Category Archives: Farming

Bhutan hosts first ‘conscious food summit’ amid threats to global supplies

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Organisers say people must revive spiritual relationship with food amid double threat of climate crisis and conflict

Mending the broken food system under the threat of climate-driven weather extremes will require more than economic fixes and intensive agriculture, according to the organisers of a pioneering summit this week, who say the world must revive its spiritual relationship with food.

Delegates from more than 60 countries and the UN will gather for the next five days in Paro in the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan for the world’s first “conscious food summit”, which will bring together governments and farmers, mindfulness experts and yoga therapists.

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UK relies on heat-stressed countries for fruit and veg it could grow itself – report

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Food Foundation sounds alarm over supply risks and price shocks as about 40% of Britain’s food is imported

The UK is vulnerable to food price shocks because of its dependence on imports of fruit and vegetable from countries even more exposed to the climate crisis, researchers say.

Much of Britain has sweltered under a record five heatwaves this year and endured drought and wildfires, with the hot, dry conditions damaging crops and reducing yields of domestic produce.

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European farmers face ‘unprecedented crisis’ after successive heatwaves

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Vegetable and grain growers call for urgent action, warning of ‘catastrophic’ harvests due to continent-wide drought

Successive intense heatwaves and an increasingly severe, continent-wide drought have left many of Europe’s farmers in an “unprecedented” crisis, with vegetable and grain growers in particular warning of “catastrophic” harvests.

French vegetable production is down by “a very significant extent” compared with previous years, French growers have said, with shortfalls put at 25% for courgettes, 35% for lettuces, 40% for peas, 60% for broccoli and 50% to 100% for artichokes.

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European farmers face ‘unprecedented crisis’ after successive heatwaves

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Vegetable and grain growers call for urgent action, warning of ‘catastrophic’ harvests due to continent-wide drought

Successive intense heatwaves and an increasingly severe, continent-wide drought have left many of Europe’s farmers in an “unprecedented” crisis, with vegetable and grain growers in particular warning of “catastrophic” harvests.

French vegetable production is down by “a very significant extent” compared with previous years, French growers have said, with shortfalls put at 25% for courgettes, 35% for lettuces, 40% for peas, 60% for broccoli and 50% to 100% for artichokes.

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Burnham announces £65m for drought-hit farmers after Labour pressure

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PM steps up climate response with measures including better water access and support for building farm reservoirs

Farmers must not carry the risks of the climate crisis alone, Andy Burnham has said, as he announced £65m of funding to help them manage the devastating drought.

The prime minister is stepping up his response to the immediate climate crisis after facing a backlash from his own MPs and Labour’s grassroots for not addressing the climate crisis despite wildfires tearing through Britain and a drought affecting food producers. Labour MPs argued Burnham had taken too long to talk about the climate crisis and had not made it a priority.

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Halting the march of the armyworm: fungus discovery offers hope to African farmers

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South African scientist’s breakthrough research shows soil fungus could be used in fight against devastating crop pest

Hearing about fields full of dead caterpillars enveloped in a mysterious white substance intrigued the South African scientist Letodi Luki Mathulwe. Something was killing off the African armyworm – one of the most devastating pests for farmers in east and southern Africa.

The white substance was a naturally occurring fungus and it was wiping out the caterpillar, which gained its name from its march-like advance through fields of crops.

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Adapting to global heating: which UK public services are struggling in hot weather?

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As NHS told to prepare for extreme weather, strain also felt in other areas including transport and farming

The NHS has been told it must become more resilient to increasingly frequent heatwaves supercharged by the climate crisis, as the UK government puts adaptation to extreme heat high on its agenda. But what other public services are already feeling the strain?

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Adapting to global heating: which UK public services are struggling in hot weather?

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As NHS told to prepare for extreme weather, strain also felt in other areas including transport and farming

The NHS has been told it must become more resilient to increasingly frequent heatwaves supercharged by the climate crisis, as the UK government puts adaptation to extreme heat high on its agenda. But what other public services are already feeling the strain?

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Price of olive oil expected to rise again as European crops feel the heat

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Farmers warn impact of high temperatures, drought and wildfires on range of foodstuffs means costs will increase

Farmers across Europe are warning of a slump in food production and rising prices as crops from maize to salads suffer as a result of extreme heat, drought and wildfires.

Olive groves have also been hit as the climate crisis drives temperatures across the continent to fresh record highs, meaning the cost of olive oil – already at elevated levels – is expected to start rising again.

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Fifteen elephant deaths at Kenya park may be due to cyanide poisoning

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Analysis of samples collected from carcasses found traces of toxic chemical compound, says Kenya Wildlife Service

The recent deaths of 15 elephants near a park in southern Kenya in the past month were likely caused by the animals ingesting pesticides used on nearby tomato farms, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has said.

Erustus Kanga, the agency’s director general, told Citizen TV that analysis of samples collected from the carcasses had found traces of cyanide, a chemical compound used in farming as a predator control poison and a pest fumigant, which has also been used by poachers.

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‘Scandalous, irrational and irresponsible’: French beekeepers’ fury at lifting of pesticides ban

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Allowing use of two neonicotinoids to combat crop-ruining disease will kill bees and reduce harvests, union says

Beekeepers and environmentalists in France have reacted furiously after parliament approved a bill reauthorising two banned pesticides scientists say can poison bees.

