As in the US, many British beekeepers fear they are witnessing the start of an alarming phenomenon which is sweeping the US and Europe. Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is possibly the most serious disease yet faced by bees. Because bees pollinate millions of hectares of fruit trees and crops, the implications for agriculture are enormous.

The sudden unexplained loss of millions of bees in the Niagara region – up to 90 per cent in some commercial colonies – has prompted Ontario beekeepers to ask experts at the University of Guelph to investigate.

After analyzing published studies on yields from organic farming, a professor at the University of Michigan states that organic farming is just as efficient, or better, as conventional farming.

The researchers state:

“Organic farming can yield up to three times as much food as conventional farming in developing countries, and holds its own against standard methods in rich countries.”

Maize, vegetables and fruit are having trouble surviving the heatwave that has swept through the Serb Republic. As a result, production may be as low as half in Bosnia this year.

Aflatoxin, a toxic chemical, dangerous if consumed in large quantities, is found on maize, goundnuts, sorghum and cassava. Traditional testing methods for this toxin are expensive and hence, not readily available to African farmers. However, an inexpensive kit developed by the Internationsl Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) allows these farmers to now test their crops for as low as $1 per test.

German grain trading house Toepfer International, a unit of US agribusiness Archer Daniels Midland Co. states that grain and oilseed prices will remain high due to rising grain production for biofuels.

“As simultaneously demand for food and animal feed continues to rise, above all in rapidly developing countries including China and India, all market participants, especially processing companies, must prepare themselves for a long phase of relatively high prices for agricultural commodities.”

Changing weather patterns caused by Climate Change have affected crops in the Ivory Coast. Low rainfall in that region has seriously affected crop production. In response, crops need to be modified to adapt?

“We can’t stay here doing nothing. Since we can’t change the climate, we can adapt our agriculture to the climate,” said Amoncho Adiko, head of research at the CNRA.

Germany has drafted rules for the cultivation of GMO crops, including a buffer zone of 150m between GMOs and conventional crops and 300m between GMOs and organic crops.

Under this rule, farmers may also be liable to pay a fine if neighbouring fields are tainted with more than 0.9% GMO content.