International prices of most agricultural commodities are on the rise again. Prices of major food crops have increased disconcertingly, with wheat, rice, maize and soybean registering double-digit increases between June and October. Wheat prices increased alarmingly by more than 71%, while maize recorded a more than 50% spike. The Food Price Index released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the most widely accepted barometer for food prices, also painted...

Rising food prices have not yet reached crisis levels but they are expected to remain very volatile for about the next decade, researchers said Thursday. The conclusions were based on a new study of the factors that contributed to the 2007-08 food crisis, which researchers hope will shed light on what actions might be taken to avoid food crises in the future. "There were many suspects for what caused the crisis, but...

Protecting the rights of land users from speculation, stepped up production of agrofuels and population growth is vital to combat global hunger and malnutrition, an independent United Nations expert said today. “Pressures on land are increasing as a result of speculation on farmland, the expansion of agrofuels production, and demographic growth in rural areas,” Special Rapporteur on the right to food Olivier De Schutter noted. “In this context, moving swiftly towards protecting...

Popularly known as father of green revolution in India, M S Swaminathan, felt India has to provide at least 50 grain storages across the country of one million tonne capacity each for the successful implementation of the Right to Food Security Act. "We require at least 50 grain storages across India that can contain one million tonne of grains each. For the success of this project, by whatever name it...

While global food prices declined for the first half of this year, they have spiked in recent months, according to a new World Bank publication, and this volatility could in turn push up the local food prices of the world's poorest and most malnourished countries. The Bank's grain price index had declined by 16 percent over the first six months of 2010 before rising that same amount between mid-June and August....