06/01/14: Grain transport issues; Bill Gates addresses agriculture community; China's arable land under threat

Farmers in Canada are calling for more locomotives and rail cars in order to transport record yields.

Speaking to Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail, Gary Stanford, president of the Grain Growers of Canada said farmers have no alternatives to shipping by train. Building new pipelines would relieve some of the pressure on the railways, he suggested.

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Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently told the international agricultural community it had fallen short in delivering help to farmers in developing countries.

In a speech delivered at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Gates told IFAD, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that the current approach in the fight against poverty and hunger is both inefficient and outdated.

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Despite China's latest better-than-expected arable land figures, the country's growing population, increased urbanization and pollution are threatening he country's food security.

According to the results of the second national land survey released on Monday, China's arable land totaled approximately 135.4 million hectares at the end of 2012, 227 million more than the government's "bottom line" level to ensure food security.

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Grain cars (Photo credit: Wikipedia)