For physical grain trading in Brazil, leading software provider to agribusinesses – Barchart – has joined hands with Grão Direto. Under this partnership, Grão Direto’s proprietary database of Brazil’s grain prices is to be made available in Barchart’s analytics platform i.e. cmdtyView.

In addition, Barchart will also manage both API distribution as well as licensing for the data as part of their best-in-class global grain price offering.

“cmdtyView is the premier platform for physical commodity analytics, and this exciting new partnership with Grão Direto enhances our global offering even further with Brazilian grain data,” said Barchart CEO Mark Haraburda. 

“Grão Direto’s mission aligns with our own efforts to enhance the agricultural industry through technology, and we’re thrilled to work with them to expand our coverage into new markets and provide users with access to inland grain prices for Brazil,” Haraburda added.

“We are very proud and excited to collaborate with Barchart and being able to extend the reach of our data to benefit their clients around the world,” said Grão Direto CEO Alexandre Borges Silva, adding its offerings help a number of grain growers, buyers and brokers in efficient trading and generation of real value in operations that puts the company in a unique position to provide market intelligence solutions for the Brazilian market.

Under its Rural Poor Stimulus Facility (RPSF), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) would provide funding to help over 6,200 vulnerable small-scale farmers in rural Tanzania affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

IFAD will provide about US$ 882,841 to minimise the COVID-19-triggered impact on livelihoods, and food security.

The grant will help farmers access inputs, provide market linkages and access necessary market information to improve their productivity and boost their resilience.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the vulnerability of our food systems. To ensure we build a sustainable and resilient food system, we need to recognize the role small-scale farmers play and empower them to access inputs, information and markets for their produce,” said Francesco Rispoli, IFAD Country Director for Tanzania.

Owing to the recent locust outbreak and the ongoing pandemic, growth in the East African country’s farming sector was predicted to decline from 5% in 2019 to 2% in 2020.

Notably, crop cultivation remains the primary economic activity for most small-scale farmers in Tanzania. In order to boost their productivity, the grant will distribute:

• More than 23,600 kilograms of bio-fortified maize seeds
• About 14,400 kilograms of sunflower seeds
• Over 970,000 seedlings of fruits and vegetables

As border closures, due to COVID-19 protocols, have limited access to agri-markets for many farmers, the grant will support the National Food Reserve Agency purchase maize grain from the farmers, under its current plan to boost its reserve.

Appreciating Bangladesh for its remarkable implementation capacity, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) President Gilbert F Houngbo noted that the country is presently the largest portfolio of IFAD worldwide and one of the best performing ones with best practices in multiple areas.

This absorptive capacity of Bangladesh is a glaring example for many other developing countries in the world, Gilbert said during a ceremony at the IFAD Headquarter in Rome, Italy.

“Bangladesh is one of the very few countries which receive highest development assistance with significant project implementation capacity along with the active representation in the Executive Board and Governance Structure of IFAD”, Mr Houngbo noted.

The South Asian country’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative also congratulated the IFAD President for his reappointment as the sixth president of IFAD, underlining his dynamic leadership to attain the record level of commitment of about US$ 1.55 billion for IFAD in spite of the COVID-19 situation.

While describing the “development journey” of Bangladesh under the charismatic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the ambassador briefed him about the splendid performance of Bangladesh in the agriculture sector which received global recognition. The ambassador also apprised IFAD President that Bangladesh achieved food self-sufficiency under the leadership of PM Sheikh Hasina.

The settlement with the company sorts out antitrust claims by “direct” purchasers like Maplevale Farms that accused the pork companies of having fixed prices.

The settlement eliminates a “substantial portion” of the company’s exposure in the litigation, said Keira Lombardo, Smithfield’s chief administrative officer.

For the unversed, the company that was sold in 2013 to a Chinese meat processor for $4.7 billion, sells packaged products under its own name as well as other famous brands, including Cook’s and Farmland.

Earlier this year, Smithfield – one of the world’s largest pork producers – also unveiled a management shakeup in order to deal with the ripple effects of the COVID-19-led fall in restaurant meat consumption.

During the 42nd session of the FAO Conference, Indonesia has been elected to the Council of the UN food agency.

Notably, Indonesia is the representative of the Asian regional group along with five other Asian countries of Japan, China, Bangladesh, the Philippines and the Republic of Korea for the 2021-24 term.

Addressing a press conference, Indonesian Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo said the election is a recognition of the growth of Indonesia’s farming sector, noting that development programmes, under the leadership of President Widodo, continue to produce positive results for the country’s economic development.

Continental Refining Co. (CRC) is likely to invest nearly $20 million to set up a soybean crushing, biodiesel refining as well as blending facility at its oil refinery in Somerset, Kentucky.

The proposed investment will open new markets while providing farmers, customers and the community a resilient agtech business opportunity. CRC has garnered the support of Agriculture Development Councils (ADCs) in Wayne, Pulaski and Adair counties.

The company’s transformational concept has been well received by the local as well as regional communities as well as suppliers of raw materials.

The company has reportedly completed evaluation of the project’s feasibility and detailed design is in progress along with equipment procurement, and construction of a soybean processing facility.

The South of England Agricultural Society launched a new £10,000 grant for skills and qualifications for people currently working in land-based industries such as farming, horticulture, viticulture and forestry.

The grants can be provided for several skills such as sheep shearing, crop spraying, chainsaw use. According to the society, these grants can also be used by people who want to sharpen their management or business skills.

“The intention is that grant recipients will also engage with the South of England Agricultural Society. For example by becoming a member, helping at shows, or providing information on their training which can be used as an example to encourage others to apply,” the society said.

Deadlines to apply for the grant have been set for 31 May and 31 October.

Namibia is witnessing the third wave of an African migratory red locust outbreak that has so far ravaged over 700,000 hectares of grazing land in 10 of the country’s 14 regions, the agriculture ministry said.

The latest outbreak of the large red-winged grasshopper species in the country in southwest Africa began in December 2020.

The Karas region along the South African border is reportedly the hardest hit, with over 650,000 hectares of grazing partly affected, driving the level of economic hardship higher in the region.

Not only that, grazing land in the fertile Zambezi region has also been badly damaged, posing a serious threat to food security.

The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ASCI) said companies must align their corporate strategies with the landmark Paris Agreement and the target of net-zero emissions by the year 2050.

Firms must also set short, medium as well as long-term emissions reduction targets, said the council, adding it’s tightening its climate change policy and could recommend voting against directors of companies who’re not doing enough to fulfill Paris goals.

“Climate change risks are deeply embedded in the financial system and impact all sectors and asset classes. For long-term investors, this poses a serious challenge to long-term value creation across investment portfolios,” said ASCI CEO Louise Davidson.

For a second reading, the draft has been sent to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s top legislature, Xinhua reported.

“Units and individuals involved in maritime traffic-related activities shall fulfill the obligation of protecting marine ecological environment,” according to the draft.

The latest version of the draft, according to the news report, also added provisions on several issues, including compulsory pilotage, maritime traffic safety-related technologies.