The Asian green revolution trebled grain yields through agrochemical intensification of monocultures. Associated environmental costs have subsequently emerged. A rapidly changing world necessitates sustainability principles be developed to reinvent these technologies and test them at scale. The need is particularly urgent in Africa, where ecosystems are degrading and crop yields have stagnated.
Potential interactions between food production and climate mitigation are explored for two situations in sub-Saharan Africa, where deforestation and land degradation overlap with hunger and poverty.
Rajasthan signs agreements with seven biotech companies to restructure agriculture. Read this special report on the fundamental shift in the way farming operates in India by giving private companies access to the state’s research facilities to test and market their hybrid seeds and other technologies.
KOCHI: The maize harvest mela organised by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) saw the first harvest of maize crop (Zea mays.L) which recorded an yield of 40 quintals an acre.
The harvest was inaugurated by CMFRI director G Syda Rao, and the meeting was attended by progressive farmers from Kadamakkudy, Karumaloor, Mukkannoor and Kothamangalam, and CMFRI scientists and techni
Transgenic maize engineered to express insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has become widely adopted in U.S. agriculture. In 2009, Bt maize was planted on more than 22.2 million hectares, constituting 63% of the U.S. crop.
Genetically engineered crops represent one of the most controversial and rapidly adopted technologies in the history of agriculture. First grown commercially in 1996, transgenic crops covered 135 million hectares (ha) in 25 countries during 2009.
The international food price crisis in 2007/08 corresponded with significant price increases in domestic markets across the developing world. Prices rose in most Asian countries, but not to world levels. China, India and Indonesia saw no significant increases.
An Italian court has imposed a 25,000 euro ($33,670) fine on a farmer for illegally growing genetically modified maize and ordered him to destroy the crop, but the farmer said on Tuesday he would appeal the decision.
Italy has banned cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops pending approval of rules on co-existence of GM and traditional crops.
Punjab-based farmers, who are known for feeding the country, now want to try their hands offshore, with a group of progressive farmers all set to acquire 50,000 hectare on lease in Ethiopia for growing high-value cash crops, including pulses and maize.
Dilip Kumar Jha / Mumbai August 19, 2010, 0:41 IST
Monsanto India (MIL), the leading hybrid seed and technology provider, plans to launch two high-yielding hybrid variety of maize, next year.
The premium seeds Dekalb 9108 and Dekalb 9106 will be available during spring and the kharif seasons in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, respectively.
Dekalb is now available in 14 high-yielding hybrid variet
