Next Generation 2018 - Food Security and the Role Biotechnology Can Play, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, July 17

Biotechnology has a vital role to play in ensuring global food security, and agriculture has the potential to produce food without the constraints of climate volatility, land availability, or soil fertility that conventional animal agriculture is faced with.

I’m a Yong Ag Scientist, and this is My Story, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, July 13

We have seen remarkable technological advancements in agriculture in many places in the world, resulting in increased productivity and improved food safety. Yet still millions of people suffer from hunger and billions are struggling with malnutrition. There lies an enormous task before all of us to make these awesome technologies deliver food security and nutrition for all.

Next Generation 2018 - Engaging Youth in Agriculture: Challenging the Purpose Generation, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, July 12

The growing youth population will either be a major contributor to social disruption, political instability, and conflict, or they will shape the future of the world by impacting global economic, social, political, and food security. The determining factor? Our ability to engage youth in agricultural transformation.

Nigeria Floods Worsen Food Shortages, Al Jazeera, July 15

Flooding and heavy rains are affecting many parts of Nigeria. Dozens of people have been killed and crops have been lost, raising fears of a food shortage. As the rains peak in a few weeks’ time, many farming communities living in Nigeria’s fertile basins are bracing for more losses, with wider implications on country’s agricultural output.

SEE ALSO: Nigeria: WFP Partners FAO to Boost Food Production in North-East, AllAfrica, July 18

France Kicks off Campaign for Next Chief of UN Food Agency, Reuters, July 16

France nominated a former head of the European Food Safety Agency as its candidate for the next director of the FAO. There has been no European director general of the Rome-based FAO for over 40 years. It has also never been directed by a woman.

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Rights Groups Urges Myanmar to Make Amends for Seized Land, AP, July 17

Myanmar's government should expedite restitution for past illegal confiscations of land. Previous land seizures there are still harming farmers under the civilian-led government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Farmers who protested the lack of compensation or refused to leave confiscated land often faced criminal prosecution.

Oil-Rich Nigeria Outstrips India as Country with Most People in Poverty, Guardian, July 16

Nigeria, one of Africa’s wealthiest economies, has overtaken India as home to the world’s greatest concentration of extreme poverty, amid warnings that the continent will host nine out of 10 of the world’s poorest people within 12 years. The claim comes as concerns mount that the growth in poverty—and in Africa in particular—is outpacing efforts to eradicate it.

SEE ALSO: Changing Nigeria’s Poverty Narrative, Editorial, Punch, July 12

Buzzwords and Tortuous Impact Studies Won't Fix a Broken Aid System, Editorial, Guardian, July 16

Economists argue that the many billions of dollars spent on aid does little to alleviate poverty while we fail to tackle its root causes. Donors increasingly want to see more impact for their money and practitioners are searching for ways to make their projects more effective. The real problem with the aid effectiveness craze is that it narrows our focus down to micro-interventions at a local level.

Aid Convoy Reaches Southwest Syria - Syrian Arab Red Crescent, Reuters, July 15

A humanitarian aid convoy reached government-held parts of southwest Syria, a Syrian Arab Red Crescent statement said. Sixteen trucks carrying 3,000 food parcels reached the towns of Nassib and Um al-Mayathen in Deraa province near a border crossing with Jordan.

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Frustrated US Lawmakers Threaten Action on Tariffs, AP, July 18

US lawmakers are losing patience with the administration's reliance on tariffs to win trade disputes and are talking increasingly about legislative action. A senior Republican senator has threatened legislation to curb President Donald Trump's trade actions. Meanwhile, lawmakers are using congressional hearings to put the spotlight on the economic fallout for local farmers and businesses.

United States Announces Additional Humanitarian Aid for Venezuelans in Colombia, USAID, July 16

USAID announced that the US is providing more than $6 million in additional humanitarian assistance to support Colombia's efforts to respond to people who are fleeing the crisis in Venezuela. With this new funding, USAID is supporting emergency food assistance, distributing nutrition supplements to children and pregnant women, and providing information management services to facilitate inter-agency coordination.

Why the Breastfeeding Vs. Formula Debate Is Especially Critical in Poor Countries, NPR, July 13

In poor countries, a mother's decision about breastfeeding can be critical for her baby's survival. That's because formula carries special risks for low-income families. The first problem arises because powdered formula requires a dependable source of clean water, which is not available to some 780 million people. Additionally, purchasing formula can use 30 percent or more of an impoverished family's income.

