By 2050, we face the challenge of feeding 50% more people within the finite and diminishing resources on the planet. Significant investment is going into the development of new crop varieties that will offer higher yields, greater pest resistance or better tolerance of adverse conditions. There...

Increasing population and consumption are placing unprecedented demands on agriculture and natural resources across the planet. Today, approximately a billion people are chronically malnourished while our agricultural systems are concurrently degrading land, water, biodiversity and climate on a...

Africa’s abundant mineral resources offer opportunities for its countries’ governments to work with mining companies so that minerals exploitation can benefit both company and country. Well-managed mineral exploitation can underpin broad-based sustainable growth and socioeconomic...

In spite of its abundant mineral resources and the activities of many mining companies extracting those resources from only a very small part of the total land area, much of Africa is still in penury. Animal agriculture is a major contributor to the economy of many African countries, especially...

In a little over a decade, the global population is expected to reach 8 billion. The task of feeding this growing population will become harder with rising natural resource constraints, declining or stagnant crop productivity, more frequent extreme weather events, and climate change. These...

The Sir John Crawford Memorial Address has been presented since 1985, in honour of the distinguished Australian civil servant, educator and agriculturalist in whose name the Crawford Fund was established. Sir John Crawford was a remarkable Australian who contributed at the highest levels, and...

Global rates of deforestation and forest degradation continue at persistently high levels, although annual net rates of forest loss have slowed to approximately 8 Mha as the extent of planted forests increases. Drivers of deforestation vary geographically. Conversion to both large- and...

This paper reviews several of the principal driving factors in export-orientated agriculture in developing countries. There is sometimes debate over developing countries that may be food deficient having segments of their agricultural sector focusing on export instead of producing food entirely...

Humans have been trading seafood and seafood products since time immemorial. This trade has commonly crossed national boundaries, but the scale of trade has increased markedly in the past twenty years. By and large the distilled view of nations is that trade is good and there has been...