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Old coal mines can be 'perfect' underground food farms
3 Dec, 2018
Abandoned coal mines across the UK could be brought back to life as huge underground farms, according to academics. Mine shafts and tunnels are seen as "the perfect environment" for growing food such as vegetables and herbs. The initiative is seen as a way of providing large-scale crop production for a growing global population.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-46221656
Tribal Araku farmers get global recognition: India
4 Dec, 2018
Tribal farmers who grow the now globally famous Araku Coffee are truly going places. After its thunderous debut in Paris a few months ago, Araku Coffee has become very well-known and its cultivators are being recognised and celebrated throughout the world. The four other runners-up are from Guatemala, Brazil, Tanzania and Peru.
https://deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/041218/tribal-araku-farmers-get-global-recognition.html
Beating the heat with genome-edited crops
28 Nov, 2018
Wheat with DNA tweaked to beat the heat, and redesigned rice that can flourish in hot, dry conditions. Work is now underway to bring these kinds of genetically edited foods to dinner tables around the world, with the new rice estimated to be in bowls by about 2039, all necessitated by our warmer -- and in some places much drier and much more populous -- planet.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20181128/p2a/00m/0na/006000c
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CLIMATE CHANGE
El Niño: 75-80% chance of extreme weather phenomenon in next three months, WMO warns
29 Nov, 2018
The UN's World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has warned there is a 75-80 percent chance of a weak El Niño event forming within the next three months. This naturally occurring phenomenon changes temperatures across the Pacific Ocean and drives extreme weather across the world.
https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/el-nino-2019-weather-extreme-effect-climate-un-world-meteorological-organisation-a8653861.html
Japan's climate change plan approved by Cabinet
27 Nov, 2018
Japan's Cabinet approved a climate change adaptation plan that is aimed at countering the dangers caused by global warming, including disasters and the impact on farm produce. The adaptation plan - a revision of an earlier plan drawn up in 2015 - was compiled ahead of the December effectuation of the Climate Change Adaptation Law, which is aimed at creating a society that can keep up with the progression of global warming.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japans-cabinet-approves-climate-change-plan
World must triple efforts or face catastrophic climate change: UN
27 Nov, 2018
Countries are failing to take the action needed to stave off the worst effects of climate change, a UN report has found, and the commitments made in the 2015 Paris agreement will not be met unless governments introduce additional measures as a matter of urgency. New taxes on fossil fuels, investment in clean technology and much stronger government policies to bring down emissions are likely to be necessary.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/27/world-triple-efforts-climate-change-un-global-warming
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DROUGHTS
Australia cuts wheat harvest forecast to 10-year low on drought
4 Dec,
2018
Australia has lowered its wheat production forecast by 11 percent to the smallest in a decade amid a crippling drought across the country's east coast that may cut exports from the world's fourth biggest supplier. Lower wheat production will reduce Australia's wheat export capacity, supporting global benchmark prices that rose to their highest in more than two months on Monday.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/australia-cuts-wheat-harvest-forecast-to-10-year-low-on-drought-20181204-p50k02.html
Drought driving desperate Afghans to marry off children for money: UN
27 Nov, 2018
Afghanistan’s worst drought in decades has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and is pushing families to marry off their children in exchange for dowries in order to survive, the United Nations said. About 223,000 people have been uprooted from their homes in the drought-hit western provinces of Herat, Badghis and Ghor this year, according to the UN children’s agency (UNICEF). FAO has said Afghan families have been skipping meals, selling off livestock and moving to cities where it is easier to access aid and services.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/article/549005/World/Asia/Drought-driving-desperate-Afghans-to-marry-off-children-for-money-UN?rss=1
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FLOODS
Families flee Mosul homes following flash floods: Iraq
3 Dec,
2018
Nearly 85 families have fled their homes in various areas of the northern city of Mosul over the weekend, following two days of flash floods, an Iraqi civil defence official said. The heavy rain paralysed traffic, causing widespread disruption, with schools and offices closed. Six bridges and 300 tents in the Nimrud refugee camp were reportedly damaged as a result of the heavy rainfall.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/iraq-families-flee-mosul-homes-flash-floods-181203093653086.html
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FOOD SECURITY
All forms of malnutrition must be addressed urgently, states FAO chief
4 Dec, 2018
José Graziano da Silva, Director General, Food and Agriculture Organization, called on countries to urgently address all forms of malnutrition, during his opening address to the FAO Council, the organisation’s executive body. Obesity affects millions of people, and several billion suffer from diseases caused by vitamin- or mineral-deficient diets, known as micronutrient deficiencies, according to the UN agriculture chief, who called for "transformative changes" to our food systems.
https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/health/276675-fao-chief-calls-to-promote-transformative-changes-to-food-systems
World Soil Day: Tackle soil pollution and do away with food insecurity, says FAO
5 Dec, 2018
As December 5 marked the World Soil Day, FAO observed soil pollution as this year’s theme. According to the FAO, it is vital to tackle soil pollution to reduce the risk of food security and human health. By preventing soil pollution, we can also address soil degradation, adapt to climate change and stem rural migration.
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/agriculture/world-soil-day-tackle-soil-pollution-and-do-away-with-food-insecurity-says-fao-62389
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IRRIGATION
Micro-irrigation to cover one crore acres in Andhra Pradesh: India
13 Nov,
2018
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has underscored the need for increasing the area of land under micro-irrigation to one crore acres in the coming five years in Andhra Pradesh state. The State government had set a target to take up micro-irrigation in 8.75 lakh acres of land this year and in 12.50 lakh acres next year.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/andhra-pradesh/2018/nov/13/micro-irrigation-to-cover-one-crore-acres-in-andhra-pradesh-1897550.html
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WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
World Bank to issue $600 million bonds to support water resources
27 Nov, 2018
The World Bank is set to issue bonds to raise $600 million for funding the protection of water resources in developing countries, the Bank has said. The bonds were announced at the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The World Bank said that it was committed to working with countries to ensure access to safe and clean water and for the sustainable use of ocean and marine resources.
https://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/world-bank-issue-600-million-bonds-support-water-resources
Scientists reveal substantial water loss in global landlocked regions
30 Nov, 2018
Along with a warming climate and intensified human activities, recent water storage in global landlocked basins has undergone a widespread decline. A new study reveals this decline has aggravated local water stress and caused potential sea level rise. The study, "Recent Global Decline in Endorheic Basin Water Storage," was carried out by a team of scientists from six countries and appears in the current issue of Nature Geoscience.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181130153841.htm
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS
9th International Micro Irrigation Conference (9IMIC), 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
5th African Regional Conference on Irrigation and Drainage (ARCID), 16-19 March 2020, Rabat, Morocco on the theme: Sustainable Management of Irrigation for Improved Resilience of Agriculture in Africa.
Website: http://www.anafide.net/
Water for Food Global Conference 2019, 29-30 April 2019, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA on the theme: Water for a Hungry World: Innovation in Water and Food Security.
Website: https://waterforfood.nebraska.edu/news-and-events
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)
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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 @ https://bit.ly/2Q6O
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