Global Economy & Food Costs: The IMF cut its 2026 global growth forecast to 3% and warned that renewed Iran-related conflict is pushing up oil prices, reigniting inflation pressures and weighing on food and farm inputs worldwide. Farm Support Payments: The Philippines’ Department of Agriculture finished distributing P120M in cash aid to 50,000+ farmers and fisherfolk in Eastern Visayas to offset higher fuel and production costs. Rice Crisis Signals: A farmers’ group warns rice output could drop sharply in late 2026 due to El Niño, high fertilizer costs, land conversion, weak irrigation, and policy-driven price pressure that left many in debt. Livestock Modernization: Nigeria is moving to modernize livestock with French AFD support, aiming to shift from open grazing toward ranching, better services, and reduced farmer-herder conflict. ASF Vaccine Status: The Philippines clarified its African swine fever vaccine remains under controlled rollout and is not yet licensed for commercial sale. Water Stress in Crops: England’s Environment Agency tightened “hands off flow” water abstraction rules for growers in Norfolk/Suffolk and Cambridgeshire as heat and low river flows bite. Trade & Market Access: Botswana and Dubai’s DMCC signed an MoU to expand global commodity market access, including beef and agricultural products. Policy & Planning: Nigeria unveiled plans to end fragmented agricultural spending by aligning budgets with its agrifood strategy and CAADP goals. AI Meets Energy & Water: Australia plans to require large AI data centres to help fund new power supply and to minimize water use, linking AI rollout to grid and water resilience. Ethiopia Dialogue: Ethiopia’s National Dialogue Conference opened in Addis Ababa with thousands of grassroots-linked delegates aiming for consensus on national priorities and reconciliation. Agrifood Governance: Pakistan published its agriculture census, combining agriculture, livestock and farm machinery in a digital survey to improve national planning.