https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/rssfeed/country/australasia australasia https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/4453/australias-inghams-invests-50mn-in-ai-enabled-poultry-breeding-farms.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/4453/australias-inghams-invests-50mn-in-ai-enabled-poultry-breeding-farms.html Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:31:41 +0530 Inghams Group Limited announced a significant expansion in its Victorian poultry breeding operations. In partnership with ProTen, Australia’s largest corporate meat chicken grower, Inghams is investing in two new, state-of-the-art poultry breeder production farms in Charlton, Victoria. The collaboration capitalises on ProTen’s proven expertise in poultry farm development and operations, ensuring the delivery of world-class production facilities. The project represents an investment of approximately $50 million and will see the construction of 16 highly automated production sheds across the two farms, with construction commencing in August 2026 and operations expected to begin in the first half of 2029. The new facilities will be managed by Inghams following completion. Once completed, the breeder farms will incorporate the latest technology in egg grading and sorting, utilising artificial intelligence-based systems to assess each egg produced. The scale of the investment and advanced automation will enhance Inghams’ operational efficiency and contribute to reduced transport costs. This project represents a major commitment to regional Victoria and is expected to create employment opportunities within the local Charlton community during both the construction and operational phases. Inghams’ General Manager, Farming & Milling, Sheridan Alfirevich said: “This development represents an important investment in our Victorian farming operations and the Charlton community. Building on our long-standing presence in the region, these new state-of-the-art breeder farms will meaningfully expand our national breeding capacity and deliver world-class animal welfare and biosecurity outcomes. We are excited about the project and look forward to continuing to grow alongside the Charlton community for many years to come.” ProTen Chief Executive Officer, James Wentworth said: “We are pleased to partner with Inghams in creating this state-of-the-art facility that will help feed Victoria into the future. We are also very grateful for the support Buloke Council has provided for the project.” ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/4359/intergrain-to-lead-australias-national-faba-bean-breeding-program-under-9-5-mn-partnership.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/4359/intergrain-to-lead-australias-national-faba-bean-breeding-program-under-9-5-mn-partnership.html Mon, 27 Jul 2026 16:30:40 +0530 Australian plant breeding company InterGrain has been selected to lead a new National Faba Bean Breeding Program under a $9.5 million, 2.5-year co-investment partnership with the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and Adelaide University, marking a significant step towards strengthening Australia's pulse breeding capabilities and improving the competitiveness of its faba bean industry. The collaborative program will consolidate Australia's faba bean breeding activities into a single national initiative focused on developing improved varieties with higher yield potential, stronger disease resistance, enhanced grain quality and wider adaptation across major production regions. The breeding program will target South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia while also supporting expansion into emerging production areas. The initiative reflects a strategic shift towards a nationally coordinated breeding framework designed to improve research efficiency, optimise resource utilisation and accelerate the delivery of improved genetics to Australian grain growers. By integrating breeding expertise, advanced technologies and regional testing networks, the partnership aims to shorten variety development timelines while responding more effectively to changing climatic conditions and evolving market requirements. InterGrain, widely recognised for its cereal breeding programs, is expanding its portfolio into pulse crops as demand for sustainable crop rotations and plant-based protein continues to grow. The company said faba beans play an increasingly important role in improving farm profitability while delivering agronomic benefits through nitrogen fixation, soil health improvement and diversified cropping systems. The breeding program will leverage InterGrain's national research infrastructure, breeding expertise and advanced rapid-generation technologies to accelerate genetic gain. The company will focus on developing varieties capable of delivering improved productivity while strengthening resilience against major diseases and environmental stresses affecting Australian pulse production. Leadership of the new breeding initiative will be undertaken by Dr Federico Ribalta, who joined InterGrain in 2020 following research at the University of Western Australia's Centre for Plant Genetics and Breeding. His expertise in accelerated breeding technologies for pulse crops is expected to support faster progression from parental crossing through to commercial variety release, enabling growers to access improved genetics in shorter timeframes. The announcement comes during a period of significant infrastructure expansion for InterGrain. The company has recently completed its new breeding facility in Horsham, Victoria, strengthening its research presence across key pulse-growing regions, including the Wimmera and Australia's eastern grain belt where faba bean production is well established. InterGrain is also preparing to relocate to a new corporate headquarters and breeding facility in Forrestdale, Western Australia, in late 2027, a move expected to further increase breeding capacity and operational throughput. Beyond improving farm productivity, the program is expected to support broader industry objectives, including increased pulse production, stronger export competitiveness and growing global demand for plant-based protein ingredients. By combining national breeding capability with modern breeding technologies and collaborative research, the initiative aims to deliver a new generation of faba bean varieties better suited to Australia's diverse production environments while strengthening the long-term sustainability of the country's pulse sector. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/4347/eu-rapeseed-imports-fall-as-stronger-harvest-curbs-demand-australia-retains-top-supplier-position.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/4347/eu-rapeseed-imports-fall-as-stronger-harvest-curbs-demand-australia-retains-top-supplier-position.html Fri, 24 Jul 2026 09:12:52 +0530 The European Union's rapeseed imports from non-EU countries declined sharply during the 2025/26 marketing season as a stronger domestic harvest reduced import demand, although Australia retained its position as the bloc's largest external supplier. According to European Commission data, the EU-27 imported 5.4 million tonnes of rapeseed from non-EU countries during the 2025/26 season, down significantly from 7.5 million tonnes in the previous marketing year. The decline reflects improved domestic production, reducing the need for overseas supplies. The Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen (UFOP) said it expects another strong EU rapeseed harvest in 2026 despite extreme weather conditions experienced across parts of Europe in recent weeks. The association noted that feedstock demand continues to be shaped by national quota obligations under the implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive III (RED III), a development expected to favour European rapeseed producers. Australia remained the EU's leading overseas supplier despite a substantial decline in shipments. Imports from Australia fell approximately 41 per cent year on year to 2.1 million tonnes, while deliveries from Ukraine, the bloc's second-largest supplier, declined by around 34 per cent to 1.6 million tonnes. Imports from Canada also weakened during the season, falling to 870,000 tonnes from 1.1 million tonnes a year earlier. Because Canadian rapeseed production largely relies on genetically modified varieties, rapeseed oil derived from Canadian imports faces restrictions for certain food applications within the European Union and is used predominantly in biofuel production. Despite the decline in imports, the EU continues to rely on external supplies to meet overall demand. In response, UFOP has urged European farmers to maximise opportunities for sustainable rapeseed cultivation when planning crop rotations for the 2027 harvest, highlighting the crop's growing importance within Europe's renewable energy and food production sectors. The association also pointed to revised NUTS 2 default greenhouse gas emission saving values, noting that rapeseed used for biofuel production now demonstrates improved emissions performance. According to UFOP, rapeseed cultivated on Germany's mineral soils delivers the strongest greenhouse gas savings within the EU, creating a competitive advantage that should be reflected in future sourcing and marketing strategies. The latest trade figures underscore how stronger domestic production, evolving sustainability policies and changing biofuel regulations are reshaping Europe's rapeseed market, while maintaining the strategic importance of imports from key suppliers such as Australia and Ukraine. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/reports-white-papers/67/4190/defining-trends-in-asian-agriculture-during-h1-2026.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/reports-white-papers/67/4190/defining-trends-in-asian-agriculture-during-h1-2026.html Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0530 The first six months of 2026 will be remembered in Asian agriculture as a season of two clocks running at very different speeds. One clock — the one ticking inside research institutes, regulatory agencies and the slide decks of agri-food investors — moved unusually fast. Genome-edited rice advanced toward farmers' fields in India. China finalised its second registration list of genetically modified corn and soybean varieties. Singapore quietly logged its fourth cultivated-meat approval and published, for the first time, a consolidated public list of every novel food it has cleared. India's Union Budget rewrote the language of farm policy around artificial intelligence and digital public infrastructure. By almost any measure of institutional momentum, the science and the statecraft of agriculture in Asia accelerated. The other clock belongs to the weather, the soil and the balance sheet — and it told a harder story. The India Meteorological Department opened the year with its most pessimistic monsoon forecast in more than two decades. Venture capital into the region's agritech sector remained roughly two-thirds below its peak. And the gap between a technology cleared in a lab and a technology working on a smallholding the size of a tennis court stayed stubbornly, frustratingly wide. The defining tension of H1 2026 was not whether Asian agriculture is innovating. It plainly is. The question is whether that innovation is reaching the ground fast enough to matter when the rains fall short. The science finally moves For more than a decade, the story of crop biotechnology in much of Asia was a story of stalled promise. India had approved exactly one genetically modified crop for commercial cultivation — Bt cotton, back in 2006 — and the political and regulatory machinery around transgenics had effectively seized up. What changed, and what came into sharper focus through H1 2026, is that the region has found a way around that impasse: genome editing. The distinction matters enormously. Where conventional GM crops carry foreign DNA and trigger the full weight of biosafety regulation, genome-edited varieties produced through SDN-1 and SDN-2 techniques edit a plant's own genes and leave no foreign genetic material behind. A 2022 office memorandum from India's environment ministry exempted such transgene-free edited plants from the strictest tier of approval, requiring only that an institutional biosafety committee certify the absence of exogenous DNA. That single regulatory differentiation has done what years of debate over GM could not: it has put new traits on a credible path to farmers. The proof points are now real rather than theoretical. India's two genome-edited rice lines — an improved Samba Mahsuri and an edited version of MTU-1010 — cleared multi-location trials, with the enhanced Samba Mahsuri showing a roughly 19 percent average yield uplift and the MTU-1010 variant demonstrating tolerance to saline and alkaline soils. A third candidate, a canola-quality mustard edited for disease and pest resistance, has been moving through its second year of trials across sixteen locations, with a possible release flagged for later in 2026. Behind these headline varieties sits a deeper strategic play: Indian scientists have been advancing indigenous gene-editing tools — TnpB-based miniature editors and platforms beyond the patent-heavy Cas9 — explicitly to reduce dependence on foreign intellectual property. A pipeline that includes drought-tolerant rice and maize, beta-carotene-rich banana, and high-oleic groundnut is no longer a wish list; it is a regulatory queue. China spent the half-year pressing in the same direction, but from a position of far greater scale and urgency. As the world's largest importer of corn and soybeans, Beijing has framed seed self-reliance as a matter of national security, and its biotechnology programme reflects that framing. By early 2026 the country had finalised its second registration list of GM corn and soybean varieties — building on the first batch of production licences issued at the end of 2023 — and had approved its first gene-edited wheat and corn for domestic cultivation. The government's own projections put potential yield gains from these varieties at around 12 percent, and some industry analysts believe the eventual planted area could reach tens of millions of hectares. China still moves cautiously, public ambivalence about GM food remains real, and foreign investment in its agricultural biotech sector is largely walled off. But the trajectory through H1 2026 was unmistakable: a deliberate, state-driven push to close the yield gap with the Americas using domestically owned genetics. Two of Asia's largest agricultural economies, in other words, spent the first half of 2026 demonstrating that the long biotech stalemate is breaking — not through the transgenic crops that dominated the last era's debates, but through precision editing that sidesteps both the regulatory burden and much of the political resistance. Policy learns to speak in code If genome editing was the science story of H1 2026, the digitalisation of farm policy was its administrative counterpart — and nowhere was the shift more explicit than in India's Union Budget for 2026-27, presented at the start of February. The numbers themselves told a story of consolidation rather than transformation. Agriculture and allied activities drew an allocation in the region of ₹1.62 lakh crore, up around 7 percent on the previous year's revised estimates, with a separate fertiliser subsidy of roughly ₹1.71 lakh crore continuing to absorb global price shocks on farmers' behalf. Direct income support under PM-KISAN held flat at ₹63,500 crore for a third consecutive year — a sign that the transfer is now treated as a baseline entitlement rather than a lever to be pulled. The more revealing signals lay in where new money and new language went. The budget leaned hard into what one agtech commentator described as an "AI-first" vision of agriculture. The headline instrument was Bharat-VISTAAR, a multilingual, AI-enabled advisory platform funded at ₹150 crore and designed to knit together the AgriStack digital identity framework and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research's package of practices into something a farmer can actually query in their own language. Alongside it sat the continuing build-out of the Digital Agriculture Mission, with a stated ambition to generate unique digital IDs for 110 million farmers. The thematic centre of gravity shifted, too — away from the wheat-and-rice staples and toward high-value agriculture, with dedicated promotion schemes for coconut, cashew, cocoa and sandalwood, and a record allocation for fisheries built around the integrated development of 500 reservoirs. It would be easy to read all of this as unambiguous progress, and harder but more honest to note the tensions inside it. The same budget trimmed the flagship crop-insurance scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, to its lowest allocation in years — a striking choice in a year when, by the government's own Economic