Stretching approximately 8,000 kilometres from Senegal’s Atlantic coast to Djibouti on the Red Sea, the Great Green Wall has emerged as one of Africa’s largest environmental restoration initiatives, combining ecological conservation with efforts to strengthen food security, improve livelihoods and increase resilience to climate change across the Sahel region.

The initiative extends across the Sahel, a semi-arid belt lying south of the Sahara Desert that has experienced decades of land degradation, desertification and increasing climate pressures. Rather than focusing solely on tree planting, the programme seeks to restore degraded ecosystems through a broader landscape restoration approach that includes forests, agricultural land, grasslands and wetlands.

The project aims to reverse environmental degradation while improving economic opportunities for communities that depend heavily on agriculture and livestock. By restoring productive landscapes, participating countries seek to enhance agricultural output, improve water retention, reduce soil erosion and strengthen local food systems that have become increasingly vulnerable to prolonged droughts and changing rainfall patterns.

The Great Green Wall is designed as a multi-country initiative linking restoration efforts across a continuous geographical corridor from West Africa to the Horn of Africa. Its scope reflects growing recognition that environmental challenges such as desertification and climate change require coordinated regional responses rather than isolated national programmes.

According to the project’s objectives, restoring degraded land is expected to generate multiple long-term benefits beyond environmental conservation. Healthier ecosystems can support agricultural productivity, improve biodiversity, reduce pressure on natural resources and contribute to more sustainable rural livelihoods. The initiative also seeks to create millions of employment opportunities through restoration activities and sustainable land management.

The Sahel remains among the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions, with communities facing recurring droughts, declining soil fertility and increasing pressure on natural resources. These challenges have affected food production and rural incomes across large parts of the region, making land restoration an important component of broader climate adaptation strategies.

Unlike conventional afforestation campaigns that primarily emphasize tree planting, the Great Green Wall integrates multiple forms of ecosystem restoration. This includes rehabilitating degraded farmland, restoring native vegetation, protecting wetlands and improving grasslands alongside planting suitable tree species adapted to local environmental conditions.

By adopting a landscape-based approach, the initiative aims to rebuild ecological functions while supporting local communities that rely directly on natural resources for their livelihoods. Restored land can improve crop yields, provide grazing areas for livestock and enhance water availability, contributing to greater resilience against climate-related shocks.

The programme also reflects increasing international attention to nature-based solutions for addressing climate change. Restoring degraded ecosystems can improve carbon storage while simultaneously delivering social and economic benefits, particularly in regions where environmental degradation and poverty are closely linked.

As restoration activities continue across participating countries, the Great Green Wall represents one of the largest coordinated environmental projects undertaken on the African continent. Its success is expected to depend on sustained cooperation among governments, local communities and development partners working to restore landscapes while strengthening climate resilience across one of the world’s most environmentally vulnerable regions.

In its report, titled “Strait of Hormuz Disruptions: Beyond Reopening — Lasting Impacts on Vulnerable Economies,” UNCTAD said maritime traffic through the strategic waterway remained stable during the first two months of 2026 before collapsing after the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran began on Feb. 28.

The agency said shipping activity started recovering after a ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran, which included the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, was announced in mid-June. Even expectations that the waterway would resume normal operations helped ease benchmark crude oil prices across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Russia, it added.

Despite the improvement in oil markets, UNCTAD said recovery across broader supply chains remained uneven. Freight costs for grain and oilseed shipments continued to remain significantly above pre-conflict levels, indicating that disruptions to global logistics would persist even after maritime traffic resumed.

The report said the interruption of shipping through one of the world’s most important corridors for oil, liquefied natural gas and fertilizer exports triggered a broader chain reaction throughout the global economy. Higher energy prices increased transportation costs, contributed to inflationary pressures, raised agricultural production expenses and ultimately pushed food prices higher, disproportionately affecting low-income populations.

UNCTAD identified least-developed countries and small island developing states as the most exposed to these shocks because many rely heavily on imports of both fuel and food. The agency said numerous countries face dual vulnerability as net importers of oil and cereal products, leaving them particularly sensitive to fluctuations in international commodity prices.

Among small island developing states, oil imports account for as much as one-quarter of gross domestic product in some economies, according to the report. For least-developed countries, cereal imports represent a significant financial burden, with Yemen, Kiribati and Lesotho recording the largest shares of gross domestic product devoted to net cereal imports.

