North Kivu is a war-torn province that used to be called the breadbasket of the Congo. Now, some farmers are being trained to increase their productivity with fertilizer. The International Fertility Development Center is supporting the project. The IFDC is anonprofit group based in the United States. The project includes planting trees. Trees help prevent the loss of soil through […]
Food prices have risen sharply over the past few years. The good news is that the rate of increase has slowed. The bad news is that prices will not go down anytime soon. Also, the rate of global agricultural production is slowing. Yet it needs to increase sixty percent over the next forty years to […]
The United States is suffering its worst drought in almost sixty years. Moderate to extreme dry conditions spread to fifty-five percent of the continental United States in June. That was the most since December of nineteen fifty-six. The National Climatic Data Center also says high temperatures in June added to the warmest twelve-month period on […]
A drought across much of the United States is forcing farmers to make difficult decisions. Damage to corn and soybeans is already severe in the hardest-hit areas. Alan Bowers Junior is a farmer in the state of Illinois in the Midwest. ALAN BOWERS JR.: “You get up in the morning, and you think it might be another […]
America is the world’s largest food exporter. But the worst drought in half a century is hitting corn and wheat harvests. The drought across the central United States adds to concerns about world food supplies and prices in the coming years. Experts say by 2050, the world will have to produce at least 60 percent […]
American officials have sharply reduced their expectations for this year’s corn and soybean crops. Farmers in the Midwest are struggling with record heat and the worst drought in years. The United States is the world’s largest producer of corn and soybeans. In August, the Agriculture Department predicted that corn production would total 10.8 billion bushels […]
Officials in Kenya are fighting a deadly disease attacking maize crops. Some Kenyan farmers say the disease has reduced crop production by as much as 60 percent. Last September, farmers in Bomet reported that a disease was destroying their maize or corn. The disease is called “maize lethal necrosis.” It makes the plant turn yellow […]
Onions come in different sizes, shapes, colors and flavors, from mild and sweet to hot and strong. A full-grown onion plant has roots, bulbs and leaves. The leaves are long, thin and hollow. They stand straight up and thicken at the bottom to form a bulb. Onions are biennials; their life cycle is two years long. But […]
This summer, the remains of what had been Hurricane Isaac moved over the American Midwest. The storm brought rain to areas suffering from a severe drought. But the rain came too late to save many farmers’ corn and soybean crops. Crop insurance will help limit financial losses. But crop insurance is a tool that is not available […]
A small non-profit company in Cambodia is turning used cooking oil into high-quality biodiesel fuel. The idea is to reduce air pollution caused by low-quality diesel made from petroleum. In Cambodia, heavy trucks usually use petroleum diesel. So do many older cars. The diesel sold in Cambodia is a high-sulfur fuel. It is banned in more developed […]