Survey, weather shocks were inflicting heavier and more frequent yield losses. Allocations for agricultural research and education edged down even as the rhetoric of innovation rose. The architecture being built is genuinely impressive: a data layer, an AI advisory layer, a diversification push toward crops with better margins. Whether that architecture reaches the rainfed smallholder before the next failed monsoon does — that remains the open question of the entire enterprise. What the budget made unambiguous is the direction of travel. Across Asia, the policy conversation has moved decisively from inputs and subsidies toward data, diversification and digital infrastructure. The instruments now carry names like AgriStack and Bharat-VISTAAR rather than minimum support prices. The bet is that intelligence — delivered cheaply, at scale, in the right language — can do what decades of input subsidy could not: make 140 million Indian farmers more resilient to climate and market volatility. It is a serious bet. H1 2026 placed it; the field will settle it. The protein frontier grows up Few corners of Asian agri-food have generated more heat over the past five years than alternative protein, and few entered 2026 in greater need of a reality check. The first half of the year delivered both fresh regulatory milestones and a sober recalibration of expectations — and Singapore, as ever, sat at the centre of the story. The city-state remains the only place in Asia to have built a working, repeatable regulatory pathway for novel foods, and in H1 2026 it made that pathway newly transparent. In March, the Singapore Food Agency published its first consolidated public list of approved novel foods — fourteen products and ingredients spanning cultivated meat, algal protein and a range of fermentation-derived foods. For an industry that had long operated against a backdrop of case-by-case decisions, a centralised, citable register was more than housekeeping; it was a signal of regulatory maturity that the rest of the region will study closely. The approvals kept coming, too. In April, the Paris-based startup Parima — formed from the merger of Gourmey and Vital Meat — won clearance for cultivated duck, six months after its cultivated chicken was approved, making it the first company anywhere to hold regulatory green lights for two animal species and bringing Singapore's tally of approved cultivated-meat products to four. Parima's stated playbook is instructive: begin in high-end gastronomy, where a cultivated duck endorsed by Michelin-starred chefs can command a premium, then move toward targeted retail. Its production model — cells grown in suspension in standard industrial bioreactors, deployable in partner infrastructure across Asia-Pacific without rebuilding a facility from scratch — points to where the economics of this sector may eventually have to land. And yet the most important alternative-protein development of the half-year was arguably a step back rather than a step forward. Singapore confirmed that it is retiring its long-standing "30 by 30" local-production target in favour of a broader strategy — the Singapore Food Story 2 — built on four pillars: local production of protein and fibre, import diversification, stockpiling and global partnerships. Cultivated meat and other alternative proteins, the government made clear, are no longer counted as part of the near-term food-security plan. The reasons were candid: higher-than-expected production costs and weaker-than-expected consumer acceptance globally. The sector has not been abandoned — R&D funding continues, and officials left the door open to a larger future role "if and when" the economics turn — but the framing changed from imminent solution to long-term option. That recalibration is healthy, and it captures something true about the whole alternative-protein moment in Asia. The regulatory science is maturing; the regulatory transparency is improving; the species count is climbing. What has not yet arrived is the cost curve and the consumer pull that would turn a string of approvals into a meaningful share of the protein on Asian plates. H1 2026 was the half-year in which the industry stopped over-promising and started, more usefully, to grow up. The capital reckoning Underwriting all of this — the gene-editing pipelines, the digital platforms, the bioreactors — is capital, and the capital story of H1 2026 was one of hard-won discipline after an exuberant boom. The defining document arrived in April, when Omnivore, Beanstalk AgTech and Briter released a data-driven analysis of the agritech landscape across thirteen Southeast Asian markets, backed by the IFC, FMO Ventures and the Rabo Foundation. Its central claim was bullish: digitalisation and agritech adoption could unlock more than US$90 billion in annual GDP gains across Southeast Asia by 2033, in a region where agriculture contributes roughly 15 percent of GDP and employs up to 40 percent of the workforce. But the report's value lay in its candour about how that prize had been pursued so far. Agritech investment across the region peaked at over US$750 million in 2022 before falling nearly 70 percent by 2025 — a sharp correction as investors confronted the structural realities of fragmented value chains and the genuine difficulty of scaling ventures across markets that share a map but little else. The report's most useful conclusions were its uncomfortable ones. There is, it argued, no unified Southeast Asian market to conquer; roughly two-thirds of documented cross-border expansion attempts had failed, and premature regional expansion was the cause of more than 60 percent of venture collapses between 2022 and 2025. The most defensible opportunities, it concluded, are single-market plays built around the right value chain, the right business model and a local execution team — not the pan-regional land grabs that defined the boom years. As Omnivore's Mark Kahn put it, patient, disciplined capital that understands local market dynamics is what actually moves these ecosystems forward. Tellingly, the authors held up India as the instructive model — a market whose venture ecosystem matured through a hard decade of governance reform, exits and the unglamorous work of building market infrastructure. Development finance institutions and impact investors have committed a combined US$650 million to agrifood funds across the region and remain central to the capital stack, but the report was clear that the next phase of scaling will require a blend of equity, credit and concessional capital rather than venture money alone. For an industry that spent the early 2020s chasing valuations, this is a more sober and more durable foundation. The money flowing into Asian agritech in 2026 is more patient, more local and more honest about the structural friction of fragmented smallholder agriculture. That is not a retreat. It is the sector learning, expensively, how the region actually works. The field doesn't care about any of this And then there is the weather, which has the disconcerting habit of ignoring every register of approved novel foods and every line of an AI advisory platform. The single most consequential development of H1 2026 for hundreds of millions of Asian farmers was not a clearance or a funding round. It was the India Meteorological Department's first-stage forecast, issued in April, that the 2026 southwest monsoon would deliver around 92 percent of the long-period average — a below-normal season, and by some accounts the lowest first-stage forecast in at least twenty-five years. The climate signals behind the number were ominous: weak La Niña conditions transitioning toward neutral, with a meaningful probability of El Niño developing during the monsoon season itself. The historical record is unforgiving on this point — across the El Niño years India logged between 1951 and 2022, every drought year was an El Niño year. By mid-year the strain was already visible. The season opened well below normal, agriculture officials flagged El Niño risk across a dozen states and called for district-level contingency plans, and crop-weather monitors issued severe dry alerts across the soybean and groundnut belts, threatening to delay sowing and shorten the growing window. Roughly 60 percent of India's farmers depend on monsoon rainfall, and close to half the country's farmland lacks assured irrigation; the kharif crops sown from June — rice, soybean, cotton, pulses, groundnut — rely almost entirely on those rains. Reservoir buffers, fuller than in recent years, offer some cushion, and a late-developing positive Indian Ocean Dipole could yet offset part of the El Niño signal as it did in 2023. But variability, not the aggregate number, will decide the season. Ratings agencies were already pencilling in downside risks to agricultural growth and upside risks to food inflation. This is the context against which every laboratory triumph of the half-year has to be read. A genome-edited drought-tolerant rice is precisely the kind of innovation that matters in a 92-percent monsoon year — but the edited Samba Mahsuri reaching commercial scale and the drought-tolerant lines reaching farmers are still future events, not present realities. An AI advisory platform is exactly what a smallholder facing an erratic kharif season could use — but Bharat-VISTAAR's value depends entirely on whether it reaches remote, rainfed districts in time to change a planting decision. The crop-insurance scheme that would cushion a failed season was trimmed in the same budget that funded the AI platform. There is a related, quieter argument that gained traction in the region's agtech commentary at the start of 2026: that the sector has over-indexed on inventing new tools and under-invested in deploying the ones it already has. Asia-Pacific accounts for half of the 1.3 billion tonnes of food wasted globally each year; in South Asia, where a staggering share of the population is born underweight or stunted, around 40 percent of all food perishes before it is eaten. The toolbox to address this — from biologicals to gene-editing to AI robotics — is already substantial. The constraint is rarely the technology. It is the absence of a safety net that lets a smallholder absorb the risk of trying something new, and the persistent difficulty of tracing a benefit back to the tool that produced it. The most important agricultural work of 2026, on this reading, is less about the next breakthrough than about closing the distance between the breakthrough and the farm. Where the two clocks meet If H1 2026 had a single physical setting where its two clocks were visibly synchronised, it was the exhibition floor. In May, Agritechnica Asia returned to Bangkok under the theme "Farm. Farmer. Future." — co-located with HortEx Thailand, drawing around 350 exhibitors and an expected 18,000-plus visitors from across the region, and headlined by a new conference on smart agriculture and unmanned agricultural systems. Taiwan's Asia Agri-Tech Expo ran in the same month with a comparable emphasis on AI smart farming, automation and aquaculture. The Southeast Asian agricultural mechanisation market that these events serve is projected to keep growing at around 4 percent annually toward US$2.5 billion by 2028, driven by rice, sugarcane, cassava and maize across the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. What these gatherings made tangible is the through-line of the entire half-year: physical AI is moving from the conference panel to the field. Robotics, sensors, unmanned systems and data platforms are no longer the speculative content of a startup zone; they are increasingly the practical content of a mechanisation strategy adapted to Asian production systems and smallholder economics. The relevant question across the region has shifted from whether the technology works to whether it can be put, affordably and durably, into the hands of the farmer who needs it. That is the right question, and it frames what the second half of 2026 will test. Watch for India's genome-edited mustard, which could secure release in the coming months and would mark the first edited oilseed to reach the field. Watch how the kharif season actually resolves once July and August — the months that carry the bulk of the rainfall and cover the critical growth stages — deliver their verdict on the El Niño signal. Watch whether the capital discipline the Omnivore report prescribed translates into the patient, single-market, locally led ventures it championed. And watch, at October's Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit in Singapore, whether the alternative-protein sector can show a cost curve to match its lengthening list of approvals. The first half of 2026 proved that Asian agriculture can innovate at speed across science, policy and capital. The genome editors are working, the AI platforms are funded, the regulatory pathways are maturing, and the money is wiser than it was. What the half-year could not yet prove is the only thing that ultimately counts: that this acceleration reaches the field before the field runs dry. The lab clock is fast. The field clock is the one keeping real time. Closing the distance between them is the work that remains. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/interviews/67/4138/why-asias-pork-producers-are-increasingly-vulnerable-to-global-trade-disruptions.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/interviews/67/4138/why-asias-pork-producers-are-increasingly-vulnerable-to-global-trade-disruptions.html Mon, 22 Jun 2026 11:40:33 +0530 In an exclusive interview with AgroSpectrum, Juver Membrebe (Technical Manager (Swine), ASEAN, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, Boehringer Ingelheim) argues that the biggest threat from ongoing Strait of Hormuz disruptions is not direct agricultural damage but the cascading impact on feed costs, animal health inputs, freight networks, and pork production economics. He warns that food security across Asia-Pacific is increasingly tied to global supply chain resilience, as import-dependent feed and veterinary supply systems become more vulnerable to geopolitical shocks. Membrebe highlights that rising input costs and persistent disease risks are creating a dual-margin squeeze that is accelerating consolidation across the region’s swine industry. As volatility becomes a permanent feature of global commerce, he contends that robust biosecurity, resilient animal health systems, and coordinated supply chain strategies will be critical to safeguarding pork production and food affordability. With the Strait of Hormuz emerging as a persistent geopolitical flashpoint, is the Asia-Pacific swine and pork ecosystem now effectively exposed to energy geopolitics through feed costs, logistics inflation, and veterinary supply chain stress rather than direct agricultural disruption? For the swine sector, the feed grain prices are sensitive to energy costs at every stage, from fertilizer production to freight. Disruptions to ammonia and nitrogen shipments directly affect fertilizer availability and cost, and when shipping routes are disrupted or insurance premiums spike, that pressure moves quickly through to landed feed costs across ASEAN and North Asia. Veterinary inputs, including vaccines and biologicals, follow similar pathways. Vietnam illustrates this dynamic clearly. With a pig herd of roughly 26 million head and pork production of around 3.2 million tonnes carcass weight equivalent in 2024, Vietnam is one of the region’s most significant pork producers. At the same time, the sector remains structurally dependent on imported feed ingredients, which are priced in $ (USD) and highly sensitive to global energy and freight costs. So, while the current tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz do not destroy a soybean crop or shut down a slaughterhouse directly, it can quietly erode the economic viability of pork production across the region within one to two production cycles. From where I sit, working across markets as different as Vietnam, Korea, and Australia, the vulnerability is not theoretical. It is already being felt in margin conversations at farm level, reinforcing the need for resilient, well-supported production systems. Across ASEAN and South Korea, pork demand is structurally high, yet feed and swine health inputs remain import-dependent. Has food security in these markets quietly shifted from production risk to global supply chain risk concentration? That shift is already underway, and it has happened gradually enough that policies have not fully adapted. In the past, food security in this region was mainly viewed through the lens of domestic production, animal health and disease control, and farm productivity. Those factors remain critical, but the nature of risk has broadened. Today, producers in markets like Vietnam or the Philippines can operate well-managed farms with healthy animals and strong local demand yet still face pressure on profitability due to factors beyond their immediate control—such as the cost and availability