The report said these economies possess limited capacity to absorb external shocks because of constrained public finances, high debt-servicing obligations, exchange-rate vulnerabilities, declining remittance flows and reduced international development assistance. Those factors collectively weaken governments’ ability to shield households from rising living costs.

UNCTAD also said the relationship between energy prices and inflation has strengthened since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the agency, a one percent increase in energy prices now produces larger and longer-lasting effects on consumer inflation than before the pandemic, reflecting more persistent transmission through global supply chains.

The report noted that food-price inflation in developing economies has continued to rise even after the underlying shocks affecting energy and grain markets began to ease, a pattern observed again during the recent conflict involving Iran.

Highlighting the humanitarian implications, UNCTAD cited research involving 1.27 million preschool children across 44 developing countries that found a five percent increase in real food prices was associated with an 11 percent rise in the risk of child wasting among children younger than five years. The risk increased to 15 percent for infants under one year, 26 percent among poor children and 9 percent for children living in poor, landless rural households.

The agency said normalization of international trade would require time because shipping networks and supply chains generally recover more slowly than commodity prices. It also warned that global food production risks remain elevated amid forecasts of a strong El Niño weather pattern later this year.

UNCTAD called for stronger international financial support for vulnerable economies, including measures to strengthen resilience through diversified trade sources and policies tailored to countries facing severe fiscal and debt constraints.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, quoted in the report, said the economic consequences of the disruption would continue to be felt for months, with developing countries bearing the greatest burden. He urged all parties to uphold the ceasefire agreement and continue efforts to preserve regional stability.

In the agricultural district of Al-Mishkhab in Najaf province, farmers are once again flooding fields and sowing rice after severe water shortages forced widespread restrictions on cultivation in recent years.

The turnaround follows heavy rainfall and increased river inflows that have replenished reservoirs and boosted water levels in the Tigris and Euphrates river systems, providing relief to one of the Middle East’s most water-stressed countries.

Farmer Alaa Al-Ibrahimi said he had been unable to cultivate rice last year because of water shortages but has resumed planting this season on approximately 100 dunams of land. Like many growers in the region, he views the improved water situation as an opportunity to restore income and support his family.

The Agriculture Ministry has dramatically expanded approved rice-growing areas this year. According to Deputy Agriculture Minister Mahdi Sahar Al-Jubouri, authorities have authorized cultivation on roughly 362,000 dunams compared with only 200 dunams during the peak of last year’s drought.

Officials attribute the increase to stronger water flows in Iraq’s two main rivers and a substantial improvement in national water reserves.

Water expert Harry Istepanian, founder of the Iraq Climate Change Center, said Iraq’s water storage capacity has risen from approximately 4.5 billion cubic meters in 2025 to around 30 billion cubic meters in 2026, marking one of the most significant annual recoveries in recent years.

The improved conditions are expected to boost domestic rice production to around 300,000 metric tons this season, according to government estimates. Last year’s harvest was negligible after authorities curtailed cultivation because of the water crisis.

Most of the harvest will be purchased by the government for distribution through Iraq’s food ration program, which supplies subsidized staples to millions of households. Despite the increase in local production, Iraq is still expected to import approximately 800,000 metric tons of rice to satisfy domestic demand.

Farmers are also adjusting planting strategies to maximize returns. While the aromatic Anbar variety remains highly valued in Iraqi markets, many producers have shifted toward jasmine rice, which offers higher yields and stronger commercial returns.

The recovery comes amid broader concerns about Iraq’s long-term environmental outlook. The United Nations ranks Iraq among the countries most vulnerable to climate-related risks, with rising temperatures, declining rainfall and increasing pressure on water resources threatening agricultural productivity.

Experts caution that this year’s improvement reflects favorable weather conditions rather than a structural solution to the country’s water challenges.

“The recovery is real, but it is not yet sustainable,” Istepanian said, warning that a single dry season could reverse recent gains.

Iraq’s water security is further complicated by its dependence on cross-border river systems. The country receives a significant share of its water from rivers originating in neighboring Türkiye and Iran, where dam construction and water management policies have long affected downstream flows.

This year’s increase in river volumes was aided by heavy rainfall and snowmelt in upstream countries, which filled reservoirs and resulted in additional releases into shared waterways.

Analysts say sustaining agricultural growth will require continued regional cooperation on water management, investments in irrigation efficiency and reforms aimed at reducing waste in one of the region’s most water-intensive farming sectors.

