Food security levels are still normal for this time of year, with pastoralists facing moderate food insecurity and farmers facing high levels of food insecurity. The depletion of village-level food security reserves (SAVS) has decreased grain availability in rural zones 4, 5, 6 and 7 (see Figure 1), leaving many farming and agropastoralist households in these areas once again dependent on local markets. However, this increase has not yet had a significant impact on the supply of grain in...

TOKYO - Japanese officials gathered on Friday to commemorate the latest step in the nation's agriculture export push, as Japan resumed rice shipments to China this week following a four year ban. The rice is expected to sell in major outlet stores in July for a premium price, catering to wealthy Chinese who prefer the taste of well known Japanese brands. China formally agreed to resume Japanese rice imports just prior to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Japan in April as part of wider...

The quantity of goods sold at the monthly government-organized produce fairs demonstrates how Cuba s food situation has eased 15 years after widespread shortages were sparked by the Soviet Union s collapse and an end to economic subsidies from the Kremlin. HAVANA Hundreds of trucks overflowing with plantains, sweet potatoes and onions converge on the Plaza of the Revolution each month as farmers sell produce to tens of thousands of people. The quantity of goods sold at the monthly...

ONE of the nation's key water experts has called for a permanent system under which cotton and rice farmers would phase down production during drought years. He said farmers producing crops such as cotton and rice would find it more difficult to operate continually every year, especially as climate change brought more extremes in weather patterns. Cotton Australia chief executive Adam Kay said farmers were already responding to the seasons, with planting rising and falling with water...

However, India, one of the large exporters, may not be able to benefit from trade expansion for a variety of reasons including tightening supplies and firming currency. Washington DC, July 6On current reckoning, world rice production may expand marginally, but world rice trade in 2007 is likely to hit a new record. A large part of this additional demand may be met by Cambodia, China, Egypt, Myanmar and Thailand, the report pointed out, adding that limited supplies and high domestic prices...