WTO MEMBERS WELCOME NEW CHAIR OF AGRICULTURE TALKS.

Ambassador Karau replaces New Zealand Ambassador Vangelis Vitalis who returned to his home country in early 2017.

In his address to WTO members, Ambassador Karau said: “I am humbled by the confidence shown in me by the members and would like to assure you that I will carry out my tasks with determination and dedication.”

He stressed that the work ahead in agriculture negotiations remained challenging. “The technical and policy issues involved in the negotiations are complex,” he said, “but that is not the end of it. Agriculture fills a central place in our discussions at the WTO. And food is an essential part of our lives. Therefore everyone has a stake in these negotiations.”

Outlining his plan for the way forward, Ambassador Karau stressed that he is firmly committed to the consensus and transparency principles in agriculture talks. “I know that trust is absolutely essential in my new role as Chair and I commit to working fairly, objectively and transparently with all delegations. I will always listen to you and respect all points of view,” he said.

He informed members of his intention to convene an informal open-ended meeting of the Special Session as well as dedicated sessions on public stockholding for food security purposes and on the special safeguard mechanism for developing countries in the second half of May.

“I know that there is no time to waste with the Buenos Aires Ministerial meeting just around the corner,” he told members.
Ambassador Karau is the tenth chairperson of the agriculture negotiations since talks began in March 2000.
WTO agriculture negotiations chairs:

• March 2000: Roger Farrell (New Zealand, ex officio as Goods Council chairperson)
• June 2000 to March 2001: Jorge Voto-Bernales (Peru)
• March 2001 to Doha Ministerial Conference: Apiradi Tantraporn (Thailand)
• From Doha (Nov 2001, chairing first meeting in March 2002) to Cancún (Sept 2003): Stuart Harbinson (Hong Kong, China)
• From Cancún (Sept 2003, chairing first meeting in March 2004) to summer (July) 2005: Tim Groser (New Zealand)
• From summer (Sept) 2005 to April 2009: Crawford Falconer (New Zealand)
• From April 2009 to June 2011: David Walker (New Zealand)
• From November 2011 to July 2015: John Adank (New Zealand)
• From September 2015 to November 2016: Vangelis Vitalis (New Zealand) . NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

CHALLENGES, YIELD THREATS OF CATCH-UP PLANTING.

A survey of 700 corn farmers conducted by Dragotec USA shows that more than 48% say delayed planting is their biggest concern among all yield-limiting factors. In addition, excessive moisture and soil compaction are among the top-10 variables, both of which are part of the equation this spring.

Leading up to this month when most of the Corn Belt’s crop is planted, April has been anything but friendly to the majority of corn farmers. That has meant a slow start to planting. While farmers have the equipment to plant a lot of corn fairly quickly today, the first few steps out of the starting gate could come back to haunt farmers later on in the season in the form of yield loss potential. Playing catch-up during planting can lead to compaction and other field conditions that may lead to crop variability manifested later in the season as yield loss, warns Fenton, Iowa, farmer and Dragotec USA president Dennis Bollig.

“Soil compaction can absolutely blow up in a wet spring. Even with a good tillage program, your tractor is causing compaction, and a field cultivator is not going to overcome that,” Bollig explains. “Compaction can cause a lot of variability within a field and ultimately lead to a challenging harvest, and wet springs like this year can cause a lot of issues with compaction.”

Bumping up planting speeds can sometimes lead to more compaction, regardless of the moisture and overall condition of the soil during planting. “The faster you drive with your planter, the more down pressure you need to keep the row unit on the ground,” Bollig warns.

“Today’s high-tech planters can control down pressure better, so they’re trying not to exert any more than what is needed to get the seed in the ground at the proper depth. Differences in down pressure can cause variability, and that can create microenvironments in your fields. Though planters can adjust to a lot of that variability, it still affects yield in the long-run.” BY DAVE MOWITZ.

FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR THE WORLD AGRIC TECH DEMO DAY.

Rethink Events, hosts of San Francisco’s upcoming World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit, together with Royse AgTech Innovation Network, are delighted to announce the twelve companies selected to pitch their ag and food-tech solutions to local VCs at the newly launched “World Agri-Tech Demo Day”.

The Demo Day, taking place on March 27, offers an opportunity to very early-stage, pre-revenue companies with exciting solutions in sustainable agriculture, farm management, animal health and food processing to showcase their solutions to potential investors.

The company judged to make the best pitch will be invited to present at the main World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit, taking place the following day, which attracts more than 500 agribusiness leaders from around the globe.