For farmers across Iraq’s rice-growing heartland, however, the immediate priority remains making the most of a season many feared would never return after years of drought and uncertainty.

The attacks began on Wednesday evening and continued into Thursday, targeting residential neighborhoods, a funeral gathering and a truck transporting food supplies in the strategically important city in North Kordofan state, according to the Emergency Lawyers group.

The organization, which has documented alleged abuses during the conflict, blamed the strikes on the RSF. The claims could not be independently verified, and the paramilitary force did not immediately comment on the allegations.

Residents described extensive destruction across parts of the city, with homes damaged or destroyed and casualties transported to local hospitals.

One witness in the Al-Matar district in eastern El-Obeid said several houses collapsed after being hit, trapping residents beneath the rubble. Another resident told AFP that a relative was among those killed and that he had seen multiple bodies brought to a nearby medical facility.

A medical source said two children and a woman believed to be their mother were among the dead.

El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, has been partially surrounded by RSF forces for months and remains a key strategic center linking western and eastern Sudan. Control of the wider Kordofan region is viewed as critical because it connects RSF-held territories in Darfur with areas controlled by the Sudanese army.

Drone warfare has become an increasingly significant feature of Sudan’s conflict since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the military and the RSF. The use of unmanned aerial attacks has expanded as both sides seek to strike targets beyond front-line positions.

According to United Nations figures, at least 880 civilians were killed in drone strikes across Sudan between January and April this year.

Military operations have intensified in Kordofan and neighboring Blue Nile state in recent months, particularly following the RSF’s capture of El-Fasher in October 2025, ending the army’s hold on its last major stronghold in western Darfur.

The broader conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced more than 11 million and triggered what the United Nations has described as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis.

Bangladesh is facing a growing challenge in balancing groundwater conservation with the survival of farming communities as water shortages intensify across the country’s northwestern Barind region.

Agricultural experts, government officials and local farmers warn that declining groundwater reserves, driven by climate pressures and decades of intensive extraction, are threatening both food production and rural livelihoods in one of Bangladesh’s most important agricultural zones.

The crisis has prompted renewed debate over how the country can maintain crop production while reducing dependence on underground aquifers that have sustained farming for decades.Development specialists argue that long-term solutions must move beyond emergency restrictions and focus on building more resilient agricultural systems.

According to water and sanitation experts working in Bangladesh, sustainable adaptation requires investment in water-efficient irrigation technologies, climate-resilient crop varieties, climate-smart farming practices and community-led water management initiatives.

Such measures are increasingly viewed as essential as traditional groundwater supplies become less reliable and climate variability makes rainfall patterns more unpredictable.Experts also stress that women must play a central role in future water-management strategies.

In rural Bangladesh, women often bear primary responsibility for household water collection, agricultural labor and family care, making them particularly vulnerable to the effects of water scarcity.Water-sector specialists say gender-sensitive approaches to water-service delivery are critical to ensuring equitable access to resources, strengthening community resilience and supporting inclusive decision-making processes.

They argue that policies designed without considering women’s experiences risk overlooking some of the most significant social impacts of water shortages.At the local level, many farmers believe solutions should focus on maximizing the use of surface water rather than relying exclusively on groundwater extraction.

Residents across the Barind region are calling for expanded rainwater harvesting projects, restoration of wetlands and rehabilitation of ponds capable of storing seasonal rainfall for use during dry months. Farmers argue that large quantities of rainwater continue to be lost because existing storage systems are inadequate.

Sreemoti Shobdorani, a farmer from the region, said deeper excavation of ponds could create additional capacity to capture monsoon rainfall and provide irrigation water during extended dry periods. She expressed concern that insufficient attention has been given to preserving water resources above ground.

The proposal reflects a growing recognition among farming communities that long-term water security will require a shift away from exclusive dependence on underground reserves. Surface-water storage projects are increasingly being viewed as a practical way to supplement irrigation supplies while reducing pressure on depleted aquifers.

Government officials acknowledge the seriousness of groundwater depletion and say alternative irrigation systems are being evaluated to ensure agricultural production can continue without further accelerating water loss.Authorities face a difficult balancing act. Restricting groundwater use may help protect dwindling reserves, but it could also reduce agricultural output and threaten incomes in regions where farming remains the primary economic activity.

