid Tariffs if NAFTA Gets Done, Hill, March 6
SEE ALSO: Canada Retaliation in US Tariff Row 'Like Grabbing Your Own Throat', Reuters, March 2
Fight Over Sorghum Offers a Taste of a Trade Retaliation, Wall Street Journal, March 3
Beijing had launched an investigation into alleged American dumping of—and subsidies on—sorghum, a grain known as “milo” in western Kansas. Sorghum grown in Kansas is in large part exported to China. Beijing’s probe, which some in Kansas fear could end in painful tariffs on American sorghum, came shortly after tariffs on solar cells and washing machines were imposed in January.
Trade War Could Spark Food Fight, California Growers Fear, LA Times, March 2
Several trading partners have sent strong signals that they may retaliate if the United States imposes stiff tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum. Each of those trading partners is a major buyer of US agricultural goods, which amass a surplus of about $21 billion from worldwide trade. California has the most at stake with its farmers and ranchers twice as dependent on foreign trade as the country as a whole.
SEE ALSO: How Trump’s Tariffs Could Hurt Iowa’s Agricultural Industry, KCCI Des Moines, March 2
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BIG IDEAS AND EMERGING INNOVATIONS
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This Macaroni and Cheese Helps Fight Climate Change, Fast Company, March 6
Annie’s, Inc. will launch a new boxed macaroni and cheese this month with ingredients that were made using regenerative farming practices, a series of steps that could help fight climate change by sequestering carbon in the soil. The new boxed product will be limited edition, but Annie’s sees it as proof of concept for its larger vision to scale regeneratively farmed ingredients across its business.
SEE ALSO: General Mills, Annie’s Mac & Cheese Tap South Dakota Farm, AP, March 6
Mysteries of the Moo-Crobiome: Could Tweaking Cow Gut Bugs Improve Beef?, NPR, March 6
The unicellular inhabitants of a cow’s gut are responsible for some of the cattle industry's greenhouse gas contributions, since, as it turns out, cows don't make methane. Bacteria make methane. Animal scientists hypothesize that by changing these microbes they can prime cows to make more meat while eating less food, or maybe even lower the amount of methane that cows release.
Would You Eat a 'Lab Burger'? Synthetic Meat Created from Animal Stem Cells Could Be on the Shelves by the End of This Year, Claims Expert, Daily Mail, March 5
The WHO says meat production is projected to rise to 376 million tons by 2030, from 218 million tons annually during 1997 to 1999. The “clean meat” firm JUST says lab-made sausages, chicken nuggets, and foie gras could be served in Asia and the United States before the end of 2018. Other companies forecast that we're still a few years away from mass marketed lab-grow meat products.
At Food Expo, Companies Jockey for the Next Big Thing, Wall Street Journal, March 3
Thousands of food-company executives, retail giants, and potential investors are gathering at the Natural Products Expo West to answer an increasingly elusive question: What’s the next eating trend? Big food companies are experiencing anemic growth and also new threats from Amazon’s push into grocery. So to boost sales and profits, the big brands and grocers are looking to natural, organic, and niche brands they say are in growing demand by consumers.
Meet the Startup That Makes Milk—without Cows, Quartz, March 2
Startup Perfect Day’s yeast produces actual dairy proteins. Food scientists program the genetic code into the yeast, and that yeast starts pumping out the desired proteins. The yeast never makes it into the final product, enabling the final product to be labeled GMO-free. Perfect Day plans to start by selling dairy proteins as functional ingredients for food manufacturers, with other dairy products not far behind.
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FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ISSUES
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A 'Floating Fillet': Rice Farmers Grow Bugs to Replenish California's Salmon, NPR, March 7
Much of the water that Chinook salmon require to survive is stored in dams or diverted through thousands of miles of levees. The Fish Food on Floodplain Farm Fields Project, which grows bugs for the fish, is in year two, with the end goal to improve the likelihood that salmon survive the trek to the ocean and back. A recent UC Davis study suggests that Chinook salmon could go extinct if no efforts are made to recover the species.
Improving the Resiliency and Productivity of Farmlands through Agroforestry, USDA, March 7
Farmers are challenged by ever-increasing production demands under the uncertainties of changing weather conditions, climates, and markets. Agroforestry, the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and livestock production systems, can enhance not only the resiliency, but also the productivity and profitability of agricultural operations and lands.
