Agriculture

• Saturday, November 26th 2011 - 03:16 UTC

  Bolivia admits 26.1% live in extreme poverty but not on the hunger fringe

  

  The Bolivian government strongly rejected a statement from a FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization) official saying that 26% of the population (2.5 million people) is on the hunger fringe since they can not satisfy their basic food needs.

• Saturday, November 26th 2011 - 03:15 UTC

  Cuba opens bank loans for small businesses, private farmers and house repair

  

  Cuba has authorised banks to loan money to small businesses, private farmers and people who want to repair or build homes - a revolutionary step for the island's government.

• Saturday, November 26th 2011 - 03:12 UTC

  FAO estimates record oilseed production but soybean crop will be down

  

  Global oilseed production is estimated at record 472 million tons in the 2011-12 marketing year starting October but the growth in output will be subdued, FAO said in a report. Similarly soy bean production is expected to fall to 260.7 million tons from 265.8 million in 2010/2011.

• Thursday, November 24th 2011 - 22:57 UTC

  Mercosur calls on Doha Round for an end of all farm export incentives by 2013

  

  Agriculture ministers from Mercosur full members plus Chile and Bolivia, as members of the Agriculture Council of the South, CAS, urged a quick conclusion of the World Trade Organization Doha Round negotiations to help combat poverty and ensure food security.

• Tuesday, November 22nd 2011 - 22:07 UTC

  Uruguay’s central bank confident about commodities’ price prospects

  

  Uruguay’s Central bank sees “few probabilities” of a strong deceleration in emerging economies or a ‘significant’ fall in commodities prices even when lately there has been a drop in the value of grains although still above their historic average.

• Tuesday, November 22nd 2011 - 01:46 UTC

  World Bank loan to help Uruguayan farmers address climate change consequences

  

  The World Bank approved last week a loan for 49 million dollars to support Uruguayan farmers in adopting environmentally sustainable practices to improve the resilience of their production systems in response to the effects of climate variability.

• Monday, November 21st 2011 - 07:10 UTC

  Argentina forecasts 49.5 million tons of soybeans 12 million tons of wheat

  

  Argentina's 2011-12 soybean area will likely rise 0.6% on the year to 19 million hectares, the Agriculture Ministry said in its weekly crop report. The forecast is the first from the ministry for soybeans, the country's top crop and export.

• Monday, November 21st 2011 - 04:16 UTC

  EU members settle for a budget increase of 2%; UK hails it as an ‘excellent deal’

  

  The European Union has been forced to accept a 2% rise in its budget next year, much less than the increase it wanted of around 5%.

• Thursday, November 17th 2011 - 23:41 UTC

  Paraguay’s wheat exports doubled in a year to over a million tons

  

  Paraguay’s wheat exports have doubled in 2011 compared to the previous year and has increased 33 fold in the last decade, and this has been based on a government-private effort of investing in scientific research and technology.

• Monday, November 14th 2011 - 21:21 UTC

  Falklands establishes agriculture and trade cooperation links with Uruguay

  

  If proof was ever needed that adversity leads to a greater determination to succeed, it has been amply provided in a recent trip by the Falkland Islands Senior Agricultural Advisor, “Mac” McArthur, on a trade mission and cultural visit to Uruguay.