“There are no words to describe the frustration,” said Carolyn Bouguet, a beekeeper in Essonne, greater Paris. “Bee populations have already been badly compromised by climate change, new parasites and loss of habitat. And now this.”

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House Republicans to write $95bn bill to fund Iran war and aid farmers

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GOP-controlled chamber paves way for reconciliation bill, while making long-shot attempt at new voting restrictions

House Republicans on Wednesday agreed to begin the process of writing a $95bn bill to fund the war with Iran as well as provide new aid to farmers, while making a long-shot attempt to impose new restrictions on voting nationwide.

In a virtually party-line 216-214, the Republican-controlled chamber passed a budget resolution that paves the way for the creation of a reconciliation bill, which can advance through the Senate under special rules that circumvent the Democratic filibuster and requires only a simple majority to pass. Two Republicans – Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, as well as Kevin Kiley, an independent of California who aligns with the GOP – joined all Democrats in opposing the measure.

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Food price fears after Europe’s heatwave destroys estimated €2bn of crops

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Record June temperatures expected to cut grain harvest by 9m tonnes to its lowest level since 2018

The heatwave that swept across Europe in June is estimated to have cost the continent’s grain farmers €2bn (£1.7bn) in lost revenue and destroyed 9m tonnes of crops, sparking concern about the impact on the price of food.

Coceral, the European cereals and oilseeds trade association, made the estimate for the harvest of crops such as wheat, barley, maize and oats following the heatwave.

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​World largest meat company faces legal challenge over green credentials of $6bn global expansion

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Greenpeace petitions Dutch courts to order JBS to disclose how its aims are compatible with responsibilities to climate and human rights

The world’s biggest meat company, JBS, faces a landmark legal challenge to disclose how its $6bn (£4.5bn) global expansion plan is compatible with responsibilities to the climate, nature and human rights.

Courts in the Netherlands, where JBS is headquartered, will assess the petition filed by Greenpeace for information on whether the company is compliant with Dutch laws on “duty of care” as well as its own publicly stated commitments.

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Berry tough: Ribena seeks to make hardier blackcurrants to beat extreme weather

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£200,000 investment comes after harvests in Britain hit by wet winter, spring frost and hail, then heatwaves

The owner of Ribena is to invest £200,000 in helping blackcurrant bushes withstand stress after extreme weather put a squeeze on this year’s UK harvest.

That harvest is now under way in the berry’s main growing regions including East Anglia, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Kent and Scotland. It is expected to be about 10% below the average of 10,000 tonnes, as the climate crisis drives extreme weather across Britain and elsewhere.

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Experts warn of ways screwworm could spread in the US and new difficulties in keeping it at bay

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Scientists worry that current eradication efforts won’t be able to contain parasitic infestation pushing into US

When conservationists set up cameras in remote regions of Central American forests, they wanted to monitor illegal cattle movement, which can lead to deforestation. But in recent months, they discovered another alarming development: wildlife rapidly infected with the new world screwworm.

It’s a warning sign of how the fly could spread in the US – and it signals new difficulties in pushing it back south, a process that will probably take years, experts say.

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Catnip lotion as effective as Deet at repelling mosquitoes, study finds

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Researchers testing a cheap, homegrown oil in Uganda found what cats knew all along – it worked as well as the artificial chemical used globally

A homegrown catnip lotion has proven “just as effective as Deet” as a mosquito repellant in trials carried out in Uganda.

Catnip, or Nepeta cataria, is a common herb from the mint family. The chemical in the plant that causes feline euphoria – nepetalactone – also has insect-repelling properties but this has not previously been commercialised.

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Typical English roast dinner potentially ‘drenched’ in 102 pesticides, says report

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Greenpeace finds cocktail of pesticides including seven banned in EU may have been used on seven categories of vegetables and soft fruit

It is a beautiful early summer Sunday afternoon and you have stopped for a pub lunch. A waiter sets down a roast served with carrots, peas, parsnips, potatoes and onion gravy, and then for pudding, strawberries and cream. It feels like the perfect rustic meal to accompany a day in the country.

However, a report by Greenpeace, published on Thursday, has found that the ingredients of the traditional Sunday roast have potentially been treated with a cocktail of more than 100 pesticides. Data from the Fera pesticide usage survey for 2024, showed 102 – including seven banned in the EU – were used on seven vegetable and soft fruit categories.

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Water flows to parched NSW wetlands could be turned back on within weeks as drought fears loom

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Water minister Rose Jackson calls drying in Gwydir region ‘devastating’ as bill passes upper house

Water flows to parched New South Wales wetlands where an urgent rescue mission to save dying wildlife unfolded are a step closer to resuming after legislation passed the state parliament’s upper house.

The water minister, Rose Jackson, told the parliament on Thursday night the impact of a halt to environmental flows in the internationally significant Gwydir region had been “devastating” as she introduced legislative amendments she said would allow flows to resume.

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Fertiliser shortages will have ‘dramatic’ effect on global food prices, warns farming boss

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Powerful property and farming firm Grosvenor Group says knock-on effect of Iran war could arrive next year

Fertiliser shortages caused by the Iran war have driven up costs for UK farmers by up to 70% and will have a “dramatic” impact on food prices globally next year, according to one of Britain’s most powerful property and farming companies.

Mark Preston, executive trustee of the 349-year-old Grosvenor Group, controlled by the Duke of Westminster, said fertiliser “was already quite expensive” before the 50% to 70% surge in prices since the start of the Iran war in late February.

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