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by Kelly MACNAMARA Food is fundamental to the efforts to tackle climate change, according to a scientist who has spent decades tracing the interactions between global warming and what we eat. Cynthia Rosenzweig, head of the Climate Impacts Group at NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, was Thursday awarded the prestigious World Food Prize for her research. That includes stark warnings about the potential effect climate change will have on food. Her comments to AFP […]
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — A four-day-old strike by Argentine grain transporters, demanding higher freight rates in the face of rising diesel prices due to war in Ukraine, has paralyzed farming exports, industry sources said Thursday. Thousands of trucks that haul grain and its derivatives have parked along the side of the road in the South American country, which is the world’s largest exporter of soybean flour and oil, and one of the main suppliers […]
Major international organizations issued an appeal Wednesday for urgent measures to deal with rising food insecurity in poor countries, including financing to support farmers and increase food supplies. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Western sanctions on Moscow, have sent energy and food prices soaring in recent weeks, while rising natural gas prices also have impacted fertilizer production, which in turn hurts farmers. “It is critical to quickly provide support for food insecure countries in a coordinated manner,” […]
by Selim SAHEB ETTABA Agence France-Presse Bahaté, Ukraine (AFP) – In an endless field in southwest Ukraine, farmers began to plant sunflower seeds at the start of the sowing season, but a fuel shortage threatens production in the war-torn country, whose land feeds millions around the world. The world’s top producer of sunflower oil and a major exporter of wheat is a breadbasket of the world under threat from the Russian invasion. This means the […]
by Francoise Kadri Agence France-Presse NEFTA, Tunisia (AFP) – A remote oasis in Tunisia’s desert was exhausted by decades of wasteful water use for agriculture — but now pioneers around an eco-lodge are reviving the spot with innovative projects. They hope their back-to-basics approach can keep alive the ancient Saharan caravan stop and its traditions as a sustainable alternative to the region’s high-irrigation date plantations. “Among the palm trees, everything can grow,” said Mohamed Bougaa, […]
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday proposed lifting a ban on mining in indigenous territories in the Amazon to offset potential fertilizer shortages due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The far-right leader said that mineral extraction in indigenous territories — something vehemently opposed by those local communities and environmentalists — was necessary to avoid dependence on imported products. “With the Russia/Ukraine war we now face the risk of a lack of […]
RABAT, Morocco (AFP) – Morocco said Wednesday it will launch a nearly $1 billion aid programme to help its agriculture industry, which has been hit hard by a particularly acute drought in recent years. The emergency plan “aims to mitigate the effects of delay in rainfall, to alleviate the impact on agricultural activity and to provide assistance to the farmers and livestock breeders affected”, the royal palace said in a statement. The plan will cost […]
by Haitham El-Tabei Agence France-Presse JIZAN, Saudi Arabia (AFP) – For Farah al-Malki, growing coffee plants in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern region of Jizan is more than just a profession. It is a family tradition passed down from generation to generation. The 90-year-old patriarch has a long history with coffee, which spread from Ethiopia to Yemen and then to the rest of the Middle East around the 15th century. “My father inherited it from his grandfathers, […]
by Yann SCHREIBER Agence France-Presse CHAK TWENTY-SIX SP, Pakistan (AFP) – Agriculture entrepreneurs are bringing the digital age to Pakistan’s farmers, helping them plan crops better and distribute their produce when the time is right. Until recently, “the most modern machine we had was the tractor”, Aamer Hayat Bhandara, a farmer and local councillor behind one such project told AFP in “Chak 26”, a village in the agricultural heartland of Punjab province. Even making mobile […]
Says projected supply shortfall due in part to damage to fisheries subsector after typhoon “Odette” (Eagle News) – The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it would import around 60,000 metric tons of small pelagic fish such as galunggong (round scad), sardines and mackerel “to plug projected fish supply shortfall in the first quarter of 2022.” In a statement, the DA said Agriculture Secretary William Dar had already signed the Certificate of Necessity to Import […]
by Anne-Sophie THILL Agence France-Presse LAURIERVILLE, Canada (AFP) – Pancake lovers, fear not. Strong demand for maple syrup after a poor Canadian harvest has created supply-side woes, but Quebec province is tapping its strategic reserves to keep the world awash in the sweet, sticky stuff. Experts are warning the shortages could be further compounded by climate change, which is already being blamed for last spring’s shorter and warmer sugaring season. To avoid shortages, the Quebec […]
YEN BAI, Vietnam (AFP) — As the morning sun finds its way through the mist over Vietnam’s terraced rice fields, local farmers lead buffalo into the paddies and pass another day without tourists in their hilly homeland. Located 300 km (around 190 miles) northwest of Hanoi, Mu Cang Chai district in northern Yen Bai province had become a hit with foreign and local tourists alike before the coronavirus pandemic. The spectacular terraces — which lie […]
