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More countries around the world turning to fish farms: UN
9 July, 2018
More people than ever before are eating farmed fish and more countries around the world are turning to fish farms as a key source of sustainable protein, states a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization FAO) of the United Nations. The biannual report on the state of the world’s fisheries recently released said fish farming is the fastest growing agricultural sector for the past 40 years and is largely responsible for making more fish available. FAO has projected that aquaculture will account for two-thirds of the global food fish consumption by 2030.
https://seawestnews.com/more-countries-around-the-world-turning-to-fish-farms-un/
Ethiopia’s small-holder farmers see rise in crop yields
5 July,
2018
Usage of certified seeds, improved farming techniques and a guaranteed market for the country's wheat crop saw smallholder Ethiopian farmers’ wheat yields increase by an average 14 percent, according to a new study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). These findings are part of the study to evaluate the impact of the Wheat Initiative, a programme rolled out by the Ethiopian Agricultural ministry and the Agricultural Transformation Agency in 2013 to help smallholder farmers increase their wheat productivity.
https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/markets/ethiopias-small-holder-farmers-see-rise-in-crop-yields-15844571
Smartphone becoming China's latest farming tool
10 July,
2018
Smart greenhouses with watering and fertilizing controlled via mobile phone are all the rage in east China's Jiangxi Province. In a demonstration greenhouse covering 5,000 square meters in the city of Yingtan, most work is done by a system of perforated plastic pipes combined with sensors to monitor temperature, air humidity, mineral content and water content of the soil.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-07/10/c_137313998.htm
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CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change can slow GDP by 9.8 percent
11 July,
2018
Climate change will affect the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, which would mean a decline of 14.4 percent in Bangladesh, 9.8 percent in India, and 10.0 percent in Sri Lanka by 2050. These shocking results have been published in a report released by the World Bank titled ‘South Asia's Hotspots: The Impact of Temperature and Precipitation Changes on Living Standards’.
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/110718/climate-change-can-slow-gdp-by-98-per-cent.html
FAO urges to support poor countries to adapt to climate change
10 July, 2018
FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva called on the international community to provide adequate support to help countries to adapt to climate change. Da Silva expressed that the inclusion of adaptation measures in fisheries and aquaculture is hampered by the lack of specific analyses of the sector's vulnerability to climate change, as well as the available opportunities and responses.
http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&id=30841&SEO=fao-urges-to-support-poor-countries-to-adapt-to-climate-change
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DROUGHTS
Drought drives winemaker innovation with only 15% lower yield
10 July, 2018
Although the impact from the drought experienced in the Western Cape may be less severe on the 2018 wine grape harvest than previously estimated, it has challenged local winemakers to be more innovative.
https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/news/everydropcounts-drought-drives-winemaker-innovation-with-only-15-lower-yield-15931134
Drought in Bundelkhand brings a tide of farmer migration: India
5 July, 2018
As drought becomes the new normal, Bundelkhand, a parched region split between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, is clearing out. The region of nearly 70,000 sq km once received 800-900 mm of rainfall a year, according to the India Meteorological Department. But over the last six to seven years, the amount of rainfall has nearly halved, with the number of rainy days falling from 52 to 24 in the June to October monsoon period.
https://scroll.in/article/885440/in-bundelkhand-villages-are-emptying-out-as-drought-becomes-the-new-normal
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FLOODS
Japan floods: At least 155 killed in worst weather disaster in 36 years
10 July,
2018
At least 155 people have been killed after torrential rain unleashed floods and landslides across western Japan in the country’s worst weather disaster for 36 years. Rescuers were searching for around 67 people who remain missing, many of them in the hardest-hit Hiroshima area. Power has been restored to all but 3,500 homes, but more than 200,000 people remain without water under the scorching sun, with temperatures hitting 33C in some areas.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/japan-floods-latest-dead-mudslides-shinzo-abe-kurashiki-hiroshima-a8439986.html
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FOOD SECURITY
UNESCO: Pollution caused by plastic wastes in seas harms world food security
11 July, 2018
The Director-General of United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) Audrey Azoulay stressed that the pollution caused by plastic wastes that are thrown in seas has grave consequences on the world food security. Azoulay asserted that the discovery of a new "dead zone" in the Gulf of Oman has shed light on the phenomenon of the presence of oxygen-depleted regions in the oceans besides the problems of overfishing and pollution.
