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Israel bringing new technology for Indian farmers
12 Jan, 2018
New Delhi: India and Israel are set to jointly develop new crop varieties and share post harvest technologies following the success of the 10-year-old Indo-Israeli Agriculture Project (IIAP) whose accomplishments include growing cherry tomatoes in Haryana, rejuvenating mango orchards in Maharashtra and demonstrating to Indian farmers the effectiveness of state-of-the-art irrigation technologies.
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/mwEoaYspOwGu3TxffhKTUJ/How-Israel-is-bringing-new-technology-for-the-Indian-farmer.html
Fiji farmers advised of climate-smart agriculture
9 Jan,
2018
Farmers in Fiji have been advised of the need to be mindful of the impacts of climate change and to practice climate-smart agriculture to address it. While meeting and holding informal discussions with respective crop and livestock farmers of Tailevu last week, Minister for Agriculture, Rural and Maritime Development and National Disaster Management and Meteorological Services Inia Seruiratu stressed the importance of applying the best agricultural practices to mitigate the effects of climate change.
http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?ref=archive&id=430171
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CLIMATE CHANGE
UN warns climate change goals laid out in Paris accord are almost out of reach
13 Jan, 2018
The Paris Agreement goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius will slip beyond reach unless nations act now to slash carbon pollution, curb energy demand, and suck CO2 from the air, according to a draft UN report.
http://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2128104/there-tipping-point-un-warns-climate-change-goals
Cuba embarks on a 100-year plan to protect itself from climate change
10 Jan, 2018
On its deadly run through the Caribbean last September, Hurricane Irma lashed northern Cuba, inundating coastal settlements and scouring away vegetation. Irma lent new urgency to a plan, called Tarea Vida, or Project Life, adopted last spring by Cuba’s Council of Ministers. A decade in the making, the program bans construction of new homes in threatened coastal areas, mandates relocating people from communities doomed by rising sea levels, calls for an overhaul of the country’s agricultural system to shift crop production away from saltwater-contaminated areas, and spells out the need to shore up coastal defenses, including by restoring degraded habitat.
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/01/cuba-embarks-100-year-plan-protect-itself-climate-change
Team of artists create 'Climoji' to discuss climate change
12 Jan, 2018
A team of artists created a set of climate change emoji—dubbed Climoji. The climate change emoji depict dying animals, methane-emitting cows, food waste, plastic-filled fish, forest fires and even people drowning. It is a grim picture, but a picture that is largely described in scientific literature of what the future holds if humans don't make concerted efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions (among other efforts) to halt or at least slow climate change.
http://www.newsweek.com/feel-world-ending-climate-change-emojis-here-help-779586
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DROUGHTS
Drought on wheat pasture plaguing producers in U.S
12 Jan, 2018
Drought and dryness is continuing to expand across the Great Plains and southwestern states. In the latest Drought Monitor, roughly 57 percent of the U.S. is experiencing some form of drought. The biggest changes are happening in the southern Plains states of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Kansas. The dryness and colder weather are causing some problems for wheat producers.
https://www.drovers.com/article/drought-wheat-pasture-plaguing-producers
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FLOODS
18 dead, others missing after flooding and mudslides force thousands to flee in California
12 Jan,
2018
At least 18 people are dead, including four children, when heavy rain unleashed flash floods, mudslides and debris flow in California this week, according to Santa Barbara County officials.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/dead-flooding-mudslides-force-thousands-flee-california/story?id=52229415
Act now to protect millions from floods, says Study
11 Jan, 2018
Scientists say millions more are at risk of flooding over the decades to come based on climate change already in the pipeline. In order to survive, the time to adapt is now. But it's not just rising sea levels that are threatening communities with inundation: New research shows that ever more of us are at risk from rivers bursting their banks. Since the mid-1980s, climate scientists have recorded a 20 percent increase in record-breaking rainfall around the world — with devastating consequences.
http://www.dw.com/en/act-now-to-protect-millions-from-floods-study/a-42110153
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FOOD SECURITY
WFP: Lack of funds threatens supply of relief food in E. Africa
5 Jan, 2018
Shortage of funds threatens to jeopardise the World Food Programme (WFP) operations in East Africa, the UN agency has said. The main cause of the crisis, according to the UN, is the fact that it is becoming expensive for donor countries to satisfy the huge number of hungry people.
https://www.africanseer.com/kenya/563344-wfp-lack-of-funds-threatens-supply-of-relief-food-in-e-africa.html
USDA-funded multi-robot farming project to aid in increasing world's food supply
13 Jan, 2018
The world will be required to feed an estimated 9 billion people by 2050, but annual percentage crop yield increases are currently only half those required to meet these projected food needs. This pressing issue is being taken on by a team of researchers at Kansas State University whose aim is to increase arable land acreage considered too steep for use with conventional equipment.
http://www.hpj.com/crops/usda-funded-multi-robot-farming-project-to-aid-in-increasing/article_8ffd23cc-dd42-5c66-8cbc-ef3a6269ff46.html
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IRRIGATION
No Narmada water for irrigation this summer, 10 lakh farmers to be hit: India
13 Jan, 2018
The Gujarat government has advised farmers against any cultivation during the summer season if they are dependent on the Narmada river for irrigation. The Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) issued a circular on Friday alerting farmers not to take up crop cultivation. The state government made the decision after the water level in the Narmada reservoir remained below average during the past monsoon season.
http://www.dnaindia.com/ahmedabad/report-no-narmada-water-for-irrigation-this-summer-10-lakh-farmers-to-be-hit-2575090
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WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Dam project sped up to tackle Cape Town water crisis: S.Africa
12 Jan, 2018
Plans to increase water supply to the Voëlvlei Dam, scheduled to come on stream in 2024, have been fast-tracked to 2019 to help with Cape Town’s water crisis. The scheme involves pumping winter rainfall from the Berg River into the dam.
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-01-12-dam-project-sped-up-to-tackle-cape-town-water-crisis/
Plan issued to improve water quality in China's second-largest freshwater lake
12 Jan, 2018
Central China's Hunan Province recently released an action plan to improve the environment of Dongting Lake, the second-largest freshwater lake in China. Dongting Lake, known as "the kidney of the Yangtze River," is one of the most important wetlands in China and the world. But water in the lake has been polluted and resources have been illegally exploited in recent years. The province publicized the three-year plan (2018-2020) to tackle pollution by agriculture, households, industry and ships, regulate sand excavation, and restore wetlands.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/12/c_136891699.htm
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS
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)
Water Saving in Irrigated Agriculture in Egypt: Case Studies and Lessons Learned, November 2017
The Egyptian National Committee for Irrigation and Drainage (ENCID) has launched 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 aspirating for "More and more crop per drop." For more info, kindly write to Encid@link.net
http://www.encid.org.eg/
4 Jan, 201 |