Blog Archives

We all live in it. We all interact with it. Whether it is a farmer in a field, or someone dealing with pollution in a city, or a fisher struggling in an ocean, the environment touches every person and every sector. So it is exciting to think about the upcoming United Nations Environment Assembly in […]

Small enterprises support food production and agriculture around the world, so it is a great opportunity to apply for SEED awards this year that recognise entrepreneurship in developing countries with a strong interest in sustainable development. SEED highlights the deadline for applications below: Start-up enterprises that solve pressing local issues by integrating social and environmental […]

The team at Farming First, a coalition I helped found, has posted a particularly insightful blog on the role of data, information, and precision agriculture. These are all areas where the Emerging team has worked extensively and you see their rise in production systems already. Read the blog post Bob Morris: Move Over Cleantech, Agtech […]

During my recent trip to New York, I had to visit OatMeals – a venue dedicated to oats. Of course, I ordered the Canadian – oatmeal topped with cinnamon apples, bacon, cheddar cheese, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Can’t wait to see the owner speak in at the Prairie Oat Growers Association annual meeting.

Almost 40 representatives from organisations all over the world came together in May during the annual meeting of the Private Sector Mechanism to the CFS (2015) in Rome. Covering virtually every sector of the agri-food value chain, we had representatives from beverages, biofuels, farmers, fisheries, forestry, inputs, livestock, grain trade, pulses, processors, and grocery products.

It is great news for agriculture to have Dr. Akinwumi (Akin) Adesina elected to be the next President of the African Development Bank (ADB). His passion for agriculture in his past roles at Minister of Agriculture in Nigeria and at AGRA, as well as his PhD in agriculture economics from Purdue make him an expert […]

The UN has just posted the zero draft of the sustainable development goals. The goals and targets remain consistent and the co-chairs have proposed the long-discussed coherence changes to them. None of these proposed changes affect Goal 2 on sustainable agriculture, food and nutrition. The new material is the opening declaration and the section on […]

During the Interactive Hearing with Civil Society convened by the President of the General Assembly on May 26-27, I had the opportunity to be the final speaker. The Post 2015 agenda will set new Sustainable Development Goals to create the world we want in 2015. My remarks on monitoring and reporting emphasize the instrumental roles […]

Our dear friend, RB Halaby, is featured in Giants of the Seed Industry at my former magazine Seed World. Shawn Brook did a great job exploring how RB’s firm AgriCapital has come to be such an effective advocate for agriculture. One of RB’s answers I loved was to focus on asking questions. No one person […]

In my role as Director General of the International Agri-Food Network, I will participate on the interactive hearings at the UN in New York, together with representatives of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and other major groups. It was a thrill to be chosen from among 225 applicants. On behalf of the private sector, I […]

This year, as a special contribution to United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP21), the Equator Prize 2015 will honor 20 outstanding local and indigenous community initiatives that are reducing poverty, protecting nature and strengthening resilience in the face of climate change. The theme of this cycle of the Equator Prize is ‘empowerment, rights, and […]

In New York this week with a Farming First delegation to the UN negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals, it is a great time to look at the breadth of the impact agriculture has on all aspects of development, including poverty, resilience, and water use. This great new Farming First interactive essay “The Story of […]

Farming First is joining forces with the International Coalition for Advocating Nutrition (ICAN) and WaterAid to hold a side event on how the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), nutrition and agricultural sectors can partner to deliver a comprehensive Post 2015 Development Framework and explore the feasibility of collaborative implementation, monitoring, and measurement of progress. The […]

The Canadian grain handling landscape just got more interesting. With the acquisition of a majority ownership of the Canadian Wheat Board, Bunge Canada and the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) are providing more options and important equity into the handling system. It is interesting times. From the press release: G3 Global Grain Group […]

Agriculture is under continual pressure and incentive to improve its use of resources. For two decades the fertilizer sector has been promoting ways to make sure the right amount of fertilizer gets used by applying the 4Rs – Right source, Right rate, Right time and Right place. The International Fertilizer Industry Association recently released this […]