Selected from dozens of applicants, the winning twelve companies are:

• 3Bar Biologics: A sustainable microbe inoculant system that helps farmers increase crop yield
• Aurovant: Using satellite and drone imagery to provide an exact prescription of nitrogen fertilization needs
• EnduraBio: A platform for salt tolerance in crop plants allowing higher growth and yields from crops
• Evja: A Decision Support System using sensors, weather data and predictive models
• Foodfully: Software and hardware to eliminate food waste in both household and commercial environments
• Genoverde: Plant-based gene technologies to increase agricultural yield through enhanced CO2 sequestration
• InnovaNutra: All natural ingredient formulations to improve shelf-life of food ingredients without preservatives
• Mazen Animal Health: Oral vaccines in an efficient, cost-effective system that eliminates the need for refrigeration
• Mimetics: Bio-computation technology offering the ability to directly infer the Gene Regulatory Networks (GRNs) from standard time series RNA-seq data
• Montage for Ag: Farm management software to improve operations and increase yield
• Phyto Synthetix: Supplemental lighting technology to increase greenhouses crop production profitability
• Wisran: Measuring live the activities costs for farmers to improve profits

“The goal of the Demo Day is to identify a new wave of start-ups with big ideas that can disrupt the way we grow, harvest, create and deliver our food,” said Jennie Moss, Founder of Rethink Events. “We also want to enable more start-ups to participate in the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit where these companies can meet the investors, accelerators and partners who can help take their products to market.”

“AgTech is the newest big thing in Silicon Valley” said Roger Royse, founder of the Royse Law Firm and the Royse AgTech Innovation Network. “The past five years have seen the Silicon Valley innovation engine applying its resources to solving the problems of food production. California is the nation’s largest agricultural producer, and is also the headquarters of one fourth of the nation’s VC investment and much of its technology, creating a perfect storm for innovation in ag.” SOURCE- RETHINK EVENTS LTD.

NCC READY TO WORK WITH NEW AGRICULTURE SECRETARY.

Memphis, Tenn. -- The National Cotton Council congratulates former Georgia governor Sonny Perdue on his nomination for Secretary of Agriculture.

'Our industry looks forward to working with Governor Perdue as he leads USDA to help ensure a strong and viable agricultural and rural economy, including important actions necessary for the stabilization of the U.S. cotton industry,' NCC Chairman Shane Stephens said. 'It is encouraging to see a Secretary of Agriculture nominee with a strong production agriculture and agribusiness background and with experience, who comes from the second largest cotton-producing state.'

Stephens said the NCC stands ready to work with Governor Perdue and the senior leadership team that will be put in place at USDA to carry out the Department's important mission ‎and service to American agriculture.

As the U.S. cotton industry’s central organization, the NCC represents 25,000-plus industry members that include cotton farmers as well as ginners, cottonseed processors and merchandizers, merchants, cooperatives, warehousers, and textile manufacturers. Farms and businesses directly involved in the production, distribution and processing of cotton employ more than 230,000 workers and produce direct business revenue of more than $27 billion. SOURCE-NATIONAL COTTON COUNCIL OF AMERICA.

BIONOVELUS REVEALS NEW GREEN SOLUTION FOR FOOD SECURITY AND INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL FAIR.

CEO and Chairman, Jean Ekobo, Reports Strong Interest at the International Exhibition

Phoenix -- With ever increasing interest internationally in organic agriculture, BioNovelus’ (PINKSHEETS: ONOV) booth at Agritrade Expo and Conference which took place March 23 and 24 in Guatemala commanded a lot of attention during the two-day fair.

BioNovelus CEO and President, Jean Ekobo, who led the company’s Central American delegation, was not surprised that interest in the company’s new organic sanitizer, CR-10 Disinfectant, was very high.

“After many months of research and testing, we chose Agritrade as the place to debut our new green disinfectant,” said Ekobo. “This is an exciting offspring of our organic CR-10 Biofungicide, already known for killing bacteria, fungi and spores rapidly, safely and effectively.”
This new green product, CR-10 Disinfectant, opens up a brand new market to BioNovelus. Management believes it is the solution to the growing demand for an organic sanitizer for postharvest agriculture.

Ekobo reports that CR-10 Disinfectant received a lot of interest from organic food providers at the Agritrade Expo. Potential customers included coffee producers, where CR-10 Biofungicide is still in the testing process, and interest came from other types of food producers — most of them shipping their produce to the US — including bananas, mangoes, baby carrots, baby zucchinis, tomatoes, green beans, and others.

