Tesco relaunches Agri-tech Challenge to fast-track innovation onto UK farms
Retail giant introduces new two-track model to help early-stage and market-ready agtech scale across its supply chain
Agri-food
Route to growth: Philippines sets aside $40.6m for farm-to-market roads to boost coffee production
The Philippine government sets aside PHP2.5bn (US$40.6m) for farm-to-market roads that open access to 29,000 hectares to boost coffee production as it shifts towards high-value crop exports.
AI and operational agility set to reshape agriculture trading, McKinsey analysis shows
Agricultural commodity trading is entering a new phase defined by volatility, digital competition and the growing influence of AI-driven decision-making, according to new analysis from McKinsey & Company
Bayer bets on ‘stronger than ever’ policy tailwinds to scale camelina for biofuels
Bayer says a step-change in global regulatory support for low-carbon fuels is creating the conditions needed to scale next-generation oilseed crops like camelina, while insisting its strategy will not come at the expense of food production
Mosaic cuts output as input costs soar, but bets on biosciences for future growth
Fertiliser major trims production and capex amid volatile markets, while positioning biologicals as a strategic growth pillar
Tough conditions loom: Philippine farm output faces late year headwinds
The Philippines Department of Agriculture (DA) is expecting farm output to improve in the second quarter but warns that higher costs and El Niño conditions could outweigh any gains.
Nutrien signals stabilisation in volatile fertiliser markets as retail arm cushions shocks
Nutrien’s first-quarter results point to a fertiliser market stabilising under geopolitical strain, with record potash volumes and resilient retail performance helping offset continued pricing and margin pressures across nitrogen and phosphate
Climate-smart sheep: Australia launches three-year project to boost sustainability and market access
Australia launches a three-year, AUD3m (USD2.18m) Green Sheep Project aimed at helping producers improve sustainability, climate resilience and boost market access through data-driven on‑farm tools.
Broadening opportunities: Australia inks deal with Indonesia to boost halal red meat exports
Australia has secured Indonesian approval for five additional beef export establishments, expanding market access for the country’s red meat sector in South East Asia.
EU opens door to €50,000 emergency support for farmers hit by Iran war cost spikes
Brussels has loosened state‑aid rules to help farmers and transport operators cope with soaring fuel and fertiliser prices linked to the conflict involving Iran, but payments will depend on national governments acting
Yara chief warns Iran conflict could put 10bn meals a week at risk as food price impact looms
Yara International chief executive Sven Tore Holsether has warned that the war in Iran risks removing up to 10 billion meals a week from global food production, even as the fertiliser major posted better‑than‑expected Q1 2026 results. While near‑term...
Syngenta makes its IPO case as Q1 growth holds up despite geopolitics and trade disruption
Syngenta Group’s first‑quarter results underline a steady shift towards a higher‑quality, innovation‑led agribusiness, with crop protection and seeds driving sales and margins even as FX headwinds, geopolitical tensions and trade disruption continue to...
BASF shareholders back agriculture carve‑out as geopolitics bite into crop protection earnings
BASF investors have given the green light to a planned carve‑out of the group’s Agricultural Solutions division, as first‑quarter results reveal how Middle East tensions and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz are squeezing farmer buying power and...
Triple threat: WorldVeg debuts tomatoes that are insect resilient and attractive to buyers
A new insect resistant and virus tolerant tomato has been created, seemingly breaking the long-standing trade-off between pest resistance and commercial attractiveness.
Europe has the innovation – but not the finance to scale it
Europe’s agri-food innovation pipeline is rich in science, start-ups and early capital. What it lacks, according to two new reports, is a financial architecture capable of carrying technologies across the “valley of death” from validation to commercial...
Bayer backs Norwich Research Park programme to help agri‑biotech start-ups bridge the Series A gap
Bayer has become the first corporate sponsor of Norwich Research Park’s new BioTransitions programme, raising hopes that more UK agri‑food biotech start-ups will receive the targeted support they need to scale from seed funding to Series A – and avoid...
