This new online service introduced by ICID is developed to help various stakeholders in locating required business information through a few clicks. The online directory enlists all the services and products being provided by consultants, manufacturing companies, dealers, and other professional institutions dealing in irrigation, drainage and flood management. This online service is totally FREE and can be availed of by any service provider by submitting the required information on ICID website <http://www.icid.org/ypaddform2.php>. To view this new service, please visit http://www.icid.org/ypsearch.php

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

2nd World Irrigation Forum on the theme: Water management in a changing world: Role of irrigation for sustainable food production, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 6-8 November 2016.

www.worldirrigationforum.net

National Water Research Center (Egypt) International Conference on “Research and Technology Development for Sustainable Water Resources Management”  on the theme “Geo-Measurement, Field Investigation, and Monitoring” Special Sessions, Workshops and Exhibition, Cairo, Egypt, 4-6 December 2016.
E-mail: eng.mirmokhtar@gmail.com, website: www.redwarm2016-eg.org

13th International Drainage Workshop (IDW), Ahwaz City, Iran, 4-7 March 2017, Theme: Drainage and Environmental Sustainability. 
E-mail:13idw2017@gmail.com, website:http://idw13.org

68th IEC and 23rd ICID Congress on Irrigation and Drainage, 8-14 October 2017, on the theme: Modernizing Irrigation and Drainage for a new Green Revolution, Mexico City, Mexico, 8-14 October 2017.
Website: http://www.icid2017.org/ E-mail: cnm@mxcid.org, brobles@tlaloc.imta.mx, luis.rendon@cna.gob.mx, luis.rendon@conagua.gob.mx

Cuban agriculture at a glance
Farm and Dairy, 5 October 2016
Direct control of Cuba’s key agricultural resources remains a governmental priority to ensure a “rational, planned economy.” Land is still mostly in state hands or is state-controlled, and “independent” farmers must work within a state monopoly on purchasing and distribution. Approximately 61% of Cuba’s land area is considered farmland, according to a 2011 measurement by the World Bank. An older source puts the total farmland number at 10 million hectares (24.8 million acres). There are roughly 5 million farmers or farm workers in Cuba, a figure that has held steady since 2008. (Most of that number, however, is farm labour, not independent farm owners.) Cuba’s population is comparable to Ohio, at 11.2 million.
https://www.farmanddairy.com/news/cuban-agriculture-at-a-glance/372416.html

India: ICAR discusses ways to improve agriculture in Punjab, Haryana
Times of India, 3 October 2016
Farm research body ICAR discussed ways to boost agriculture output and overcome deteriorating soil health and depleting ground water table in Punjab and Haryana with state officials and scientists. In a two-day regional committee zone meeting called by ICAR, the challenges being faced in agriculture sector in three states -- Punjab, Haryana and Delhi -- were discussed in detail with representatives of each state. "This region contributes 20 per cent of food grain to the national pool. Presently, the major issues affecting agriculture in this region are deteriorating soil health, depleting ground water, diversification and climatic changes leading to declining profits for the farmers," Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director General Trilochan Mohapatra said in a statement. He emphasised the need to develop appropriate resource conserving technologies and promotion of drip irrigation besides frost and salt-tolerant wheat, rice and mustard varieties suitable for this region.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/ICAR-discusses-ways-to-improve-agriculture-in-Punjab-Haryana/articleshow/54660652.cms

Tanzania: Scientists warn against snubbing agriculture
AllAfrica.com, 3 October 2016
Scientists have hailed the country's focus on industrial transformation, but warned against snubbing the agriculture sector. Speaking at their one-day meeting in Dar es Salaam over the weekend on the critical role of agriculture in industrialisation, the scientists said for successful industrialisation drive, agricultural sector has to prosper too. Executive Director of the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Research Organization (STIPRO), Dr Bitrina Diyamett, said industrialisation was critical for the country to attain the middle income economy and reduce poverty by 2015. "The President pleases me when he speaks about industrialisation because there is no sector in the world that generates more employment than manufacturing sector," she noted. However, she said to make manufacturing sector a success, agricultural transformation was inevitable. She further recommended domestic manufacture of agricultural inputs like fertilizers and pesticides to assure their supply at affordable prices.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201610030666.html

