Energizing the Green Revolution in Africa
In the summer of 2005, Andrew Youn, an M.B.A. student at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, was traveling in western Kenya when he met two women, farmers who were living profoundly different lives.
Both were working small plots of land, but one was producing a yield of two tons of maize per acre — better than Kenya’s national average — while the other was producing one quarter that amount. The difference meant the world. One family had enough to eat during the “hunger season” — the months before the late-summer harvest. The other didn’t. One family had decent housing and clothing and the children were healthy. The second family was living a meager existence, Youn recalled. “She had lost a child and it was unlikely that her four remaining children would be able to complete high school.”
The difference? One woman was doing what many farmers around the world had been doing since the Green Revolution began in the 1960s — using improved hybrid crop varieties and fertilizer and incorporating planting techniques proven to boost food production. As Tina Rosenberg has reported, the Green Revolution transformed agricultural practices across Asia and Latin America — doubling world food production from 1960 to 1990 and saving countless lives — but, for a variety of reasons, it has not yet taken hold across Africa. Among the billion people today who are living in extreme poverty — subsisting on less than $1.25 a day — one-fourth are smallholder farmers in Africa.
“In the fight against global poverty, there are very few hugely powerful leverage points,” says Youn. “The majority of the world’s poor people are farmers; they share one profession, and we figured out how to make that profession way more productive 50 years ago. There is a common solution that could substantially improve their productivity.”
Since his visit to Kenya, Youn has been obsessed with making that solution widely available in Africa. In 2006, he co-founded a nonprofit organization, One Acre Fund, with offices around East Africa, to assist smallholder farmers; today, the organization has a staff of 2,500 who deliver farming inputs, training and market assistance to 280,000 families in rural Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania, with a plan to be serving a million families by 2020.
This work is part of a historic shift. “The African Green Revolution is emerging,” said Pedro Sanchez, director of the Agriculture and Food Security Center at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. “In the last 10 years, yields of cereal grains like maize have increased by about 50 percent from 1 to 1.5 tons per hectare, but they’re still pretty miserable.” (In Asia and Latin America, yields are 3 tons per hectare.) “But it will happen,” Sanchez adds. “Many African countries are serious about this. The main barrier has been access to improved varieties of crops and fertilizers.”
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http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/20 ... d=45305309
Saving the Cows, Starving the Children
London — GANDHI famously denied himself food. And by starving himself to protest British rule, he ultimately made India stronger. But India’s leaders today are using food as a weapon, and they are sacrificing not themselves, but others. Their decisions threaten to make India’s children — already among the most undernourished in the world — weaker still.
Earlier this month, the chief minister of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, struck down a proposed pilot project to introduce eggs in free government nursery schools in districts populated by economically disadvantaged indigenous groups. The proposal came from the state’s own officials, but was dismissed by Mr. Chouhan on the grounds that eggs are a nonvegetarian food. Mr. Chouhan, like many Hindus, is a vegetarian and avoids eggs because they may be fertilized and are seen as a life force. While he has refused to address this incident publicly, his press officer claimed there were “more nutritious options available.” But what, exactly?
In Madhya Pradesh, many of the poor communities survive on government-subsidized grain and foraged plants. According to the last National Family Health Survey, indigenous children were the most malnourished of any community in the state. Even across the state, 52 percent of children under 6 — the age up to which they may attend government nurseries — are underweight, says the National Institute of Nutrition. Indeed Madhya Pradesh, the economist Jean Drèze told me, “is far worse than even the Indian average.” It is in the grip of a “nutritional emergency,” he said.
Child-rights activists had supported the proposal, because eggs — a superfood that is about 10 percent fat and extremely high in protein — are the most nutritional way to improve the children’s health, more so than a cup of milk or a banana, which the state claims it will offer in place of eggs. Bananas spoil easily, and milk is often laced in India with paint, detergent or shampoo, so much so that the federal government is considering making milk adulteration punishable with life imprisonment.
Another staple food was taken from the plates of the poor in the neighboring state of Maharashtra, after it banned the possession and sale of beef. It is enforceable with a prison term of up to five years. Hindus consider cows to be sacred, but Hindu nationalists, emboldened by the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have lobbied aggressively on the issue, not out of concern for the animals — which are typically bone-thin and live on garbage — but to force their religious beliefs on non-Hindus. The ban, implemented in March, was a body blow to the poor. Beef, unlike mutton and chicken, is cheap. It is an important source of protein for low-caste Dalits, and for minority communities like Muslims and Christians.
The decision by Devendra Fadnavis, chief minister of Maharashtra, is appalling given the widespread poverty in his state. It is also inhumane toward the very animals it claims to protect. The Indian Express newspaper reports that farmers don’t know what to do with dying cattle. Since they can neither sell nor butcher them, they are letting the animals loose to fend for themselves. Surely, there is nothing sacred about starving cows.
These decisions are not the first of their kind. Over the years, at least 20 Indian states out of 29 have banned cow slaughter (although Maharashtra’s laws are the harshest). And eggs are offered in meal plans in only 10 states. But these decisions are startling in the face of new reports reiterating that Indians urgently need more food — not less — and of a higher nutritious standard than what they get now.
India has twice as many malnourished children as sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Bank, and our children are often shorter than those born in sub-Saharan Africa. According to Unicef, 51 percent of children under 5 in rural India are stunted. Compare this with neighboring China, where the stunting rate for rural children is 12 percent. And hunger isn’t just stunting our kids’ growth; it is also affecting their intelligence.
Supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party tried to shift the blame for these poor decisions onto leaders of the Jain faith — who did indeed lobby for the changes, and were involved in drafting the beef ban legislation.
The Jains are strict vegetarians who do not consume food that involves the injury or death of a living being. They won’t eat meat or fish, and they also avoid eggs.
But even the most uncompromising Jain can’t be blamed for the fact that the B.J.P. has denied eggs to children in all but one state it runs.
Similarly, the beef ban has less to do with the demands of one group than the party line. Last month, Amit Shah, the B.J.P. president and a vegetarian, said, “Wherever there is a B.J.P. government, there is a ban on beef.” (This is not quite the case as yet, but it is clearly the direction the party is taking.)
