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by Raad Al-Jammas Agence France-Presse Iraqi wheat farmer Khamis Ahmad Abbas lost it all when his battle with drought forced him to abandon his land, pushing him into unemployment. Experts have warned that record low rainfall, compounded by climate change, are threatening social and economic disaster in war-scarred Iraq. “Growing wheat and barley is a gamble. It all depends on the rain,” said the 42-year-old father of nine. Unable to make ends meet, Abbas quit […]
AMRITSAR, India (AFP) – Crackling flames and plumes of smoke rise from the earth as farmers set their fields alight in northern India — an annual post-harvest practice that shrouds New Delhi in toxic smog. Tens of thousands of small farmers around the capital burn their crop residue at the start of every winter, clearing fields from the recently harvested paddy to make way for wheat. The practice was banned two years ago but enforcement is […]
by Kaouther Larbi and Françoise Kadri with AFP bureaus in Rabat and Algeria Agence France-Presse TUNIS, Tunisia (AFP) – Proudly displaying her freshly picked pomegranates, Tunisian farmer Sarah Shili says going organic is “the future of farming” — and as demand surges in North Africa and beyond, the sector is blooming. Shili runs Domaine Elixir Bio, a 94-hectare (230-acre) farm near Tunis that produces organic-certified vegetable, fruit and cereal crops in a way she said […]
STRASBOURG, France (AFP) – The European Parliament backed Wednesday an ambitious EU push to make farming more sustainable, in a move hailed by environmental activists who also called for binding targets for slashing pesticides. A majority of 452 legislators gave the thumbs up to a report on the EU executive’s “farm to fork” strategy in the face of intense lobbying from agricultural groups. There were 170 against with 76 abstentions. “MEPs highlighted the need for enhanced […]
by Delil Souleiman with Maher al-Mounes in Damascus Agence France-Presse TAL SHAEER, Syria (AFP) – After Syrian farmer Abdelbaqi Souleiman lost his last wheat crop to a wildfire, he had hoped for a better harvest this summer. But this spring there was hardly any rain. “Last year the field I planted was burnt to the ground,” said the 48-year-old. “This year there wasn’t enough rain, and we didn’t harvest any wheat.” As man-made climate change […]
LUCKNOW, India (AFP) — At least eight people were killed in northern India Sunday after clashes broke out at a farmers’ protest, officials told local media, in a deadly escalation of their year-long campaign against controversial agriculture laws. The farmers had gathered for a demonstration in Uttar Pradesh state’s Lakhimpur Kheri district, where the junior home affairs minister Ajay Mishra and the state’s deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had been due to visit. Chaotic […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – The UK government announced plans on Wednesday to relax regulation of gene-edited crops, following the country’s departure from the European Union. Under the changes, which will apply to England, the government has said it will “cut red tape and make research and development easier”, allowing gene-edited crops to be tested in the same way as naturally occurring new varieties. The devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which set […]
Updated number of casualties at 20 (Eagle News) — Disaster officials said that typhoon Jolina (international name Conson) left at least P1.53 billion damage to agriculture and P63.676 million damage to infrastructure. In its latest report as of Wednesday, Sept. 22, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) also updated the number of casualties and injuries left by the typhoon. In its latest update, it said the typhoon left 20 people dead and […]
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The Philippines became the world’s first country Friday to approve the commercial production of genetically modified “golden rice” that experts hope will combat childhood blindness and save lives in the developing world. A biosafety permit issued by government regulators paves the way for the rice — enriched with the vitamin A-precursor beta-carotene to make it more nutritional — to be grown by farmers across the country, its developers said. “It’s […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea is facing a food shortage of around 860,000 tonnes this year, the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation forecast, warning the country could experience a “harsh lean period” as early as next month. The impoverished country, which is under multiple sets of international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, has long struggled to feed itself, suffering chronic food shortages. Last year, the coronavirus pandemic and a […]
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel said Sunday it will allow the “limited export” of farm produce from Gaza, one month after a ceasefire with the enclave’s Hamas rulers to end an 11-day conflict. The crowded Mediterranean territory, home to around two million Palestinians, has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007. Extra restrictions since intense violence last month has meant Gaza’s farmers have been unable to export goods as usual, creating a glut of produce […]
(Eagle News) – The Japanese government, thru its embassy, has allowed the grant of P75.8 million worth of funding support for three agricultural projects in the Philippines. In a statement, the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines said “Japanese Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko signed grant contracts with Japanese non-government organizations (NGOs) conducting activities in the Philippines namely OISCA International, Ikaw-Ako, and JAEC.” Silkworm farmers from the provinces of Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, Aklan, Iloilo, Antique, Misamis Oriental, […]