SEE ALSO: 'US Has Long Protected Commercial Interests over Breastfeeding', Al Jazeera, July 17

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Lab-Grown Meat Could Be in Restaurants by 2021, Al Jazeera, July 18

A Dutch company that presented the world's first lab-grown beef burger five years ago said it has received funding to pursue its plans to make and sell artificially grown meat to restaurants in 2021. The aim is to achieve industrial-scale production two to three years later, with a typical hamburger patty costing about one dollar.

CRISPR Can Speed Up Nature – And Change How We Grow Food, Wired, July 17

There is a lot of nervousness about genetic tinkering with food plants. The CRISPR revolution is reinventing, if not reigniting, that debate. Most of the plants that have been gene-edited to date have been created by knocking out genes, not by introducing genes from unrelated species, as first-generation genetic modification generally did.

Can Whatsapp and Motorbikes Protect Africa's Food Security?, Thomson Reuters Foundation, July 13

Large-scale urban migration of youths threatens food production in Africa. Many young Africans see farming as an unattractive option as the industry grapples with climate change, unreliable electricity supplies, poor infrastructure, and barriers to land ownership and finance. There is a need for better infrastructure to connect cities to the countryside and for technology to be made more accessible and affordable.

The Rise of the Robochef, Economist, July 12

For fast-food restaurants, robotic kitchens with limited repertoires look like a promising innovation. For real foodies, though, a robot that can turn its hand to almost anything culinary would be the acme of automation. A British firm aspires to do just that. Its robot chef is intended to emulate a real one—not only in the quality of the meals, but also by being able to learn to cook almost any recipe.

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Bulgarian Farmers Protest against Mass Livestock Slaughter, Reuters, July 18

Hundreds of farmers from around Bulgaria rallied in the capital Sofia against the government-ordered mass slaughter of livestock following the first outbreak in the EU of the highly contagious Peste des Petits Ruminants. The national food safety agency defended the mass slaughter of animals, saying that this was the only possible measure in the situation.

In Parched Afghanistan, Drought Sharpens Water Dispute with Iran, Reuters, July 16

Famers in Afghanistan are calling for dams to be built, which is aggravating tensions with Iran over supplies from the Helmand—a decades-old dispute that has fed accusations that Tehran is helping the Taliban insurgency. Afghan officials say their country, which has one of the lowest levels of water storage capacity in the world, needs the extra dams to feed its agriculture sector.

World’s Oldest Bread Found at Prehistoric Site in Jordan, New York Times, July 16

No matter how you slice it, the discovery shows that hunter-gatherers in the Eastern Mediterranean achieved the cultural milestone of bread-making far earlier than previously known. The flatbread was fashioned from wild cereals such as barley, einkorn, or oats, as well as tubers from an aquatic papyrus relative, that had been ground into flour.

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Omega-3 No Protection Against Heart Attack or Strokes, Say Scientists, Guardian, July 17

The widespread belief that taking omega-3 capsules will help protect you from a heart attack, stroke, or early death is wrong. Small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids—found in certain foods like oily fish, nuts, and seeds—are essential for human health, but a new study finds that there is no evidence the supplements do any good for cardiovascular health.

SEE REPORT: Omega-3 Fatty Acids for the Primary and Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Cochrane Heart Group, July 18

World Chefs Gather to Tackle Issue of Food Waste, Al Jazeera, July 13

At the Congress of the World Association of Chefs Societies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, food experts launched the Food Waste Challenge, a plan that encourages chefs worldwide to start measuring the amount wasted from their kitchens and make a commitment to cut the mountain of discarded food. Roughly one-third of the food produced in the world is lost or wasted before it ends up on the table.

Mare's Milk For Health? Europeans Look to Horses For Ancient Remedy, NPR, July 12

In Europe today, mare's milk remains a niche product, but its reputation as a health elixir is causing trouble for producers in a more regulated age. It is high in vitamin C and iron but low in fat, with levels of lactose and casein that are closer to human breast milk than cow. and fans report it has a sweet, slightly nutty flavor.

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Phosphate Leading to Widespread Pollution, Guardian, July 17

Nitrates from fertilizers are a primary villain in the ongoing polluting of the environment, but far less notice is taken of phosphate, on which approximately half of the world’s food supplies rely. Because plant roots have a hard time absorbing phosphate in the soil, farmers apply heavy doses of it to their fields. Gradually leaking into waterways, it feeds huge algae blooms that starve fish and river ecosystems of oxygen.

