In this month's New Agriculturist . . .

At the time of writing, the disaster in Mozambique is still unfolding. For those that survive, many of whom will have been dependent on crops now lost, what help will they receive, or will international interest in their plight recede with the floodwaters?

The world is getting used to coping with humanitarian disasters and to supporting the basis for reconstruction and survival - agriculture. But, even in good times, the accelerating pace of change facing agriculture and farmers is an uncomfortable and challenging experience for the majority involved in this essential industry.

Many farmers are getting out of agriculture, and not only the less efficient: there is a serious brain drain. But some are grasping the new opportunities offered by diversification and niche markets (see Focus on Essential Extracts), including the production and processing of high value essential oils. Urban centres are proving to be a growth area for agriculture, in several senses, as a range of city dwellers from middle class entrepreneurs to the poorest families, realise the potential of supplementing diets and incomes by urban gardening and livestock rearing (see Points of View).

Pest and disease control remain a preoccupation for farmers and growers but plant breeders and entomologists continue their search for introduced resistance and biological control (see News: Pest resistance unlocks wheat yields, Making strides with striga and Pest problems for citrus). And the route of genetic modification remains in the front line of debate (see Perspective).

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