For example, in the island nation of Papua New Guinea, an increase in population growth coupled with rising sea levels is decreasing the amount of crop land making farming very difficult for the indigenous people of the region, according to the U.N.

CNN: 'Climate change' forces Eskimos to abandon village

The results of the experiments, reported in the journal Science, show that the modified plant can thrive even when salt levels are twice the amount that would kill a normal crop of corn.

BBC: GM plant battles salt

The fall came even as the amount of land used to cultivate the crop rose by 18%, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said.

BBC: Afghanistan opium harvest drops by a third - UN

The National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, or Fedecafe, isn't giving a firm forecast for next year's crop, saying estimates are hard to make given the large amount of rain that came down this winter.

WSJ: Trouble Brews in Colombia