of key inputs like feed ingredients. This underscores the growing importance of strengthening resilience at the farm level. In Vietnam, pork remains the dominant meat protein, accounting for roughly half of total meat consumption, making it highly influential in household food spending and inflation dynamics. That structural reliance means any disruption to production economics can translate to wider social and economic impacts, not just commercial ones. The same dynamic holds across Thailand, the Philippines, and South Korea. Swine health management—particularly vaccines, therapeutics, and biosecurity inputs—relies on highly globalised pharmaceutical supply chains. Are these becoming a second systemic vulnerability layer beyond feed inflation? This dimension is often overlooked because veterinary inputs represent a smaller share of total cost than feed. However, their importance to overall production stability is far greater than their cost would suggest. Vaccines and biologicals are not interchangeable commodities. Their development, regulatory approval, handling requirements, and quality standards reflect years of investment and strict oversight. In today’s environment, ensuring consistent availability and reliability of these products has become more complex, which highlights the importance of strong partnerships between producers and trusted animal health providers to maintain access to high-quality solutions. In Vietnam, pork production is forecasted to grow modestly in 2026, supported primarily by large-scale integrated producers, while smaller operations continue to face disease and cost pressure. In that context, interruptions to vaccine or biological supply are not a minor inconvenience. They are a direct threat to herd stability and production continuity. Ensuring supply reliability and contingency planning in health management is therefore not optional; it is a core pillar of risk management. To what extent are rising feed costs, driven by energy-linked grain and freight volatility, fundamentally altering herd economics across ASEAN pork producers, particularly small and mid-scale operations? The impact on small and mid-scale producers is severe and, in many cases, structurally consequential. Feed typically represents around 60–70 per cent of total swine production cost. When that number rises because of freight inflation or energy-linked grain price volatility, the first cuts are often made in preventive health and biosecurity. Vietnam again demonstrates this. ASF outbreaks in recent years have disproportionately affected backyard and smallholder farms, where biosecurity investment is low, and economic buffers are limited. The farms least able to absorb cost volatility are also the most exposed to disease risk. That interaction between input cost pressure and biosecurity capacity is one of the most critical challenges facing the ASEAN swine sector today, and one where strengthening prevention and on-farm practices remain essential. South Korea operates one of the most biosecure and technologically advanced pork systems in the region. Does its model offer genuine insulation from global shocks, or merely delay transmission of feed and input inflation? South Korea’s biosecurity infrastructure is genuinely world-class, and its disease management outcomes are among the best in Asia. However, biosecurity protects against pathogens, not commodity price volatility. Korea remains dependent on imported feed ingredients, and global grain and freight dynamics transmit directly into farm economics regardless of health system strength. What Korea’s model does provide is resilience at the production layer. Effective disease control prevents risk compounding, allowing producers to focus on managing cost pressure rather than simultaneous health crises. That is a significant advantage, and it highlights the value of strong preventive health systems supported by science-based approaches. Australia and New Zealand are often viewed as structurally resilient due to domestic feed availability. However, are they increasingly exposed through imported veterinary inputs, pharmaceuticals, and energy-sensitive logistics chains? Australia and New Zealand benefit from a strong structural advantage in having reliable domestic feed grain production. It provides a level of stability that many other markets do not have. However, this does not mean they are insulated from broader pressures. Both countries still rely on externally sourced veterinary medicines, vaccines, and other specialized inputs that are critical to animal health and production. In addition, operating costs remain sensitive to changes in areas such as energy and transportation, which can influence overall production efficiency. Is the regional pork trade across ASEAN, South Korea, and Oceania still a collection of national markets, or has it effectively become a synchronized pricing system where global feed shocks propagate almost instantaneously? The reality sits between the two, but regional markets are becoming more interconnected, and this is happening faster than policies are adjusting. While each country still has its own production base and demand dynamics, price movements are increasingly influenced by common external factors, particularly feed costs, import flows used to balance supply, and process economics. What has changed most is the speed at which these influences are felt. Markets are not fully unified, but they are reacting more quickly to similar pressures. As a result, maintaining stable and efficient production systems—supported by strong animal health and preventive practices—has become even more important in managing volatility and ensuring consistent supply. With swine health risks rising alongside input cost pressures, are producers being forced into a dual-margin squeeze that accelerates consolidation and vertically integrated agribusiness dominance across the region? Yes, this is a clear trend across the region. As costs rise and disease risks persist, producers are facing increasing pressure on profitability from multiple directions. Those with greater financial resources are better positioned to adapt as they can invest in efficiency, strengthen farm management, and scale their operations. Others, particularly smaller producers, often have fewer options and face more difficult choices. Vietnam provides a clear example, where the sector is gradually shifting from household-scale farming toward larger, more structured operations. Similar patterns are emerging in markets like Thailand and the Philippines. From an animal health perspective, larger operations can support more consistent investment in preventive care and biosecurity, which helps improve overall stability. At the same time, it is important that smaller and transitioning producers are not left behind. Ensuring access to knowledge, practical tools, and best practices will be key to helping them adapt and remain part of the sector’s long-term development. How significant is maritime insurance inflation and shipping volatility—rather than actual supply shortages—in reshaping pork trade flows and import dependency across Asia-Pacific markets? This is an important but often overlooked factor shaping how markets evolve. Sudden shortages tend to draw immediate attention and response from both industry and policymakers. In contrast, gradual increases in underlying costs are less visible, which can make their overall impact easier to underestimate until they begin to significantly affect prices. Higher energy, fertilizer, and transport costs, feed through into food costs and can intensify cost‑of‑living pressures. At what point does pork in Asia-Pacific transition from a commodity market into a strategic food security asset, requiring coordinated regional buffers for feed grains, veterinary inputs, and cross-border trade stabilization mechanisms? In many ways, this shift is already happening, even if it is not always explicitly defined. Pork plays a central role in diets, economies, and livelihoods across Asia-Pacific, so periods of disruption—whether from disease or rising costs—quickly highlight its broader importance beyond a typical agricultural product. Vietnam is a strong example. With a population of over 100 million and pork as a primary protein source, any disruption to supply can affect food prices and the wider economy almost immediately. Managing such situations has required close coordination between government, industry, and external partners, rather than isolated actions. More broadly, a range of ongoing pressures—from disease risks to rising production costs—are prompting countries to think more proactively about how to maintain stable and reliable production. This includes improving access to key inputs, strengthening animal health practices, and ensuring markets can continue to function smoothly even during periods of stress. While formal regional coordination is still developing, there is a growing recognition that maintaining stability in pork production is important not only for the sector itself, but also for food affordability, economic resilience, and rural livelihoods. As a result, pork is increasingly viewed as an essential part of the food system that requires sustained attention and forward planning. -- Suchetana Choudhury (suchetana.choudhuri@agrospectrumindia.com) ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/3509/from-additives-to-spices-cac48-redraws-rules-of-global-food-trade.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/3509/from-additives-to-spices-cac48-redraws-rules-of-global-food-trade.html Thu, 08 Jan 2026 11:50:16 +0530 Codex and FAO officials detail how updated standards aim to protect consumers without triggering disproportionate trade disruption for export-dependent economies In an exclusive Agrospectrum and NUFFOODS Spectrum interview with global food-standards leaders — Sarah Cahill, Codex Secretary; Lingping Zhang, Food Standards Officer, Codex Secretariat; Markus Lipp, Senior Food Safety Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); Gracia Brisco, Food Standards Officer, Codex Secretariat; and Hilde Kruse, Senior Food Standards Officer, Codex Secretariat — CAC48 emerges as a decisive moment for Codex amid rising geopolitical fragmentation. The experts reaffirm Codex’s science-based, consensus-driven mandate, which shaped major reforms including additive reviews, aflatoxin updates, pesticide-residue reference guidelines and new maximum lead levels for spices. They underline how improved Codes of Practice, surveillance support and harmonised quality parameters enable consumer protection while minimising trade disruption for export-reliant economies. Looking ahead, they highlight the Codex Strategic Plan 2026–2031, which places digital traceability, climate-risk foresight, and advanced analytical technologies at the core of modernising global food safety governance. Edited excerpts; Codex at a Geopolitical Crossroads The 48th Session saw critical standards adopted across additives, contaminants, and fresh-produce quality. At a time when food systems face geopolitical fragmentation, supply-chain shocks, and rising protectionism, how does Codex ensure these standards remain science-led, globally harmonized, and insulated from political pressure? The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is a Member-driven body with its commitment to a science-based approach to standard setting enshrined in its procedures. Its work is guided by its strategic goals, and its core values of collaboration, inclusiveness, consensus building and transparency. Codex texts are the benchmark for food safety under the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) and are relevant to the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) where WTO members refer to harmonization with international standards such as the Codex Alimentarius for food-related issues such as labelling. Codex standards play an important role in addressing specific trade concerns or for dispute settlement cases. Wherever you are, whatever you do, safe food is an everyday need. And it is a global commodity. These aspects are integral to every discussion in the Codex Alimentarius Commission. “Together” was also the theme of CAC48, which served to highlight that when it comes to food safety and quality it is only by working together that we can effectively and efficiently ensure food is safe and of good quality.  The GSFA Overhaul: Science, Safety, and Consumer Trust More than 500 food additive provisions were reviewed, leading to revocations and new inclusions. What principles guided the reassessment—particularly for colourants like annatto extracts—and how does FAO ensure regulators and industry transition smoothly to these updated provisions without disrupting product availability or trade flows? All Codex work is conducted following approval by CAC. Thus, the decision for reassessment was taken by Members. In the case of annatto extracts, this decision was based on: The need to align the General standard for food additives with relevant sections of commodity standards. In this case, for example, there was a need to align with the Standard for fermented milks, which does not provide for the addition of annatto extracts in plain milk. Codex texts are developed through consensus by all its Members in a deliberate manner that often spans a timeframe of several years. The national Codex contact points serve as a primary node to disseminate all applicable information to national stakeholders. In addition, FAO provides support when requested by Member Countries to strengthen national Codex structures, thereby enhancing national capabilities in disseminating all relevant Codex texts to national stakeholders. Aflatoxins in Peanuts: New Science, New Responsibilities The revised Code of Practice on aflatoxins integrates updated agronomic science, maturity-stage tables, and roasting effects. How will FAO help producing countries—especially smallholder-dependent economies—translate these best practices into field-level change? Are new surveillance, extension, or capacity-building mechanisms planned? FAO stays ready to support its members needs and will respond to requests by its members for additional capacity building measures correspondingly. FAO and Codex furthermore have published numerous guidance documents, codes of practice and related texts that is publicly available, ready to be used by any other organization that would like to use this information in order to support producers of peanuts. Lead Limits in Spices: Balancing Public Health and Trade facilitation With new maximum levels now set for dried bark (cinnamon) and culinary herbs, exporting nations such as —India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia—face compliance pressure. How does Codex balance the dual mandate of protecting consumers health while ensuring fair practices in trade, in this case, preventing trade disruptions for economies reliant on spice exports? The mandate to protect consumer health and ensure fair practices in the food trade is the statutory purpose of CAC. This means that, when it comes to food safety standards such as maximum levels for contaminants in foods, CAC will not establish more stringent measures than necessary to protect consumers health so that the measures themselves do not become a technical barrier to trade which may then translate in trade disruption that may impact economic growth and ultimately food security.   Although spices and culinary herbs are consumed in small amounts, as opposed to other foods, it remains important to assess the safety of lead levels in these foods due to the impact of lead toxicity on human health that may include neurodevelopmental effects such as decreases in Intelligence Quota (IQ) and attention span in children, impaired renal function, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, impaired fertility, and adverse pregnancy outcomes and therefore the ALARA continued to apply when CCCF discusses risk management considerations related to health and trade so that while ensuring the safety of the food, this does not imply high rejections rate of lot consignments, at import control point. CCCF does provide support to Codex Members to enable them to comply with MLs, by developing codes of practice, a compendium of risk management measures and practices to assist in reducing food contamination, in this case CAC40 adopted in 2017 the Code of practice for the prevention and reduction of mycotoxins in spices (CXC 78-2017). FAO does have a role to play in assisting countries with the implementation of the CoP, helping them to identify specific risk management measures that may not be included in the CoP, as they are usually overarching texts, that can complement the measures applicable worldwide that are described in these CoPs. The Codex Alimentarius Commission has now adopted MLs for lead in spices and culinary herbs, specifically, dried bark (cinnamon) and dried culinary herbs. The MLs are 2.5 mg/kg for lead in spices, dried bark and 2.0 mg/kg for lead in culinary herbs, dried and will now be added to the General Standard for contaminants and toxins in food and feed (CXS 193-1995).  