Soil bugs munch on plastics

Soil bugs

Our world is drowning in a flood of plastic. Eight million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year. Agricultural soils are also threatened by plastic pollution.

Ancient farmers transformed Amazon and left an enduring legacy on the rainforest

Ancient farmers

Ancient communities transformed the Amazon thousands of years ago, farming in a way which has had a lasting impact on the rainforest, a major new study shows.

Archeological plant remains point to southwest Amazonia as crop domestication center

Archeological plant

Genetic analysis of plant species has long pointed to the lowlands of southwest Amazonia as a key region in the early history of plant domestication in the Americas, but systematic archaeological evidence to support this has been rare.

To keep more carbon on the ground, halting farmland expansion is key

This image shows a high-yield palm oil farm in Ghana.

The conversion of forests to farmland is recognized as a major contributor to rising levels of greenhouse gases. And yet it hasn't been clear how to best minimize the loss of sequestered carbon into the atmosphere.

Climate taxes on agriculture could lead to more food insecurity than climate change itself

Climate 

New IIASA-led research has found that a single climate mitigation scheme applied to all sectors, such as a global carbon tax, could have a serious impact on agriculture and result in far more widespread hunger and food insecurity than the direct impacts of climate change. Smarter, inclusive policies are necessary instead.

Time is running out in the tropics: Researchers warn of global biodiversity collapse

Time is running out in the tropics: Researchers warn of global biodiversity collapse

A global biodiversity collapse is imminent unless we take urgent, concerted action to reverse species loss in the tropics, according to a major scientific study in the journal Nature.

Paleontologists discover largest dinosaur foot ever

Paleontologists 

The Black Hills region of the United States is famous today for tourist attractions like Deadwood and Mount Rushmore, but around 150 million years ago it was home to one of the largest dinosaurs known.

Farmers seek off-farm income to counter rising costs

Federated Farmers meat and wool chairman Miles Anderson says the rural community is under increasing financial and regulatory pressure.

A farming leader says it is no surprise that farms are increasingly reliant on off-farm income. 

Many alarmed over boost to pesticide use in agriculture

Many alarmed over boost to pesticide use in agriculture

Families slam commission recommendation on easing restrictions on deadly pesticides that are contaminating the environment and causing sky-high cancer rates and other health crises.

Chinese TV to help Botswana setup an agriculture TV channel

A Chinese delegation headed by China Central Television (CCTV-7) Agricultural Program has agreed to help Botswana setup an agriculture television channel.

The television channel was proposed by Botswana’s Ministry of Agriculture Development and Food Security (MoA), during the China Africa Agriculture Cooperation and Development Summit which was organised by Global Max Media Group (GMMG) on Thursday.