Video of the Day: Africa's Green Revolution

The Green Revolution, which transformed Asia and Latin America's agriculture in the 1970s, never reached sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only continent to have seen per capita food production decline over the last 35 years, but agro-science experts are working on reversing this situation.

Watch now:

Watch more breaking news now on our video feed:



Bookmark http://universeeverything.blogspot.com/ and drop back in sometime.

Consumer Demand Flavors Food Import Safety Issues

An ever-changing U.S. consumer who enjoys the convenience of ready-to-eat produce and seasonable fruits during the dead of winter has brought new challenges to food import safety, experts say.

With U.S. food imports set to top more than $2 trillion this year and expected to triple by 2015, a panel on food safety commissioned by President Bush met at Texas A&M University to discuss ways to strengthen the national and global import infrastructure.

Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, Food and Drug Administration commissioner, says the nation’s consumer is one who “expects to eat strawberries in February.”

That has led to more change and complexity among how food is processed and delivered into the U.S. “This nation and the people we serve, and their health that’s so critically important, is threatened - not that we haven’t been doing a good job,” he says. “In fact, we’ve been doing an incredibly good job. But the world is rapidly changing around us. Although we have been the gold standard (in food safety), we must respond and be prepared for new challenges that are emerging from radical changes.”

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples says “consumers’ tastes and preferences are changing. “They are demanding specialty products from around the world, seasonal products such as fruits and vegetables,” he says.

The working group, comprised of senior officials from 12 federal departments and agencies, is charged to report an action plan by mid-November. Additional information on the panel’s activities can be found at http://www.importsafety.gov.

Watch more breaking news now on our video feed:

Bookmark http://universeeverything.blogspot.com/ and drop back in sometime.

Research May Allow Thirsty Crops to Signal Farmers

Corn and potato crops may soon provide information to farmers about when they need water and how much should be delivered, thanks to a University of Colorado at Boulder invention optioned to AgriHouse Inc., a Berthoud, Colo., high-tech company.

The technology includes a tiny sensor that can be clipped to plant leaves charting their thickness, a key measure of water deficiency and accompanying stress, said Research Associate Hans-Dieter Seelig of CU-Boulder's BioServe Space Technology Center. Data from the leaves could be sent wirelessly over the Internet to computers linked to irrigation equipment, ensuring timely watering, cutting down on excessive water and energy use and potentially saving farmers in Colorado millions of dollars per year, he said.

"We think this is an exciting technology, and the implications for the agriculture industry are enormous," says Seelig. Based in large part on Seelig's 2005 CU-Boulder doctoral thesis in aerospace engineering sciences, the technology was optioned to AgriHouse in March by the University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office, giving AgriHouse the exclusive right to negotiate a license with CU within 12 months.

Richard Stoner, AgriHouse founder and president, said existing technology like soil moisture sensors used to assess a crop's water needs do not always provide an accurate picture of existing plant and field conditions. "What we are developing is a non-intrusive device that gently rests on the plants and lets them interface with the digital world," he says. "Basically, this is a device that will allow plants to talk to humans and communicate their needs, like when to water and apply fertilizer."

Stoner is the principal investigator on a $150,000 Small Business Technology Transfer research grant awarded in May by the National Science Foundation to AgriHouse to develop the new technology. Seelig is an institutional investigator on the effort. In 2006, Seelig was awarded a $10,000 proof-of-concept grant for his research from CU's Technology Transfer Office.

Bookmark http://universeeverything.blogspot.com/ and drop back in sometime.