As the planet continues to warm, plants face a dilemma. Stomata, the same tiny opening in their leaves they have to open to exchange gases also release water. They can close the holes to stay hydrated in hotter, drier conditions, but may miss out on critical carbon dioxide in doing so.

In the 1970s, investigators were already envisioning new technologies to generate crops that could utilize nitrogen (N₂) from air to produce their own fixed N species, stating that “cereals that could provide their own fertilizer are beyond doubt the biggest prize of all in the gift of the new biology” (1). At this time, the N₂-fixation genes (nif) of Klebsiella pneumoniae had just been transferred to Escherichia coli,

The FAO Food Price Index remained stable in August, as cereal prices rebounded while vegetable oils and sugar declined.

The monthly index, released today, averaged 167.6 points in August, virtually unchanged from its revised estimate for July and 5.4 percent below its level in August 2017.

Bogor, Indonesia, 14 August 2018 – Results of the initial on-farm experiments to validate the predictive accuracy of the WeRise for rice-rice for rainfed rice (WeRise-RR) in selected provinces in Indonesia showed that farmers could potentially increase their yield by following the WeRise advisories. WeRise is an ICT tool that aims to improve rainfed rice productivity by helping farmers plan their crop production strategically by using seasonal climate forecast and crop growth models to come up with advisories. It was developed by the IRRI-Japan Collaborative Research Project (IJCRP).

A study published in Nature reports about a gene that improves plants' ability to absorb nitrogen, which can help develop high-yielding varieties of rice, wheat, and other staple crops that would need less fertilizer. According to plant geneticist Xiangdong Fu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and co-authors, modern crops cannot absorb nitrogen as efficiently as traditional crops can, thus fertilizers are applied to help modern crops grow

In 2018, Brazil has completed 20 years since GMOs were adopted in agriculture. Throughout this period, what stands out are the benefits for farmers resulting from planting genetically modified (GM) soybeans, corn, and cotton. There has been, for example, a reduction in the application of pesticides per hectare and there have been fewer losses caused by pests. Consequently, the productivity and yield of the GM crops have been, on average, higher than conventional crops.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota (UMN) and partners found new soybean genes linked to aphid resistance. The results of their investigation is published in The Plant Genome journal. Aphid is a tiny pest of soybeans and other crops worldwide, causing billions of dollars in crop losses. Thus, discovering resistance genes is vital towards developing soybean varieties with robust aphid resistance.

The world's top five agri-universities who call themselves A5, have agreed to fight hunger together. University of California Davis, Cornell University, China Agricultural University, University of Sao Paulo, and Wageningen University & Research have agreed to work together in achieving zero hunger. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals include eradicating hunger in the world by 2030.

The rapid onset of African Swine Fever (ASF) in China, and its detection in areas more than one thousand kilometres apart within the country, could mean the deadly pig virus may spread to other Asian countries anytime, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned today.

Shall we take rice? This is a casual question you may ask when you choose a dish in a restaurant or a cereal package from a supermarket shelf. In many parts of the world, unfortunately, millions of people do not have this luxury of choice. It is, in fact, a tough question that they wish they did not have to answer; especially if they are small-scale women and men producers and processors who depend on rice for daily food and livelihood.