Eggplant (Brinjal) is one of the more important vegetables consumed in South Asia. It is low in nutrients but provides bulk and fiber while also being highly absorbent of flavorings. It is also subject to attack by the eggplant fruit and shoot borer, which reduces yields on a large share of the crop. Farmers in Bangladesh were allowed to plant a Bt version of brinjal starting in 2014 and a large percentage of those who have tried it continue to plant it. They say it protects the fruit while also reducing the requirement for costly and dangerous pesticides. By contrast, growers across the border in India are prohibited from using Bt brinjal. The result is that brinjal yields in Bangladesh have been reported at consistently higher leve...
Real GDP grew at a 2 percent annual rate in the first quarter of 2026, slightly below the consensus expectation of 2.3 percent but above the 0.5 percent growth in Q4 2025. The GDP number matches the average annualized pace of growth since the peak back in late 2007, right before the Financial P...
Congress is moving forward with its FY 2027 spending bills, while also still working to address FY 2026 funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which is still in a shutdown. The House Agriculture-FDA Appropriations Subcommittee marked up and passed its FY 2027 bill. The House bill prov...
The overarching concern for China is that the rising cost of energy will reduce global trade demand at the same time that countries are becoming more protectionist. Trump Visit to China President Trump’s visit to China is in just over two weeks, though some question whether the trip...
The House will vote on the farm bill this Thursday. This afternoon, the House Rules Committee is meeting to consider the rule for the House’s consideration of the farm bill, specifically determining which amendments can and cannot be offered. There are a number of controversial amendments...
From WPI Consulting
Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming
WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.