The stakes are significant for Bangladesh’s broader food security. Agricultural experts estimate that more than 2.5 million hectares of farmland could remain uncultivated if water shortages continue to worsen. Such a scenario could reduce national crop production by approximately 2.7 million tonnes, affecting both local markets and national food supplies.

The economic consequences could extend beyond agriculture. Reduced harvests would likely increase financial pressures on farming households already dealing with rising living costs and recurring climate-related disruptions. Experts warn that prolonged crop failures could deepen rural indebtedness, accelerate migration to urban centers and increase food insecurity among vulnerable populations.

For many communities in the Barind region, the issue is no longer a distant environmental concern but an immediate economic reality. Farmers report increasing difficulties accessing irrigation water, while local residents worry that shortages could become more severe if sustainable alternatives are not developed quickly.

The challenge confronting policymakers is therefore broader than groundwater conservation alone. It involves designing a transition that protects water resources while preserving agricultural livelihoods, maintaining food production and preventing social disruption.Climate change is expected to intensify these pressures in the coming decades through rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and more frequent extreme weather events.

As a result, experts increasingly argue that adaptation strategies must combine environmental protection with economic and social support for affected communities.The experience of the Barind region highlights a growing challenge facing many climate-vulnerable agricultural areas around the world.

As water resources come under increasing pressure, governments are being forced to reconsider how agriculture is managed, how water is allocated and how rural communities can adapt to a future in which access to water can no longer be taken for granted.

For Bangladesh, the success of those efforts may determine not only the future of groundwater reserves but also the sustainability of farming systems that support millions of people and form a cornerstone of the country’s food security.

Farmers across several Sudanese agricultural regions told Reuters that escalating input costs are forcing them to scale back planting plans for key crops, including sorghum, millet, wheat and sesame, undermining production at a time when nearly half the population faces severe food shortages.

Sudan is particularly exposed to disruptions stemming from the regional conflict because it relies on Gulf countries for more than half of its fertilizer imports, according to United Nations data. The country has also become entirely dependent on imported fuel after more than three years of civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The crisis comes as Sudan remains one of the world’s most severe humanitarian emergencies. A UN-backed food security monitor estimates that about 19.5 million people, or more than 40% of the population, are experiencing crisis-level hunger, with some areas facing famine risks.

Sadig Elamin, senior food security analyst for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Sudan, said the regional conflict had compounded existing challenges facing the agricultural sector.

“The regional war has added salt to the wound,” Elamin said, warning that agricultural output could decline by at least 40% if current pressures persist.
Agriculture remains central to Sudan’s economy and livelihoods, with roughly two-thirds of the population dependent on farming. Despite vast agricultural potential that has attracted Gulf investment interest, decades of conflict, underinvestment and mismanagement have constrained productivity.

In the Jamuia agricultural scheme south of Omdurman, farmers had anticipated a recovery after RSF fighters were expelled from areas surrounding Khartoum last year. Instead, they now face fertilizer prices that have risen 67% from a year earlier, while diesel costs used to power irrigation pumps have more than doubled, according to national surveys.

“At that price we don’t make a profit, you spend your whole profit on the diesel,” farmer Bashir Ismail told Reuters.

Omar Al-Ebeid, secretary of the scheme’s farmers’ committee, said only 500 of the project’s 10,000 feddans, equivalent to about 4,200 hectares, had been planted midway through the season.

Farmers also criticized the army-aligned government for failing to provide sufficient support as state resources are increasingly directed toward the war effort.

Mohamed Balla, who heads a farmers’ collective in the Gezira scheme, once responsible for around half of Sudan’s sorghum and wheat production, said damaged infrastructure and rising costs were discouraging cultivation.

“The RSF left in February of last year. Nothing has been fixed since then,” Balla said.

He added that crop prices have remained largely unchanged despite soaring costs for agricultural inputs. “Two sacks of wheat buy you one sack of urea. So we won’t grow it again.”

National cereal production had already fallen by about 25% from pre-war averages, according to FAO estimates. Analysts warn further declines could intensify food shortages and increase reliance on humanitarian assistance.

Sudan’s Agricultural Bank, traditionally a major source of financing for farmers, has also struggled amid the conflict. Farmers say financing terms have become increasingly burdensome, pushing many producers into debt.

The bank’s leadership told Reuters it was seeking to ease pressure on farmers by offering inputs on more favorable repayment terms and extending financing periods.