The B.J.P. is determined to deny children eggs even though every nursery currently offering the option also offers a vegetarian alternative — such as a cup of milk or a piece of fruit. No child is forced to eat food that contradicts his or her religious beliefs. But all children will now be denied certain foods in order to adhere to the religion of others.
In India you are what you eat, and devotion to strict vegetarianism is a trait common to many upper-caste Hindus. Some wield their diet like a badge of their status. Others demand that people around them — like children and household staff members — eat as they do to maintain the purity of their kitchens. They will not visit restaurants that also serve nonvegetarian food for fear of being polluted.
Privileged politicians are imposing their will on underprivileged people, who do not share their beliefs and also do not have the luxury of rejecting cheap sources of protein. By injecting religion and caste into politics, the B.J.P. is preventing India from moving forward by reinforcing the prejudices that have kept it back.
In a speech last September, Mr. Modi said, “If the determination is strong, then I believe that youngsters and children of this country have the strength and talent to move forward.” But many of our children are not strong, precisely because politicians are depriving them of basic nutrition. India is suffering a huge loss of human capital in the process, and foolishly turning an enormous asset into a liability.
If Mr. Modi’s goal is to take India forward, he must reassess his party’s priorities and stop allowing religion to dictate policy. It’s a simple choice: The B.J.P. government can either feed our children or undermine the country’s future.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/opini ... ef=opinion
WORLD FOOD AND WATER CRISIS
‘What’s the Buzz About Wild Bees?’
Among all the pollinators, honeybees get the most publicity, deservedly, because of the problems around their survival. Claire Kremen’s research at the University of California, Berkeley, looks at diverse pollinators — not just bees, but also birds, moths and many insects — and the issues affecting them as emblematic of the broader problems of the food system. Pollinators are critical to global food production and about 75 percent of crop species depend on them to produce food that is more abundant and nutritious than it would otherwise be.
Monoculture — a single crop in an open field that may measure many hundreds of acres — increasingly depends on importing thousands of hives (by truck, usually) for the pollination of crops, especially in places like California. For example, the state produces 80 percent of the world’s almonds, which has concentrated the need for bees way beyond the capacity of native pollinators.
Focusing on a single crop reduces the biodiversity pollinators need to survive, and the timetable they best work on. It’s also a risky endeavor to rely on one species, especially when there are diseases, management problems and the inherent risks of transportation. Yet the large single-crop farms require the large apiaries to get the job done.
Kremen, who looks specifically at how to better support native pollinators in a monoculture landscape, sees an opportunity to change conditions on a farm to restore pollinators and ideally reduce the impact of pesticides also. But none of this can happen without rediversifying the landscape.
In the region from Davis to Capay Valley, Kremen and her colleagues work with farmers to install native plant hedgerows with a sequence of shrubs, flowering plants and grasses that bloom across a long period of time, providing a rich source of food to support diverse pollinators. Evidence shows that hedgerows and a varied landscape help restore pollinator diversity and reduce the need to import masses of vulnerable honeybees.
Diversifying the landscape would help reduce farmers’ dependence on honeybees and the many other problems of monoculture farming.
There is a video as well at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/opini ... d=45305309
Among all the pollinators, honeybees get the most publicity, deservedly, because of the problems around their survival. Claire Kremen’s research at the University of California, Berkeley, looks at diverse pollinators — not just bees, but also birds, moths and many insects — and the issues affecting them as emblematic of the broader problems of the food system. Pollinators are critical to global food production and about 75 percent of crop species depend on them to produce food that is more abundant and nutritious than it would otherwise be.
Monoculture — a single crop in an open field that may measure many hundreds of acres — increasingly depends on importing thousands of hives (by truck, usually) for the pollination of crops, especially in places like California. For example, the state produces 80 percent of the world’s almonds, which has concentrated the need for bees way beyond the capacity of native pollinators.
Focusing on a single crop reduces the biodiversity pollinators need to survive, and the timetable they best work on. It’s also a risky endeavor to rely on one species, especially when there are diseases, management problems and the inherent risks of transportation. Yet the large single-crop farms require the large apiaries to get the job done.
Kremen, who looks specifically at how to better support native pollinators in a monoculture landscape, sees an opportunity to change conditions on a farm to restore pollinators and ideally reduce the impact of pesticides also. But none of this can happen without rediversifying the landscape.
In the region from Davis to Capay Valley, Kremen and her colleagues work with farmers to install native plant hedgerows with a sequence of shrubs, flowering plants and grasses that bloom across a long period of time, providing a rich source of food to support diverse pollinators. Evidence shows that hedgerows and a varied landscape help restore pollinator diversity and reduce the need to import masses of vulnerable honeybees.
Diversifying the landscape would help reduce farmers’ dependence on honeybees and the many other problems of monoculture farming.
There is a video as well at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/opini ... d=45305309
The Next Genocide
New Haven — BEFORE he fired the shot, the Einsatzgruppe commander lifted the Jewish child in the air and said, “You must die so that we can live.” As the killing proceeded, other Germans rationalized the murder of Jewish children in the same way: them or us.
Today we think of the Nazi Final Solution as some dark apex of high technology. It was in fact the killing of human beings at close range during a war for resources. The war that brought Jews under German control was fought because Hitler believed that Germany needed more land and food to survive and maintain its standard of living — and that Jews, and their ideas, posed a threat to his violent expansionist program.
The Holocaust may seem a distant horror whose lessons have already been learned. But sadly, the anxieties of our own era could once again give rise to scapegoats and imagined enemies, while contemporary environmental stresses could encourage new variations on Hitler’s ideas, especially in countries anxious about feeding their growing populations or maintaining a rising standard of living.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/opini ... d=45305309
New Haven — BEFORE he fired the shot, the Einsatzgruppe commander lifted the Jewish child in the air and said, “You must die so that we can live.” As the killing proceeded, other Germans rationalized the murder of Jewish children in the same way: them or us.
Today we think of the Nazi Final Solution as some dark apex of high technology. It was in fact the killing of human beings at close range during a war for resources. The war that brought Jews under German control was fought because Hitler believed that Germany needed more land and food to survive and maintain its standard of living — and that Jews, and their ideas, posed a threat to his violent expansionist program.