Why Syngenta is betting on biology, AI and modelling to reinvent crop protection
As Syngenta commits $130m to a new bioscience R&D hub in the UK, Dave Hughes – the company’s global technology scout – explains why digital science, biologicals and soil innovation will define the next era of agtech
Tunisian researchers unlock “treasure trove” of genetic traits in heritage durum wheat
Scientists in Tunisia have sequenced the complete genomes of two iconic durum wheat varieties, Mahmoudi and Chili, opening up what researchers describe as a “treasure trove” of genetic traits that could help future‑proof global wheat production against...
Reducing reliance: China moves to cut bulk agricultural imports as domestic productivity rises
China is expected to rely less on bulk agricultural product imports over the next decade as new report projects lower imports of grain, soybeans, cotton, edible oils and sugar by 2035.
Leaps by Bayer’s Derek Norman: Why agtech needs to learn to fail faster
With capital tightening and exits slow to materialise, Leaps by Bayer’s Derek Norman argues that agtech must adopt a tougher, more disciplined mindset – testing to fail early, not to validate success – if it wants to remain investable
UK biosolutions eye growth as resource insecurity sharpens
New data from BIA BioSolutions shows UK biosolutions companies have raised £1.46bn in equity since 2018, underlining the sector’s growing importance as policymakers and industry look for domestic, biology‑based solutions to insulate the economy from...
SOSV’s Po Bronson: “I’m betting on the chaos factor going up”
As climate stress squeezes farmer margins and fractures the global food system, SOSV’s Po Bronson believes rising pain could finally accelerate agtech adoption. But only if the sector learns to fund innovation beyond venture capital and embraces...
Cacao alternative: Forestwise gears up for promising illipe butter season as El Niño boosts outlook
Forestwise is gearing up for its most promising illipe butter harvest in years as improving weather conditions and wider sourcing areas signal a long‑awaited rebound for the rainforest‑derived ingredient.
Why crop diversification offers a path to agricultural resilience amid Middle East conflict
The fallout from the Iran war stresses the importance of crop diversification to reduce dependence on importsduring conflict, says the director-general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
Vietnam positions Tay Ninh as multibillion‑dollar high‑tech livestock hub
Vietnam’s Tay Ninh province is stepping up efforts to position itself as the country’s leading high‑tech livestock and food‑processing hub through multibillion‑dollar investments.
Why first‑mile visibility is fast becoming a non‑negotiable for global commodity supply chains
As climate volatility, geopolitical disruption and input shocks converge, supply chain risk is increasingly shaped at the farm and forest level. Treefera’s new bi‑weekly commodity intelligence bulletin signals a shift toward first‑mile visibility as a...
CRISPR wheat cuts carcinogen risk without yield loss, strengthening case for precision gene editing
Ultra‑low asparagine wheat developed by Rothamsted Research shows how precision gene editing can help food producers meet tightening safety regulations, without sacrificing productivity, marking a significant step forward for safer, more compliant food...
Seeding the future: Japan moves to curb unregistered seed exports with new injunctions
Japan is introducing new export injunctions to prevent unauthorised export of seeds and seedlings and extending breeders’ rights by 10 years.
Foray Bioscience and Z’s Nutty Ridge target a faster path to scaling hazelnut trees
A new partnership between plant biomanufacturing start-up Foray Bioscience and New York-based nut tree breeder Z’s Nutty Ridge aims to overcome one of agriculture’s hardest scaling problems: how to commercialise elite varieties of long‑lived perennial...
UK scientists develop B12-fortified pea shoots to tackle nutritional deficiency
A team of researchers in the UK has successfully developed a method to fortify pea shoots with Vitamin B12, potentially offering a new plant-based source for a nutrient typically missing from vegan and vegetarian diets.
Going wild in banana-breeding enables disease-resistant hybrids with improved fruit quality
A groundbreaking study has revealed how a wild banana species from the Himalayas could save the global banana industry from devastating soil-borne diseases, while boosting yields and fruit sweetness.
‘Sharpening our focus’: Olam to sell IT business to priortise ‘farm to fork’ operations
Olam Group is to divest its IT and digital services business Mindsprint, which serves multiple clients across the food and agri-sectors, to technology services and consulting company Wipro for US$375 million.
