‘Winners and losers’: The world of coffee is being reordered by EU laws to stop cutting of forests

BUON MA THUOT, Vietnam — Le Van Tam is no stranger to how the vagaries of global trade can determine the fortunes of small coffee farmers like him. He first planted coffee in a patch of land outside Buon Ma Thuot city in Vietnam’s Central Highland region in 1995. For years, his focus was on … Read more

In Uganda, bamboo has government’s backing as a crop with real growth potential

ALONG RIVER RWIZI, Uganda — Along a stretch of bush by a muddy river, laborers dug and slashed in search of bamboo plants buried under dense grass. Here and there a few plants had sprouted tall, but most of the bamboo seedlings planted more than a year ago never grew. Now, environment protection officers seeking … Read more

India has millions of dairy farmers. It’s creating a methane problem that’s tricky to solve

BENGALURU, India — Abinaya Tamilarasu said her four cows are part of the family. She has a degree in commerce from a local college, but prefers being home milking cows and tending to her family’s land. “Our family cannot let farming go, it’s a way of life for us,” said the 28-year-old, who lives on … Read more

The EU will impose tariffs on Russian grain, fearing Moscow will use exports as a weapon of war

BRUSSELS — The European Commission wants to prevent Russia from using farm products as a tool to wreak havoc on the EU market and is moving to impose tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus. The tariffs are also aimed at denying Russia revenue, because they will effectively suppress exports to the EU, the … Read more

With unsold grain piled high, a Polish farmer faces an uncertain future as war in Ukraine grinds on

CYWINY WOJSKIE, Poland — Piotr Korycki picks up a handful of wheat and watches as the yellow grains run through his fingers. All around him, grain is piled high in a warehouse on his farm north of the Polish capital: hundreds of tons of wheat, rye and corn left over from last year’s harvest that … Read more

Indian farmers protest in New Delhi demanding new legislation for minimum crop prices

NEW DELHI — Thousands of farmers crowding buses and trains traveled to the Indian capital on Thursday to press their demand for new legislation to guarantee minimum profitable crop prices, after weeks of being blocked from the city. They avoided using their tractors after authorities barricaded highways into New Delhi with cement blocks and barbed … Read more

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, the lure of moving to the city grows even stronger amid climate shocks

CAN THO, Vietnam — Dao Bao Tran and her brother Do Hoang Trung, 11-year-old twins growing up on a rickety houseboat in the Mekong Delta, have dreams. Tran loves K-pop, watches videos at night to learn Korean and would love to visit Seoul. Trung wants to be a singer. But their hopes are “unrealistic,” said … Read more

Cocoa prices not yet showing signs of demand destruction

Workers collect dry cocoa beans in front of the store of a cocoa cooperative in the village of Hermankono on Nov. 14, 2023. Sia Kambou | Afp | Getty Images Analysts believe the cost of the core chocolate ingredient may have room to extend its record-breaking run, with no sign of significant demand destruction yet … Read more

Farmers march in Poland’s capital, cut off roads in Spain to protest Ukraine imports and EU policies

WARSAW, Poland — Thousands of farmers marched in Poland’s capital and Spanish farmers cut off traffic on highways near the French border on Tuesday in the latest protests against food imports from Ukraine and the European Union’s agricultural policies. The actions follow similar protests across Europe in recent weeks, and come as the West is … Read more

Macron booed by French farmers who blame him for not doing enough to support agriculture

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron was greeted with boos and whistles at the opening of the Paris Agricultural Fair on Saturday by angry farmers who blame him for not doing enough to support them. Macron was scheduled to visit the event, which draws crowds of visitors every year. But before the official opening, several … Read more