The Holocaust may seem a distant horror whose lessons have already been learned. But sadly, the anxieties of our own era could once again give rise to scapegoats and imagined enemies, while contemporary environmental stresses could encourage new variations on Hitler’s ideas, especially in countries anxious about feeding their growing populations or maintaining a rising standard of living.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/opini ... d=45305309
We Need a New Green Revolution
DESPITE the four-year drought that has parched California and led to mandatory restrictions on water use, farmers there have kept feeding the country. California produces more of 66 different food crops than any other state, $54 billion of food annually.
Maintaining this level of productivity has been quite a challenge in recent years and is likely to become more difficult over the next few decades as weather patterns, available water and growing seasons shift further and threats of invasive weeds, pests and pathogens rise.
If agriculture is to have any chance of answering these challenges, we must have new and improved techniques and technologies. The problem is that agricultural innovation has not kept pace.
The last time our nation was in a similar crisis was just after the Dust Bowl years in the 1940s, but the country’s agricultural science enterprise was in much better shape. At that point, almost 40 percent of American research and development spending was focused on agriculture. This ambitious embrace of research was part of the “green revolution” that significantly boosted agricultural output around the world.
Today, farm production has stopped growing in the United States, and agriculture research is no longer a priority; it constitutes only 2 percent of federal research and development spending. And, according to the Department of Agriculture, total agricultural production has slowed significantly since the turn of the century. We need another ambitious surge in agricultural science.
Consider the avian flu epidemic, in which more than 48 million birds were killed — 30 million in Iowa alone — because the only way to control an outbreak is to eradicate a farm’s entire flock. The Agriculture Department recorded only 219 birds that were actually sick with the flu. The $3.3 billion in losses have led to a search for a better method of controlling the virus than killing a farm’s flock because of one sick bird.
History has shown that science can solve the nation’s agriculture and food production problems, but to do so, the American system of food and agricultural research must be substantially reinvigorated. Research can tackle how to grow more food with fewer resources under increasingly difficult growing conditions. But this can be accomplished only if more of the brightest minds are engaged with enough funding to pursue transformative ideas.
While private sector research and development in agriculture have grown over the past decade and now exceed what is federally funded, this financing is focused on shorter term benefits. On the other hand, more than 80 percent of federally funded research is designed to provide the building blocks for long-term production increases to address the many problems we face in the decades ahead. These problems have been amplified by climate change and the demands of a growing global population.
Experience has shown that the best way forward is funding research through a competitive process, with projects selected through a peer-review procedure that excludes politics. There is a program in the Agriculture Department that embraces these tenets, the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, and its research grants show great promise.
New, hardier varieties of corn are being developed from tropical species that can better withstand heat, drought and changes to the environment. The probiotics found in fermented products like yogurt are being tested to replace antibiotics used in animal husbandry. And nanotechnology and electrified micro-coatings of water are being applied to some produce, to prevent food poisoning. Government research is even exploring how to double the rate of photosynthesis and eliminate the need for pesticides.
Continue reading the main story
The potential is great, but the program has never been fully funded. Despite a $25 million increase in the omnibus budget agreement, the budget of the department’s research initiative sits at half of what Congress authorized in 2008 when it created the program. In the 2014 fiscal year, the program’s peer-review process identified approximately $1.1 billion in grants as worthy of funding, but the program could dispense only $270 million. We cannot kindle the next green revolution if we treat roughly three-quarters of a billion dollars in worthwhile scientific ideas as if they were table scraps.
Throughout humanity’s existence, farming and food production have always benefited from innovative solutions that solved challenges and looked beyond the horizon. Now more than ever, we need to embrace 21st-century science, fund it and turn it loose so we can develop better methods of putting food on the table. Our world is changing; the way we grow and produce food needs a much richer diet of scientific ingenuity to keep pace.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/04/opini ... d=71987722
DESPITE the four-year drought that has parched California and led to mandatory restrictions on water use, farmers there have kept feeding the country. California produces more of 66 different food crops than any other state, $54 billion of food annually.
Maintaining this level of productivity has been quite a challenge in recent years and is likely to become more difficult over the next few decades as weather patterns, available water and growing seasons shift further and threats of invasive weeds, pests and pathogens rise.
If agriculture is to have any chance of answering these challenges, we must have new and improved techniques and technologies. The problem is that agricultural innovation has not kept pace.
The last time our nation was in a similar crisis was just after the Dust Bowl years in the 1940s, but the country’s agricultural science enterprise was in much better shape. At that point, almost 40 percent of American research and development spending was focused on agriculture. This ambitious embrace of research was part of the “green revolution” that significantly boosted agricultural output around the world.
Today, farm production has stopped growing in the United States, and agriculture research is no longer a priority; it constitutes only 2 percent of federal research and development spending. And, according to the Department of Agriculture, total agricultural production has slowed significantly since the turn of the century. We need another ambitious surge in agricultural science.
Consider the avian flu epidemic, in which more than 48 million birds were killed — 30 million in Iowa alone — because the only way to control an outbreak is to eradicate a farm’s entire flock. The Agriculture Department recorded only 219 birds that were actually sick with the flu. The $3.3 billion in losses have led to a search for a better method of controlling the virus than killing a farm’s flock because of one sick bird.
History has shown that science can solve the nation’s agriculture and food production problems, but to do so, the American system of food and agricultural research must be substantially reinvigorated. Research can tackle how to grow more food with fewer resources under increasingly difficult growing conditions. But this can be accomplished only if more of the brightest minds are engaged with enough funding to pursue transformative ideas.
While private sector research and development in agriculture have grown over the past decade and now exceed what is federally funded, this financing is focused on shorter term benefits. On the other hand, more than 80 percent of federally funded research is designed to provide the building blocks for long-term production increases to address the many problems we face in the decades ahead. These problems have been amplified by climate change and the demands of a growing global population.
Experience has shown that the best way forward is funding research through a competitive process, with projects selected through a peer-review procedure that excludes politics. There is a program in the Agriculture Department that embraces these tenets, the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, and its research grants show great promise.
