Agriculture

Crisis or opportunity in the multilateral trade system?

October 10, 2012 – It was fascinating to attend the WTO public symposium at the end of September, an event framed around the question: “Is Multilateralism in Crisis?” The question invited far more yesses than noes, although there was a healthy sprinkling of determined optimists in the crowd as well. Yet the optimists did not talk much about trade.

Achieving Mexico’s Maize Potential

Rising agricultural prices, combined with growing import dependence, have driven Mexico’s food import bill over $20 billion per year and increased its agricultural trade deficit.

An Update on the World Bank’s Experimentation with Soil Carbon

At the first Hague Conference on Food Security, Agriculture and Climate Change in November 2010, the World Bank launched its first agricultural soil carbon project in Africa. The Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project (KACP) has been promoted as a “triple win” for mitigation, adaptation and increased crop yields.

Radio Sustain September 28, 2012

September 28, 2012 What is nanotechnology? What should the public know about it as it makes its way into food and agriculture? Why is it still unregulated? IATP's Steve Suppan explains.

New safety concerns raised by GMO corn study

Mammals fed a diet of genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready corn for two years died earlier and developed more tumors and liver and kidney damage, according to a new study published this week in the peer-reviewed journal, Food

What an expiring Farm Bill means to you

It has always been an amusing pastime for agricultural policy wonks to envision what would happen if a Farm Bill was allowed to expire. Nobody actually thought that it could come to fruition; after all, the uncertainty that it would impose on farmers and agricultural markets would be too great for Congress not to act on passing a new Farm Bill.

Soil Carbon and the Offset Market: Practices, Players and Politics

A summary version of this piece is available in another IATP publication, entitled A Climate-smart Idea? Understanding the Politics, Practices and Players of the Agricultural Soil Carbon Market.

Corn and climate: The story from Kenya

The current drought facing the U.S. should send down jitters among net food importers worldwide as the price of major grain crops is set to rise dramatically. The drought can be seen as a result of climate change that has led to unpredictable weather patterns the world over.

WEBINAR: Grain Reserves in an Unstable Climate

The ongoing drought in the U.S. and threats of food crises around the world point to the need for new solutions to cope with unstable weather and harvests.

An Update on the World Bank's Experimentation with Soil Carbon

Two years after the launch of the Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project, the World Bank and the FAO pushed for an expansion of the program despite unclear benefits to farmers and a history of dubious promises. IATP called for the program, with its deep flaws and the dubious process by which it was "endorsed," to be reassessed.