Having been working on the process to create new Millennium Development Goals, to be called Sustainable Development Goals with a strong focus on agriculture, nutrition and food, it is exciting to see the galvanizing role they are playing In a guest post on Farming First, a global coalition for sustainable agricultural development, Frank Rijsberman, CEO […]

A delegation of fertilizer industry leaders from across the globe was present in New York during the week of the 23rd to 27th March for the latest session of negotiations surrounding the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. These goals are meant to follow on from the Millennium Development goals, which are to be realized in 2015, […]

From Reduce and Research, the Key to Food Security and Nutrition, The Huffington Post, March 23, 2015. According to the WFP, “There are 805 million hungry people in the world and 98 percent of them are in developing countries.” According to the World Food Program, hunger kills more people each year than AIDS, malaria and […]

Morgane Danielou – New Vice-President Operations Emerging Ag is adding new talent to serve our clients in light of growing demand for our specialised services in issues management. I am delighted to inform you that Morgane Danielou will be joining Emerging Ag as Vice-President – Operations in May. Morgane has been with the International Fertilizer […]

On February 23rd and 24th, Emerging Ag assisted POGA with an outreach trip to Ottawa to follow up with their Canada Transportation Act Review submission. In our efforts to draw attention to the transportation issues faced by Oat farmers across Canada, we met with MPs from all three major parties, including Bev Shipley, Malcolm Allen, […]

The intrepid and dedicated Paddy Docherty has been building a rice business called Lion Mountains Agrico Ltd. in Sierra Leone, Africa, that aims to turn the country into an agricultural powerhouse. Building a business in a developing country is always a tough job, but it gets even more complicated when there is a health crisis […]

Please join me at Conference Room C, UN Headquarters, on February 20, 1:15-2:30pm (EST) for a panel discussion that will hear from women farmers and leading thinkers on means to improve food security, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture. The event has been organized by Farming First, a multi-stakeholder platform involving farmers, scientists, NGOs, and business that […]

Mars, a member of the private sector mechanism we resource (www.agrifood.net), is partnering with IBM to undertake a ground breaking effort on food safety. It is estimated 2 million people a year die in emerging areas due to food borne infections. In the U.S. alone, one in six people are affected by food-borne diseases each […]

The UN Committee on Food Security is a unique multi-stakeholder model that has governments, research bodies, private sector, civil society and foundations all working together. It was an honour to be included in a video on the impacts of the reform. Please visit: And congratulations to fellow delegates on their engagement including: Jan Dyer, Canadian […]

World Vision is launching “Advancing the Debate: Cross-sector partnerships, business and the post-2015 development agenda.” on Tuesday, 10 February 2015, from 8:15-9:30 am (light breakfast will be served at 8:00 am) at the UN Millennium Hotel, Riverview conference room (28th floor), 1 United Nations Plaza, New York, (East 44th Street, between First and Second Avenues). […]

Increases in the production of rice have been falling since 1988.[/caption]Would you be surprised to know that production of rice, the most commonly consumed grain in the word and a staple in many diets, reached peak production in 1988? I recently learned this myself after reading a fascinating, and very important, article from The Independent […]

The need for the preservation and study of genetic diversity in agriculture took centre-stage during the FAO’s Commission biennial meeting on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture on January 19. In the context of rapidly advancing climate change and a growing global population, FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo was present at the event to […]

Dr. Mahmoud Solh is chairperson of the food and nutritional security theme area for the volunteer team working on the International Year of Pulses in 2016. He is a fine leader and it has been a joy to work with him on several projects. His team at The International Center for Agricultural Research in the […]

Farming First has released a list of Ten Must-See Farming First Videos of 2014 that have gone behind the scenes at food and agriculture conferences throughout the year to bring exclusive expert interviews that dig deeper into the issues facing global food security and development. The must-see topics of the videos include: Rose Akaki speaks […]

Committee members Allan and Myrna Ronald hosting a meeting of the Manyinga Working Group on Wednesday evening, at which the goals and budgets for the next three years were the topic of conversation. The project is entering a period of transition, with ongoing negotiations with the Zambian government to assume responsibility for the funding of […]