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FAO to improve agricultural stats availability and quality in Fiji
8 Nov, 2017
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is intending to improve the availability and quality of Agricultural statistics in Fiji. This is being made possible through the Regional Workshop for Monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals.
http://fijivillage.com/news/UN-Food-and-Agriculture-Organization-to-improve-on-agricultural-stats-availability-and-quality-in-Fiji--rs59k2/
ENCID, an ICID member, publishes book on innovative ideas for smart water use
1 Nov, 2017
The Egyptian National Committee for Irrigation and Drainage (ENCID) has recently published a new book titled 'Water Saving in Irrigated Agriculture in Egypt: Case Studies and Lessons Learned.' The publication is a compilation of successful water saving innovation ideas at the farm level and is a rich source of reference work for all the professionals engaged in agricultural water management. For more info, kindly write to Encid@link.net
http://www.encid.org.eg/
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CLIMATE CHANGE
UN: 2017 set to be among top three hottest years
6 Nov, 2017
The year 2017 will be among the three hottest on record, the United Nations said, as almost 200 countries gathered in Germany to bolster a global climate accord that the United States plans to quit. Temperatures this year will be slightly less than during a record-breaking 2016 and roughly level with 2015, the United Nations' World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said, part of a long-term warming trend driven by greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-07/un-warns-of-heat-as-climate-talks-seek-action-despite-trump/9124854
Syria signs Paris climate agreement, leaves US isolated
7 Nov, 2017
Syria announced during United Nations climate talks on Tuesday that it would sign the Paris agreement on climate change. The move, which comes on the heels of Nicaragua signing the accord last month, will leave the United States as the only country that has rejected the global pact.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/07/climate/syria-joins-paris-agreement.html
US, EU oppose assessments of their current climate change commitments
9 Nov, 2017
The US, European Union and other developed countries closed ranks at the Bonn climate summit on Wednesday, opposing formal scrutiny of how they have performed so far against their commitments to combat climate change by 2020.
https://scroll.in/article/857209/bonn-talks-us-and-eu-oppose-assessments-of-their-current-climate-change-commitments
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DROUGHTS
North Korea drought: 18 mln could starve to death as Kim diverts funds
8 Nov, 2017
North Korea’s Kim Jong-un has been accused of diverting cash to fund nuclear missile development while 18 million people edge closer to death due to a devastating drought. United Nations chiefs will visit the country urgently before it is too late to “make the case very clearly that innocent children should not starve to death”.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/877007/North-Korea-news-drought-Kim-Jong-un-nuclear-war-weapons-North-Korea-latest
CM Vasundhara Raje seeks drought relief change: India
9 Nov, 2017
Rajasthan has opposed Drought Relief Manual 2016 and urged the centre to modify it according to the odd geographical conditions. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje raised the issue with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi. She also demanded the establishment of institutes on modernisation of policing to which the minister gave positive response.
http://www.dnaindia.com/jaipur/report-cm-vasundhara-raje-meets-hm-seeks-drought-relief-change-2558770
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FLOODS
World's longest self-closing flood barrier tested
6 Nov, 2017
Spakenburg, The Netherlands: A 300-meter self-closing flood barrier, the longest in the world, is built in the historical fishing harbor of Spakenburg in central Netherlands, the latest addition to the low-lying country's innovative approach in flood protection.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-11/07/c_136732752.htm
National Flood Insurance reauthorization moves toward a House vote
12 Nov, 2017
Washington: Lawmakers on Capitol Hill will hold a hearing Monday on a recently struck compromise bill to overhaul and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program, a sign of progress toward breaking a months-long deadlock over the NFIP in the House.
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_f46617e6-c6f1-11e7-8fe9-c7fd52cd198b.html
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FOOD SECURITY
UN warns of 'world's largest famine' in Yemen due to Saudi blockade
9 Nov, 2017
The U.N. humanitarian chief warned on Wednesday that unless the Saudi-led military coalition lifts its blockade on Yemen, the war-torn nation will face "the largest famine the world has seen for many decades, with millions of victims."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/09/un-warns-worlds-largest-famine-yemen-saudi-does-not-end-blockade/
Scientists search for answers to growing global food security concern
8 Nov, 2017
Researchers and officials wrestled with how science and technology can help to meet rising food demands on the second day of the World Science Forum 2017 at the Dead Sea in Jordan. Chief among current concerns is the world's high level of food inequality, according to Vladimir Sucha, a director in the European Commission's Joint Research Centre.
https://www.thenational.ae/uae/science/scientists-search-for-answers-to-growing-global-food-security-concern-1.674130
Food Security Info System comes online in Nepal
4 Nov, 2017
The Ministry of Agricultural Development with the support of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), has launched a new online Food Security Information System to map and visualize patterns of food security, poverty and malnutrition in Nepal.
http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2017-11-04/food-security-info-system-comes-online.html
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IRRIGATION
Gadkari announces Rs 6K-Cr World Bank-backed Irrigation Scheme: India
11 Nov, 2017
New Delhi: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday announced World Bank-supported Rs 6,000 crore scheme to improve the irrigation facilities and water accessibility capacity in several states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
http://www.news18.com/news/business/nitin-gadkari-announces-rs-6k-cr-world-bank-backed-irrigation-scheme-1573473.html
10 irrigation projects to be inaugurated in Andhra Pradesh: India
6 Nov, 2017
Amaravati: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday announced the inauguration of 10 irrigation projects in the state this month. CM Naidu made the announcement via video-conference during the 44th review meeting on Polavaram and other irrigation projects at the state Secretariat and reviewed 28 irrigation projects.
https://in.news.yahoo.com/10-irrigation-projects-inaugurated-andhra-174032751.html
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WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Australia keen on exchange of info, ideas with Rajasthan on water resources
9 Nov, 2017
South Australia’s minister of trade and industry Martin Hamilton-Smith believes that Rajasthan is a doorway to India for exchange of information and ideas on water excellence and water science and vice-versa. He said that various MoUs have been signed with the Government of Rajasthan to continue the relationship.
http://www.dnaindia.com/jaipur/report-australia-keen-on-exchange-of-info-ideas-with-rajasthan-2558774
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Drainage and Flood Control Summit, 26 - 27 November 2017, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Website: https://drainagefloodcontrol.com/
8th Asian Regional Conference, 2-4 May 2018, Kathmandu, Nepal, on the theme “Irrigation in Support of an Evergreen Revolution”
Website:http://nencid.org.np/
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/
Global Water Security for Agriculture and Natural Resources (GWSAN): An ASABE Global Initiative Conference, Hyderabad, India, 3-6 October 2018.
Website: http://www.asabewater.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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