Pesticide Reference Materials: A Quiet but Critical Reform The guidelines allowing extended use of pesticide reference materials beyond labelled expiry dates could significantly reduce laboratory costs and waste. What drove this reform? And how does FAO envision it strengthening residue monitoring systems in low- and middle-income countries where testing infrastructure remains limited? Pesticide residues in food are a subject of particular concern for consumers and in the food trade. To ensure the safety of food, the regulation of pesticide use, and relevant residues, must be enforced and guaranteed. Part of the process of testing for pesticide residues relies on laboratories being able to access what are known as reference materials, or RMs. But these are costly and sold with 2-to-5-year short-term expiry dates, though there is no requirement to find maximum shelf life. This can force laboratories to buy new RMs more frequently than potentially necessary. This leads to additional work and additional costs, and that can hinder how much testing can be done.  The Codex Alimentarius Commission has now adopted guidelines that provide a scientifically sound framework to monitor the purity and stability of reference materials under defined conditions, which, if implemented correctly, may allow continued use of RMs beyond their expiry date - where purity remains within acceptable limits. This reduces recurring costs, minimizes waste, and ensures confidence in the reliability of pesticide residue analysis.  The work on the development of guidelines for monitoring the purity and stability of reference materials of pesticides during prolonged storage commenced at CCPR51 in 2019, when some delegations expressed concerns regarding the limitation of the use of reference materials beyond the expiry date, leading to significant recurring costs for laboratories. As chair of the electronic working group (EWG), India led the work to develop these guidelines. FAO stays ready to support its members needs and will respond to requests by its members for additional capacity building measures correspondingly.  Read more about this work in the 2025 edition of the CODEX magazine   Standard for Fresh Dates: Trade Enablement for Climate-Stressed Regions The new standard comes after a decade of negotiations and is deeply important for date-producing regions across the Middle East and North Africa. How will harmonized quality parameters—size, colour, uniformity, defects—reshape global trade? Can such standards help climate-stressed producers secure better prices in high-value retail markets ? By adopting the new Standard for fresh dates, Codex Members now have an international reference that provides the baseline for international trade of this commodity upon which trading partners can agree on additional quality provisions based on their consumers’ preferences. For producing countries, this opens up trade possibilities across the globe, which, in many cases, will support the livelihoods of small producers, bolster economies and provide a safe, good quality product for consumers worldwide. Castilla Lulo (Naranjilla): Regional Standards as a Strategic Tool This new regional standard reflects the fruit’s cultural importance and emerging trade value in Latin America. What criteria does Codex use to decide when a product merits a regional rather than global standard? And do regional standards serve as testbeds for potential future global adoption? When considering new work proposed by FAO/WHO regional coordinating committees, CAC considers, amongst other things, whether the new work is justified on the grounds that the product in question is significantly traded intraregionally and that there is no significant trade between or within other regions When a commodity for which there is a regional standard, sees increased trade at a global level, the coordinating committee concerned, or a Member, can propose extension of the territorial application of the standard. This involves new work, which has to be approved by CAC. CAC48 approved, for example, new work on converting the Regional standard for laver products (Asia) to a worldwide standard, work that will be carried out by the Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products (CCFFP). The Next Frontier: Modernizing Codex for a New Era of Food Risks From AI-driven food systems to precision fermentation, novel ingredients, and climate-linked contaminants, food safety risks are evolving faster than many national regulatory systems. What are FAO’s top priorities for modernizing Codex over the next decade? How will future standards incorporate digital traceability, climate risk modelling, and new analytical technologies? FAO is a parent organization of Codex, together with the World Health Organization (WHO). However, work prioritization in Codex is the remit of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. CAC47 adopted the Codex strategic plan 2026–2031 and CAC48 its monitoring framework. The purpose of the Codex strategic plan and its renewal and renegotiation every five years is to ensure that Codex work is aimed at achieving the most appropriate objectives. FAO has a very long-standing tradition to inform the Codex Alimentarius Commission and its subsidiary bodies with all relevant information to facilitate forward looking workplanning. FAO continues to offer its support to all its members and the members of the Codex Alimentarius Commission to assist in national capacity building activities to strengthen food control systems, food safety governance and all related aspects. The new strategic plan has as its first Strategic Goal to: Respond to Members’ needs for protecting the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in the food trade in an evolving global landscape, by developing science-based standards and related texts 1.1 Foresight and horizon-scanning activities are used to support the identification of issues likely to impact food safety, quality and trade. 1.2 Scientific advice that addresses the needs identified by CAC and its subsidiary bodies is primarily provided by FAO and WHO and their joint scientific advisory bodies, informed by globally representative data and appropriate international expertise and methodology. 1.3 Scientific advice is used by CAC and subsidiary bodies in line with Codex risk analysis principles. 1.4 Codex standards and related texts are developed, reviewed and adopted in a timely, transparent and inclusive manner. Thus, with reference to FAO’s foresight programme ( https://www.fao.org/food-safety/scientific-advice/foresight/en/ ), Codex will aim to keep ahead of emerging trends Codex work is already addressing some of the key emerging issues and adapting based on Members’ priorities: Digital traceability is already a key topic of discussion in the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS), and work is ongoing to develop texts for the digitalization of national food control systems. CAC47 adopted the Codex Committee on Food Labelling’s (CCFL’s) Guidelines on the provision of food information for pre-packaged foods to be offered via e-commerce New food sources and production systems have been discussed extensively in Codex in recent years. In this context several areas of new work are under discussion which will help define how codex addresses this emerging area moving forward. Changing climate is also impacting food safety and this is also impacting the standard setting work of Codex. For example, the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF) elaborated and CAC47 adopted the Code of practice for the prevention or reduction of ciguatera poisoning, in response to the evolving nature of this issue, which is related to climate factors. The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene developed and CAC46 adopted Guidelines for the safe use and reuse of water in food production and processing in response to Members concerns about the need to ensure that in the context of water resource challenges, the safety of food was not negatively impacted. There is a continued emphasis, particularly within CCCF, on the issue of mycotoxins, the threat of which is evolving and possibly expanding as climate factors change. —---- Suchetana Choudhury (suchetana.choudhuri@agrospectrumindia.com) ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/3361/coral-reefs-vs-climate-chaos-dr-jenni-brandon-on-race-to-save-earths-underwater-cities.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/3361/coral-reefs-vs-climate-chaos-dr-jenni-brandon-on-race-to-save-earths-underwater-cities.html Fri, 31 Oct 2025 13:30:22 +0530 In an exclusive interview with AgroSpectrum, Dr. Jenni Brandon, CEO and Sustainability Consultant at Wild Beacon Consulting, reveals how coral reefs marshal an arsenal of biological ingenuity — from genetically diverse lineages to symbiont-swapping survival strategies — to endure the escalating tyranny of warming and acidifying oceans. She argues that restoration must be rooted not in cosmetic transplantation but in evolutionary prudence, selecting morphologies and genotypes most equipped for tomorrow’s oceans and leveraging naturally resilient habitats such as upwelling zones. Dr. Brandon spotlights the reefs’ macroeconomic indispensability: they are coastal sentinels, food-system pillars, and tourism engines whose erosion could destabilize livelihoods and national balance sheets alike. Although reefs are not classical blue-carbon sinks, she underscores their essential role in safeguarding carbon-rich ecosystems — a rationale for scaling blue bonds and debt-for-nature swaps that yoke biodiversity protection to investible climate outcomes. With the advent of AI-assisted surveillance, satellite foresight and rapid eDNA diagnostics, she concludes, humanity now possesses the tools to pre-empt catastrophe — so long as governance frameworks unite scientific precision, local stewardship, and uncompromising urgency. I. Reef Resilience and Climate Dynamics Mechanisms of Resilience: With rising sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification, what are the most decisive biological and ecological mechanisms that enable certain coral species or reef systems to withstand climate stress, and how can this inform targeted conservation strategies? More resilient corals have a few ecological commonalities, including living in deeper, colder waters, but also living in more variable waters, where they have become more resilient to changing temperatures than those in stable environments. Biologically, certain genetic strains seem to be more resilient, as well as the corals with more diverse genetic makeup. If you have higher genetic diversity, you are more likely to have some strains survive a bleaching event. Certain morphologies also seem to survive better, like in Papua New Guinea, where big boulder-shaped corals have taken over reefs compared to more fragile branching corals that are more sensitive to ocean acidification. Then there are also the coral-algae symbionts, where corals with more heat-resistant symbiotic algae survive better, and some corals will actually swap out their symbiotic algae for more heat-resistant algae in a warming event. Adaptive Management under Uncertainty: Given the high variability of reef responses across regions, how should policymakers and investors design adaptive, evidence-based interventions that balance short-term protection with long-term ecosystem integrity? Some intervention approaches include replanting coral outcroppings, and this should be done thinking about the morphology, symbiotic algae community, and genetic diversity of those corals. Too many of the same corals replanted will not add to the genetic diversity and could all be wiped out in a marine heat wave. Similarly, replanting corals in areas of upwelling may lead to those corals becoming more resilient and lead to more long-term resiliency. II. Economics, Valuation, and Climate Finance Monetizing Reef Resilience: Coral ecosystems provide critical services—fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection. How can we rigorously quantify these benefits in economic terms to attract private investment and integrate reef conservation into ESG portfolios? I'm not an economist, so I can't definitively answer that. But you have to think of the jobs created not just by the fishing vessels themselves, but the seafood processing plants, and the seafood markets and seafood restaurants. The tourism jobs that would disappear if there was no healthy coral reef to visit (hotels, restaurants, SCUBA boats, beach shops, etc). Also, the coastal protections that a coral reef provides, including stopping storm surge, protecting during hurricanes, fighting erosion, being nursery habitat for those fisheries. It goes on and on. Florida values their coral reefs at a value of $8.5 billion, when you start to add all those pieces together. Blue Carbon and Market Mechanisms: What are the methodological and regulatory challenges of incorporating coral reefs into carbon markets or nature-based solutions financing, and how can these frameworks ensure both ecological fidelity and investor confidence? Coral reefs are not direct blue carbon sinks themselves, because the act of calcification releases CO2. But they help protect other blue carbon ecosystems like seagrass from erosion or storm surge, so they are part of the blue carbon ecosystem. But to be part of the carbon market, there would need to be significant research on the MRV, or measurement, reporting, and verification, of exactly where the carbon goes in a reef system and how permanently it is sequestered, if at all. That's not to say that coral reefs aren't a nature-based solution, for all the ecosystem services I mentioned above. They are, and financing coral reef and restoration for those ecosystem services makes a lot of sense for both ecological and economic reasons. III. Cross-Sector Governance and Strategic Collaboration Private-Public Synergy: How should corporations, philanthropic organizations, and governments strategically co-invest in reef resilience to generate measurable climate, biodiversity, and economic impact simultaneously? There are debt instruments like blue bonds that are being created where a government, development bank, or corporation, issues a bond that is specifically designed for projects that benefit the ocean and the blue economy. These can be used for things like coral reef restoration, or preventing water pollution from entering the ocean and polluting reefs, or establishing an MPA, or making a fishery more sustainable. These often include debt-for-nature swaps, where a country's foreign debt is reduced in exchange for investing in conservation projects. These bonds are new but have been incredibly successful both economically and for the climate. IV. Innovation and Forward-Looking Insights Technology-Enabled Monitoring and Intervention: Emerging tools—AI-driven reef health analytics, satellite imaging, and environmental DNA—offer unprecedented monitoring precision. How can these technologies be integrated into decision-making pipelines to optimize intervention timing, prioritize restoration, and de-risk investments in reef resilience? These tools are de-risking some of the decisions about where and when to focus restoration efforts. They are allowing scientists to be more precise in replanting efforts, but also to see a bleaching event coming earlier so they can react quicker. They are taking the guesswork out of some of this research and allowing scientists to not spend so many manhours underwater surveying the reef, but instead have eyes on what's going on nearly 24/7. By allowing scientists to see what's going on at all times, that allows them to make more informed, quicker, restoration and policy decisions. --- Suchetana Choudhury (suchetana.choudhuri@agrospectrumindia.com) ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/3353/reefs-as-climate-infrastructure-case-for-treating-coral-systems-like-coastal-assets.