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The European Union is losing 970 million tonnes of soil per year due to water erosion, an amount equivalent to a one metre-depth loss of soil from an area the size of the city of Berlin or enough to cover an area twice the size of Belgium with one centimetre of soil. According to a […]

Potato varieties from the Andes will now be preserved for future generations in a seed vault in the Arctic. During a ceremony at the end of August, 750 potato seeds, as well as other wild potato relatives, were deposited by representatives of indigenous communities from Peru, scientists as well as FAO and Norwegian officials at

Climate change may be leading to a decline in the humus content of soils, affecting agricultural production worldwide. Scientists from the Technical University Munich (TUM) suspect that the input of organic matter into the soil, the crucial source for humus formation, will decrease as a result of stagnating crop yields in Europe. For the study,

Agrochemical giant Syngenta has received a new patent on a tomato derived from classical breeding. The European Patent Office (EPO) granted a patent for a tomato with a higher content of compounds called flavonols to the Swiss company. Flavonols are known for their health benefits and are said to help prevent cardiovascular diseases and certain

A new study provides evidence of a link between neonicotinoid pesticides and honeybee colony losses. The study led by Fera, a former UK government agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, combined large-scale pesticide usage and yield observations from oilseed rape fields in England and Wales with data on honeybee loses between

Each year, 47 million tonnes of food is wasted in the European Union, of which 80% is avoidable, according to a new study from the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. Europeans waste an average of 123 kg per person annually, or 16% of all food reaching consumers. Avoidable food waste represents by

August 13th marks Earth Overshoot Day – the day humanity has used up the natural resources the world can supply in a year, according to data from Global Footprint Network, an international sustainability think tank. The date is calculated each year by contrasting the world’s demand on nature (ecological footprint) with the biocapacity – forests,

Scotland will ban the cultivation of genetically modified crops, taking advantage of new EU rules, the Scottish minister of rural affairs announced on Monday. “The Scottish Government has long-standing concerns about GM crops – concerns that are shared by other European countries and consumers, and which should not be dismissed lightly,” Rural Affairs Secretary Richard

Prices for global agricultural products fell in July to their lowest level in almost six years, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 164.6 points in July, down 1.7 points or one per cent from June and almost 40 points (19.4%) less than a year

The 193 Member States of the United Nations reached agreement on a sustainable development agenda for the next 15 years. The new agenda to be adopted by world leaders at a summit in September contains 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a set of 169 targets that aim to end poverty and hunger in all