World Bank‑hosted fund unveils $38m boost for smallholder farmers in drive to tackle food insecurity
New grants aim to raise farmer incomes, strengthen producer organisations and build resilience to climate and economic shocks
Climate crisis impact: Thai farmers in high-risk areas have double mental health risk
Thai farmers living in areas heavily affected by climate change are twice as likely to suffer from depression, with recent flooding events acting as a primary trigger for severe psychological distress.
Snow damage reveals looming crisis in Japan’s leading fruit-producing region
Heavy snow has exposed deeper structural problems in Aomori, Japan where ageing growers and a looming shortage of seedlings are threatening the renewal of orchards.
£1.6bn boost: McCain‑backed report says sustainable farming could transform UK farm profits by 2035
Demos report warns nearly one in five farms operate at a loss. But shifting to sustainable methods could deliver a £1.6bn annual profit uplift
‘Good time to be a dairy farmer’: Fonterra divestment windfall and high milk prices set up strong year for NZ
High milk prices, rising production, and a major cash return from Fonterra’s divestment are setting New Zealand dairy farmers up for a strong financial season.
Green revival: Female-led venture aims to rebuild Maluku’s spice value chain to lift farmer incomes
Sinar Hijau Ventures (SHV) is rebuilding Maluku’s spice value chain to lift farmer incomes and move communities away from extractive work that harms its biodiverse forests.
Pandawa Agri drives Indonesia’s low‑carbon coffee transformation with an integrated farming model
Pandawa Agri Indonesia plans to expand its integrated farming model across 10,000 hectares of coffee in Indonesia to support a major shift toward low‑carbon production.
India’s basmati exports slow as Iran war drives up freight costs, shipping disruptions
India’s basmati rice sector is facing slowed exports, falling prices and rising domestic stockpiles as conflict‑driven freight surcharges and container shortages hinder shipments to key Middle Eastern markets.
Shipping squeeze: Asian feed millers take ‘wait‑and‑see’ approach as Iran war pushes corn prices higher
Feed millers in Asia are holding back on new purchases as the Iran war drives freight costs and corn prices higher, with buyers monitoring how long the disruption in shipping and fuel markets will persist.
Leaps by Bayer’s PJ Amini pushes back after critics say new Playbook alienates early‑stage innovators
VP PJ Amini says the updated Ag Playbook 2.0 framework is meant to equip founders, not deter them, with clearer data on timelines, costs and development hurdles
Gene‑edited crops draw record investor backing as Tropic lands $105m to scale climate‑resilient bananas and rice
UK agri‑biotech Tropic has closed an oversubscribed $105m Series C, the biggest raise yet for a gene‑edited tropical crops company, as investors double down on CRISPR‑enabled tools to boost yield, fight disease and strengthen climate resilience across...
‘Somebody pays the cost’: Retail squeeze is pushing tea plantations to the edge – Dilmah Chairman
Dilmah Tea says retail’s relentless discount culture is undermining tea growers and stripping plantations of the resources needed to stay sustainable.
Vietnam doubles low‑emission rice target early by cutting adoption risks
Vietnam has nearly doubled its low‑emission rice target as adoption risks reduce for farmers across the Mekong Delta.
Cytotrait claims breakthrough for ultra‑high trait expression as it closes £3M seed round
UK spinout says its organelle‑engineering platform could unlock traits not possible to achieve with nuclear genome editing, as investors back new crop development programmes across Europe and North America
Tesco puts ‘low‑carbon’ potatoes on shelves in major test of consumer appetite for sustainable produce
The UK’s first crop of ‘low‑carbon’ potatoes has arrived on supermarket shelves, marking a milestone in efforts to prove that more sustainably produced foods can secure both retailer backing and mass‑market consumer uptake
The next five years will eclipse the last 25: Steve McLean on agriculture’s defining decade
New UK Agri-Tech Centre CEO Steve McLean says the industry is entering a defining period that demands bigger thinking, harder commercial focus, and technologies proven on real farms, not just in labs
Investors back biologicals as Mycoverse raises €2.4m to tackle potato blight
Mycoverse secures €2.4m pre-seed round to accelerate AI‑enabled biocontrol platform, beginning with potato late blight
Domestic disconnect: High costs, weak producer ties hinder local sourcing for Japan’s food makers
Japanese food manufacturers say high costs, unstable supply and weak direct ties with producers prevent them from shifting to domestically sourced raw materials.