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/53778/UNESCO-Pollution-caused-by-plastic-wastes-in-seas-harms-world
New testing device to ensure food safety in Dubai
11 July, 2018
The Dubai Central Lab (DCL) will introduce a new device by the end of this month to test bigger food samples and ensure public safety, officials said. The testing device will allow authorities to inspect bigger capacity of fruits and vegetables that reaches to 600 types of samples a day. The new device, operated by latest technology, will offer different types of inspections.
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/dubai/New-testing-device-to-ensure-food-safety-in-Dubai-
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IRRIGATION
Changing cropping patterns could help India cut irrigation water usage by 33 percent
7 July,
2018
India could reduce the water it uses for irrigation by a third, and simultaneously address its persistent malnutrition problem, if it replaced its rice crop with more nutritious and less thirsty cereals, a study of irrigation-water use over 43 years has found. The suggested replacements for rice are maize, finger millet, pearl millet and sorghum, all of which consume less water per tonne and are more nutritious.
https://www.firstpost.com/india/changing-cropping-patterns-could-help-india-cut-irrigation-water-usage-by-33-percent-reduce-impact-of-local-climate-shocks-4687061.html
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WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
WaterAid, Nigeria Mission to dialogue on sanitation, water in New York
12 July, 2018
WaterAid Nigeria and the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations are billed to dialogue on issues arising from the federal government’s recent declaration of a state of emergency in its water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector. The dialogue also provides a space to highlight potential ways forward regarding the N30 billion fund recently proposed by Nigeria’s Ministry of Water Resources to address open defecation in the country and to encourage state governments to commit budget allocations for sanitation and hygiene.
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2018/07/12/wateraid-nigeria-mission-to-dialogue-on-sanitation-water-in-new-york/
Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai among 21 cities to run out of groundwater by 2020: India
8 July, 2018
India is facing the worst water crisis in its history, and 21 Indian cities will run out of groundwater by 2020, a new report from the NITI Aayog – a government think tank – said, highlighting the need for “urgent and improved” management of water resources. With nearly 600 million Indians facing high-to-extreme water stress – where more than 40 percent of the annually available surface water is used every year – and about 200,000 people dying every year due to inadequate access to safe water, the situation is likely to worsen as the demand for water will exceed the supply by 2050, said the ‘Composite Water Management Index’ (CWMI) report.
https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/indias-water-crisis-bengaluru-delhi-chennai-hyderabad-among-21-cities-to-run-out-of-groundwater-by-2020-4590221.html
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS
ICID Upcoming Webinar: Negotiations for Resolution of Trans-boundary Water Conflicts on 1 August 2018, Wednesday @ 14:30 hrs (IST); Speaker: Hon. Karlene Maywald, Chair ICE WaRM. For more details, please visit: http://www.icid.org/icid_webinar.html
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/
5th International Symposium on Dam Safety, 27-31 October 2018, Istanbul, Turkey
Website: http://www.damsafety2018.com/
9th International Micro Irrigation Conference, 16-18 January 2019, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India on the theme: Micro Irrigation in Modern Agriculture.
Website: http://micro-irrigation2019.com/
International Dam Safety Conference 2019, 13-14 February 2019, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, India
Website: www.damsafety.in/idsc2019
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 Productivity Mapping of Major Indian Crops 2018, published by NABARD
The study on Water Productivity Mapping of Major Indian Crops presents for the first time, maps on the water productivity of ten major Indian crops across cultivating districts and states. It builds on the expectation that if key decisions regarding irrigation, cropping patterns, input pricing, and incentive structures are predicated on water productivity of crops, it would ensure that water in agriculture is distributed more widely, water-use efficiency is enhanced, and Indian agriculture becomes more sustainable and productive in the long run. Thus, the study seeks to inform targeted policies and investment interventions for meeting the twin objectives of har khet ko pani (water to every field) and ‘more crop per drop’. The report will encourage policy makers to take note of and trigger an effective response to the looming water crisis faced by the agriculture sector in India. The book has been released as an Open Access and may be downloaded @ http://icrier.org/pdf/Water_Productivity_Mapping_of_Major_Indian_Crops.pdf
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