El Niño hit hard in the Philippines: The Department of Agriculture says intensified El Niño is damaging rice, corn, cassava and livestock across 14 regions, with losses put at P6.87bn affecting over 223,000 farmers; officials are deploying pumps and interventions while warning some areas may not recover. Farm finance under strain in South Africa: Land Bank temporarily paused new blended finance applications after funding ran short, raising fresh questions about whether transformation money reaches farmers when they need it. Wheat farmers squeezed by delayed payments in Kurdistan: Farmers report unpaid government dues after harvest, pushing them toward private buyers and threatening trust in guaranteed purchase schemes. Global sugar trade pressure: Texas Tech updated a study on foreign sugar subsidies and trade barriers, finding direct subsidies nearly doubled since 2005 and that tariffs or quotas protect domestic markets. Food system tech and data: Expana launched Expana IQ Connect to feed AI procurement tools with benchmark commodity intelligence, while Nigeria moves to build a single digital farmers register to fix fragmented farm data. Aquaculture innovation: GS E&C completed a land-based Atlantic salmon trial in Busan using recirculating systems that reuse up to 99% of water. Policy and standards for farmers: India’s agriculture minister announced an FTA awareness drive so farmers know export products and quality requirements.