US Soybean Farmers Fear China Will Retaliate for Steel Tariffs, Wall Street Journal, March 7
China’s appetite for US soybeans has waned, and concerns abound that exports of the legume could suffer further if President Trump makes good on a promise to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum. Farmers and grain traders worry that China might retaliate by slowing imports of US beans or by erecting trade barriers to them.
SEE ALSO: First Solar, Then Steel...Now Soy? China's Move to Buy Brazilian Soybeans over US Could Worsen Trade Tensions, Forbes, March 5
Blockchain Will Track How Meat Gets from Australian Farms to Chinese Tables, Quartz, March 7
Chinese ecommerce site JD.com is working with Australian exporter InterAgri to use blockchain to track the production and delivery of beef. Blockchain technology provides a mechanism for parties to agree on a set of facts that can’t be changed after being recorded to ensure quality. With blockchain technology, information transparency in food systems could be enhanced.
Farmers Markets Can Grow with ‘Vegu-Cation’, USDA, March 6
The USDA Farmers Market on the National Mall is a “living laboratory” for farmers’ market operations across the country. During the 2017 market season, “Vegu-cation” was tested: visitors attended a 10-minute demonstration class in the Vegu tent on how to grow, pick, and prepare that week’s featured fruit or vegetable. This fruit and vegetable education program turned out to be popular with visitors and increased sales for farmers.
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No Refrigeration Necessary: New Tech for Everlasting Shelf-Life, Wired, March 7
These high-tech new food preservation methods that fend off bacteria and spoilage while protecting flavor, texture, and nutrients have the potential to improve food security. Scientists are experimenting with everything from microwave sterilization to blasts of plasma to ensure food stays appetizing longer—even without refrigeration.
Probiotics and Fish Oil during Pregnancy May Curb Allergies in Kids, New York Times, March 7
Probiotics and fish oil supplements during pregnancy and breastfeeding may reduce the risk for food allergies and eczema in early childhood. Women who took omega-3 fatty acid supplements during pregnancy and lactation reduced the risk for childhood allergic reaction to eggs, the most common food allergy, by 31 percent.
South Africa’s Listeria Outbreak is Forcing the Country to Rethink its Iconic National Foods, Quartz, March 6
An outbreak of listeria responsible for the deaths of at least 180 people has been traced to processed meats, South Africa’s Ministry of Health said. Ground zero of the outbreak has been traced to Enterprise Foods and Rainbow Chicken factories. Now, with 727 confirmed cases, the WHO says it is the largest ever recorded outbreak of the disease.
SEE ALSO: Contaminated Food in South Africa Kills 180 in Last Year, AP, March 6
Here's Why Environmentalists are Cheering the Latest Burger at Sonic Drive-In, NPR, March 2
Two new items on Sonic Drive-In's menu will be blended beef-mushroom burgers, a food that the Culinary Institute of America has boosted through its "menus of change" initiative. According to the World Resources Institute, if 30 percent of the beef in every burger in America were replaced by mushrooms it would reduce greenhouse emissions by the same amount as taking 2.3 million vehicles off of our roads.
SEE ALSO: Eating Less Meat? Meatless Butchers to Mushroom Burgers Can Help, Reuters, March 4
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ENVIRONMENT, WATER, AND CLIMATE
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Crops Successfully Engineered to Need 25 Percent Less Water, New Atlas, March 7
Scientists have revealed that a simple genetic tweak to overexpress a single protein in crops could result in the plants needing up to 25 percent less water to produce a regular yield. Potentially, the breakthrough research will lead to a new generation of water-efficient agriculture that helps communities grow more food in areas struggling with drought and climate change.
Why What We Eat is Crucial to the Climate Change Question, Opinion, Ruth Khasaya Oniang’o, Guardian, March 5
While farming alone accounts for 10 to 12 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, when we look at entire food systems the contributions to climate change more than double. Food and agriculture are both enormous contributors to climate change, and massively impacted by it. It is critical that we start to better examine what works in some systems and what must be improved in others.
Grass is Back in the Chesapeake, and Crabs Will Follow, NPR, March 5
Scientists recently published results from years of monitoring seagrass in the Chesapeake Bay. The area covered by beds of seagrass has expanded dramatically over the past 30 years. Expanding seagrass beds lead to a positive cascade of effects on the entire ecosystem, because seagrass offers food and shelter to many other aquatic species.