New, hardier varieties of corn are being developed from tropical species that can better withstand heat, drought and changes to the environment. The probiotics found in fermented products like yogurt are being tested to replace antibiotics used in animal husbandry. And nanotechnology and electrified micro-coatings of water are being applied to some produce, to prevent food poisoning. Government research is even exploring how to double the rate of photosynthesis and eliminate the need for pesticides.
Continue reading the main story
The potential is great, but the program has never been fully funded. Despite a $25 million increase in the omnibus budget agreement, the budget of the department’s research initiative sits at half of what Congress authorized in 2008 when it created the program. In the 2014 fiscal year, the program’s peer-review process identified approximately $1.1 billion in grants as worthy of funding, but the program could dispense only $270 million. We cannot kindle the next green revolution if we treat roughly three-quarters of a billion dollars in worthwhile scientific ideas as if they were table scraps.
Throughout humanity’s existence, farming and food production have always benefited from innovative solutions that solved challenges and looked beyond the horizon. Now more than ever, we need to embrace 21st-century science, fund it and turn it loose so we can develop better methods of putting food on the table. Our world is changing; the way we grow and produce food needs a much richer diet of scientific ingenuity to keep pace.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/04/opini ... d=71987722
Drought and Heat Took a Heavy Toll on Crops, Study Finds
Droughts and heat waves wiped out nearly a tenth of the rice, wheat, corn and other cereal crops in countries hit by extreme weather disasters between 1964 and 2007, according to a new study.
The paper, published Wednesday in Nature, examined data on the effects, over five decades, of extreme temperatures, floods and droughts on national crop harvests.
“People already knew that these extreme weather events had impacts on crop production,” said Navin Ramankutty, a geographer from the University of British Columbia and an author of the report. “But we didn’t know by how much, and we didn’t have a basis for how that might change in the future.”
Dr. Ramankutty and his team combined data from a disaster database with food production information from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. They looked at about 2,800 weather disasters, such as the 1983-1984 drought in Ethiopia and the 2003 European heat wave, along with data on 16 different cereals, including oats, barley, rye and maize, grown in 177 countries.
More..
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/07/scien ... 87722&_r=0
Droughts and heat waves wiped out nearly a tenth of the rice, wheat, corn and other cereal crops in countries hit by extreme weather disasters between 1964 and 2007, according to a new study.
The paper, published Wednesday in Nature, examined data on the effects, over five decades, of extreme temperatures, floods and droughts on national crop harvests.
“People already knew that these extreme weather events had impacts on crop production,” said Navin Ramankutty, a geographer from the University of British Columbia and an author of the report. “But we didn’t know by how much, and we didn’t have a basis for how that might change in the future.”
Dr. Ramankutty and his team combined data from a disaster database with food production information from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. They looked at about 2,800 weather disasters, such as the 1983-1984 drought in Ethiopia and the 2003 European heat wave, along with data on 16 different cereals, including oats, barley, rye and maize, grown in 177 countries.
More..
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/07/scien ... 87722&_r=0
Two-Thirds of the World Faces Severe Water Shortages
About four billion people, or two-thirds of the world’s population, face severe water shortages during at least one month every year, far more than was previously thought, according to Arjen Y. Hoekstra, a professor of water management at the University of Twente in the Netherlands.
In a paper published Friday in the journal Science Advances, Dr. Hoekstra and his colleague Mesfin M. Mekonnen designed a computer model to create what they say is a more accurate picture of water scarcity around the world. Severe water scarcity can lead to crop failure and low crop yields, which could cause food price increases as well as famine and widespread starvation.
An area experiences severe water scarcity when its farms, industries and households consume double the amount of water available in that area.
“That means that groundwater levels are falling, lakes are drying up, less water is flowing in rivers, and water supplies for industry and farmers are threatened,” Dr. Hoekstra said in an email.
Not everyone would suffer equally. In more affluent countries, severe water scarcity could mean water rations for showering and gardening, while in very poor countries it could lead to shortages of drinking water.
Half of the four billion people who experience conditions of severe water scarcity at least one month of the year live in either China or India, Dr. Hoeskstra said. Of the remaining two billion, the majority live mostly in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Mexico and the western and southern parts of the United States, such as California, Texas and Florida.
Previous studies had estimated that between 1.7 and 3.1 billion people were affected by extreme water shortages. But according to Dr. Hoekstra, those studies either used measurements that were too general in size or used yearly averages that were not as precise as monthly data.
“Freshwater scarcity is a major risk to the global economy, affecting four billion people directly,” Dr. Hoekstra said. “But since the remaining people in the world receive part of their food from the affected areas, it involves us all.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/13/scien ... pe=article
About four billion people, or two-thirds of the world’s population, face severe water shortages during at least one month every year, far more than was previously thought, according to Arjen Y. Hoekstra, a professor of water management at the University of Twente in the Netherlands.
In a paper published Friday in the journal Science Advances, Dr. Hoekstra and his colleague Mesfin M. Mekonnen designed a computer model to create what they say is a more accurate picture of water scarcity around the world. Severe water scarcity can lead to crop failure and low crop yields, which could cause food price increases as well as famine and widespread starvation.
An area experiences severe water scarcity when its farms, industries and households consume double the amount of water available in that area.
“That means that groundwater levels are falling, lakes are drying up, less water is flowing in rivers, and water supplies for industry and farmers are threatened,” Dr. Hoekstra said in an email.
Not everyone would suffer equally. In more affluent countries, severe water scarcity could mean water rations for showering and gardening, while in very poor countries it could lead to shortages of drinking water.
Half of the four billion people who experience conditions of severe water scarcity at least one month of the year live in either China or India, Dr. Hoeskstra said. Of the remaining two billion, the majority live mostly in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Mexico and the western and southern parts of the United States, such as California, Texas and Florida.
Previous studies had estimated that between 1.7 and 3.1 billion people were affected by extreme water shortages. But according to Dr. Hoekstra, those studies either used measurements that were too general in size or used yearly averages that were not as precise as monthly data.
