Agriculture

• Friday, November 13th 2009 - 01:23 UTC

  Cuba drastically slashes “farm bureaucracy” to boost food production

  

  One of the major ills of Cuba’s state-run agricultural enterprises is “the excess of non-productive personnel,” Communist Party daily Granma said this week. The newspaper estimated the number of redundant employees in the state farming sector at 89,000, or 26% of the total.

• Friday, October 30th 2009 - 21:59 UTC

  Argentina buys wine from Chile to face shortfall in production

  

  Still hurting from a yearlong drought, Argentina is turning to Chile for wine imports in order to keep up with popular demand for wine.

• Thursday, October 29th 2009 - 02:32 UTC

  Massive support for French farmers; Sarkozy blasts commodities speculation

  

  French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a 650-million Euro exceptional aid plan for France's subsidized but still struggling farmers, along with one billion Euros in cheap loans. He also called on the European Commission to limit market speculation on agricultural commodities prices.

• Friday, October 16th 2009 - 05:25 UTC

  Argentine wheat crop, and export surplus, lowest of 32 harvests

  

  With the lowest wheat area in 111 years, Argentina expects a 2009/10 crop of 7.5 million tons, the worst in the last 32 seasons, which means exports, --and tax revenue--, will be ten times less than the 2007/08 crop according to the Argentine Rural Society Economics Department.

• Wednesday, October 14th 2009 - 06:37 UTC

  Argentine farmers anticipate dismal crops except for soybeans

  

  Argentina’s farmers will be investing 4.878 billion US dollars in the 2009/2010 crop season which represents a drop of 32.6% compared to the previous cycle according to different farmers organizations quoted this week in Buenos Aires media.

• Friday, October 9th 2009 - 12:00 UTC

  FAO targets 2050 and how to feed a population of 9.1 billion

  

  The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said on Thursday major investment needs to be made in developing world agriculture. The FAO says that with rapid population growth and changing diets, agricultural production will need to grow by 70% before 2050.

• Friday, October 9th 2009 - 11:55 UTC

  Turbulence ahead for world rice market as stockpiles plunge

  

  Rice stockpiles of the world’s five largest exporters are forecast to plunge by a third to the lowest level in five years, and below last year when prices surged to a record, according to Concepction Calpe, senior economist at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

• Thursday, October 8th 2009 - 07:16 UTC

  Chile slaps 15% safeguard on Argentine, Uruguayan milk and cheese imports

  

  Chilean dairy farmers on Wednesday expressed satisfaction with the government’s decision to impose safeguards on powder milk (whole and skinned) and Gouda cheese from Argentina and Uruguay.

• Thursday, October 8th 2009 - 02:19 UTC

  Prospects of another record grains crop for Brazil: 141.1 million tons

  

  Brazil expects the coming 2009/2010 grains crop to reach 141.1 million tons, which represents an increase in the range of 2.9% to 4.8% over the 2008/09 record harvest of 135.16 million tons, according to the country’s National Supply Corportion, Conab.

• Tuesday, October 6th 2009 - 23:31 UTC

  Uruguayan farmers planning to plant a record 700.000 hectares of soy beans

  

  Uruguay’s farmland dedicated to soy beans could establish a new expansion record this coming summer: 700.000 hectares. This included the 540.000 currently with wheat and other winter crops.