SEE REPORT: Phosphorus Cycling in the Soil-Microbe-Plant Continuum of Agri-Ecosystems, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, June 1

Google Boils down Water Data for New UN Environment Site, Thomson Reuters Foundation, July 17

Vast quantities of raw satellite imagery and data will be distilled into an online platform showing how water ecosystems have changed, and how countries can manage them to prevent further loss. Focusing initially on fresh water ecosystems such as rivers and forests, Google will produce geospatial maps and data for a publicly available platform to be launched in October in partnership with the UNEP.

Clean Water for All Is Still Centuries Away, Aid Group Warns, Thomson Reuters Foundation, July 15

Supplying clean water and toilets for all could take hundreds of years in countries like Eritrea and Namibia unless governments step up funding to tackle the problem and its harmful effects on health. Nearly 850 million people lack clean water. Meeting the need will cost $28 billion per year.

Deforestation Ticks Up in Brazil’s Savannah, Nature, July 12

Deforestation in the Cerrado, a vast wooded savannah bordering the southern and eastern Brazilian Amazon, increased by 9 percent in 2017. A number of factors are behind the current trends, including weaker environmental rules in the Cerrado (where landowners can clear as much as 80 percent of the forest) than in the Amazon (where the rule stands at 20 percent).

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Agriculture Tech and Investing Needs A Diversity Overhaul. Here's How, Opinion, Forbes, July 16

Global agribusinesses are playing a critical role in improving gender inclusivity in the industry. Women are leading the way when it comes to agritech research. This can lead to not just an increase of women-led companies and ideas, but also huge financial returns for corporate agribusinesses.

Forced to Walk Miles, India Water Crisis Hits Rural Women Hardest, Thomson Reuters Foundation, July 13

Women in villages who have to walk miles each day to fetch water are bearing the brunt of India’s worst water crisis in history. About 200,000 Indians die every year due to inadequate access to safe water, and 600 million face high to extreme water stress. Most of the affected people are from villages, where the task of fetching water for cleaning, cooking, and washing falls to women.

Libyan Food Delivery Service Looks to Serve Up Gender Equality, All Africa, July 11

In Libya, where only one in four women are employed, a new food delivery app promises to enable women to earn money from their own kitchens. The app connects women who cook at home with customers wanting to order food, in much the same way Uber connects drivers and passengers. The new business opportunity offers income, security, and anonymity for women deprived of economic opportunity.

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Dairy Products 'May Become Luxuries' After UK Leaves EU, Guardian, July 18

Everyday dairy products such as butter, yoghurt, cheese, and infant formula could become luxury items in Britain after Brexit. Britain does not produce enough milk to keep up with demand, creating a dependency on the EU, including on dairy-surplus countries such as Ireland, Germany, France, Belgium, and Denmark.

Budding Business: How Cannabis Could Transform Lebanon, Guardian, July 18

A team of economists and consultants spearheaded by McKinsey & Company is proposing to legalize the cultivation of medical cannabis in Lebanon. Cannabis has been grown, albeit illegally, in Lebanon since the Ottoman Empire, and the fight between cultivators and the government has left the region impoverished.  

France, Germany Call for Stable EU Farm Budget Post-Brexit, Reuters, July 16

Britain’s planned withdrawal next year from the EU will remove a net contributor to the bloc’s overall budget, creating pressure to reduce major spending areas like agriculture. Rejecting a proposal for a reduction for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the farm ministers from France and Germany said in a joint statement they would seek that the budget allocated to the CAP be maintained at its current level.

SEE ALSO: Italy in No Rush to Reject EU-Canada Trade Deal – Farm Minister, New York Times, July 16

US Import Prices Post Biggest Drop in over Two Years, Reuters, July 13

Economists said the unexpected drop in import prices reported by the Labor Department was likely temporary given tariffs imposed by the administration on lumber, steel, and aluminum imports to protect domestic industries from what it says is unfair foreign competition.

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International Agricultural and Food Exhibition Farmer Expo

Date: August 17-20

Location: Debrecen, Hungary

African Green Revolution Forum

Date: September 5-8

Location: Kigali, Rwanda

The International Civil Society Conference on the Sustainable Development Goals

Date: September 11-13

Location: Yaoundé, Cameroon

2018 SCRA Nuts and Bolts Workshop

Date: October 3-5

Location: Riverdale, Maryland

International Phytobiomes Conference 2018

Date: December 4-6

Location: Montpellier, France

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