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Michigan State University scientists to showcase latest in agricultural research
8 May, 2018
Members of Michigan’s agriculture industry and local residents are invited to attend the upcoming research field days at Michigan State University’s outlying research facilities throughout the state this summer. MSU scientists will present findings from their current research, ranging from malting barley and dry beans to forages and fruit and vegetable technologies, as well as answer questions from attendees.
https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2018/michigan-state-university-scientists-to-showcase-latest-in-agricultural-research/
IBM to make Indian agriculture smart by bringing AI into practical farming
8 May,
2018
The government of India’s policy think-tank NITI Aayog has partnered with one of the world’s largest technology companies IBM to develop a crop yield prediction model using artificial intelligence (AI) to provide real time advisory to farmers in backward states of India.
https://www.indianweb2.com/2018/05/08/ibm-to-make-indian-agriculture-smart-by-bringing-ai-into-practical-farming/
Latest farming techniques lure growers to agri expo
5 May, 2018
Lahore: The seventh Dawn Food and Agricultural Expo attracted a large number of people on its second and concluding day at the Expo Centre on Friday. More than 44 local and international companies set up their stalls at the two-day exhibition which was visited by farmers, students of agriculture institutes, academia, professionals and others associated with livestock, agriculture and food sectors.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1405641
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CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change could reverse all reductions in child mortality: Study
8 May, 2018
In the past 25 years, the world has made major progress improving child health and reducing child mortality. But all that hard work could be undone by climate change, a study published in Pediatrics warned. The authors say climate change “threatens to reverse the gains in global child health and the reductions in global child mortality made over the past 25 years.” While the impacts of climate change could be felt by all humans, the authors say they’ll be disproportionally felt by poor people and children.
https://inhabitat.com/climate-change-could-reverse-all-the-reductions-in-child-mortality-made-in-the-last-25-years/
Tree-murdering fungi and insects are increasingly contributing to climate change
8 May,
2018
Forests have long been an important resource, and not only in human development — even today, they account for 80 to 90 percent of land-dwelling biodiversity. But forests are currently threatened by deforestation, rising global temperatures, increasing extreme weather events, and intensifying pathogenic outbreaks — caused by widening pest ranges and invasive species. The global impact of this forest die-off is extreme: Carbon that accumulates year after year in living trees escapes from dead and decomposing trees back into the atmosphere.
https://massivesci.com/articles/forest-insects-fires-carbon-warming/
Tourism is responsible for nearly one-tenth of the world's carbon emissions
7 May,
2018
Tourism accounts for around 8 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study that marks the first attempt to quantify the industry’s total carbon footprint. The researchers said flying less and investing in payment schemes to offset damage caused by travel will be essential to avoid “unchecked future growth in tourism-related emissions”.
https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/tourism-climate-change-carbon-emissions-global-warming-flying-cars-transport-a8338946.html
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DROUGHTS
3°C May double Europe’s drought risk
4 May, 2018
As the water content in the European soils begins to evaporate, the worst droughts will last three to four times longer than they did in the last decades of the last century. The number of months of drought in southern Europe could increase significantly. In this zone drought is already measured more than 28 percent of the land area: this could, in the most extreme scenario, expand to 49 percent.
https://www.ecowatch.com/europe-drought-2565838346.html
Brazil drought hits second-corn, dry spell persists
2 May, 2018
Sao Paulo: Brazilian farmers who cultivate the annual second harvest of corn face the prospect of lower yields and crop failure due to drought affecting fields in top producing states, analysts and a weather forecaster said. Second corn is planted after soybeans as a rotation crop in Brazil, the world’s second-largest exporter of the commodity.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-corn/brazil-drought-hits-second-corn-dry-spell-persists-idUSKBN1I32WB
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FLOODS
Drought-breaking downpour leaves hundreds dead in East Africa
4 May,
2018
Weeks of torrential rain after a long drought have turned from blessing to curse in East Africa, killing hundreds of people and displacing hundreds of thousands of others. In Kenya, which had suffered from three failed rainy seasons, 120 people have died in two months, including eight who were swept off a bridge in a flash flood.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1405587/drought-breaking-downpour-leaves-hundreds-dead-in-east-africa
Record floods show world has changed and New Brunswick must adapt, scientists say
7 May,
2018
New Brunswick’s record-breaking floods are a jarring reminder climate change is bringing a watery future that will wash away old patterns of life and force many to higher ground permanently, say environmental scientists and hydrologists. The hydrologist says the public needs to understand that historical levels of water flow are no longer guides to the future.
http://www.news1130.com/2018/05/07/record-floods-show-world-has-changed-and-n-b-must-adapt-scientists-say/
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FOOD SECURITY
New Agriculture Road Map at UN Climate talks prioritises food security
6 May,
2018
The agreement to discuss the agriculture issue was reached last November at the climate summit (COP 23) in the German city of Bonn. The ongoing pre-summit negotiations also in Bonn, ahead of 2018 climate change summit to be held in December at Katowice, Poland, led to an agreement on a three-year roadmap.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/new-agriculture-road-map-at-un-climate-change-talks-prioritises-food-security-1847982
Jersey Dairy get top food safety award
9 May, 2018
A major UK food retailer has given Jersey Dairy a top award for the high standards it applies when making products using milk from the Island’s world-famous breed of cow. Jersey Dairy – owned by a co-operative of Island dairy farmers – has been acknowledged by M&S, which sells its products in its local branches and food halls nationwide. The food chain awarded Jersey Dairy the Double Gold Standard for exceeding their food safety standards.
https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2018/05/08/jersey-dairy-get-top-food-safety-award/
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IRRIGATION
Using sun to desalinate water for irrigation
5 May, 2018
Water efficiency in farming and food production, whether for traditional rural irrigation, arid regions or urban farms, represents a key metric in the face of global population growth and climate change. As it is, 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water. A big percentage of this water is salt water – in world’s oceans and seas. Scarcity of freshwater resources, therefore, makes a compelling argument for desalination.
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2001279276/firm-turns-to-solar-for-water-desalination
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WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Water scarcity is central to the narrative of development: FAO
11 May, 2018
Rome: At the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) conference on the Near East, the talk is all about water scarcity, sustaining small family farms and creating “resilient” agriculture. But however noble the aims and urgent the need, the fact is that there is barely a corner of the Middle and Near East that is not beset by conflict.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1300456/world
Kenya receives Sh2.6bn World Bank grant for water projects
9 May,
2018
Kenya has received $25.8 million (Sh2.6 billion) financing from World Bank's International Development Agency to boost water and irrigation projects. The grant to the Water and Sanitation ministry will address water security challenges in the country, through the Kenya Water Security and Climate Resilience Project (KWSCRP).
https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/economy/Kenya-receives-Sh2-6bn-World-Bank-grant-for-water-projects/3946234-4552878-2ud8ww/index.html
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS
International Conference and 69th International Executive Council Meeting of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, 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) and 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.en
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