Monthly Archives: September 2015

17 Heads of State, 1 Pope, 17 goals for a new global partnership makes for a lot of security and a lot of media. Thrill for one farm girl.

Growing up in Canada, I’ve always known there to be a relatively high rate of gun ownership.  Living in a vast country with a lot of wilderness, a weapon is necessary in Northern communities or on most farms.  Even as close as our farm is to civilisation, it is known to have a bear or […]

It was just as we in agriculture feared – after seeing agriculture rise on the agenda in 2008-09, there are signs that momentum is waning.  An important symbol is the planned exit of the World Bank from funding for the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research commonly known as the CG. The CG is the […]

My friend Felix Dodds wrote an excellent blog on the race for the next UN Secretary General.  To be selected in 2016, it is a scattered field but I certainly think it is high time there is a female SG.  Undoubtedly regional considerations will be an important factor, but so should be the representation of […]

Fortune has created a list of 50 companies that are changing the agricultural world. These include companies working with innovative technologies like irrigation systems, or researching ways to mitigate and adapt to climate change using sustainable farming. Here are nine companies who are leaders in their field and are revolutionizing the food industry. Whole Foods […]

Last week, the Youth Ag Summit was held in Australia, drawing together more than 100 bright lights from 33 countries who all came together to talk about the future of food and agriculture.  See some of the highlights through their YouTube video: They have developed a Declaration that will be brought to a special side […]

The FAO’s Food Price index continued the slide that has been occurring for the last 15 months in July, hitting its lowest level since September 2009. Farmers around the globe will be hit by  lower and lower prices across all sectors. This last month’s drop has largely been caused by sharp decreases in dairy, pig […]

For years, Emerging and its clients have been talking about the importance of reducing food waste.  One important reason is because food waste prevention, reduction and management will help to increase food availability and also minimize the impact of agriculture on climate change. Making smart decisions on how and what we consume can reduce the […]

The Manyinga Project has been a long-time passion of mine, as the project stands for such an important message: provide essential training in agriculture for children and address basic health and nutritional concerns for students. Art Enns, President of Prairie Oat Growers Association and a Red River Valley grain farmer, is donating the proceeds from […]

If 9.1 billion people weren’t enough, the United Nations released the “World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision” increasing the projections by half a billion people for 2050. Currently set at 7.3 billion people, the world population is projected to reach 8.3 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion by 2050, and a high of 11.2 billion in […]

The International Stewardship Symposium was the second event of its kind hosted by the Canadian Fertilizer Institute, drawing delegates from government, NGOs, farming, agri-retail, and all aspects of the crop nutrients sector to Calgary July 14-15, 2015. During the two day event, speakers from across the globe highlighted the fact that the public expects and […]

The International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) made a great announcement in conjunction with the African Development Bank at the Financing for Development conference in Addis Ababa this week. The Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism (AFFM) is being operationalization this year by the African Development Bank.  Charlotte Hebebrand, IFA’s Director General, congratulated the Bank and its  incoming […]

With Financing for Development a hot topic, there are clear signs that investing in agriculture is the right thing to do. Globally, 842 million people are estimated to be undernourished. By 2012 alone, the number of hungry people in Africa grew to 239 million. The goal to reduce poverty and undernourishment by half is unachievable […]

As a member of the Board of BioEnterprise, I am pleased to celebrate the announcement of the corporations fourth office opening in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This exciting expansion is a result of the two-year partnership with Innovacorp, which promises commercialization of agricultural technologies and innovations. Innovacorp is a venture capital organization which helps fund and foster Nova […]