Page 828 of articles about news

The European Commission authorised today a French scheme of an approximate budget of € 700 million which aims at supporting farmers who encounter difficulties as a result of the current economic crisis.

The European Commission has approved measures to provide information on, and to promote agricultural products in third countries.

Health ministers from Japan, China and South Korea agreed Monday to step up efforts to ensure food safety following concerns over pesticide-tainted Chinese-made dumplings.

Net farm income is forecast to be $57 billion in 2009, down $30 billion (34.5 percent) from 2008. The 2009 forecast is $6.5 billion below the average of $63.6 billion in net farm income earned in the previous 10 years.

Vietnam targets to reduce the number of small-scale, backyard pig farms to 60% by 2010 from 75% currently and increase the percentage of improved pig breeds from 9.6% currently to 19.2% in 2010 and 26.6% in 2015.

John Dalli is currently the Maltese Minister for Social Policy, which includes health, employment and industrial relations. His previous posts include Parliamentary Secretary for Industry, Minister for Economic Affairs, Finance Minister and Foreign Minister. An accountant by profession, he is a senior member of the ruling Nationalist Party.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has confirmed the first case of H1N1 in Finland's swine herd.

Canadian farmers' cash receipts over the first nine months of 2009 have dropped 4.2 per cent from the year-earlier period to $32.8 billion, Statistics Canada reports.

This Statistics in Focus is part of a series of country-specific publications on the results of the Farm Structure Survey (FSS) 2007. It provides a brief but nevertheless comprehensive insight into the farm structure in the United Kingdom.

China had lifted import bans on pork products from the United States, Canada and Mexico, the country's top quarantine authorities said Tuesday.

With a decreased domestic supply caused by a slump in the output of pigs, a significant increase in the prices of pigs for slaughter was observed. On average, in the 1st half of 2009, the price of 1 kg of pigs for slaughter was higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year both in procurement and in marketplaces (by 27.8% and 20.7%, respectively). An increase in profitability of pig production and a limited supply of piglets contributed to a rise in their prices. In the period January-June 2009, one piglet was, on average, twice as expensive as in the previous year.

The Northern Ireland Science Park (NISP) CONNECT’s search for ‘the next big thing’ has concluded with the innovative software, PiGIS™, coming away with a £3,000 prize for best product in the ‘Digital Media and Software’ category.