Source: CropLife International

The crops the world relies on aren’t as natural as we might think. This month, we look back at their ancient ancestors.

Without plant breeding, we would have little to eat and what we did have, wouldn’t be very tasty or nutritious. Most of the crops familiar to us today didn’t even exist in the wild! Humankind has been breeding plants for 10,000 years to improve yield, quality and taste and plant breeders today continue to improve crops with modern tools like biotechnology. Continue reading…

Ripening is the end of the maturation process of certain fruits, when they become sweeter, softer and juicier. Upon its onset, ripening only takes a few days before the fruit starts to decay. This unavoidable process can lead to great losses from the farm to consumer but plant biotechnology can help reduce spoilage by delaying fruit ripening. Continue reading…

Source: CropLife International

Can you imagine 1.3 billion tonnes of food going missing? It happens every year! This month, we look into food loss and waste.

Source: CropLife International

In Africa, farmers can lose anywhere from 25 to 100 percent of their crops if weeds are not properly controlled. This is because weeds crowd out and steal resources  – such as water or nutrients – from crops, causing them not to reach their full potential or die. Continue reading…