News Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST COMMENTS This year's Syrian wheat harvest is reported to be the best in a decade despite the country's current problems. A great deal of Syria's wheat is grown in the Kurdish region, where most of the area has been free from the ravages of the civil war. After recovering from last year's drought, it has produced most of the country's estimated 3.5 MMT of wheat production for the year. Farmers are said to be selling their crop to traders at prices lower than the government offers, because they are being paid at once and there is little risk of the crop being seized by the rebels once it has been sold. The government is slow to pay and farmers must deliver to government warehouses, but traders...
From WPI Consulting
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.