In the wake of the recent foodborne diseases affecting companies such as Chipotle, Starbucks and Costco, food security has become a crucial priority both for the producers and food distributors.
Research has shown that CR-10 Disinfectant kills bacteria and viruses on contact, including E. coli, Salmonella, Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), Campylobacter, Norwalk virus (Norovirus), and others [Source: Dr. M. Oulé, Ph.D. – University of Saint Boniface, Canada] Management believes that it is safer, easier, and more effective to kill these sources of foodborne poisoning with BioNovelus’ food sanitizer than for food producers to use toxic chemicals such as bleach, alcohol, or quaternary ammonium based products.

Because CR-10 Disinfectant is organic, non-toxic, 100 percent biodegradable, and has a longer efficacy life span protection effect [Source: Dr. M. Oulé, Ph.D. – University of Saint Boniface, Canada], the company believes it is a real gamechanger in the food biosecurity space. BY BIONOVELUS INC.

KENTUCKY CATTLEMAN TESTIFIES BEFORE U.S HOUSE SMALL BUSINESS SUB COMMITTEE

Calls on Congress to Address Regulatory Reform, Repeal Federal Estate Tax

WASHINGTON -- Today, Tim White, a cattle producer from Lexington, Kentucky, testified before the House Small Business Committee’s Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy, and Trade regarding the future of America’s small family farms. In his testimony, White called on Congress to address the overly burdensome regulatory environment that is hampering rural America, repeal the federal estate tax, and to ensure the 2018 Farm Bill works for America’s cattle producers.

White said that as a small business owner, one of the biggest concerns he faces is over-regulation. EPA’s “waters of the United States” he said is a prime example of overregulation that would subject farmers and ranchers to unnecessary and costly permitting process.

“As a family-owned business, and knowing the detrimental impact this regulation could have on my operation, it is appalling that the agencies asserted that it would not have a significant economic impact on small businesses.”

White also called for the repeal of the federal estate tax, which is a leading cause of the breakup of multi-generational family farms.

“U.S. livestock producers understand and appreciate the role that taxes play in maintaining and improving our nation in many ways, however, they also believe that the most effective tax code is a fair one,” explained White. “For this reason, a full, immediate repeal of the estate tax must be a top priority as Congress considers comprehensive tax reform legislation.”

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 permanently extended the estate tax exemption level to $5 million per person/$10 million per couple. White said, “While we are grateful for the ATRA, the current state of our economy has left many agricultural producers guessing about their ability to plan for estate tax liabilities.”

White concluded his testimony discussing the 2018 Farm Bill and how it could positively or negatively affect many small family farms and ranches.

White stressed the farm bill must include a strong research title to ensure that the industry can remain as efficient and competitive as we can be in producing beef, a strong conservation title to protect programs like EQIP which have been very successful in helping producers do even more to protect our resources, as well as a robust animal health program including a FMD vaccine bank to respond to any potential outbreaks which would have a devastating impact on the nation’s beef industry.

“Estimates show that an FMD outbreak in the United States could cost our nation’s livestock producers billions of dollars in the first 12 months alone, “said White. “NCBA will be requesting support for the creation of a larger and more adequate FMD vaccine bank within the 2018 Farm Bill to include funding of $150 million dollars a year over five years. We feel that this FMD vaccine bank is vitally important to the beef industry as countries around the globe continue to grapple with this disease.”

Additionally, White said cattlemen oppose any attempt at government intervention in the marketplace, including mandatory Country-of-Origin labelling. BY NATIONAL CATTLEMENS BEEF ASSOCIATION.

TANZANIA ON HIGH ALERT AS BANANA DISEASE APPROACHES BORDER

Tanzania's agriculture researchers are on high alert in order to contain a deadly banana disease which they fear could cross their border with Mozambique. The disease is said to wipe-out 100 per cent of a plantation.

The disease, Fusarium wilt Tropical Race 4 (TR4) affecting Cavendish bananas, has already been reported in northern Mozambique -- near the country's southern border. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Plant Virologist, Dr James Legg said Fusarium -- Panama disease -- is more deadly than the TR1, currently ravaging banana plantations in Kagera.

To stop it reaching other areas, strict quarantine regulations are needed he says, whereby moving infected soil, plants or parts of plants and stopping banana production in affected farms, should be done.

