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Syrian agriculture faces $16 billion bill from conflict - U.N.
3 April 2017
Fighting has led to extensive crop and livestock losses and destroyed greenhouses, veterinary clinics, irrigation systems, tractors and other assets
http://news.trust.org/item/20170403165034-isazb/
China to loan Nigeria $4.5 billion to boost agriculture
5 April 2017
The Peoples Republic of China has said it will lend Nigeria $4.5 billion to boost local agriculture.
The loan is to enable Nigeria purchase farming tools including tractors, bulldozers, graders, irrigation pumps, amongst others.
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/business-news/227939-china-loan-nigeria-4-5-billion-boost-agriculture.html
Stanford study explores risk of deforestation as agriculture expands in Africa
4 April 2017
Multinational companies are increasingly looking to Africa to expand production of in-demand commodity crops such as soy and oil palm. A first-of-its-kind study highlights the real and potential impacts on the continent’s valuable tropical forests.
http://news.stanford.edu/2017/04/04/avoiding-deforestation-agriculture-expands-africa/
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CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change impacting ‘most’ species on Earth, even down to their genomes
5 April
Three recent studies point to just how broad, bizarre, and potentially devastating climate change is to life on Earth. And we’ve only seen one degree Celsius of warming so far.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2017/apr/05/climate-change-life-wildlife-animals-biodiversity-ecosystems-genetics
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DROUGHTS
New rice fights off drought
4 April 2017
Scientists at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) have developed strains of rice that are resistant to drought in real-world situations. Published in Plant Biotechnology Journal, the study reports that transgenic rice modified with a gene from the Arabidopsis plant yield more rice than unmodified rice when subjected to stress brought by natural drought.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-04/r-nrf033117.php
India sends water, rice as Sri Lanka faces severe drought
9 April 2017
With Sri Lanka staring at one of the worst droughts in the last four decades, India has provided an emergency assistance of water and rice to the Island country. The government has already handed over eight water bowsers to the Sri Lankan authorities and the consignment of rice would be delivered soon.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2017/apr/09/india-sends-water-rice-as-sri-lanka-faces-severe-drought-1591804.html
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FLOODS
Reducing Risk after the Flood
The vast majority of federal funding for flood risk reduction is appropriated after disasters strike. Allocating a greater share to pre-flood programs could improve the effectiveness of federal spending.
http://www.rff.org/research/publications/reducing-risk-after-flood
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FOOD SECURITY
Small & medium farms are essential to sustain quality of global food supply
9 April 2017
Small and medium farms produce more than half of the food globally, and produce the vast majority of food and nutrients in low income countries, according to a new study that maps global nutrient production from farms worldwide.
http://www.thedailystar.net/health/small-medium-farms-are-essential-sustain-quality-global-food-supply-1388479
As Kenya farmers chop maize for cattle feed, food security worries grow
3 April 2017
Chopping down a maize crop before it is ripe might sound unwise. But farmers say it makes perfect sense – particularly as worsening drought in Kenya makes it harder to get a normal maize crop to harvest.
http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report-as-kenya-farmers-chop-maize-for-cattle-feed-food-security-worries-grow-2379515
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IRRIGATION
Japan contributes $12mn to Afghanistan for irrigation, fiscal support
4 April 2017
The Japanese government has pledged over USD 12mn to the Afghan government for the improvement of irrigation systems and to provide fiscal support.
http://menafn.com/1095372199/Japan-contributes-12mn-to-Afghanistan-for-irrigation-fiscal-support
How irrigation changed the face of Tasmania's Midlands
3 April 2017
In the Midlands of Tasmania, a huge transformation has taken place since the 1990s and irrigation has been a major catalyst in that change.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-03/irrigation-changing-the-face-of-tasmanian-midlands/8411296
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WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
‘Pakistan has abundant but poorly managed water resources’
3 April 2017
Pakistan has abundant water resources but an inefficient and poorly managed irrigation system, according to speakers addressing the launch ceremony of a report titled ‘The State of the Economy: Agriculture and Water’.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/04/03/pakistan-has-abundant-but-poorly-managed-water-resources/
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS
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/
69th IEC & Regional Conference, 12–17 August, 2018, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, on the theme: Innovative and Sustainable Agri-water Management: Adapting to a Variable and Changing Climate.
Website: http://www.icid2018.org/
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LATEST PUBLICATION(S)
National Agriculture Policy, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, September 2016.
Agriculture remains the mainstay of Malawi’s economy, contributing significantly to employment, economic growth, export earnings, poverty reduction, food security, and nutrition. It also plays a critical role in ensuring sustainable use of natural resources. All of these pose a threat to food security and nutrition in the face of a growing population, increased land pressure, and climate change. In trying to address these challenges in the past, Malawi has over-concentrated on maize self-sufficiency for food and tobacco as a cash crop, at the expense of other agricultural commodities, including livestock and fisheries. Moreover, the sector remains predominantly subsistence-oriented. In response, the NAP seeks to sustainably transform the sector from subsistence to a market orientation in order to increase agricultural production, marketed surpluses of commodities, and real incomes.
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/NAP_Final_Signed.pdf
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