Farms profit as Unilever buys African ingredients

NDLEA arrests 70-year-old drug supplier to Bandits in Niger State; Destroys 95 hectares of cannabis farms in Ondo, seizes 116kg of skunk in Niger.

The number of groups engaging in direct action for animal welfare and animal rights is on the rise in France. Many of them don't approve of violent tactics and instead focus on "freeing" animals such as pigs and cows from factory farms, blocking slaughterhouses and filming the conditions in which animals are kept – whether they're raised for food or any other form of exploitation. In doing so, these activists risk prison sentences and hefty fines, but that isn't stopping them. FRANCE 24's Karina Chabour and James Vasina report on their strategy and motivations.

Political fights are delaying Morocco's legalization of cannabis. But, thanks to the rise of medical marijuana, the measure fits well with EU development aims and international drug policy.

Small-scale farmers can play a crucial role in creating sustainable food systems. But more investment is needed, writes Sabrina Elba, UN Goodwill Ambassador for the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Long revered by the Maya people as sacred and today a magnet for tourists, local indigenous communities fear the water-filled sinkholes of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula are under threat from industrial pig farms.

In Madagascar, some of the country's highest authorities are accused of bankrolling teams to create fake profiles on Facebook which then share biased or false information for political gain. These fake Facebook accounts stir up controversy, sing the praises of President Andry Rajoelina and criticise journalists and opposition politicians. The communications minister, accused of playing a key role, denies any wrongdoing. Our correspondents report.

With greenhouses as far as the eye can see, the southern Spanish region of Andalusia has been nicknamed the "Sea of Plastic". Intensive farming is the norm and it helps feed the European market with fruit and vegetables all year long. It also produces an estimated 33,000 tonnes of plastic waste every year. Until two years ago, this waste was exported to countries such as China, Pakistan and Turkey. But now that these countries are refusing to take rubbish from rich countries, the "Sea of Plastic" is faced with the urgent challenge of recycling its own waste. Our correspondents report.

This is our fourth episode on the fall of the Soviet Union. Today we go to Estonia... the former Soviet republic which has undergone the fastest and most radical modernisation. The country is now a digital powerhouse where almost everything can be done from a smartphone. France 24's Sylvain Rousseau and Achraf Abid report from Tallinn.

Rights groups have said the suspected Russian bombing of chicken farms and water stations in Idlib, one of Syria's last rebel-held areas, is meant to push out displaced locals. It may have been a war crime.

Ukrainian farmers have become something of folk heroes after numerous videos emerged of them using their tractors to tow away Russian tanks and other military equipment, following Ukrainian forces' battlefield victories. But in reality, the war has plunged Ukrainian agriculture into a crisis with global implications, given the country's importance to global supplies of grain and sunflower oil.

Ukrainian farmers have become something of folk heroes after numerous videos emerged of them using their tractors to tow away Russian tanks and other military equipment, following Ukrainian forces' battlefield victories. But in reality, the war has plunged Ukrainian agriculture into a crisis with global implications, given the country's importance to global supplies of grain and sunflower oil.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is being felt far and wide. The ravaged agricultural industry is causing shortages of staples such as wheat, sunflower oil, and corn. DW met a farmer struggling to pick up the pieces after Russian troops destroyed his livelihood.