Whether you love lagers or extra-bitter IPAs, you love alpha acids and just don’t know it. These are the compounds in hops that impart that bitter taste, which can be subtle or intense, depending on the cultivar. For centuries, farmers who produce hops for traditional European beer making—particularly in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia—have … Read more
Southern Europe is not so different. Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal never had collective farms, but the inexorable aging of their populations and the exodus of young people to cities is emptying villages and leaving fields and pastures untended. Francesco Cherubini of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology calculates that in the past three … Read more
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s former agriculture minister was arrested Thursday by the country’s anti-graft commission on accusations of bribery, abuse of power and fraud involving contracts with private vendors. Syahrul Yasin Limpo had resigned his position as agriculture minister last week to focus on the impending legal proceedings against him, and he was formally named … Read more
A woman spreads cocoa beans during the sun-drying process in the backyard of her house in Asikasu, Ghana on December 19, 2020. Cristina Aldehuela | Afp | Getty Images El Nino is here to stay — and that’s bad news for cocoa crops which are highly sensitive to weather changes. Frequent extreme weather events caused … Read more
MUKONO, Uganda — A decapitated banana plant is almost useless, an inconvenience to the farmer who must then uproot it and lay its dismembered parts as mulch. But can such stems somehow be returned to life? Yes, according to a Ugandan company that’s buying banana stems in a business that turns fiber into attractive handicrafts. … Read more
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine coast guard said Monday it has complied with a presidential order to remove a floating barrier placed by China’s coast guard to prevent Filipino fishing boats from entering a lagoon in a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. Philippine officials condemned the installation of the 300-meter (980-foot) -long barrier … Read more
Australia needs commerce ties with China to be normalized, however Beijing should first take away the remaining commerce curbs, stated Australia’s assistant minister for commerce advised CNBC. Canberra is in dialogue with its largest buying and selling associate to drop tariffs on Australian wine imports that have been launched in March 2021. On the peak of … Read more
Australia has urged China to abolish all remaining commerce restrictions after Beijing lifted tariffs on its barley imports, pointing to indicators of a normalization in bilateral ties. Canberra is anticipating its largest buying and selling accomplice to subsequent drop tariffs on Australian wine imports that have been launched in March 2021. On the peak of … Read more
IBRASH, Egypt — The final time Sabah Abd Rabu Hussein heard from her son, Yahia Saleh, he was planning to board a migrant vessel from conflict-ridden Libya to Europe. That was two weeks in the past. “I had begged him to not go,” the Egyptian housewife mentioned Sunday, “however he turned fed up with our … Read more
A cup of Espresso espresso in Cascais, Portugal on October 11, 2021. Nikolas Kokovlis | Nurphoto | Getty Pictures Excessive climate circumstances introduced on by an approaching El Nino are fueling considerations that robusta beans in main espresso producers like Vietnam and Indonesia may very well be hit, leading to hovering costs. “The now widely-expected … Read more