Food security Archives | Country Guide

Many major trends experts foresee are already underway and will continue to play out in the ag sector over the next decade and beyond.

What the future farm could look like in 2030

Future farm: Maybe it seems more like fiction today, but every year brings this picture of the future closer

By Angela Lovell November 27, 2019

Reading Time: 6 minutes Big change is coming. In the words of Shrek, “Change is good, Donkey!” It’s also inevitable, which farmers probably know more than anyone else. There are, of course, differing opinions about what farming will look like 10 years from now. Will farms be larger? Probably. Will weather be more unpredictable? Almost certainly. Will technologies like […] Read more

General, Markets

Election 2019: Ag groups want the parties to pay attention

By Glen Hallick - MarketsFarm September 18, 2019

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Two major national farm organizations want the political parties to pay more attention to agriculture as the federal election continues. However, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) and the National Farmers Union (NFU) have somewhat different takes as to what they see as paramount. “It’s really important that we uphold the quality of […] Read more

General, Markets

Food, farming not expected to be big election issues

By John Greig September 17, 2019

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadians don’t think that food and agriculture will be a significant issue in the current federal election. A survey conducted Sept. 9 and released Tuesday by Angus Reid Global with the support of Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab shows 31 per cent of Canadians believe food and agriculture will be a prime electoral issue during […] Read more

General, Reuters, Weather

UN flags need to reduce meat consumption to curb land use impact on global warming

By Nina Chestney, stephanie-nebehay August 8, 2019

Reading Time: 3 minutes London/Geneva | Reuters — Global meat consumption must fall to curb global warming, reduce growing strains on land and water and improve food security, health and biodiversity, a United Nations report on the effects of climate change concluded. Although the report stopped short of explicitly advocating going meat-free, it called for big changes to farming […] Read more

Crops, Reuters

North Korea faces food crisis after poor harvest, UN says

By Tom Miles May 3, 2019

Reading Time: 2 minutes Geneva | Reuters — Four in 10 North Koreans are chronically short of food and further cuts to already minimal rations are expected after the worst harvest in a decade, the United Nations said on Friday. Official rations are down to 300 grams (10.6 ounces) per person per day, the lowest ever for this time […] Read more

A lot of people aren’t food insecure because there isn’t enough food. They are food insecure because they can’t access it, says Dr. Evan Fraser with the University of Guelph.

Guide Business

Trust the opportunity

All the Chicken Littles are wrong. The sky isn’t falling, and we aren’t running out of food, says Evan Fraser. “We live in a world where there is enough.”

By Helen Lammers-Helps May 22, 2018

Reading Time: 6 minutes Dr. Evan Fraser wears multiple hats at the University of Guelph, although “hats” doesn’t seem a big enough word. Fraser is Canada research chair in global food security, scientific director of the university’s acclaimed Food from Thought research initiative, and much more. Fraser is also director of the Arrell Food Institute, whose mission statement conveys […] Read more

Alexis Wagner and Cameron Olson have two different approaches about the future of food.

Features, News

The youth solution for feeding the world

Young aggies like Cameron Olson and Alexis Wagner know that feeding a hungry planet will be the challenge of their lifetimes, which is why they’re so ready to listen even to those with seemingly unfriendly views

By Dilia Narduzzi May 10, 2018

Reading Time: 7 minutes More than 1,000 18- to 25-year-olds from 95 countries submitted essays to qualify for the third Youth-Ag Summit held this past October in Belgium, with 100 delegates actually getting a ticket. Among them were four young Canadians. Sponsored by Bayer, the summit gave youth an opportunity to discuss one of the most pressing questions the […] Read more

Crops, Guide Business

Farm in South Africa?

The land is there, and so is the climate. But this may not be the land of milk and honey for you

By Lilian Schaer February 14, 2018

Reading Time: 5 minutes In many ways, South Africa is an agricultural success story. Its produce and its wines are enjoyed in many countries around the world, and the country isn’t plagued by famines or food shortages like others on the African continent. And yet beneath the apparent prosperity and stability, risks await farmers in a country still struggling […] Read more

For these workers inside a ZZ2 avocado pack house, South Africa’s strategy of building its economy on agriculture is providing stable employment and family incomes.

Fruit/Vegetables, Guide Business

Africa feeding Africa

While North America’s farmers pin their career hopes on the need to feed a hungry Africa, that continent’s farmers are making plans of their own

By Lilian Schaer August 15, 2017

Reading Time: 5 minutes A core belief in North American agriculture is that our farmers must produce ever more food if we are to have any hope of feeding the world, particularly areas like Africa where the population is growing so rapidly. The numbers are indeed staggering. According to the Population Reference Bureau, Africa’s population will hit 2.5 billion […] Read more

Guide Business

Uber-stores for food

Businesses like Marcia Woods’ FreshSpoke are figuring out how to connect Canadian farmers with the consumers looking for ways to buy from them

By Lois Harris March 16, 2017

Reading Time: 4 minutes Marcia Woods’ frustration at not being able to buy the high-quality food that she knew was being grown right down the road evolved into an online business that not only connects farmers with wholesalers, but also solves their transportation and cash-flow headaches. Coming from a long line of Oxford County farmers in Ontario, Woods, who’s […] Read more

Atlantic Farm Services takes sister firm’s new name

ICE weekly outlook: Canola steady, awaits news

CBOT weekly outlook: Headlines, geopolitics drive prices

GFM Network News