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)
Crops
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
Food prices held steady in August
The FAO Food Price Index, a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, averaged 213 points in August 2012, unchanged from July
Climate change could severely impact Asia’s wheat and maize yield in 2020s
Climate change is expected to have a serious impact on Asias wheat and maize production as early as the 2020s – with a potentially devastating effect on food security, a report warns.