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/3353/reefs-as-climate-infrastructure-case-for-treating-coral-systems-like-coastal-assets.html Mon, 27 Oct 2025 16:38:41 +0530 he traditional logic of reef conservation—protect the habitat, and the habitat will recover—is breaking down under the realities of a warming ocean. MPAs still matter, but they are being outpaced by global environmental change that local policies cannot contain. The future of coral reefs will depend on dynamic, data-driven management, active restoration, and financial mechanisms that treat reef health as essential climate-resilience infrastructure. In this new era, the question is not whether reefs can be protected—but how fast we can redesign the systems meant to save them. For decades, the global conservation community placed its faith in marine protected areas (MPAs) as the primary shield for coral reef ecosystems. The theory was simple: Designate zones where fishing is curtailed, run-off is controlled, and coastal development is managed—and healthy coral systems will recover, thrive, and resist shocks. However, the fundamental logic of that model is now under grave pressure. As marine heatwaves grow in frequency, intensity and duration, and ocean chemistry shifts with acidification, the assumption that protection from local threats alone can ensure reef survival has proven increasingly inadequate. “The speed of climate change is pushing coral reefs beyond the environmental boundaries they evolved to survive in. A reef functions much like an underwater city—dense, highly organized, and full of interdependent life. Corals rely on a narrow band of temperatures and water chemistry, and when waters warm, they expel their symbiotic algae, zooxanthellae, which provide most of their energy. Without that partnership, corals begin to starve, and pollution or disease can accelerate the decline. When corals die, the reef’s architecture breaks down, fish lose habitat, invertebrates lose food, and the ecosystem shifts into a simpler state with far less ecological function and economic value. Reef restoration is advancing, from coral nurseries to selective breeding and assisted evolution. Some coral–algae partnerships show natural heat tolerance, and herbivore-rich reefs in the South Pacific have demonstrated surprising capacity to rebound. But the communities that return are not the same, and we are only beginning to understand the implications for fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection.” --- Camille Gaynus, Chief Science Officer, BIMS (Black in Marine Science) Inside key reef systems—from the vast expanse of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to the unique ecosystems of the Red Sea and the island-state reefs of the Seychelles—this truth is becoming ever more apparent. MPAs remain essential, but they are no longer sufficient. In this new era, reef resilience demands a fundamentally re-engineered approach: One that blends dynamic management, cutting-edge restoration, climate-smart zoning, real-time monitoring, and financial innovation. Equally, coral reef ecosystems must be woven into the climate-finance architecture—not simply as biodiversity assets, but as resilience infrastructure for coastal societies. This article examines three intertwined themes. First, the limitations of the traditional MPA model in a climate-changed ocean. Second, the emergence of what we might call “climate-smart MPAs” that attempt to address the new stress regime. Third, the critical gap in global finance: reefs are largely excluded from blue-carbon frameworks despite their enormous value, and that must change if scaled resilience is to be achieved. Why MPAs Are Failing in the Face of Global Stressors For much of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, marine protected areas (MPAs) stood at the center of global coral reef conservation strategy. The theory behind them was straightforward: if reefs were shielded from local, human-driven pressures, their natural ecological resilience would give them the capacity to withstand shocks and regenerate over time. The traditional MPA model focused on what were understood as the primary drivers of degradation: unsustainable and destructive fishing practices, nutrient and sediment runoff from agriculture and coastal development, and physical damage from tourism or dredging. In many cases, this approach worked. Where MPAs were institutionally strong—backed by enforcement, ecological monitoring, and community participation—indicators such as fish biomass, herbivore abundance, and coral recruitment showed measurable improvement. These reefs, free from chronic local stress, were able to maintain healthier ecological structure and clearer competitive balances, particularly the crucial balance between corals and macro-algae. In this sense, MPAs succeeded in delivering what they were designed to do. " Coral reefs are one of the ecosystems that have been most devastated by climate range, with 14 per cent of the world's coral dying from 2009 to 2018. Climate change has multiple impacts on coral reefs, including sea level rise, that brings sedimentation, stronger and more frequent storms that destroy reefs, changing precipitation patterns that bring increased runoff, freshwater and land pollutants, often causing algal blooms or infectious diseases, and altered ocean currents that can affect coral larval dispersal. But the biggest effects of climate change on coral reefs are increased ocean acidification and ocean warming, which lead to coral bleaching events.  However corals are resilient. Although right now 80 per cent + of world corals are in a mass bleaching event because the ocean is so warm, that does not mean that all of those corals are going to die. It means those corals are incredibly stressed, and their zooxanthellae (the photosynthetic organisms that live inside corals and give them food) have left the corals, leaving them vulnerable to starvation and disease. But when the temperature goes down and the bleaching event is over, the zooxanthellae can return. The coral can survive. There are also pockets of coral that are surviving and adapting to these very hot temperatures, like in the Red Sea, where corals seem to be evolving to the hotter waters. And corals near cold upwelling waters from the deep seem to be surviving and then dispersing to farther reefs after heat wave events. Corals are in an incredibly vulnerable spot right now, but they are not doomed. " -- Jenni Brandon, PhD, Science and Sustainability Consultant, Wild Beacon Consulting Yet in the past decade, the conservation narrative has shifted dramatically. The stressors now driving coral reef decline are no longer predominantly local; they are global, atmospheric, and systemic. Marine heatwaves have emerged as the most immediate and widespread threat. As oceans warm, corals expel the symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) that give them both color and metabolic energy. The result is bleaching—an outwardly visible symptom of profound physiological stress. Where heatwaves were once rare, today they are more frequent, more intense, and longer in duration, leaving insufficient time for reefs to recover between events. Ocean chemistry has also begun to turn against corals. As the ocean absorbs increasing amounts of atmospheric CO₂, its pH gradually drops. This process of acidification diminishes the availability of aragonite, a mineral corals need to build their calcium-carbonate skeletons. Even corals that survive bleaching events may struggle to rebuild structure, weakening reefs in the long term and reducing their capacity to provide habitat and shoreline protection. “Mauritius has experienced multiple mass bleaching events over the past three decades, each revealing both vulnerability and resilience within its reef systems. The first major bleaching in 1998, during an exceptionally strong El Niño, caused widespread stress but relatively low coral mortality compared to neighboring Seychelles and Maldives. Local cooling from cyclonic activity helped buffer the reefs, though shallow, poorly flushed lagoons were significantly affected. Subsequent surveys in 2005 showed coral cover below 5 per cent at many sites, with nutrient pollution, algal overgrowth, and crown-of-thorns starfish driving further decline. However, some locations like Bel Ombre retained high coral cover and species diversity, illustrating the importance of site-specific conditions and local management. During the global bleaching of 2016, Mauritius again saw widespread bleaching but limited mortality at monitored sites. Factors such as water circulation, herbivore populations, and depth played key roles in recovery potential. The most recent 2024 bleaching event underscores growing pressure, with regional data showing high rates of bleaching and mortality across the Western Indian Ocean. While comprehensive national assessments remain limited, these recurring events highlight the urgent need for sustained monitoring, improved wastewater management, reef restoration, and climate-adaptive marine protection strategies.” --- Anusha Devi Nawoor, PhD - Environmental Scientist, Tunley Environmental Case studies from around the world echo this conclusion. The Great Barrier Reef, widely considered the gold standard of marine protection and monitoring, has suffered multiple mass-bleaching events in the past decade and recently recorded its worst coral loss in nearly four decades. These outcomes occurred despite comprehensive zoning systems, restrictions on fishing, and sustained management investment. In the Red Sea, which has been viewed as a natural thermal refugia due to its unusually warm baseline conditions and the presence of heat-tolerant coral lineages, reefs are now beginning to show signs of climate-linked stress. The message here is not that the Red Sea is “safe,” but that even systems with higher inherent resistance face limits in a rapidly warming ocean. In the Seychelles, long held up as a model for island-state marine governance, reef systems remain deeply vulnerable to bleaching and acidification despite sustained conservation commitments and the establishment of extensive MPAs. These national efforts have strengthened governance, protected fisheries, and improved local ecological conditions—yet none of these interventions can halt the rise in sea temperature or shift the chemistry of the global ocean. Taken together, the pattern is undeniable. The MPA remains a critical conservation tool, but it is no longer sufficient as the foundation of reef survival strategy. It can control fishing pressure and pollution; it cannot control heat. It can restore ecological function; it cannot rewrite the physics of ocean-atmosphere carbon exchange. The challenge now is not to abandon MPAs, but to rethink what they are for, how they operate, and how they integrate into broader climate adaptation frameworks. The era of “protection alone” has ended. The era of “protection plus climate-resilience intervention” must begin. Emergence of Climate-Smart MPAs If the traditional model falters, what does the next generation of reef protection look like? Conservation practitioners, marine scientists and policy innovators are converging on a new paradigm we might call “climate-smart MPAs.” These have several defining features. First, they adopt dynamic zoning and adaptive management rather than fixed boundaries and static rules. In a warming, acidifying ocean, it makes sense to manage based on real-time risk: closing regions temporarily during heatwave projections, prioritizing coral refuges, relocating species to cooler or deeper waters when viable. In essence, the MPA becomes a living, adaptive system, not a static map overlay. Second, they integrate active resilience-reinforcement: restoration at scale, assisted evolution (breeding heat-tolerant coral strains), microbiome manipulation, artificial reef structures and shading technologies. In this model the MPA is not only a “do not touch” zone—it is a hub of intervention. Given the intensity of climate stress, passive protection alone is insufficient. Active adaptation is required. Restoration practitioners are now embedding interventions inside MPA frameworks to complement protection with adaptation. Third, monitoring and technology become central. Climate-smart MPAs invest in satellite–drone–autonomous vehicle systems, AI image-analysis, heat-anomaly forecasting and rapid response capacity. This allows managers to anticipate threat windows, execute intervention strategies, and adapt governance accordingly. Without such capability, MPA management risks being reactive rather than proactive. Fourth—and perhaps most critically—these next-gen MPAs are tied into financial and governance models aligned with climate-resilience outcomes. This means moving beyond donor-driven conservation budgets to resilience bonds, insurance-linked protection, private-sector risk sharing and credit flows tied to ecosystem services. In short, the reef becomes an asset class for coastal resilience. Some pioneering efforts hint at this shift. The Global Fund for Coral Reefs (under the World Bank/GEF umbrella) is exploring reef-plus financing models, integrating reef health with coastal-defense economics and tourism-risk mitigation. Island nations with tourism-dependent reefs (such as the Seychelles) are beginning to explore parametric insurance tied to reef condition. While these efforts are nascent, they mark the transition from protection-only to resilience-oriented financial design. One of the key challenges remains prioritising within MPAs those reef systems that have the greatest chance of persisting—so-called climate refugia. These are reefs naturally exposed to cooler upwelling, shading, or adaptive coral strains. Protecting these first may offer higher bang-for-buck than attempting to protect all reefs equally. This shift requires sophisticated data analytics, modelling, and risk-mapping. Policy: Where It’s Adapting—and Where It’s Stagnating On the policy front, there is both movement and inertia. A growing number of national adaptation plans, especially among small island developing states (SIDS), now recognise coral reef resilience as a critical adaptation pathway. International bodies, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), now emphasise reef protection within climate adaptation agendas. Yet significant policy gaps endure. Many MPAs continue to be designed primarily for fishing-pressure reduction or pollution control—not thermal-stress mitigation or adaptive zoning. Institutional capacity in many reef nations remains weak, particularly for technical monitoring, dynamic governance or financial innovation. Perhaps most fundamentally, the global climate regime has no dedicated mechanism for reef protection—no reef-specific emissions target, no international reef insurance fund, no global carbon-market equivalency for reef resilience. In the absence of such mechanisms, MPAs remain dependent on national budgets or donor grants alone, limiting scale and innovation. Some countries show flashes of policy innovation. The Seychelles, for instance, has piloted marine-resilience bonds and sustainable tourism-linked reef protection. In Australia, the management of the Great Barrier Reef has begun to incorporate resilience-based interventions and climate-risk forecasting. Still, these remain exceptions, not yet the norm. A further policy bottleneck is the disconnect between conservation agencies and finance ministries. Reefs have long been viewed through a biodiversity lens rather than as climate-resilience infrastructure. This framing limits access to adaptation finance, risk‐finance instruments, and climate-resilience capital flows. Changing this framing is essential. The Coral-Carbon Paradox: Why Reefs Are Missing from Blue Carbon Finance—and How That Can Change In parallel to governance reform, there is a glaring gap in how coral reefs are treated within the climate-finance architecture. The concept of “blue carbon” has gained traction in recent years, describing the capacity of coastal and marine habitats to absorb and store CO₂—mangroves, seagrasses and tidal marshes being the primary beneficiaries. These ecosystems have measurable carbon stocks, standardised accounting methodologies, and thus meaningful access to carbon-finance instruments. By contrast, coral reefs are largely absent from blue-carbon markets—and yet the logic for including them is compelling. Reefs provide vast ecosystem services: they support fisheries, protect coastlines from storm surge and erosion, undergird tourism economies and harbour biodiversity. Their failure imposes heavy social, economic and adaptation costs on coastal communities. So why haven’t they entered the carbon-finance agenda in any meaningful way? The answer lies in several structural and technical impediments. First, reefs store comparatively little long-term organic carbon. Their skeletal calcium-carbonate structures do not translate easily into the carbon-sequestration units used in current carbon markets. As one ecosystem-finance review notes: “Limited evidence is hindering uptake and progress” of blue-carbon schemes for non-traditional habitats. Second, the vulnerability and high risk of reef decline make them unattractive as long-term assets for investors. Third, policy definitions of blue carbon rarely include reef habitats, so the institutional pathways for finance are largely closed. Yet the time is right for change. If we shift the metric from pure carbon-storage to resilience value, reefs merit serious inclusion. Reefs reduce wave energy, limit coastal erosion, support fisheries and tourism livelihoods—all of which have measurable economic value. The emerging field of parametric insurance for reefs—linking reef health to payouts after storm events—is one frontier. Another is biodiversity-credit systems coupling conservation outcomes with finance. For global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the opportunity is two-fold. First, they can catalyse reef-resilience