SEE REPORT: Long-Term Nutrient Reductions Lead to the Unprecedented Recovery of a Temperate Coastal Region, PNAS, March 5
From Almonds to Rice, Climate Change Could Slash California Crop Yields by 2050, NPR, March 2
Climate change could decrease the yield of some crops in California by up to 40 percent by 2050. A new study suggests that by the middle of the century, California's Central Valley won't be able to support crops like peaches, walnuts, and apricots. That number jumps to 90 percent by the end of the century. California provides about two-thirds of the nation's produce.
SEE ALSO: Widespread Drought across US Stokes Fears about a Repeat of 2012's Wrath, NPR, March 1
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GENDER AND GENERATIONAL INCLUSION
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The CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture: Leveraging New Tools for Gender Equality, Food Tank, March 7
The CGIAR (the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) Big Data Platform is building a partnership with the CGIAR Gender Research Platform to ensure that gender is embedded into the Big Data collection methods and that the results of these Big Data projects are useful to gender researchers.
In Rural Kenya, We Helped Businesses Invest in Women – Here’s What Happened, Root Capital, March 7
Driving along the winding dirt roads of Kenya’s central highlands, it doesn’t take long to spot scores of women farming in the mist. The FAO estimates that women perform 75 to 89 percent of the country’s agricultural labor. Yet all too often, this labor goes unrecognized. Researchers estimate that with the same access to productive resources as men, women could increase their crop yields by 20 to 30 percent.
Safe Water in South Sudan Gives Women and Girls a New Lease on Life, Forbes, March 6
After four years of armed conflict in South Sudan, the young nation's supply of safe drinking water has been severely disrupted. In Bentiu, UNICEF and partners rehabilitated the water treatment plant with the support of USAID, piping safe water all over town in June 2017. Access to safe drinking water means women and children, and others in the community, won't be sickened by waterborne disease.
Food Industry Leaders Focus on More Women Taking Top Spots, AP, March 2
A study of the food industry found that while women make up almost half of entry-level workers, they fill just 23 percent of senior executive positions, a trend seen across all industries. Food industry leaders will be meeting at Women’s Foodservice Forum this week to map out a way to get more women into top spots in the businesses that include manufacturers, distributors and operators.
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MARKET ACCESS, TRADE, AND AGRIBUSINESS
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With its New Fresh Beef Burgers McDonald’s is Coming for Shake Shack, Quartz, March 6
By the end of May, all 14,000 McDonald’s franchises across the country will cook both Quarter Pounders and their line of Signature Crafted burgers from raw patties. It’s a major supply chain change which has taken four years to implement. In response to falling revenues, the fast-food chain has tried a number of strategies to lure new customers while increasing the average bill of long-time fans.
Amazon Has French Grocery Stores in its Sights, Too, Quartz, March 5
When Amazon acquired Whole Foods for $13.7 billion last June, it wreaked havoc on a US grocery industry already struggling with slim margins. Over the weekend, Amazon France head Frederic Duval reported that the company aims to launch a grocery delivery service in the country, though he offered no details on timing or potential partners.
The Death of the “Big Food” Era is Imminent after the Industry’s Biggest Lobbying Group Crumbles, Quartz, March 5
Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), one of America’s most powerful food lobbying groups, has been abandoned by its own industry after failing to adequately contain or respond to changing consumer tastes that food makers have found threatening. The ostensible end of GMA ups the ante on food-company accountability, helping consumers to learn how the makers of their food feel about the issues such as transparency, sustainability, food waste, and healthfulness.
Milk Co-Op Mailing Highlights Suicide Risk for Dairy Farmers, AP, March 3
A suicide prevention hotline number accompanied the routine payments and price forecasts sent to dairy farmers from Agri-Mark dairy cooperative. Farmers are facing their fourth year of payments well below their cost of production, and it is triggering concerns for mental health. According to the CDC, people working in farming, fishing, and forestry have the highest suicide rates.
Why Cattle Ranchers and Tech Start-Ups are Beefing over the Meaning of ‘Meat’, Washington Post, March 2
National Cattlemen's Beef Association is concerned not only about use of the term “clean meat” but about the potential use of USDA quality seals and the disclosure of the fact that cultured meat products don’t come from conventional animals. Supporters of the term say that there's no reason to change it since there's lack of evidence that consumers feel deceived by the use of words like “meat” and “beef” to describe lab-grown proteins.
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