First marketed in the late 1990s, neonicotinoid insecticides have become the world's most widely used group of insecticides.

Following its pork crisis, China’s poultry farmers are now in dire straits because of the coronavirus outbreak. Millions of chickens may soon perish in coming days as much-needed feed is not getting to them in time.

The victory of the Conservative Party under Alexander “Boris” de Pfeffel Johnson in the Dec. 12 British election has brought an element of increased certainty, at least in the short term, to trading conditions for the grains sector in Britain and Northern Ireland. Enormous difficulties remain before longer-term clarity can be achieved.

The African continent is disproportionately affected by extreme climate. Droughts or floods are becoming more frequent. Many African regions are experiencing water stress because of too much – or too little – water.

There is more than enough food produced in the world to feed everyone, yet 815 million people go hungry. As reflected in Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2), one of the greatest challenges the world faces is how to ensure that a growing global population - projected to rise to around 10 billion by 2050 – has enough food to meet their nutritional needs.

The broad sell-off that rattled global stock markets on Monday due to growing investor anxiety over the fallout from the rapidly escalating coronavirus crisis in China highlights Africa’s economic vulnerability in this rapidly escalating crisis, particularly in those countries where China is the largest trading partner.