finance by underwriting pilot instruments, setting standards, and integrating reef metrics into adaptation funding. Second, they can shift national budgeting paradigms—treating reef health as climate-adaptation infrastructure rather than discretionary conservation. Doing so unlocks funding, elevates reef protection in national priorities, and draws in risk-capital. Toward a Resilient Future for Coral Reefs Re-designing reef management and finance for the climate-era means doing several things concurrently. We must actively identify and protect climate-refugia reefs—those naturally more resistant to heat stress or acidification—and prioritise them for interventions. We must equip MPAs with the technical capacity, real-time monitoring and adaptive governance necessary to anticipate and respond to heatwaves, bleaching events and acidification pulses. We must expand restoration and assisted-evolution tools: transplanting resilient strains, manipulating symbionts, deploying artificial reef frameworks and experimenting with shading or cooling technologies. From a finance and policy perspective, the shift is equally urgent. Reefs must enter the adaptation finance agenda, not just the conservation agenda. Carbon-finance definitions must evolve to resilience-finance definitions, making reef health a measurable asset. Incentives need to shift: tourism operators, insurers, coastal developers and governments all benefit from healthy reefs—so they should help pay for them. Multilateral institutions must create frameworks for reef-linked resilience bonds, parametric reef insurance, biodiversity credits and adaptation trusts. Finally—and critically—none of this will succeed if global greenhouse-gas emissions continue to rise unchecked. The best-designed MPAs, the most sophisticated monitoring systems, the most resilient coral strains will still collapse under the weight of relentless warming. A recent mapping study warns that reef futures are “intrinsically tied to global emission trajectories.” Local action buys time—but it does not buy immunity. Conclusion Coral reefs were once assumed to be savable with well-designed marine parks, strong fisheries management and clean-water regulation. In a warming, acidifying ocean, that assumption is no longer sufficient. The model of “protect and leave alone” must give way to “protect, adapt and finance.” MPAs should evolve into climate-smart hubs of resilience. Reefs should be reframed not simply as biodiversity-treasures, but as critical infrastructure for coastal protection, food security and climate adaptation. Reef resilience must be embedded within the climate-finance system—bridging conservation budgets and adaptation capital, drawing private and public investment into the blue economy. The path ahead is formidable. But the choice is stark: evolve the model—or let thousands of reef systems crumble under the tide of climate change. For the millions who depend on them for food, income, and coastal protection, there is no other option. --- Suchetana Choudhury (suchetana.choudhuri@agrospectrumindia.com) ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/2344/grdc-invests-35m-to-drive-machine-automation-and-intelligent-technology-for-grain-growers.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/2344/grdc-invests-35m-to-drive-machine-automation-and-intelligent-technology-for-grain-growers.html Thu, 01 Aug 2024 12:16:10 +0530 An innovative, new $35 million, five-year investment to accelerate the adoption of machine automation and digital, intelligence technologies by Australian grain growers has been launched by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). GRDC Managing Director Nigel Hart launched the Grain Automate initiative last night (Thursday, 25 July) at the Innovation Generation 2024 conference on Queensland’s Gold Coast. This GRDC future-focused initiative will include a portfolio of up to 30 new research, development and extension (RD&E) investments complementing GRDC’s dynamic research in ag tech, precision agriculture, digital agronomy and advanced analytics. The decision by GRDC to invest in this progressive space on behalf of Australian grain growers comes amidst projections that the global market for autonomy and intelligent systems will reach $272 billion by 2027. initiative would focus on three primary programs: Program one: Paving the way for autonomy which aims to ensure growers have the training, knowledge, skills and infrastructure to integrate fully autonomous machine capabilities within their farming systems. Program two: Targeted technology development which will optimise existing and emerging technology for machine automation and autonomy and adapt or improve them to meet the requirements of Australian grain growers and their cropping systems. Program three: Building intelligent systems which will leverage machine automation and autonomy against other innovations - on-farm and pre- and post-farm gate - to extract the maximum possible long-term value for Australian grain growers. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/855/csiro-to-lead-safe-trade-project-on-biosecurity-challenges-in-australia.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/855/csiro-to-lead-safe-trade-project-on-biosecurity-challenges-in-australia.html Thu, 27 Apr 2023 11:49:58 +0530 Under four-year safe trade project, researchers will develop and refine a fit-for-purpose ‘toolkit’ that can be used to improve state-level decision-making about biosecurity risks. CSIRO will lead four-year safe trade project, thanks to funding from Hort Innovation, on pest and disease management measures for inter-state trade. It will develop a toolkit to improve decision making on biosecurity risk, working closely with Australia’s domestic biosecurity regulators across all states and territories. While Australian produce is renowned for having stringent biosecurity practices along all stages of the production and supply chains, State and Territories have differing phytosanitary, or pest and disease management, requirements for inter-state trade. Australia’s reputation for delivering high-quality produce is set to get even better following a $9.5 million injection into pest and disease risk management measures for safe trade. This investment, being delivered through Hort Innovation in partnership with all Australian States and Territory Governments and led by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, will work closely with Australia’s domestic biosecurity regulators to strengthen our science-backed approach to managing phytosanitary risks, making it easier for growers to conduct safe cross-border trade. Hort Innovation Chief Executive Officer Brett Fifield said the program would also facilitate international market access by demonstrating to our trading partners Australia’s commitment to, and confidence in our biosecurity system. “Domestic and international trade is essential to the horticulture industry,” Fifield said. “By working with some of the country’s top scientists, the process for reaching market access agreements will be made easier. Improved risk science tools can support biosecurity measures that may be more cost effective and less time prohibitive for growers without compromising our already great reputation for delivering quality, safe produce," he said. CSIRO project lead Dr Rieks van Klinken said strong scientific tools will help Australia’s horticulture sector by underpinning new and existing market access opportunities and supporting our robust biosecurity system. This work contributes to the CSIRO Trusted Agrifood Exports mission’s goal to improve market access for Australian growers. “Our researchers are improving the tools available to industry to streamline phytosanitary risk management by demonstrating and quantifying the contribution of commercial supply chain and production practices to risk reduction,” Dr van Klinken said. “The tools will make it easier for biosecurity regulators to incorporate commercial practices into biosecurity system processes and ultimately will enable industry to deliver high-quality, low pest-risk consignments into treatment facilities or directly into domestic and international markets," he said. Australian Fresh Produce Alliance Chief Executive Officer Claire McClelland said that trade and market access are a key priority for the horticulture sector. “Improving pest management and developing risk-based approaches will support domestic and international trade, which is essential for the future growth of the sector. Harmonised interstate trade regulations will improve the commercial operating environment for all fresh produce growers and suppliers," Ms McClelland said. Apple and Pear Australia Limited Chief Executive Officer Phil Turnbull said that this program would enable industry to better understand and measure the impacts of in-field pest management and packhouse practices to manage phytosanitary risks in apple exports. The project is supported by CSIRO, Federal and all State Governments with additional funding contributions from CSIRO, the apple and pear levy, Apple and Pear Australia Limited, and Fruit Growers Tasmania. This project is being delivered through Hort Innovation’s Hort Frontiers strategic partnership initiative. Hort Frontiers facilitates collaborative, transformation research and development to support horticulture to 2030, and beyond. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/752/new-csiro-project-to-crack-the-codes-of-australias-most-invasive-species.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/752/new-csiro-project-to-crack-the-codes-of-australias-most-invasive-species.html Tue, 11 Apr 2023 11:17:24 +0530 CSIRO’s Australian Pest Genome Partnership (APGP) is producing genetic data for Australia’s top pests and weeds to inform research and decisions on how to manage them. CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, has embarked on an ambitious new project to unravel the genetic blueprints of Australia’s top pest and invasive species to better enable their management or eradication. The Australian Pest Genome Partnership (APGP) will generate the genomic data of hundreds of pests and weeds and make it freely available, along with digital solutions to help analyse the data. The data will assist researchers working on pest and weed species and underpin next generation species-specific solutions. Invasive species have cost Australia $390 billion over the past six decades, with weeds costing the agriculture sector at least $5 billion a year. This presents a significant burden to Australia’s agriculture and livestock industries, as well as the significant and ongoing environmental impacts created by these invasive species. APGP has now prepared its first 28 genomic datasets, and this year, with its collaborators, will make public genomic data assets for some of Australia’s top pest and invasive species such as mosquitoes, khapra beetle, cane toad, fall armyworm, fox, feral pig and cat as well as weeds such as wild radish, rye and rat’s tail grasses. CSIRO principal research scientist Tom Walsh said data is easy but analysis is hard. APGP intends to make genomic data more easily accessible and usable to support industry, government and the scientific community in managing pests. “This project has the potential to drive new science and digital innovations to safeguard Australia’s environment and biosecurity from existing and growing threats posed by invasive and pest species,” Dr Walsh said. CSIRO senior research consultant Rahul Rane said the fit-for-purpose genomics database being delivered through APGP will be a game-changer in invasive species control and management. “Genomes and genetic diversity data can tell us all manner of things including where a particular pest species has travelled from, what environments it may thrive in, and whether it has developed resistance to chemicals and pesticides,” Dr Rane said.  Dr Rane also added that the more we know about the genetic characteristics of a pest, the better our ability to make informed decisions to effectively control or eliminate them safely. Ultimately research based on these new datasets will benefit all Australians by reducing public health risks and the impact of these pest species on our environment and agricultural production. Hundreds more pests are being sequenced this year, including jellyfish, invasive ants and beetles, termites, African boxthorn, crown of thorns starfish, ticks and head lice. APGP is looking to partner with companies, government departments and other research organisations to continue sequencing and collating the genome of pests impacting Australia’s biosecurity. The project received investment from the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) and has received co-investment from Australian BioCommons and Australian National University. Genomic datasets were developed in collaboration with Macquarie University, University of Melbourne, University of New South Wales, University of Queensland, University of Western Australia, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and South Australian Research and Development Institute. The ARDC and Australian BioCommons (Bioplatforms Australia) are funded by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/625/australias-aquaculture-lifts-seafood-value-to-3-63-billion-in-2022-23.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/625/australias-aquaculture-lifts-seafood-value-to-3-63-billion-in-2022-23.html Thu, 16 Mar 2023 12:45:00 +0530 In 2022–23, the aquaculture production value is forecast to increase by 11 per cent to $2.29 billion The gross value of Australian fisheries and aquaculture production is forecast to rise 8 per cent in 2022−23, hitting $3.63 billion. Jared Greenville, Executive Director ABARES said Australia’s aquaculture sector has been driving most of this growth.“In 2022–23, the aquaculture production value is forecast to increase by 11 per cent to $2.29 billion, driven by higher production values of salmonids, tuna and abalone,” Dr Greenville said. Salmonids production will see the largest growth, forecasted to increase by 13 per cent in 2022–23 to a record $1.46 billion following higher prices for salmonids. Fisheries and aquaculture production is forecast to remain relatively stable in 2023–24, valued at $3.7 billion. From 2023–24 to 2027–28, the real total value of fisheries and aquaculture production is projected to decline by 0.7 per cent a year to $3.44 billion by 2027–28. “This reflects lower projected real prices for seafood producers and an easing of growth in the volume of Australia’s aquaculture salmonids production.” Dr Greenville said that the value of fisheries and aquaculture product exports is expected to increase by 7 per cent in 2022–23 to $1.37 billion, then forecast to rise another 7 per cent in 2023–24, to $1.47 billion. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/434/new-zealand-invites-views-on-hauraki-gulf-fisheries-plan.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/434/new-zealand-invites-views-on-hauraki-gulf-fisheries-plan.html Tue, 17 Jan 2023 14:59:28 +0530 The draft Fisheries Plan has 3 outcomes focused on the environment, sustainable utilisation, and better governance. Fisheries Department New Zealand has invited people’s views on a draft Fisheries Plan to help restore and protect the Hauraki Gulf. Emma Taylor, Director fisheries management, said, 'Revitalising the Hauraki Gulf: Government action on the sea change plan' is one of the key long-term fisheries management actions in the Government's strategy, Revitalising the Gulf, which seeks to restore the waiora and mauri of one of New Zealand's most important marine environments. "The draft Fisheries Plan has 3 outcomes focused on the environment, sustainable utilisation, and better governance, and includes new approaches for managing fisheries in the Hauraki Gulf. "It seeks to support sustainable fisheries and the recovery and protection of key habitats and species, as well as encouraging greater local input to strengthen fisheries management and support a healthier Gulf for generations to come," Taylor said. The draft Plan will be supported by the development of fisheries indicators and a monitoring framework to measure progress over time. If approved, it will be New Zealand's first area-based fisheries plan. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/421/robot-boosts-animal-disease-testing-in-new-zealand.