Fatma Yousif, director of agricultural production at Sudan’s Agriculture Ministry, said authorities were coordinating with the bank to establish a financing fund and examining options to help farmers manage fuel costs. She said efforts were also underway to rehabilitate irrigation infrastructure damaged during the conflict.

In western Sudan, insecurity continues to hamper production in Kordofan and Darfur, regions critical for sesame, peanuts, millet and gum arabic exports.
“There is no funding for farmers, no machinery for planting and plowing the land, and no security because the RSF and other gangs loot the crops and demand money at every checkpoint,” said Mohamed Adam, a farmer displaced from West Kordofan to the army-held city of El Obeid.

Farmers in the region reported widespread looting of tractors and agricultural equipment, recruitment of farm laborers into armed groups, and mass displacement of rural communities, leaving large areas of farmland unprepared for the approaching rainy season.

Khalid Abdellatif, a director at agricultural supplier CTC Group, said transporting farming supplies into conflict-affected areas had become increasingly costly and dangerous, with small-scale farmers bearing the brunt of the disruption.

The measure comes as fertilizer prices have surged worldwide after the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime corridor along Iran’s coast that handles roughly one-third of global fertilizer trade. The disruption has intensified competition for alternative supplies and raised concerns over food production and agricultural costs.

The Council said the temporary tariff suspension would apply to major nitrogen-based fertilizer products but would exclude imports originating from Russia and Belarus.

Although the EU has limited direct dependence on Middle Eastern fertilizer supplies, officials said market-wide price increases have affected fertilizer availability and affordability across the bloc. The move is intended to ease pressure on farmers facing higher production costs during a period of heightened volatility in global agricultural markets.

The Council noted that a significant share of EU fertilizer imports already enters duty-free under preferential trade arrangements. However, substantial volumes continue to face customs duties ranging between 5.5% and 6.5%.

To protect European producers while expanding supply, the tariff waiver will be capped through a quota mechanism. Eligible imports will be limited to the volume of most-favored-nation imports recorded in 2024, plus an additional amount equivalent to 20% of fertilizer volumes imported from Russia and Belarus during the same year, the Council said.

The measures are expected to take effect within days after publication in the EU’s Official Journal.

The decision follows warnings from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization that a prolonged disruption of shipping through Hormuz could trigger severe consequences for global food systems by constraining access to fertilizers and raising production costs for farmers.

Early signs of strain are already emerging in agricultural markets. Australia, the world’s third-largest wheat exporter, is planting fewer crops this season amid elevated fertilizer costs, raising the risk of a substantially smaller harvest.

Across parts of Asia, rice production is also expected to decline this year as the conflict compounds weather-related challenges associated with an emerging El Niño pattern.

According to the Council, the EU imported 2 million metric tons of ammonia and 5.9 million metric tons of urea in 2024, alongside 6.7 million metric tons of nitrogen-based fertilizers and nitrogen-containing mixtures.

The European Commission estimates the bloc’s direct reliance on Middle Eastern supplies remains relatively limited, accounting for about 3% of ammonia imports and between 1% and 2% of nitrogen fertilizer imports.

The measure comes as fertilizer prices have surged worldwide after the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime corridor along Iran’s coast that handles roughly one-third of global fertilizer trade. The disruption has intensified competition for alternative supplies and raised concerns over food production and agricultural costs.

The Council said the temporary tariff suspension would apply to major nitrogen-based fertilizer products but would exclude imports originating from Russia and Belarus.

Although the EU has limited direct dependence on Middle Eastern fertilizer supplies, officials said market-wide price increases have affected fertilizer availability and affordability across the bloc. The move is intended to ease pressure on farmers facing higher production costs during a period of heightened volatility in global agricultural markets.

The Council noted that a significant share of EU fertilizer imports already enters duty-free under preferential trade arrangements. However, substantial volumes continue to face customs duties ranging between 5.5% and 6.5%.

To protect European producers while expanding supply, the tariff waiver will be capped through a quota mechanism. Eligible imports will be limited to the volume of most-favored-nation imports recorded in 2024, plus an additional amount equivalent to 20% of fertilizer volumes imported from Russia and Belarus during the same year, the Council said.

The measures are expected to take effect within days after publication in the EU’s Official Journal.
The decision follows warnings from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization that a prolonged disruption of shipping through Hormuz could trigger severe consequences for global food systems by constraining access to fertilizers and raising production costs for farmers.