“Freshwater scarcity is a major risk to the global economy, affecting four billion people directly,” Dr. Hoekstra said. “But since the remaining people in the world receive part of their food from the affected areas, it involves us all.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/13/scien ... pe=article
Decline of Pollinators Poses Threat to World Food Supply, Report Says
The birds and the bees need help. Also, the butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles and bats. Without an international effort, a new report warns, increasing numbers of species that promote the growth of hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of food each year face extinction.
The first global assessment of the threats to creatures that pollinate the world’s plants was released by a group affiliated with the United Nations on Friday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The summary will be posted online Monday.
Pollinators, including some 20,000 species of wild bees, contribute to the growth of fruit, vegetables and many nuts, as well as flowering plants. Plants that depend on pollination make up 35 percent of global crop production volume with a value of as much as $577 billion a year. The agricultural system, for which pollinators play a key role, creates millions of jobs worldwide.
Many pollinator species are threatened with extinction, including some 16 percent of vertebrates like birds and bats, according to the document. Hummingbirds and some 2,000 avian species that feed on nectar spread pollen as they move from flower to flower. Extinction risk for insects is not as well defined, the report notes, but it warned of “high levels of threat” for some bees and butterflies, with at least 9 percent of bee and butterfly species at risk.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/27/scien ... d=71987722
The birds and the bees need help. Also, the butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles and bats. Without an international effort, a new report warns, increasing numbers of species that promote the growth of hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of food each year face extinction.
The first global assessment of the threats to creatures that pollinate the world’s plants was released by a group affiliated with the United Nations on Friday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The summary will be posted online Monday.
Pollinators, including some 20,000 species of wild bees, contribute to the growth of fruit, vegetables and many nuts, as well as flowering plants. Plants that depend on pollination make up 35 percent of global crop production volume with a value of as much as $577 billion a year. The agricultural system, for which pollinators play a key role, creates millions of jobs worldwide.
Many pollinator species are threatened with extinction, including some 16 percent of vertebrates like birds and bats, according to the document. Hummingbirds and some 2,000 avian species that feed on nectar spread pollen as they move from flower to flower. Extinction risk for insects is not as well defined, the report notes, but it warned of “high levels of threat” for some bees and butterflies, with at least 9 percent of bee and butterfly species at risk.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/27/scien ... d=71987722
Genetically Engineered Crops Are Safe, Analysis Finds
Genetically engineered crops appear to be safe to eat and do not harm the environment, according to a comprehensive new analysis by the advisory group the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
However, it is somewhat unclear whether the technology has actually increased crop yields.
The report from the influential group, released on Tuesday, comes as the federal government is reviewing how it regulates biotech crops and as big packaged-food companies like Campbell Soup and General Mills are starting to label products as being made with genetically engineered ingredients to comply with a new Vermont law.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/18/busin ... d=71987722
Genetically engineered crops appear to be safe to eat and do not harm the environment, according to a comprehensive new analysis by the advisory group the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
However, it is somewhat unclear whether the technology has actually increased crop yields.
The report from the influential group, released on Tuesday, comes as the federal government is reviewing how it regulates biotech crops and as big packaged-food companies like Campbell Soup and General Mills are starting to label products as being made with genetically engineered ingredients to comply with a new Vermont law.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/18/busin ... d=71987722
Venezuelans Ransack Stores as Hunger Grips the Nation
CUMANÁ, Venezuela — With delivery trucks under constant attack, the nation’s food is now transported under armed guard. Soldiers stand watch over bakeries. The police fire rubber bullets at desperate mobs storming grocery stores, pharmacies and butcher shops. A 4-year-old girl was shot to death as street gangs fought over food.
Venezuela is convulsing from hunger.
Hundreds of people here in the city of Cumaná, home to one of the region’s independence heroes, marched on a supermarket in recent days, screaming for food. They forced open a large metal gate and poured inside. They snatched water, flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, potatoes, anything they could find, leaving behind only broken freezers and overturned shelves.
And they showed that even in a country with the largest oil reserves in the world, it is possible for people to riot because there is not enough food.
In the last two weeks alone, more than 50 food riots, protests and mass looting have erupted around the country. Scores of businesses have been stripped bare or destroyed. At least five people have been killed.
This is precisely the Venezuela its leaders vowed to prevent.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/20/world ... 05309&_r=0
CUMANÁ, Venezuela — With delivery trucks under constant attack, the nation’s food is now transported under armed guard. Soldiers stand watch over bakeries. The police fire rubber bullets at desperate mobs storming grocery stores, pharmacies and butcher shops. A 4-year-old girl was shot to death as street gangs fought over food.
Venezuela is convulsing from hunger.
Hundreds of people here in the city of Cumaná, home to one of the region’s independence heroes, marched on a supermarket in recent days, screaming for food. They forced open a large metal gate and poured inside. They snatched water, flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, potatoes, anything they could find, leaving behind only broken freezers and overturned shelves.
And they showed that even in a country with the largest oil reserves in the world, it is possible for people to riot because there is not enough food.
In the last two weeks alone, more than 50 food riots, protests and mass looting have erupted around the country. Scores of businesses have been stripped bare or destroyed. At least five people have been killed.
This is precisely the Venezuela its leaders vowed to prevent.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/20/world ... 05309&_r=0
Climate Change impose threat on grass food crops
According to a study published in the Royal Society Biology Letter Journal, projected climate change poses a huge threat to grass crops, including wheat, corn, rice and sorghum.
The study, published by an American team of researchers, say that the forecasted changes in climate by 2070 will occur so fast that the grass species will not be able to adapt in time. As a result, the species will not be able to survive, unless they are relocated to favorable environments.
The study, which reveals that food species will not be able to cope well with a rapidly heating earth, also show promise in developing “climate-proof” food crops for future generations.
According to study co-author John Wiens, from the University of Arizona, our best chance lies in finding genetic variations in wild relatives of the domesticated grass crops, which are less susceptible to the climate changes and have the ability to adapt faster.
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/techandsc ... out#page=3
According to a study published in the Royal Society Biology Letter Journal, projected climate change poses a huge threat to grass crops, including wheat, corn, rice and sorghum.
