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New York City growing more local food with new indoor vertical farm
9 Mar, 2018
New York City start-up, Bowery, is making waves in the organic food industry with their use of indoor vertical farming. After raising $20 million in Series A funding last summer, the company is currently in the process of building their second vertical farm in Kearny, New Jersey.
https://www.livekindly.co/new-york-city-start-up-second-indoor-vertical-farm/
Agriculture must make water use go further: Experts
21 Mar, 2018
Brasilia, Brazil: In a world where water risks running short for many, the especially thirsty agricultural industry must learn how to manage the vital resource better, experts said Tuesday. A day after the United Nations warned that 5.7 billion people could be short of drinking water by 2050, experts said agriculture faces its own threat.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/976950/news-agriculture-water-climate-change
Millions of Chinese farmers reap benefits of huge crop experiment
7 Mar,
2018
A landmark project to make agriculture more sustainable in China has significantly cut fertilizer use while boosting crop yields on millions of small farms across the country, researchers report in Nature. As part of a decade-long study, scientists analyzed vast amounts of agricultural data to develop improved practices, which they then passed on to smallholders. Through a national campaign, about 20.9 million farmers adopted the recommendations, which increased productivity and reduced environmental impacts.
http://globalcompostproject.org/millions-of-chinese-farmers-reap-benefits-of-huge-crop-experiment/
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CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change to force more than 140 mln people to migrate internally, warns World Bank report
20 Mar, 2018
Climate change will force more than 140 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America to become internal “climate migrants” within their countries’ boundaries by 2050, a new World Bank report said. The report titled Groundswell – Preparing for Internal Climate Migration warns that unless urgent development action is taken, people in these three “hot spots” could be pushed out by lower water availability, decreasing crop productivity, storm surges and rising sea levels.
https://scroll.in/latest/872670/climate-change-may-leave-more-than-140-million-people-displaced-warns-world-bank-report
GCCHE set guidelines to bridge education gap between climate change and health
14 Mar,
2018
The Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE), an international forum for developing curricula related to the health impacts of climate change, has announced a set of core competencies for students of public health, nursing, and medicine. The GCCHE recommends students gain an understanding of complex environmental systems, including climate change, and learn methods for measuring their impacts on human health.
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/guidelines-aim-bridge-education-gap-climate-change-and-health
Climatologists render skillful predictions of drought and food insecurity that help avert famine
14 Mar,
2018
Climatologists at UC Santa Barbara's Climate Hazards Group (CHG) have been studying the relationships between droughts and exceptionally warm sea surface temperatures in the eastern and western Pacific Ocean. The multidisciplinary team has been able to deliver skillful predictions of both drought and famine that have helped reduce the effects of food insecurity. Their latest findings appear in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorologic Society.
https://phys.org/news/2018-03-cilmatologists-skillful-drought-food-insecurity.html
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DROUGHTS
37% of Maharashtra villages likely to get drought-like status: India
5 Mar, 2018
Mumbai: Nearly 37% of the villages in Maharashtra may get a ‘drought-like’ tag as they have reported low crop production. The state relief and rehabilitation department have moved a proposal seeking the drought-like status for 1,4679 of the total 39,755 villages in the state and extending relief measures.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/37-of-maha-villages-likely-to-get-drought-like-status/articleshow/63162153.cms
Cape farmers lose 25% of orchards, vineyards as result of drought - expert
22 Mar, 2017
Drought-stricken farmers in the Western Cape have had to abandon at least a quarter of their high-value vineyards and deciduous fruit orchards because of a lack of water for irrigation.
https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/cape-farmers-lose-25-of-orchards-vineyards-as-result-of-drought-expert-20180322
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FLOODS
Widespread street flooding in California
22 Mar,
2018
The powerful storm hitting California has caused widespread street flooding in some California cities in the state's Central Valley agricultural heartland. The National Weather Service says there are numerous reports of flooding in Fresno and nearby Clovis. Flood warnings are also in effect east and south of Sacramento as heavy rain has caused the lower San Joaquin River system to rise. In Southern California, flash flood warnings are issued for parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties near wildfire burn areas.
http://www.djournal.com/news/nation-world/the-latest-widespread-street-flooding-in-california/article_b72e950c-28fb-5e0c-8ab8-f24e4d22b7b0.html
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FOOD SECURITY
Poor rains forecast put food security, livelihoods at risk in Somalia, warns UN agency
21 Mar, 2018
Below-average rains forecast for Somalia could lead to devastating cattle losses and intensify malnutrition in the Horn of Africa nation, the United Nations food security agency has warned. The grim scenario follows massive livestock deaths due to drought – up to 60 percent of herds in some areas – that have severely damaged pastoralists’ livelihoods.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/03/1005501
South Sudan inches closer to famine
22 Mar,
2018
Latest South Sudan food security report projects worsening food crisis in the coming months. With many parts of the country moving closer to a ‘catastrophe’, a famine situation is likely without an urgent increase in aid.
https://www.nrc.no/news/2018/march/south-sudan-inches-closer-to-famine/
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IRRIGATION
Narmada water only for drinking; no supply for irrigation: India
16 Mar,
2018
With Gujarat staring at an acute water crisis, the state government has stopped supply for irrigation from the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river, saving the reserves solely for drinking purposes. Called the 'Lifeline of Gujarat', the Narmada dam water irrigates over 18,000 sq km of area across 12 districts of Gujarat.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/665013/gujarat-crisis-narmada-water-only.html
Five irrigation projects re-designed in Telangana: India
21 Mar,
2018
The Telangana government has re-designed five irrigation projects in the state. The re-designing of projects has been taken up to rectify certain critical deficiencies in terms of hydrology, location, unresolved inter-state aspects and storage requirements.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/five-irrigation-projects-re-designed-by-telangana-govt-118032100733_1.html
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WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
UN on World Water Day: 'Use Nature to Restore Water Access'
21 Mar, 2018
The United Nations and other international water protectors celebrated the 25th anniversary of World Water Day on 22 March 2018. The event was part of the 8th World Water Forum being held in Brasilia, Brazil from 18-23 March, where the United Nations released its annual World Water Report – 'Nature-Based Solutions for Water.' It also initiated International Decade for Action on Water (2018-2028) to meet Sustainable Development Goal 6: everyone has reliable access to safe water by 2030.
https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/UN-on-World-Water-Day-Use-Nature-to-Restore-Water-Access---20180321-0033.html
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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), 3-6 October 2018, Hyderabad, India: An ASABE Global Initiative Conference.
Website: http://www.asabewater.org/
9th International Micro Irrigation Conference, 16-18 January 2019, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India, on the theme: Micro Irrigation in Modern Agriculture.
Website: http://www.icid.org/conf_microirri.html
3rd World Irrigation Forum (WIF3) & 70th International Executive Council Meeting, 1-7 September, 2019, Bali, Indonesia, on the theme: Development for water, food and nutrition security in a competitive environment.
Website: http://www.icid2019.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.enci
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