Early signs of strain are already emerging in agricultural markets. Australia, the world’s third-largest wheat exporter, is planting fewer crops this season amid elevated fertilizer costs, raising the risk of a substantially smaller harvest. Across parts of Asia, rice production is also expected to decline this year as the conflict compounds weather-related challenges associated with an emerging El Niño pattern.

According to the Council, the EU imported 2 million metric tons of ammonia and 5.9 million metric tons of urea in 2024, alongside 6.7 million metric tons of nitrogen-based fertilizers and nitrogen-containing mixtures.

The European Commission estimates the bloc’s direct reliance on Middle Eastern supplies remains relatively limited, accounting for about 3% of ammonia imports and between 1% and 2% of nitrogen fertilizer imports.

A network of U.S. scientists is intensifying efforts to develop more climate-resilient apple trees as increasingly volatile weather patterns threaten orchards across major fruit-growing regions, raising concerns about long-term risks to an industry that generates roughly $23 billion in annual economic activity.

Researchers at Cornell University, the United States Department of Agriculture and several partner institutions are focusing on rootstocks, the underground foundation of commercial apple trees that influences growth, productivity and resistance to environmental stress.

The work has gained urgency since a series of severe temperature swings damaged orchards in the northeastern United States in 2015, an event that some researchers later linked to a phenomenon known as “rapid apple decline.”

Terence Robinson, a horticulture professor at Cornell University, recalled how unusually warm temperatures in February 2015 were followed by a sharp cold snap that swept through New York and into fruit-growing regions of Pennsylvania.“We got a warm-up in February, and then a big cold air mass moved into New York and pushed all the way down into the fruit-growing area of Pennsylvania,” Robinson said.

“In the spring, we started seeing tree damage.”Scientists concluded that the rapid temperature drop, estimated at as much as 65 degrees Fahrenheit within days, disrupted trees that had already begun emerging from winter dormancy. Researchers found particularly severe damage in rootstocks rather than trunks or branches.

The findings drew attention to vulnerabilities in some of the apple industry’s most widely used rootstocks, including the M9 variety developed more than a century ago at England’s East Malling Research Station.Commercial apple trees are typically produced through grafting, a process that combines two different plants.

The upper fruit-bearing portion, known as the scion, comes from commercial varieties such as Gala or Red Delicious. That section is attached to a separate rootstock selected for characteristics including tree size, productivity and disease resistance.

Because rootstocks determine how trees absorb water, respond to stress and tolerate environmental conditions, scientists increasingly view them as central to protecting orchards from climate-related disruptions.Robinson and USDA scientist Gennaro Fazio jointly oversee the Geneva Apple Rootstock Breeding Program, based in Geneva, New York.

The initiative, operated by Cornell University and the USDA, is the only commercial apple rootstock breeding effort in North America focused on developing new foundations for orchards.Since 1968, researchers in the program have crossed and evaluated thousands of apple rootstocks.

Early efforts concentrated largely on disease resistance, particularly protection against fire blight, a destructive bacterial disease affecting apple and pear trees.More recently, researchers have expanded their priorities to include drought tolerance, resistance to high-salinity soils and improved survival during unstable winter conditions.

“We still continue wanting to have a rootstock that is dwarfing, because dwarf orchards are much more profitable, and that produces early,” Robinson said. “We have broadened our list of goals for this program to include drought resistance, tolerance of high-salt-content soils and the ability to withstand more moderate winters.”The process is lengthy.

Developing a commercial rootstock can take decades because scientists must cross parent trees, evaluate offspring for desirable characteristics and test performance across multiple climates and growing conditions.Cornell released its first commercial rootstock in 1997, nearly three decades after the program began.

Some varieties introduced in 2023 originated from genetic crosses first made during the 1970s.“It requires long-term commitment to learn to love apple rootstocks,” Robinson said.Researchers say the challenge has become more complicated because climate variability is increasing faster than orchard replacement cycles.

Apple orchards are typically expected to remain productive for 15 to 30 years, meaning growers must make planting decisions without knowing exactly how weather patterns may evolve over the lifespan of their trees.

Lee Kalcsits, a professor of tree fruit physiology at Washington State University, leads the Strengthening Pear and Apple Resistance to Climate project, known as Sparc, a national research collaboration studying how extreme weather affects fruit trees.