The study, published by an American team of researchers, say that the forecasted changes in climate by 2070 will occur so fast that the grass species will not be able to adapt in time. As a result, the species will not be able to survive, unless they are relocated to favorable environments.
The study, which reveals that food species will not be able to cope well with a rapidly heating earth, also show promise in developing “climate-proof” food crops for future generations.
According to study co-author John Wiens, from the University of Arizona, our best chance lies in finding genetic variations in wild relatives of the domesticated grass crops, which are less susceptible to the climate changes and have the ability to adapt faster.
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/techandsc ... out#page=3
Places around the world running out of water
With surging populations, the world is coping with the increased demand for water. A rapidly urbanizing population further strains the water supply. A report by the World Resources Institute ranks countries that face a high risk of their water resources running out by 2040. We take a look at some of these places that might run out of water soon.
Slide show at:
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/pla ... ailsignout
With surging populations, the world is coping with the increased demand for water. A rapidly urbanizing population further strains the water supply. A report by the World Resources Institute ranks countries that face a high risk of their water resources running out by 2040. We take a look at some of these places that might run out of water soon.
Slide show at:
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/pla ... ailsignout
Australia’s Lesson for a Thirsty California
Extract:
Yet the city averted catastrophe, in large part because residents responded to a campaign to use less water. Feldman argues that the experience offers lessons for water-stressed urban centers around the world.
Reducing water demand is often seen as a ‘‘soft’’ response to drought — less successful than big engineering projects. But Melbourne’s experience shows that helping residents (who use over 60 percent of the city’s water) and businesses to use less can be a “highly effective and relatively low cost” part of a city’s response. During the drought, domestic consumption dropped from 247 liters (65 gallons) per person per day in 2000-1 to 147 liters (39 gallons) in 2010-11 — enough to help save the city from running dry. Without water conservation, the reservoirs would have been empty by 2009, according to Melbourne Water.
How does a government persuade millions of people to nearly halve their water use? When the drought was declared, the state government of Victoria ordered Melbourne’s water companies to work together with it to quickly begin to formulate a joint response. The three water utilities and the water wholesaler are state-owned, and their cooperation was crucial to developing a response of this scale, Feldman said.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/01/opini ... dline&te=1
Extract:
Yet the city averted catastrophe, in large part because residents responded to a campaign to use less water. Feldman argues that the experience offers lessons for water-stressed urban centers around the world.
Reducing water demand is often seen as a ‘‘soft’’ response to drought — less successful than big engineering projects. But Melbourne’s experience shows that helping residents (who use over 60 percent of the city’s water) and businesses to use less can be a “highly effective and relatively low cost” part of a city’s response. During the drought, domestic consumption dropped from 247 liters (65 gallons) per person per day in 2000-1 to 147 liters (39 gallons) in 2010-11 — enough to help save the city from running dry. Without water conservation, the reservoirs would have been empty by 2009, according to Melbourne Water.
How does a government persuade millions of people to nearly halve their water use? When the drought was declared, the state government of Victoria ordered Melbourne’s water companies to work together with it to quickly begin to formulate a joint response. The three water utilities and the water wholesaler are state-owned, and their cooperation was crucial to developing a response of this scale, Feldman said.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/01/opini ... dline&te=1
Doubts About the Promised Bounty of Genetically Modified Crops
LONDON — The controversy over genetically modified crops has long focused on largely unsubstantiated fears that they are unsafe to eat.
But an extensive examination by The New York Times indicates that the debate has missed a more basic problem — genetic modification in the United States and Canada has not accelerated increases in crop yields or led to an overall reduction in the use of chemical pesticides.
The promise of genetic modification was twofold: By making crops immune to the effects of weedkillers and inherently resistant to many pests, they would grow so robustly that they would become indispensable to feeding the world’s growing population, while also requiring fewer applications of sprayed pesticides.
Twenty years ago, Europe largely rejected genetic modification at the same time the United States and Canada were embracing it. Comparing results on the two continents, using independent data as well as academic and industry research, shows how the technology has fallen short of the promise.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/busin ... &te=1&_r=0
*****
Responses to the article above:
The Opinion Pages| Letters
Genetically Modified Crops: A Success Story, or Not?
Extract:
We misjudge genetic modification’s potential by considering just yield and pesticide use over 20 years.
“Fooling with nature” is nothing new: Crops are genetic variants of wild plants selected by humans over millenniums. Our latest tools include G.M. — allowing precision and wider choice of useful qualities. Given the challenge of global food security, it is foolish to overlook any new tool in the breeder’s toolbox.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/07/opini ... &te=1&_r=0
LONDON — The controversy over genetically modified crops has long focused on largely unsubstantiated fears that they are unsafe to eat.
But an extensive examination by The New York Times indicates that the debate has missed a more basic problem — genetic modification in the United States and Canada has not accelerated increases in crop yields or led to an overall reduction in the use of chemical pesticides.
The promise of genetic modification was twofold: By making crops immune to the effects of weedkillers and inherently resistant to many pests, they would grow so robustly that they would become indispensable to feeding the world’s growing population, while also requiring fewer applications of sprayed pesticides.
Twenty years ago, Europe largely rejected genetic modification at the same time the United States and Canada were embracing it. Comparing results on the two continents, using independent data as well as academic and industry research, shows how the technology has fallen short of the promise.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/busin ... &te=1&_r=0
*****
Responses to the article above:
The Opinion Pages| Letters
Genetically Modified Crops: A Success Story, or Not?
Extract:
We misjudge genetic modification’s potential by considering just yield and pesticide use over 20 years.
“Fooling with nature” is nothing new: Crops are genetic variants of wild plants selected by humans over millenniums. Our latest tools include G.M. — allowing precision and wider choice of useful qualities. Given the challenge of global food security, it is foolish to overlook any new tool in the breeder’s toolbox.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/07/opini ... &te=1&_r=0
With an Eye on Hunger, Scientists See Promise in Genetic Tinkering of Plants
URBANA, Ill. — A decade ago, agricultural scientists at the University of Illinois suggested a bold approach to improve the food supply: tinker with photosynthesis, the chemical reaction powering nearly all life on Earth.