EU endorsement cinches climate change treaty
Voice of America, 4 October 2016
The landmark Paris climate change treaty moved ahead Tuesday after backing from the European Parliament, which paved the way for the 28-member European Union to ratify it this week. The European Parliament's vote in Strasbourg, France, amounts to the tipping point for the Paris climate treaty. The pact has already been approved by some of the world's biggest greenhouse emitters, including the United States, China and India. Now, European Union nations will follow, pushing it over the threshold of 55 countries emitting 55 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions for it to take effect. The vote got a last-minute push from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
http://www.voanews.com/a/european-union-endorsement-climate-change-treaty/3536885.html

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Decade-long droughts may be in US Southwest’s near future
Ars Technica, 6 October 2016
Life in the American Southwest may not be as harsh as life in the Sahara Desert, but water is still scarce. For a growing population, maintaining a water supply with some semblance of sustainability while balancing the various legal rights to the water that is there is hard enough without the unpredictability of year-to-year weather. A drying climate in the Southwest over the coming decades is the last thing anybody needs, but there have been some hints that's what is in store. Projecting climate change for regions is necessarily less certain than global projections, and the Southwest is no exception. While expecting increasing temperatures is pretty straightforward, climate models simulate a range of possible precipitation changes in the area. This has complicated research into the likelihood of a future “mega drought”—droughts as severe as any we’ve seen in the 20th Century, but lasting a few decades without respite.
http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/10/us-southwest-could-see-drought-that-lasts-decades-later-this-century/

Strongest drought in 25 years hits Bolivia
Mongabay.com, 3 October 2016
The two food production systems that support Bolivia — family farming and agribusiness — are being hit by the worst drought in the last quarter century and one of the three worst in the last 65 years. Official data indicate that a state of emergency has been declared in 142 of Bolivia’s 339 municipalities. Eight of the nine Bolivian departments have been affected. One hundred and forty-five thousand families are at risk, nearly 299,000 hectares of crops have been damaged, and around 370,000 cattle have been lost. Despite the extreme situation, national authorities say there will not be a shortage of food, and that food prices will not increase. To guarantee this, the government issued a package of decrees ordering the allocation of resources to assist those affected and to shore up the food supply through imports.
https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/strongest-drought-in-25-years-hits-bolivia/

Climate change means more droughts for north eastern Brazil
3 October 2016
A recently published study suggests that the droughts which have traditionally affected Brazil´s semi-arid northeast are being worsened by the effects of climate change. The region covers 18% of Brazil’s total area and is home to 53 million people, a quarter of the population of South America’s largest country. With 34 inhabitants per square mile, it is the most densely populated semi-arid region in the world. Droughts have been recorded there since the earliest days of Portuguese colonisation in the 16th century. Many of Brazil’s leading painters and writers have portrayed the dramatic effects of the resultant famines in their works, like Candido Portinari’s 1944 portrayals of drought refugees, Os retirantes, or Graciliano Ramos’ 1938 book, Vidas Secas (Barren Lives).
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/climate_change_means_more_droughts_for_northeastern_brazil_20161003

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FAO warns Uganda on more droughts, floods
AllAfrica.com, 5 October 2016
UN food agency FAO yesterday warned the country risks more drought, floods, and landslides with farmers to be hardest hit by poor harvests and food insecurity. "Uganda is experiencing signs of climate change, as exhibited by the current increasing temperatures and unreliable rainfalls. It is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of droughts, floods, and landslides which will significantly impact on the livelihoods of local communities who largely depend on agriculture," said FAO country representative Alhaji M. Jallow. Mr Jallow told a media briefing at their offices in Kampala ahead of World Food Day that farmers, fishers and pastoralists, are being hit hardest by higher temperatures and weather-related disasters. The World Food Day will be celebrated at Ngetta in Lira District on October 16 under the theme: "Climate Is Changing. Food and Agriculture must also".
http://allafrica.com/stories/201610050782.html

