Global grain production is expected to reach a record high of 2.4bn tonnes in 2012, an increase of one per cent from 2011 levels, according to new research conducted by the Worldwatch Institutes Nourishing the Planet project
Crops
Study claims organic food will not make you healthier
A new study conducted by researchers at Stanford University reveals that eating organic food will not make you healthier, although it could cut your exposure to pesticides
Thai smallholders show support for sustainable palm oil production

Smallholders from Thailand are leading the way in sustainable palm oil production. (Image source: oneVillage Initiative/Flickr)
A group of independent smallholders from Thailand are leading the way in sustainable palm oil production by becoming the first in the world to sign up to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
More fluid approach needed for plant nutrition
Targeting soluble nutrients by spraying or fertigation (nutrients dissolved in irrigation water) onto the foliage gives a more efficient and effective outcome
Underground solution to starving rice plants
Scientists have pinpointed a gene that enables rice plants to produce around 20 per cent more grain by increasing uptake of phosphorus, an important, but limited, plant nutrient