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Fertilizer subsidies are impoverishing farmers: World Bank
12 Apr, 2018
Government-driven subsidies for fertilizer for large-scale producers, especially those who grow maize, are responsible for poor agricultural output, according to the World Bank. According to the 2018 World Bank Kenya Economic Update, the subsidies only benefit wealthy farmers and companies that supply fertilizer, rather than small-scale farmers. The subsidies, the report added, also hurt the consumers as it leads to high taxes.
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001276569/fertiliser-subsidies-are-impoverishing-farmers-claims-global-financier
UK sugar beet yields hit record levels
5 Apr,
2018
Sugar beet growers are celebrating record beet yields from the 2017 harvest, following favourable weather throughout the season, as the lifting campaign came to an end just before Easter. Some 8.9m tonnes of sugar beet were processed through the four British Sugar factories, with the final average yield of 83.4t/ha, a significant increase on the previous record of 79.8t/ha.
http://www.fwi.co.uk/arable/uk-sugar-beet-yields-hit-record-levels.htm
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CLIMATE CHANGE
El Niño affected two-thirds of the world's harvests
10 Apr, 2018
According to researchers at Aalto University, Finland, large-scale weather cycles, such as the one related to the El Niño phenomenon, affect two-thirds of the world's cropland. In these so-called climate oscillations, air pressure, sea level temperature or other similar factors fluctuate regularly in areas far apart in a way that causes rain and temperature patterns to shift significantly.
http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/1/358/175726.html
Climate change dials down Atlantic Ocean heating system
11 Apr,
2018
A significant shift in the system of ocean currents that helps keep parts of Europe warm could send temperatures in the UK lower, scientists have found. They say the Atlantic Ocean circulation system is weaker now than it has been for more than 1,000 years - and has changed significantly in the past 150. The study, in the journal Nature, says it may be a response to increased melting ice and is likely to continue.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43713719
Climate change could mean fewer flowers for bees – study
12 Mar, 2018
Bees are at risk from climate change because more frequent droughts could cause plants to produce fewer flowers, researchers say. A study by the University of Exeter examined the impact of droughts – which are expected to become more common in many parts of the world – on flowering plants.
https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/climate-change-could-mean-fewer-flowers-for-bees-study-836960.html
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DROUGHTS
Drought will cost Argentina's herd up to a million head
11 Apr, 2018
Argentina’s herd will shrink by up to 1 million head of cattle next year as ranchers facing scorched pastures after the worst drought in decades decide to slaughter females rather than grow their herds, analysts said.
http://en.mercopress.com/2018/04/11/drought-will-cost-argentina-s-herd-up-to-a-million-head
Somaliland’s drought threatens progress in protecting females from violence
11 Apr, 2018
The devastating drought in the Horn of Africa is threatening progress made towards stamping out some of the worst forms of abuse against women and girls. New research by Save the Children found that 51 teenage girls (out of 1,104 households) had been married off because of the way in which the drought was impacting their families.
https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/somaliland-s-drought-threatens-progress-protecting-females-sexual-violence
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FLOODS
Heavy rainfall trends across the U.S.
11 Apr,
2018
With flooding in parts of the Mississippi Valley and a strong Pacific storm coming into the Northwest, the trend in the number of days each year with heavy precipitation at 244 individual sites in the U.S was examined. This expands nationwide-averaged heavy precipitation analysis from earlier this year, complementing the 2017 Climate Science Special Report which indicated the heaviest precipitation events are increasing in all regions of the U.S.
http://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Heavy-Rainfall-Trends-Across-the-US-479468413.html
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FOOD SECURITY
FAO, EJF hold Ghana meeting on food security via fisheries
12 Apr,
2018
A recent meeting in Ghana marked a turning point towards implementing the global guidelines on tenure rights, to save the country’s declining fishing industry and safeguard national food security, hopes the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF). The meeting – co-organized by EJF, Hen Mpoano, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) – brought together traditional authorities, fisher and fish processor associations, representatives from local and national government, spatial planners, civil society organizations, legal experts and academics.
https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2018/04/12/fao-ejf-hold-ghana-meeting-on-food-security-via-fisheries/
About 40% of Afghans have no food security: WFP
2 Apr, 2018
Executive Director of World Food Program (WFP) has said that currently, about 40 percent of the population in Afghanistan has no food security. Referring to the UN’s concerns about the rising number of people suffering from hunger, WFP officials said that over the past three years, four million more people now face a lack of food security, bringing the total number to 13 million out of about 30 million in the country.
https://www.tolonews.com/business/about-40-afghans-have-no-food-security%C2%A0wfp
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IRRIGATION
India, World Bank sign 420 mln project agreement to benefit farmers in Maharashtra
7 Apr,
2018
Union Government, Maharashtra Government and the World Bank signed a USD 420 million project agreement to help small and marginal farmers in the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra state. The project will help in increasing the climate resilient practices in agriculture and ensuring that farming continues to remain a financially viable activity for them.
https://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/india-world-bank-sign-420-million-project-agreement-to-benefit-farmers-in-maharashtra-1523071261-1
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WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
'Day zero' water crises: Spain, Morocco, India and Iraq at risk as reservoirs shrink
11 Mar, 2018
Shrinking reservoirs in Morocco, India, Iraq and Spain could spark the next “day zero” water crisis, according to the developers of a satellite early warning system for the world’s 500,000 dams. Drastic conservation measures have forestalled that moment in South Africa, but dozens of other countries face similar risks from rising demand, mismanagement and climate change, say the World Resources Institute (WRI).
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/11/day-zero-water-crises-spain-morocco-india-and-iraq-at-risk-as-dams-shrink
Nestle Pakistan joins hands with PARC to highlight water wastage issues
12 Apr,
2018
To commemorate the celebration of World Water Day, Nestlé Pakistan joined hands with the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) to highlight water wastage issues faced by the country owing to poor agriculture practices.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/227073/nestle-pakistan-joins-hands-with-parc-to-highlight-water-wastage-issues/
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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.enc
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