According to a report by CGIAR, in northern Mozambique, it is estimated that affected farms has already lost more than 7.5 million US dollars due to TR4 infection. Also, over 500,000 plants -- more than 300 hectares -- have been affected by the pathogen since the outbreak, some three years ago. SOURCE- ALLAFRICA.COM

A CHALLENGING SEASON-BUT NOTHING WE HADNT SEEN BEFORE.

Last season saw a few ups and downs for the South African grape producers: Namibia with a good harvest, worries about not enough rain, then too much, the thread of hail just when the harvest is ready. How the different markets would be and a constant worry for South African exporters: the exchange rate.

"Different areas had different challenges," according to Pieter Karsten from the Karsten Group. "The Namibian season was looking strong and then just dropped off short of the expected finishing date which was positive for the growers on the Orange River in South Africa, but we also had quite a bit of production ourselves and were fairly early on the white which put the market under pressure. The late grapes from the Orange River had trouble with rain which lead to quality issues.

Production of the red varieties was good but prices were a bit under pressure in some market sectors, crimson did well though. Most of South Africa's grape growers are trialling new varieties, most of them late red ones, some of which are already in commercial volumes.

"We have a few of the new varieties in commercial volumes but you really can't tell how successful they are going to be from just a couple seasons, they need to be tried and tested over a few seasons," explains Pieter.  "Climatic conditions and market conditions differ each season, so the grapes have to go for a couple of years before you know which ones will be the best all round varieties. All in all it was a challenging season but nothing that we hadn't seen before."

South Africa's currency is always a bit volatile and for a while it strengthened making it more challenging for the exporters, but now the political situation has weakened it again. This good for exports at the moment but most exporters will agree that long term it is not a good thing. The whole political situation is unstable and Pieter reckons they are in for a rough ride as the fight for the leadership of the ANC continues.

Although there has been good rain in parts of the country, water levels in the Cape are critical, not just for agriculture but also for the populations of the towns where they are potentially running out of water. Cape Town needs to have a cold winter with snow on the mountains. Pieter is not aware of any crop losses on grapes at this point, but if this is another low rainfall winter it is going to be difficult. NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

SYNGENTA INVSTS IN SUSTAINABLE SEEDLING DISTRIBUTION IN ZAMBIA.

Smallholder farmers in Zambia will soon be able to access high-quality disease-free horticultural seedlings through a $1.8 million project by MRI Seed, a subsidiary of Syngenta Zambia, in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation programme.

“For Syngenta, smallholder farmers around the world and in Zambia are key to solving the growing gap between the supply and demand for affordable food,” said Mark Stokes, Head of Customer Marketing, Syngenta Zambia.

The project aims to build a sustainable seedling distribution model for hybrid vegetables; provide access to market information and linkages; train farmers in good agricultural practices and business management; and introduce new technologies to smallholder farmers.

It will test the commercial viability of innovative business models designed to enable the farmers to increase their agricultural output, and thus their profitability, safely and sustainably.

Syngenta will establish 20 seedling sites in 20 districts across Zambia, each owned and operated by an Entrepreneurial Young Plant Raiser (YPR).

The YPR will provide business and technical training; and facilitate market linkages for 12,000 smallholder farmers.

The project will focus on tomato and cabbage seedlings but Syngenta will conduct trials and testing on the commercial viability of kale (rape), cauliflower, broccoli, carrot and potato - crops with a high potential in Zambia.

The company will also help promote a pilot programme for YPR’s “Vegetable in a Bag” concept where a small portion of YPR seedlings will be sold in reusable packaging, with no ground soil and minimal water, making them suitable for urban and peri-urban use. SOURCE- SYNGENTA.

NIGERIA LOOSING BILLIONS ANNUALLY FROM CASHEW EXPORTS.

Nigeria has been losing billions annually from Cashew nut tree according to data from the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), due to lack of value addition and Nigeria’s inability to process cashew nuts in significant quantities for export, the country lost $1.4 billion in 2016.


According to the information, Nigeria exported a total of 160,000 metric tonnes of cashew valued at $300 million in 2016. This was far behind what farmers and exporters could have earned assuming there were processing factories that could process cashew nuts to export standards.


Recently, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, said Nigeria would start exporting processed cashew nuts by 2019, adding that currently a tonne of processed cashew nuts, when exported, is sold for $10,000 while the raw cashew nuts are sold at $1,200.


He explained: “It would be beneficial to process the nuts and export rather than exporting the nuts raw. So in the next two years, we will no longer export raw cashew nuts, but roast the cashew nuts for export. "SOURCE LEADERSHIP.NG.