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17 organizations feeding the world through regenerative agriculture
21 May, 2018
Drawing from decades of research, regenerative agriculture uses farming principles designed to mimic nature. To build healthy soils and fertile, thriving agro-ecosystems, this approach incorporates a range of practices such as agroforestry and well-managed grazing. Benefits of these practices include richer soil, healthier water systems, increased biodiversity, climate change resilience and stronger farming communities.
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/17-organizations-feeding-world-through-regenerative-agriculture
Research facility scaling up poultry production: Ethiopia
3 May, 2018
Ethiopia, known for having the largest livestock population in Africa, has 55 million chickens. There is an increasing demand for livestock products in the country including meat, milk and egg, which calls for expansion of production. Poultry facility is a great opportunity to improve nutrition and income serving as response to food insecurity and supporting the country’s ongoing fight to prevent childhood stunting.
http://www.ethpress.gov.et/herald/index.php/technology/item/11738-research-facility-scaling-up-poultry-production
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CLIMATE CHANGE
Smart-Climate Apps guide African herders to water, grazing fields
22 May, 2018
The thinking used to be that climate-smart agriculture practices couldn’t successfully be applied to the herding communities that roam with their goats, cattle, or sheep—their livelihood—in the continent’s arid and semi-arid grasslands. A couple of modern-day apps are making inroads in climate-smart livestock and farming practices in Africa.
https://www.bna.com/smartclimate-apps-guide-n57982092762/
NASA: Twin satellites to track Earth’s water launched
23 May,
2018
A twin spacecraft to monitor the changes in sea level rise, ice melt and drought on Earth was successfully launched aboard a SpaceX rocket, along with five communication satellites, NASA said. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) is a joint mission by NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).
http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/twin-satellites-to-track-earths-water-launched-nasa-5188362/
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DROUGHTS
Brazil's center-south cane crop cut due to drought
21 May, 2018
Brazil's center-south, the world's largest sugar producing region, is likely to have less cane to process this year than previously expected due to a prolonged period without widespread rains. Sao Paulo-based Archer Consulting revised its center-south 2018/19 cane crop projection to 563 million tonnes, compared to 580 million tonnes expected previously, citing damage to some cane fields in the region due to drought.
http://www.blackseagrain.net/novosti/brazils-center-south-cane-crop-cut-due-to-drought
US wheat crop shrivels in drought, large global supplies
10 May, 2018
U.S. farmers are expected to harvest their smallest winter wheat crop in more than a decade amid an ongoing drought that has devastated fields across the nation's breadbasket and a global surplus of the grain that has depressed prices, according to government report released.
https://www.agweb.com/article/us-wheat-crop-shrivels-in-drought-large-global-supplies/
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FLOODS
Floods caused by climate change could wreck Kruger National Park‚ scientists warn
17 May,
2018
Climate change could cause a catastrophic loss of species in South Africa's Kruger National Park (KNP). That is the warning from scientists whose work in the park as shown that some of the world's most sensitive and valuable river habitats are being destroyed by increasingly frequent extreme floods driven by cyclones.
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/sci-tech/2018-05-17-floods-caused-by-climate-change-could-wreck-kruger-national-park-scientists-warn/
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FOOD SECURITY
World Bank, FG open up markets for rice farmers
18 May, 2018
As part of the federal government’s efforts to make rice production more attractive and profitable for Nigerian farmers, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources is opening up new market frontiers for rice farmers by linking them with off-takers and aggregators. The ministry took the first step by organizing a Business Forum in Kano to bring rice farmers, off-takers and other value chain actors to the table to start discussions on how to do business together under the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING) Project, supported by the World Bank.
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2018/05/18/food-security-world-bank-fg-open-up-markets-for-rice-farmers/
FAO urges protection of bees for the future of our food
22 May, 2018
On the eve of the first World Bee Day (20 May), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) urged countries and individuals to do more to protect bees and other pollinators or risk a sharp drop in food diversity. Bees are under great threat from the combined effects of climate change, intensive agriculture, pesticides, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/agriculture/fao-urges-protection-of-bees-for-the-future-of-our-food-first-world-bee-day-observed-on-may-20_133759
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IRRIGATION
Union Cabinet okays Rs 5,000-crore micro-irrigation fund: India
17 May,
2018
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a dedicated Rs 5,000-crore fund to bring more land area under micro-irrigation, as part of its objective to boost agriculture production and farmers income. The Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF), set up under the National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development (NABARD), seeks to provide states financial assistance on concessional rate of interest to promote micro-irrigation – currently, 10 million hectares is under micro-irrigation as against the potential of 70 million hectares.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/union-cabinet-okays-rs-5000-crore-micro-irrigation-fund-5179831/
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WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
UNF: ‘Pioneer’ female engineering students design water system for Guatemalan village
21 May, 2018
Collecting water for cooking, cleaning and other household chores used to be an all-day affair for the women of La Esperanza, a rural village of about 1,000 people in the highlands area of Guatemala. But the University of North Florida’s first all-female senior civil engineering team designed a new water distribution system for the community, which was built by local workers and began operations this spring.
http://www.jacksonville.com/news/20180521/unf-pioneer-female-engineering-students-design-water-system-for-guatemalan-village
Peatland contributions to UK water security
15 May,
2018
Peatlands are vital to UK water security and must be protected to preserve the UK's water supply, say scientists. water@leeds scientists from the University of Leeds have developed a new global index that identifies water supplied from peatlands as a significant source of drinking water for the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/uol-pct051418.php
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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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