Kalcsits said breeding efforts should prioritize adaptability rather than designing trees for one specific future climate scenario.“We need to be mindful that the rootstocks we select are adaptable,” he said. “It’s not that they’re adapted to a future climate, but that they’re adaptable.”Research published by Kalcsits and colleagues in 2024 found that both fall and spring temperatures are warming in major U.S. apple-growing regions.

Warmer conditions can interfere with the chilling requirements apple trees need before flowering and can also cause trees to leave dormancy earlier, increasing exposure to damaging cold events.Scientists say abrupt winter fluctuations have become a growing concern as climate-driven disruptions to atmospheric circulation allow Arctic air masses to move farther south into the United States.

Robinson said damaging cold snaps have struck major apple-producing areas, including southern Pennsylvania and western Michigan, four times since 2015.Rootstocks can influence how trees respond to those conditions by affecting dormancy timing, cold tolerance and water use.

Some newer rootstocks developed through the Geneva program have shown reduced damage during false springs followed by hard freezes compared with older standards such as M9.Researchers are also turning to wild apple populations from central Asia, where domesticated apples originated, to expand genetic diversity and identify additional stress-resistance traits.

Experimental rootstocks are tested nationwide through a research collaboration known as NC-140, which evaluates orchard performance across multiple states. One test site operates at North Carolina State University’s Mountain Horticultural Crops Research Station near Asheville.

Mike Parker, a tree fruit extension specialist at North Carolina State University, said scientists monitor survival rates, trunk growth, fruit size and yields over many years before recommending new rootstocks to commercial growers.“When we put the replicated trials in multiple states, there’s things that we find out real quick, like that this rootstock is a dog and ain’t going to fly,” Parker said.

“We would much rather kill trees at our research station than have growers lose trees on their farm.”Parker has overseen the university’s rootstock evaluations since 1996 and, like Robinson, is approaching retirement.

Robinson said he is concerned that long-term agricultural breeding programs may struggle to attract younger researchers, many of whom prefer working on commercially visible fruit varieties rather than root systems that can take decades to develop.

He also expressed concern that funding agencies could eventually scale back support for long-duration breeding programs if policymakers conclude that existing rootstocks are sufficient for current industry needs.“I fear that they’ll say: ‘We have enough rootstocks, let’s just close down this effort,’” Robinson said.

“And for things that we’re facing right now, we probably have a good series of rootstocks available. But it’s these emerging problems, that you don’t really think of or didn’t plan for, that you might not be able to respond to if they shut down the program.”

Farmers in the country’s haor wetlands, where much of the summer Boro paddy is cultivated, have been rushing to harvest ripe crops amid relentless rain, thunderstorms and strong winds, with many wading through knee-deep water to salvage partially submerged fields.“We’re trying to save whatever is still standing,” said Mohammad Al Amin, a farmer in Sunamganj district, describing the urgency as floodwaters continued to rise.

Authorities said continuous rainfall, combined with water inflows from India’s Meghalaya and Assam regions, had sharply increased the risk of flash floods in vulnerable districts.Large areas of cropland in Sunamganj, Sylhet, Kishoreganj, Habiganj and Moulvibazar have already gone under water, according to local officials.

In several places, embankments were weakened or overtopped by sudden surges, allowing floodwaters to spill into paddy fields.Agriculture officials warned that even brief submergence at the current stage of crop maturity could significantly reduce yields, threatening both farmer incomes and national food security.

Heavy rainfall has also damaged vegetables and other crops, increasing concerns about supply shortages and possible price pressures in local markets.The Bangladesh Meteorological Department forecast further rainfall in the coming days, while disaster management officials warned that additional upstream flows could worsen flooding across the low-lying haor basin.

Farmers are also facing irrigation disruptions linked to diesel shortages following supply chain strains associated with the Iran conflict in the Middle East, adding to production challenges during the harvest season.

In urban areas, heavy rain has caused widespread waterlogging in the capital Dhaka and the port city of Chittagong, flooding roads, slowing traffic and straining already fragile drainage systems.Bangladesh, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, faces frequent river flooding and extreme weather events.

A 2015 World Bank Institute analysis estimated that around 3.5 million people are exposed to annual river floods, with scientists warning that climate change is intensifying such risks.

The country is the world’s third-largest rice producer and consumes most of its output domestically, but often turns to imports when floods or droughts disrupt supply.