The idea was greeted skeptically in scientific circles and ignored by funding agencies. But one outfit with deep pockets, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, eventually paid attention, hoping the research might help alleviate global poverty.
Now, after several years of work funded by the foundation, the scientists are reporting a remarkable result.
Using genetic engineering techniques to alter photosynthesis, they increased the productivity of a test plant — tobacco — by as much as 20 percent, they said Thursday in a study published by the journal Science. That is a huge number, given that plant breeders struggle to eke out gains of 1 or 2 percent with more conventional approaches.
The scientists have no interest in increasing the production of tobacco; their plan is to try the same alterations in food crops, and one of the leaders of the work believes production gains of 50 percent or more may ultimately be achievable. If that prediction is borne out in further research — it could take a decade, if not longer, to know for sure — the result might be nothing less than a transformation of global agriculture.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/18/scien ... 87722&_r=1
URBANA, Ill. — A decade ago, agricultural scientists at the University of Illinois suggested a bold approach to improve the food supply: tinker with photosynthesis, the chemical reaction powering nearly all life on Earth.
The idea was greeted skeptically in scientific circles and ignored by funding agencies. But one outfit with deep pockets, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, eventually paid attention, hoping the research might help alleviate global poverty.
Now, after several years of work funded by the foundation, the scientists are reporting a remarkable result.
Using genetic engineering techniques to alter photosynthesis, they increased the productivity of a test plant — tobacco — by as much as 20 percent, they said Thursday in a study published by the journal Science. That is a huge number, given that plant breeders struggle to eke out gains of 1 or 2 percent with more conventional approaches.
The scientists have no interest in increasing the production of tobacco; their plan is to try the same alterations in food crops, and one of the leaders of the work believes production gains of 50 percent or more may ultimately be achievable. If that prediction is borne out in further research — it could take a decade, if not longer, to know for sure — the result might be nothing less than a transformation of global agriculture.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/18/scien ... 87722&_r=1
A Blueprint for the Future of Food
Extract:
Wouldn’t it make more sense to cook with all that corn instead?
I tried. The problem, of course, is that field corn is just not delicious; it’s starchy and flavorless, not at all like the sweet corn Americans chain-saw through every summer. We aren’t really meant to be cooking with this stuff, which means we shouldn’t be planting it in the first place. In fact, you might say the same for many of the world’s crops: 36 percent of the planet’s crop calories are devoted to feeding livestock, according to a 2013 study.
What if we used those acres to plant beans, or any of the countless leguminous crops that help keep the soil healthy and fertile? And what if the next crop we planted was buckwheat or barley, for weed suppression, and then a Brassica like cabbage or cauliflower to break up disease cycles? More what ifs: What if we followed the Brassicas with a nonedible cover crop like clover, which would keep the soil nicely blanketed and replenish it with nutrients like carbon? What if, instead of bringing mountains of field corn to our cows, we brought our cows to the field and grazed them on the clover? (As one farmer told me, “Clover is like rocket fuel for ruminants.”) And what if we adapted these rotations region to region (and country to country), substituting in crops that best suited specific microclimates?
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/opini ... %2FTurning Points 2017&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&module=Collection®ion=Marginalia&src=me&version=spotlight&pgtype=article
Extract:
Wouldn’t it make more sense to cook with all that corn instead?
I tried. The problem, of course, is that field corn is just not delicious; it’s starchy and flavorless, not at all like the sweet corn Americans chain-saw through every summer. We aren’t really meant to be cooking with this stuff, which means we shouldn’t be planting it in the first place. In fact, you might say the same for many of the world’s crops: 36 percent of the planet’s crop calories are devoted to feeding livestock, according to a 2013 study.
What if we used those acres to plant beans, or any of the countless leguminous crops that help keep the soil healthy and fertile? And what if the next crop we planted was buckwheat or barley, for weed suppression, and then a Brassica like cabbage or cauliflower to break up disease cycles? More what ifs: What if we followed the Brassicas with a nonedible cover crop like clover, which would keep the soil nicely blanketed and replenish it with nutrients like carbon? What if, instead of bringing mountains of field corn to our cows, we brought our cows to the field and grazed them on the clover? (As one farmer told me, “Clover is like rocket fuel for ruminants.”) And what if we adapted these rotations region to region (and country to country), substituting in crops that best suited specific microclimates?
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/opini ... %2FTurning Points 2017&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&module=Collection®ion=Marginalia&src=me&version=spotlight&pgtype=article
BOOK
Conservation Agriculture for Africa
Building Resilient Farming Systems in a Changing Climate
http://www.cabi.org/bookshop/book/9781780645681
Now Published!
Edited by A Kassam, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Italy and University of Reading, UK, S Mkomwa, African Conservation Tillage (ACT), Nairobi, T Friedrich, FAO Representative in Cuba. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Cuba
December 2016 / Hardback / 318 Pages / 9781780645681 £95.00 / €125.00 /
Main Description
Tillage agriculture has led to widespread soil and ecosystem degradation globally. This is especially so in Africa where traditional and modern tillage-based agricultural practices have become unsustainable due to severe disturbance and exploitation of natural resources, with negative impacts on the environment and rural livelihoods. In addition, agriculture in Africa today faces major challenges including increased costs of production and energy, the effects of climate change, and the lack of an effective paradigm for sustainable intensification, especially for small- and medium-size holdings. Africa is facing a serious challenge to food security and as a continent has not advanced towards eradicating hunger. In addition, the population is still growing much faster than on most other continents. This pressure has led to the emergence of no-till conservation agriculture as a serious alternative sustainable agriculture paradigm. In Africa, in recent years, conservation agriculture techniques and methods have spread to many countries, as greater development, education and research effort are directed towards its extension and uptake.
This book is aimed at agricultural researchers and scientists, educationalists, and agricultural service providers, institutional leaders and policy makers working in the fields of sustainable agriculture and international development, and also at agroecologists, conservation scientists, and those working on ecosystem services.
Conservation Agriculture for Africa
Building Resilient Farming Systems in a Changing Climate
http://www.cabi.org/bookshop/book/9781780645681
Now Published!
