CropsSpeakers from PAFO, AUDA-NEPAD, FANRPAN and food-heritage groups said climate-resilient indigenous crops such as sorghum could become profitable, nutritious food products if young people take up their value chains.
Aflatoxin has been found in 135 tonnes of rice imported from India at the Halishahar central storage depot in Chattogram; first passed as fit to eat, the rice was retested by BRRI scientists after warehouse staff objected, and a committee has been formed for further tests.
FisheriesA study led by Professor Badiuzzaman Khan of BAU found microplastics in the sediment of all 25 fish ponds sampled in Trishal, Mymensingh, averaging 11.04 particles per kilogram, and 90 particles in 150 farmed fish of six species.
EnvironmentA University of Bath study of 211 Asháninka and Yanesha participants found the share unable to afford healthy food fell from 73% to 26%, while nearly 90% adopted forest-friendly practices.
LivestockThe multi-year series, announced at the Borlaug Dialogue, will take one priority a year to 2030, as livestock provides about 40% of agricultural GDP in low- and middle-income countries.
HealthMedicine specialist Dr Ashraf Uddin Ahmed told Amar Desh's 'Hello Doctor' section that textile dyes, hydros, urea or formalin in food can raise the long-term risk of liver and oesophageal cancer.
OpinionIn a Down To Earth column, Afsheen Rizvi and V Sujatha say Japan halved food loss by 2023 through law, data, food banks and the culture of mottainai, and that India, wasting 78-80 million tonnes a year, could build the same system now.
AgribusinessThis year's open market sale (OMS) targets are 240,000 tonnes of rice and 350,000 tonnes of flour and the subsidy falls from Tk 4,096 crore to Tk 3,411 crore; the Bangladesh Food Security Network says the urban poor will pay more for food.
FisheriesResearchers from Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University and Noakhali Science and Technology University have found microplastics in Kaptai Lake's fish, water and bed sediment; scientists say people need not stop eating the fish, but the sources of plastic must be shut off.
CropsArata Takebe pledged to keep agricultural reform moving, naming farmland protection, farm succession and productivity as priorities and Japan's JPY5 trillion export target for 2030.
Daily lifeAccording to India's food safety regulator FSSAI, shaking milk and watching how long the foam lasts can suggest whether detergent has been added, but the test cannot show whether milk is pure or adulterated.
CropsResearchers in South Africa, Nigeria and the US found losses of about 43% for roots and tubers and 35% for vegetables in the Global South, falling to 7-12% with hermetic storage, cold chains, better packaging and handling.
WorldOn World Food Day the World Food Programme called for early action, innovation and funding, saying a triple shipping chokepoint, El Niño and funding cuts threaten to push millions more into hunger.