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/421/robot-boosts-animal-disease-testing-in-new-zealand.html Fri, 13 Jan 2023 11:09:07 +0530 The $580,000 new high throughput diagnostic robot is the first in New Zealand. Testing for animal disease is faster and improved with the arrival of a new antibody testing robot now in action at the Biosecurity New Zealand Animal Health Laboratory. The $580,000 new high throughput diagnostic robot is the first in New Zealand and will increase testing accuracy and consistency during future biosecurity responses. "The Mycoplasma Bovis outbreak gave us useful insights into how our laboratory could increase its capacity during a response. In particular, it highlighted the need for automation," says Joseph O’Keefe animal health laboratory manager. "If an exotic disease such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) arrived here, our people could need to test some 3,000 up to 7,000 samples a day. "Automating this process will speed our delivery of results, making the whole process faster for farmers, better for the wellbeing of our people and for the animals involved too." The Explorer G3 workstation was manufactured in Germany and is designed to test up to 7,000 samples per day for antibodies to FMD and other exotic diseases. Dr O’Keefe says the robot doesn’t need frequent attention or intervention, freeing animal health laboratory staff for other testing and providing stability throughout intense response periods. The robot can even run tests overnight without staff present. "Testing delays can affect our economy as antibody testing is essential for maintaining the access and security of product exports to New Zealand’s international markets. If there is an exotic disease outbreak in New Zealand’s animals, automation will allow us to recover faster." The 750kg robot took a week to set up, bringing each part safely into the biosecure containment area. Once it was assembled, the team ran it through stringent testing and calibration to ensure the tests were as accurate as the current manual process. Now that this has been confirmed, the robot has begun day-to-day diagnostic testing. The machine achieves its efficiency through moving test plates around. Each plate can contain approximately 90 samples and the robot manages up to 40 plates at once. Simultaneously it adds samples and different reagents, washes and incubates the test plates. Outside of responses, the robot is used to perform antibody tests for surveillance programmes, and for testing groups of animals for import or export purposes. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/342/australia-studies-heat-and-cold-stress-in-bos-taurus-cattle.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/342/australia-studies-heat-and-cold-stress-in-bos-taurus-cattle.html Mon, 26 Dec 2022 13:45:15 +0530 The review found the regulatory settings for the export of Bos taurus cattle by sea are effective in managing animal welfare. The Department of Agriculture has completed its review of heat and cold stress in Bos taurus cattle from southern Australia during long-haul export by sea. The review examined the data from 214 long-haul voyages from southern Australia over 5 years from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2020, exporting more than 1 million cattle. The review found the regulatory settings for the export of Bos taurus cattle by sea are effective in managing animal welfare. While animal welfare issues were identified in some voyage reports examined in the review, changes to standards (such as stocking density decreases and new bedding requirements) introduced under the revised Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock on 1 November 2020 have addressed many of these. The review provides evidence-based recommendations for improvements to export arrangements to support animal welfare during the preparation and transport of Bos taurus cattle consignments from southern Australian ports during long-haul export by sea. The final report incorporated input from a technical expert group and stakeholder feedback received during the public consultation on the draft report in late 2021. In submissions received on the draft report, industry and welfare groups supported the key recommendation of the review: that a suitable heat stress risk assessment should be applied all year round for southern-sourced Bos taurus slaughter cattle to all destinations. The department is using the findings of this review to engage with the industry to continue to enhance the welfare of cattle in this supply chain. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/337/australias-aquaculture-increases-contribution-to-seafood-production.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/337/australias-aquaculture-increases-contribution-to-seafood-production.html Thu, 22 Dec 2022 11:05:22 +0530 In 2020–21 aquaculture GVP increased by 9 per cent to $1.7 billion, largely due to increased production of salmonids in Tasmania and prawns in Queensland. Aquaculture has continued its steady growth within the Australian seafood industry, according to the latest edition of ABARES Australian Fisheries and Aquaculture Statistics. Dr Jared Greenville, ABARES Executive Director said the aquaculture sector has continued its recent growth, accounting for 56 per cent of the total gross value of fisheries production (GVP). “In 2020–21 aquaculture GVP increased by 9 per cent to $1.7 billion, largely due to increased production of salmonids in Tasmania and prawns in Queensland,” Dr Greenville said. “Over the last two decades, we’ve seen aquaculture grow, helping to boost overall fisheries production. “In recent years, the aquaculture sector has been broadening the composition of species produced, with an increased emphasis on prawns and finfish varieties, like barramundi and kingfish. “Aquaculture has been quite a success story for Tasmania. In 2020–21 Tasmania had the highest fishery and aquaculture GVP, accounting for 38 per cent of the national total, followed by Western Australia (14 per cent) and South Australia (13 per cent). “And Tasmania’s fishery and aquaculture GVP increased by 10 per cent in the same year to $1.18 billion. “In contrast, the GVP of wild-catch species decreased by 12 per cent to $1.4 billion in 2020–21, largely due to lower prices received for rock lobster in export markets. “Lower rock lobster production value was driven by trade and pandemic disruptions continuing to limit opportunities in export markets. “Overall, the GVP of Australian fishery and aquaculture in 2020–21 decreased by 1 per cent to $3.09 billion. “Australians consumed around 356,000 tonnes of seafood in 2020–21, equivalent to 13.9 kilograms per person. And while imports made up 62 per cent of that total, this share has declined from the peak of 69 per cent in 2013–14. “While Australians consume less fish than chicken, pork and beef, they consume more fish than sheep meat.” ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/335/australias-crop-export-to-increase-by-46-7-bn-in-2023.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/335/australias-crop-export-to-increase-by-46-7-bn-in-2023.html Wed, 21 Dec 2022 16:18:23 +0530 The Australian government’s several initiatives are currently underway to improve conditions for exporters. After two exceptional years of harvest, the department is working hard to support the Australian grain export industry to meet increased export potential. The value of Australian crop exports is forecast to increase to $46.7 billion in the 2022–23 financial year. This is an 18 per cent increase on the 2021-22 total of $39.6 billion. Australia’s total production volume of grains, oilseeds and pulses for 21/22 was 45,362 kilo tonne and the forecast for 22/23 is 48,893 kilo tonne. Nicola Hinder PSM, Deputy Secretary of the Agricultural Trade Group, said there were several initiatives currently underway to improve conditions for exporters. “The last two years were extremely successful for the crops sector, so we are committed to doing everything we can to improve conditions for Australia’s grain exporters,” Hinder said. “While the floods have adversely impacted growers in some parts of the country, other parts of Australia are experiencing their best winter crops on record. “The department has successfully negotiated a treatment program for bulk shipments of grains to Mexico and is currently trialling the same treatment for grains and pulses to India. “In-transit treatment removes the need for grain to be treated onshore for seven to ten days, which reduces congestion at ports and lowers costs for exporters. “We’ve improved the assessment and issuance processes for export permits by automating and digitising manual certificates. So far, we have assessed and issued over 52,000 grain export permits for 2022 with such volumes every improvement we make can have positive impacts for industry. “We also approved two new mobile bulk loading operators—with two more under assessment—providing more options for exporters to move grain through the ports. “We’re doing everything we can to improve market diversification. This year we’re looking to send feed barley to the Gulf states, malting barley to Mexico, Peru and Ecuador, and lentils to India. “And we are actively pursuing market access for wheat and barley to Brazil, and wheat to Mexico and Ecuador while working to improve conditions and reduce costs for Australian grain into a number of key markets, such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines.” ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/333/australia-uses-hts-technology-to-identify-viruses-on-exotic-plant.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/333/australia-uses-hts-technology-to-identify-viruses-on-exotic-plant.html Wed, 21 Dec 2022 11:41:36 +0530 HTS is a novel molecular sequencing tool that can detect and identify all plant viruses and viroids from a single sample with unprecedented efficiency. Australia’s Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) is rolling out sophisticated new technology to detect and identify exotic plant viruses and viroids at its Post Entry Quarantine Facility (PEQ) at Mickleham, Victoria. Dr Gabrielle Vivian-Smith Australia’s Chief Plant Protection Officer said that the department was using High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) to improve the efficiency of PEQ testing in imported plants. “HTS is a novel molecular sequencing tool that can detect and identify all plant viruses and viroids from a single sample with unprecedented efficiency,” Dr Vivian-Smith said. “As of December 2022, HTS replaces conventional testing methods like a polymerase chain reaction and biological indexing as the primary screening tools to detect these plant pests in strawberries, stonefruit, almonds, raspberries and blackberries imported into Australia. Just in time for Christmas puddings and cakes! “The department has worked closely with government, universities, and industry stakeholders since 2013 to develop, optimise, validate and implement this technology in a PEQ setting. “Over 200 high-risk plants across more than 46 species were used to validate HTS against existing diagnostic tools.” The rollout of HTS is just one of many diagnostic innovations being championed by the department. “Instead of requiring a lot of costly plant virus tests to screen for biosecurity threats during quarantine, we can now use a single, highly sensitive test to quickly identify viruses and viroids that could threaten our valuable fruit production industries. “We are always looking for ways to strengthen and future-proof our biosecurity capability. As part of our 2030 vision, the $22.27 million Modern Technologies and Diagnostic Tools (MTDT) program will further revolutionise our diagnostic system to be future-ready in response to new biosecurity threats.” DAFF is now considering ways to expand applications of HTS to other imported plant material in PEQ and to support critical national plant health surveillance activities. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/316/australis-centuria-agriculture-fund-acquires-tomato-grower-sundrop-farms.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/316/australis-centuria-agriculture-fund-acquires-tomato-grower-sundrop-farms.html Mon, 19 Dec 2022 11:17:31 +0530 Sundrop Farms is an award-winning, sustainable horticulture operator, capable of producing 17,000 tonne of truss and baby plum tomatoes from four glasshouses, each covering five hectares. Australi’s Sundrop Farms has been acquired by Centuria Agriculture Fund (CAF). The property assets have been acquired for $70 million from the Morrison & Co Growth Infrastructure Fund. Sundrop Farms is an award-winning, sustainable horticulture operator, capable of producing 17,000 tonne of truss and baby plum tomatoes from four glasshouses, each covering five hectares. It has adopted innovative technologies that integrate solar power, freshwater production, electricity generation and hydroponics to deliver a meaningful reduction in water and fossil fuel use. David McKinnon, Investment Director at Morrison & Co, said, “We acquired the business in 2019 recognising its potential to deliver a step-change in the way food is produced.” The business will be sold on behalf of the Morrison & Co Growth Infrastructure Fund (MGIF), which targets gross returns of 13-15 per cent per annum through investing in 'ideas that matter' backed by long-term secular trends such as water scarcity and decarbonisation. The investment has delivered excellent returns that comfortably exceeded these targets. Andrew Tout, Centuria’s Head of Agriculture, said, “This high-quality glasshouse facility was constructed in 2016, incorporating modern renewable energy, heating and irrigation sources, which creates highly sustainable, premium fresh produce. These are strong fundamentals that underpin a well performing agriculture real estate investment.” ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/281/australias-agro-production-up-despite-decline-in-labour.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/281/australias-agro-production-up-despite-decline-in-labour.html Thu, 08 Dec 2022 15:42:00 +0530 The total number of workers used by Australian horticulture farms decreased by around 20 per cent (29,300 workers) over the last three years. Labour use has decreased on Australian horticulture and dairy farms and increased on broadacre farms over the last few years, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) survey results. ABARES Executive Director, Dr Jared Greenville said despite the decline in labour use, agricultural production has increased over the same period, indicating that farms have adapted to constrained labour supply. “The total number of workers used by Australian horticulture farms decreased by around 20 per cent (29,300 workers) over the last three years, mainly due to a decrease in overseas working holiday makers,” Dr Greenville said. “When we look at changes to peak labour use, we have seen a reduction of close to 35,000 workers on horticulture farms compared to three years ago. “Over the same period, horticulture production has increased by around three per cent, with farms adapting to constrained labour supply by finding ways to improve productivity, making greater use of capital equipment in the place of labour, along with increasing hours worked by employees. “Farmers have looked to non-labour means of bringing the harvest in. Around 40 per cent of horticulture farmers have used machinery, like fruit-picking machines, to help with the harvest. Others have altered crop plantings for a longer peak harvest. “Large farms accounted for almost all of the decrease in horticulture labour use over the last three years, and the largest farms also had the most difficulty recruiting. “Labour use increased on Australian broadacre farms between 2018–19 and 2020–21, driven by improved seasonal conditions and higher production. Labour use declined on dairy farms over the same period, mainly due to decreases in the number of operating farms and the number of domestic and overseas workers per farm.” ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/262/world-soil-day-soil-needs-a-partnership-approach.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/262/world-soil-day-soil-needs-a-partnership-approach.html Mon, 05 Dec 2022 14:06:54 +0530 A partnership-based approach to soil is critical because responsibility for soil does not lie with one party, said Lisa Nitschke, Assistant Secretary of National Soils Policy and Programs. This year the theme of World Soil Day is ‘Soil: Where food begins’, highlighting the importance of healthy soil as a crucial element of food production. Australia is committed to soil health and the sustainable management of soil resources, said Lisa Nitschke, Assistant Secretary of National Soils Policy and Programs. “Soil in good condition is more productive. It has the higher water-holding capacity, supports biological activities and resists erosion during extreme climate and weather events,” Nitschke said. “We are committed to a climate-smart, sustainable agricultural sector as the key to the industry’s future and that includes action on the soil. “A partnership-based approach to soil is critical because responsibility for soil does not lie with one party. “It is the decisions made every day by thousands of individual land managers that can make a positive or negative impact on this critical natural resource. “Recently, we released the draft National Soil Action Plan for public consultation. We received over 150 responses from farmers, natural resource management organisations, the soil carbon sector, agronomists, government agencies, researchers and academic institutions and soil advocacy groups. “It is important that we take the time to consider the feedback and work with state and territory governments and other soil stakeholders to ensure we produce a National Action Plan that makes a difference. “Well managed soil will help us to meet our goals for increased production and our climate change challenges.” ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/240/australias-fish-stock-stable-and-steady.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/240/australias-fish-stock-stable-and-steady.html Wed, 30 Nov 2022 17:37:41 +0530 The Fishery status reports 2022 also looks at the economic performance of fisheries managed by the Australian Government. A new report from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) found that the majority of stocks assessed were not overfished or not subject to overfishing. The ABARES Fishery status reports 2022 provide an annual, independent assessment of the performance of these fisheries. The Fishery status reports 2022 also looks at the economic performance of fisheries managed by the Australian Government. These fisheries generated an estimated gross value of production (GVP) of $374 million in 2020–21, representing 27 per cent of the $1.39 billion GVP of Australia’s total wild-caught fisheries. ABARES Executive Director, Dr Jared Greenville, said the Fishery status reports for 2022 indicated that Commonwealth fisheries continue to be well-managed. Dr Greenville noted that, of the 101 stocks assessed, 69 were classified as not overfished and 81 were classified as not subject to overfishing. “The reports reflect a generally stable trend of stock status, with only six stocks changing status from last year,” Dr Greenville said. “While the overall news is positive, with four of the six changed stocks improving in status, two domestic stocks have declined. “Both john dory and eastern zone jackass morwong in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery are now classified as overfished, which is a measure of the size of the underlying fish stocks. The eastern zone jackass morwong is also classified as subject to overfishing, which is a reflection of the fishing mortality rate. “The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) has reduced total allowable catches for these stocks for the 2022–23 fishing season and has developed and agreed on a network of spatial closures to prevent fishing in areas of high abundance for at-risk species. The closures will start in May 2023.” Dr Greenville also noted that a number of stocks have been classified as overfished for some time. AFMA is continuing to work with stakeholders on strategies to rebuild these stocks. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/171/australia-singapore-sign-gea-for-sustainable-agriculture.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/171/australia-singapore-sign-gea-for-sustainable-agriculture.html Fri, 11 Nov 2022 11:08:17 +0530 Under GEA both countries will associate with 17 joint initiatives for climate change and strengthen trade and investment in clean energy. Australia and Singapore have signed a first-of-its-kind Green Economy Agreement (GEA). The agreement targets new areas such as sustainable agriculture and green shipping corridors. Singapore’s Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong and Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell signed the agreement at the Parliament House after a delegation meeting on Tuesday. Under GEA both countries will associate with 17 joint initiatives for climate change and strengthen trade and investment in clean energy across the region. The Green Economy will become a new pillar of Australia’s Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Singapore, signalling the resolve of both nations to confront the challenges and seize the opportunities faced in the transition to net zero.  Australian Government has announced an initial investment of $19.6 million over four years for new cooperation under the GEA that will support job creation and strengthen supply chains, trade and market opportunities. The GEA demonstrates the Australian Government’s ambition to deliver on its trade diversification agenda, strengthen regional energy security, seize the opportunities for energy transformation and support global climate action. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/159/saputo-to-shut-dairy-plants-in-australia.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/159/saputo-to-shut-dairy-plants-in-australia.html Wed, 09 Nov 2022 16:21:40 +0530 Saputo Inc. announced that it is undertaking further consolidation initiatives intended to enhance its operational efficiency and strengthen its competitiveness in Australia. As part of the Optimize and Enhance Operations pillar of the Company’s Global Strategic Plan, these initiatives include the intention to permanently close its Maffra, Victoria, facility. Additionally, while the sites will remain operational, the Company will streamline activities at its facilities located in Leongatha, Victoria, and Mil-Lel, South Australia. Many of the impacted production and packaging functions at these three facilities will be absorbed or integrated into the Company’s other Australian facilities, increasing capacity utilization and reducing costs. Approximately 75 employees will be impacted and where alternative roles are not available, these employees will be provided with severance and outplacement support. These initiatives in the Company’s International Sector are expected to result in annual savings and benefits gradually, beginning in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, and reaching approximately CDN$14 million (CDN$10 million after tax) by fiscal 2025. Costs related to the consolidation initiatives outlined above will be approximately CDN$26 million after tax, which includes non-cash asset write-downs of approximately CDN$20 million after tax. These costs will be recorded in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/141/basf-introduces-two-new-varieties-of-wheat-for-2023.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/141/basf-introduces-two-new-varieties-of-wheat-for-2023.html Fri, 04 Nov 2022 13:30:57 +0530 Following the successful launch of BASF’s first Australian wheat seed variety 'Ascot®' in 2020, BASF and its commercial partner Seednet have released two new wheat varieties – Kingston® and Reilly® - for the 2023 season. "Introducing new genetics into the market is critical as we grapple with climate changes and nations seeking to improve their food security. We at BASF, have focused on innovations to support the need for more sustainable agriculture and assist farmers to do the biggest job on earth to feed us and the growing demands of wheat. The new genetics in Reilly will provide growers from the Eyre Peninsula, right through the mid-north of South Australia and into the Wimmera and Mallee, a great opportunity to more effectively manage rust with a high-yielding variety. In higher rainfall zones, Kingston will provide a robust, short stature, high yielding variety," said Gavin Heard, Head of Seeds and Traits, BASF Australia and New Zealand. Following the same naming convention as Ascot, BASF and Seednet chose to honour local farming pioneers in naming the new varieties. "Like Ascot, Kingston in central Victoria was the site of a flour mill built by gold miner turned pioneering wheat grower, breeder and miller James Fry, who was one of the pioneering wheat growers in the Wimmera,” explains Simon Crane, General Manager, Seednet. Kingston wheat has high-end yield potential and grain quality, exceptional straw strength, and outstanding lodging resistance, and the plant type results in low residues to manage the following year. In addition, Kingston has an AH classification (Southern zone) and is suited to medium and higher-rainfall zones and irrigation. Reilly wheat will bring about the advantages of brand-new genetics to Australian growers, and offers excellent grain quality and exceptional resistance to all the major path types of stripe rust. Reilly is AH classified (Southern zone) and has the capacity to thrive in low to medium-rainfall environments. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/111/black-veatch-designs-first-of-a-kind-rd-facility-for-cultivated-seafood-in-singapore.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/111/black-veatch-designs-first-of-a-kind-rd-facility-for-cultivated-seafood-in-singapore.html Sat, 10 Sep 2022 11:03:23 +0530 The new facility will help Shiok Meats scale-up production of cell-based crustacean meat products Black & Veatch has recently collaborated with Shiok Meats for the conceptual design and layout of their first-of-a-kind advanced R&D facility for cultivated seafood, officially opened by Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu in November 2021. The new facility will help Shiok Meats, the world’s first cultivated crustacean company, scale-up production of cell-based crustacean meat products, targeting commercialisation by 2023. “Building the Mini Plant is a big milestone for us. Our production facility, which is due in the next 18 months, will be an extension of this Mini Plant in terms of engineering design and foundation. This new facility allows us to scale the cultivated seafood production gradually and strategically to ensure a comprehensive manufacturing model and top-notch products,” said Dr Sandhya Sriram, Group CEO & Co-founder, of Shiok Meats. David Ziskind, Director of Engineering at Black & Veatch NextGen Ag, commented, “Innovation and sustainability are core to our engineering and construction solutions as we help companies bridge the gap between science, research and development, engineering, and commercialisation to bring new food products to market, at scale. We’re excited to support Shiok Meats in their scale-up efforts to create better and more sustainable food by leveraging biotechnology to enhance global food security.”  ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/110/waybeyond-launches-data-studio-to-access-real-time-data-for-farmers.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/110/waybeyond-launches-data-studio-to-access-real-time-data-for-farmers.html Sat, 10 Sep 2022 11:00:46 +0530 Data Studio runs on the FarmRoad digital platform and allows data integration with other systems using open APIs. Tech innovator WayBeyond is taking on Microsoft’s Power BI and Excel products to give growers an alternative solution for integrating all their business data into one digital platform. Digital platform FarmRoad offers agricultural farmers Data Studio, an alternative to spreadsheets and other generic products. Data Studio runs on the FarmRoad digital platform and allows data integration with other systems using open APIs. Once connected growers have access to real-time data all in one centralized view and can configure graphs and elements to their preference and role – from the grower through to the CEO. “Historically the technology to manage your data was limited. Growers have gotten used to spreadsheets and other historical tools, however, solutions now exist that are specifically created for agriculture and can address some of the biggest pain points – access to real-time data and everything in one central view. This is what Data Studio now offers,” said Chief Technology Officer Jonathan Morgan. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/109/bridge-hub-launches-2020-water-challenge-in-australia.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/109/bridge-hub-launches-2020-water-challenge-in-australia.html Sat, 10 Sep 2022 10:58:53 +0530 Winning agri water supply chain solution will fetch $250k prize   An Australia-based agrifood tech innovation firm, Bridge Hub aims to bring agri-system sustainability to the country with a primary focus on water supply chain. While agrifood supply chain is important in the agrisystem, water still remains a very important aspect. The firm believes that research and technology based solutions can help address the global water challenge. To that end, the Bridge Hub 2020 Water Challenge has been launched and the top solution provider to the agri water supply chain problem will receive a cash prize of $250k and an investment into the commercial outcome of their solution. It aims to arrive at the best and practical solution that will positively impact water sustainability within the agrisystem. The challenge is available to Australian and New Zealand researchers, startups, and students. Those who wish to work on water sustainability within the agrisystem can apply to the Bridge Hub 2020 Water Challenge via their website. “Through the 2020 Water Challenge, we are looking for practical solutions to the water problems, including drought, across our agri supply chain,” said Craig Shapiro, co-founder of Bridge Hub. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/108/intergrain-with-inari-to-deliver-step-change-in-wheat-yield-potential.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/108/intergrain-with-inari-to-deliver-step-change-in-wheat-yield-potential.html Sat, 10 Sep 2022 10:50:58 +0530 The partnership brings together InterGrain’s well-adapted Australian wheat genetics with Inari’s predictive design and multiplex gene editing capabilities Inari, the SEEDesign company, and InterGrain, a leading cereal breeding company in Australia, announced a strategic collaboration to dramatically improve the yield potential of wheat, enhancing the crop’s long-term viability in the face of an increasingly variable climate. The partnership brings together InterGrain’s well-adapted Australian wheat genetics with Inari’s predictive design and multiplex gene editing capabilities, promising a future of unique and competitive products that represent a step-change in yield potential. InterGrain prioritises the sustainability and competitive advantage of Australia’s agriculture sector. Says CEO, Tress Walmsley, “Inari’s team brings a wealth of experience and knowledge, and InterGrain values the collaboration capability to bring our shared vision for a more sustainable future for agriculture to life.” Inari applies data science and software engineering to create nature-positive outcomes, addressing the complex systems within plants that impact factors such as productivity and resource use efficiency. “This collaboration with InterGrain is a critical next step in Inari’s mission to transform the crops most responsible for global food security,” says Ponsi Trivisvavet, chief executive officer at Inari. “Our SEEDesign platform can transform any crop in any geography. Expanding not only into wheat but also into a new continent presents an exciting opportunity to broaden the reach and impact of our cutting-edge technology.” Together, InterGrain and Inari are targeting a 10-15 per cent increase in wheat yield potential, in addition to more efficient use of inputs. “This is an exciting opportunity for both Australian growers and InterGrain with the technology having the capacity to dramatically improve grower on-farm profitability through the delivery of significantly higher-yielding varieties across a range of grain growing environments,” adds Walmsley.  The integration of this new breeding technology will meet Australian regulatory requirements. ]]> https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/107/arcadia-biosciences-receives-patents-for-herbicide-tolerant-wheat.html https://www.agrospectrumasia.com/news/67/107/arcadia-biosciences-receives-patents-for-herbicide-tolerant-wheat.html Sat, 10 Sep 2022 10:49:36 +0530 Company receives patent approval from Australia and notice of allowance from the U.S.   Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.® (Nasdaq: RKDA), a leader in science-based approaches to enhancing the quality and nutritional value of crops and food ingredients, announced on Thursday the Australia Patent Office has granted the company a foundational patent covering herbicide tolerance in wheat. Patent Number 2016288257 grants intellectual property protection for mutations to the wheat genome to make it herbicide tolerant. The company also received a U.S. Notice of Allowance 15/740,876 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the same technology. Australia and the United States are the first major wheat-producing countries to approve the patents, with additional patents pending in other key wheat markets.  “This technology will serve as the foundation for future innovation in herbicide tolerance in wheat,” said Randy Shultz, Ph.D., chief technology officer at Arcadia Biosciences. “With additional research, this technology could also open the door to development of a highly efficient hybrid wheat production system, which would transform the wheat industry.”  Arcadia is currently soliciting potential licensing partners for its herbicide tolerant wheat technology. “This technology can be an important tool in the hybrid breeding toolkit for the right wheat innovator” added Sarah Reiter, chief commercial officer at Arcadia. ]]>