Author: Hithaishi CB

At the DialogueNEXT more Than 115 Organizations Join Nobel, World Food Prize Laureates’ Call for Agricultural ‘Moonshot’ to Eliminate Hunger The World Food Prize Foundation convened a meeting of World Food Prize Laureates, Nobel Laureates, business leaders, policy makers, scientists, innovators and youth at DialogueNEXT in Washington, D.C. on March 25, 2025. The theme, A Root Awakening, reflects the stark realization that the current trajectory of agricultural production is veering dangerously away from meeting the food and nutrition needs of an expanding population. More than 115 organizations have endorsed the call from 153 Nobel and World Food Prize Laureates for “moonshot” efforts…

Aims to supply 6.4 million Sub-Saharan African smallholders with high-yielding maize seeds in 2025, and up to 10 million by 2030 Bayer announced the opening of a new maize seed facility in Kabwe, Zambia. Through the 32-million-euro facility alongside further investments in organization and the grower network, Bayer triples its existing capacity for high-quality maize seed production in the country in 2025. This capacity ultimately converts into annual maize consumption of approximately 30 million people in the region. The seed output is expected to further increase in the coming years. The high-yielding seeds will reach 6.4 million smallholder farmers in…

Sign non-binding MOU to explore multiple areas of collaboration across the agricultural supply chain as part of a strategic alliance ADM and Mitsubishi Corporation have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to form a strategic alliance and to explore potential areas of future collaboration across the agriculture value chain. In recent years, the importance of secure and resilient food and agriculture supply chains has come into sharper focus, driven both by short-term dislocations as well as structural demand shifts powered by global population growth, economic development, and increasing consumer preference for sustainably sourced products. It has thus become essential to…

Strategic Partnership to Market & Distribute Glasshouse Grown Tomatoes from Tongala, VICGoodness Grown (GG), a newly established tomato farming business with a 20 hectare, state of the art and ultra modern glasshouse, is excited to announce a strategic marketing & distribution partnership with Premier Fresh Australia (Premier), one of Australia’s leading fresh produce supply chain companies. This partnership will ensure consistent quality and availability of Goodness Grown’s locally grown tomatoesacross Australia, providing customers with reliable access to fresh produce through Premier’s extensive marketing & distribution network. Production is expected to commence in late 2025. Through the partnership, Premier will provide…

Moa’s proprietary high-throughput screening platform will rapidly test 70,000 micro-bacterial extracts Oxford-based agricultural biotech firm Moa Technology has stepped up the global hunt for a safe, effective and affordable biological herbicide by forming a new partnership with NAICONS, an Italian natural products company. Moa’s proprietary high-throughput screening platform will rapidly test 70,000 micro-bacterial extracts from NAICONS’ library of natural products, searching for biological leads which could control weeds, while being safe to humans or the environment, either as a standalone new herbicide or to enhance the efficacy, safety, and resistance-breaking potential of existing herbicides. The need for new herbicides to…

Fortifies the corridor, further shielding it from the pressures of palm oil cultivation and ensuring the movement of wildlife Saving Nature, a global leader in conservation, announces the acquisition of 155 acres of rainforest in Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem. This acquisition is a pivotal move in the fight against deforestation caused by the palm oil industry, which is one of the leading drivers of environmental degradation. Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil, a crop that has significantly contributed to the loss of the country’s rainforests. Since 1990, 25% of Indonesia’s old-growth forests have been lost. The palm oil industry, expanding into critical habitats,…

Groundbreaking research at Aurora Coast, Aurora’s world-class research and development facility, sets new standard in cannabis science Aurora Cannabis Inc., the Canadian-based leading global medical cannabis company, is pleased to announce the Company’s discovery of a novel source of genetic resistance against powdery mildew, PM2, that provides strong protection against this pathogen in cannabis sativa. The development of this proprietary genetic marker technology, which is now in use in Aurora’s breeding program, is set to produce powdery mildew resistant cultivars that will be explored for commercial launch this year. “This discovery offers a critical solution to a pressing challenge in…

International Strawberry Symposium provided an effective method for achieving this goal “Strawberry from coast to plateau”. A major international event in the strawberry industry, the 10th International Strawberry Symposium opened on March 16th to 21st, 2025 in Yancheng, China. The symposium welcomed global participants to China after 13 years, making it one of the most influential global strawberry events. Yancheng is a well-known strawberry growing area and production base in China. A key theme of the symposium, “Quality, Germplasm, Brand, Innovation,” illustrated humanity’s objectives concerning strawberry development. The event was organized by the Beijing Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences…

A partnership between Abler Nordic, Livelihoods Funds, Musim Mas, and Temasek Foundation aims to support at least 400 smallholders A sustainability impact fund manager, Abler Nordic, has partnered with a Singapore-based philanthropic organization, Temasek Foundation, which runs impact projects in Asia, as well as sustainable palm oil producer Musim Mas and Livelihood Funds to launch the Sustainable Oil Palm Replanting in Indonesia (SOPRI) initiative. The pilot initiative facilitates smallholders’ access to finance and resources so that they can replant oil palm trees sustainably, increasing their income and preventing forest encroachment. In Indonesia, smallholders cultivate more than 40% of the land…

Plant Biology Company Raises Pre-Seed Round of $4.5 Million Led by Playground Global Biotech pioneer GigaCrop has raised a $4.5 million pre-seed round of funding led by Playground Global. Using machine learning to improve enzymes, the company aims to boost photosynthesis, crop yields, and farmers’ profits. GigaCrop’s technology will help plants use sunlight more efficiently, enabling agricultural producers of food, fiber, and fuel to grow more with the same water, fertilizer, and acreage. “Plants are part solar panel, part fabrication facility, which is pretty amazing,” said Chris Eiben, founder and CEO of GigaCrop. “Farmers, and the plants they grow, support a robust…