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Singapore can contribute to food security in the region, despite its small agriculture sector
The Straits Times, 6 October 2016
The agriculture sector in Singapore may be small but the country can still contribute to food security in the region, said Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister of Transport Khaw Boon Wan on 6th October. He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 38th Meeting of the Asean Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry which Singapore is hosting. It also marked the opening of the 16th AMAF Plus Three Meetings, which includes China, Japan and South Korea. "Even though the agriculture sector is small in Singapore, we can contribute and play our part in food security," said Mr Khaw. To that end, the Government has been helping the local agriculture sector transform to be highly productive and resilient. It has been developing vertical farms, for instance, which can produce five times more vegetables than conventional farming systems.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-can-contribute-to-food-security-in-the-region-despite-its-small-agriculture

FAO underlines role of trade in food security
IDN InDepthNews - Analysis That Matters, 3 October 2016
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that declining prices could obstruct international efforts to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty, and called for necessary steps to guarantee decent incomes and livelihoods for small-scale producers. “Low food prices reduce the incomes of farmers, especially poor family farmers who produce staple food in the developing countries. This cut in the flow of cash into rural communities also reduces the incentives for new investments in production, infrastructure and services,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva at a high-level meeting on agricultural commodity prices in Rome. He noted that globally, food prices are believed to be back to their long-term downward trend in real terms, as supply growth outpaces demand. This follows the price surges experienced during 2008-2012, and a prolonged period of volatility in food markets.
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/15794f43a704e63f

Korea to promote food security and reduce poverty in Kyrgyzstan
THEAsiaN (satire) (press release), 6 October 2016
The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) signed a three-year agreement to improve food security, nutrition and resilience to climate-related and economic shocks for more than 80,000 vulnerable people in four Kyrgyz provinces, Relief Web reported. Under the agreement, KOICA will provide WFP with US$4 million to design and implement, in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Social Development, projects that focus on creating or restoring community assets to improve food security and resilience to climate risks and agricultural productivity. The grant will also fund vocational training for people to learn skills to help increase their incomes as well as training on nutrition and hygiene practices to improve families’ nutrition. These projects will be implemented in the poorest areas of the Batken, Jalal-Abad, Osh, and Naryn provinces.
http://www.theasian.asia/archives/96606

India: Maharashtra govt pledges to bring 1.13L hectares under irrigation
The Indian Express, 8 October 2016
The state government’s decision, in a special cabinet meeting, to sanction Rs 9,291 crore for irrigation projects is likely to bring 1,13,959 hectares under irrigation in drought-prone Marathwada. Completion of these irrigation projects is estimated to help more than 30 lakh farmers. All eight districts of Marathwada —Latur, Osmanabad, Nanded, Beed, Jalna, Hingoli, Parbhani and Aurangabad — are drought prone. The approval of funds for three projects, Lower Dudhna (Rs 819 crore), Nandur Madhmenshwar (Rs 894 crore) and Krishna Valley Development Corporation phase I (Rs 4800 crore) account for Rs 6,513 crore. While Lower Dudhna and Nandur Madhmeshwar works is likely to be completed in two years, KVDC phase I will take four years to yield optimum results. Other projects include Urdva Painganga worth Rs 1730 crore and 38 pending projects worth Rs 1048 crore to be completed in two years. The special development package for Marathwada laid special emphasis on enhancing irrigation potential in the drought-prone region.
http://indianexpress.com/article/mumbai/maharashtra-govt-pledges-to-bring-1-13l-hectares-under-irrigation-3071545/

IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE - The Journal of the ICID
Articles available via complimentary online access at: http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ird