Edited by A Kassam, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Italy and University of Reading, UK, S Mkomwa, African Conservation Tillage (ACT), Nairobi, T Friedrich, FAO Representative in Cuba. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Cuba
December 2016 / Hardback / 318 Pages / 9781780645681 £95.00 / €125.00 /
Main Description
Tillage agriculture has led to widespread soil and ecosystem degradation globally. This is especially so in Africa where traditional and modern tillage-based agricultural practices have become unsustainable due to severe disturbance and exploitation of natural resources, with negative impacts on the environment and rural livelihoods. In addition, agriculture in Africa today faces major challenges including increased costs of production and energy, the effects of climate change, and the lack of an effective paradigm for sustainable intensification, especially for small- and medium-size holdings. Africa is facing a serious challenge to food security and as a continent has not advanced towards eradicating hunger. In addition, the population is still growing much faster than on most other continents. This pressure has led to the emergence of no-till conservation agriculture as a serious alternative sustainable agriculture paradigm. In Africa, in recent years, conservation agriculture techniques and methods have spread to many countries, as greater development, education and research effort are directed towards its extension and uptake.
This book is aimed at agricultural researchers and scientists, educationalists, and agricultural service providers, institutional leaders and policy makers working in the fields of sustainable agriculture and international development, and also at agroecologists, conservation scientists, and those working on ecosystem services.
As Donald Trump Denies Climate Change, These Kids Die of It
Extract:
Southern Africa’s drought and food crisis have gone largely unnoticed around the world. The situation has been particularly severe in Madagascar, a lovely island nation known for deserted sandy beaches and playful long-tailed primates called lemurs.
But the southern part of the island doesn’t look anything like the animated movie “Madagascar”: Families are slowly starving because rains and crops have failed for the last few years. They are reduced to eating cactus and even rocks or ashes. The United Nations estimates that nearly one million people in Madagascar alone need emergency food assistance.
I met Ranomasy at an emergency feeding station run by Catholic nuns who were trying to save her baby. Ranomasy had carried Tsapasoa 12 hours on a trek through the desert to get to the nuns, walking barefoot because most villagers have already sold everything from shoes to spoons to survive.
“I feel so powerless as a mother, because I know how much I love my child,” she said. “But whatever I do just doesn’t work.”
The drought is also severe in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and a related drought has devastated East Africa and the Horn of Africa and is expected to continue this year. The U.N. World Food Program has urgently appealed for assistance, but only half the money needed has been donated.
The immediate cause of the droughts was an extremely warm El Niño event, which came on top of a larger drying trend in the last few decades in parts of Africa. New research, just published in the bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, concludes that human-caused climate change exacerbated El Niño’s intensity and significantly reduced rainfall in parts of Ethiopia and southern Africa.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/opini ... ef=opinion
*****
A Saudi Water Crisis Lurks Beneath the Surface
Summary
Editor's Note: This is the 18th installment of an occasional series on water scarcity issues around the world.
Though a desert land devoid of the abundant natural resources often needed for life to thrive, modern Saudi Arabia has always been capable of growth. The driver of this growth — hydrocarbons beneath the earth — mean that lower oil prices hurt the Saudi economy, exacerbating other issues, namely its growing population with high youth unemployment. These domestic concerns have been just as daunting to the Saudi government as have shifting foreign policy priorities in the region. Austerity measures and perpetual tweaks to Saudization — the effort to employ more Saudis instead of using expatriate workers — look to address some of the more pressing employment and public spending issues. Riyadh has also laid out lofty goals for the next decade and a half with its Vision 2030 policy. But the question now is what could hamper these ambitions. And underneath it all is one of Saudi Arabia's main resource constraints: water.
More...
https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/saudi ... i=40132936
Extract:
Southern Africa’s drought and food crisis have gone largely unnoticed around the world. The situation has been particularly severe in Madagascar, a lovely island nation known for deserted sandy beaches and playful long-tailed primates called lemurs.
But the southern part of the island doesn’t look anything like the animated movie “Madagascar”: Families are slowly starving because rains and crops have failed for the last few years. They are reduced to eating cactus and even rocks or ashes. The United Nations estimates that nearly one million people in Madagascar alone need emergency food assistance.
I met Ranomasy at an emergency feeding station run by Catholic nuns who were trying to save her baby. Ranomasy had carried Tsapasoa 12 hours on a trek through the desert to get to the nuns, walking barefoot because most villagers have already sold everything from shoes to spoons to survive.
“I feel so powerless as a mother, because I know how much I love my child,” she said. “But whatever I do just doesn’t work.”
The drought is also severe in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and a related drought has devastated East Africa and the Horn of Africa and is expected to continue this year. The U.N. World Food Program has urgently appealed for assistance, but only half the money needed has been donated.
The immediate cause of the droughts was an extremely warm El Niño event, which came on top of a larger drying trend in the last few decades in parts of Africa. New research, just published in the bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, concludes that human-caused climate change exacerbated El Niño’s intensity and significantly reduced rainfall in parts of Ethiopia and southern Africa.
More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/opini ... ef=opinion
*****
A Saudi Water Crisis Lurks Beneath the Surface
Summary
Editor's Note: This is the 18th installment of an occasional series on water scarcity issues around the world.
Though a desert land devoid of the abundant natural resources often needed for life to thrive, modern Saudi Arabia has always been capable of growth. The driver of this growth — hydrocarbons beneath the earth — mean that lower oil prices hurt the Saudi economy, exacerbating other issues, namely its growing population with high youth unemployment. These domestic concerns have been just as daunting to the Saudi government as have shifting foreign policy priorities in the region. Austerity measures and perpetual tweaks to Saudization — the effort to employ more Saudis instead of using expatriate workers — look to address some of the more pressing employment and public spending issues. Riyadh has also laid out lofty goals for the next decade and a half with its Vision 2030 policy. But the question now is what could hamper these ambitions. And underneath it all is one of Saudi Arabia's main resource constraints: water.
More...
https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/saudi ... i=40132936
Sustainable Crop Production Intensification
Invitation to submit an original research article, opinion paper or review article for a special edition of AIMS Agriculture and Food
Theme: Sustainable Crop Production Intensification
More...
http://www.aimspress.com/newsinfo/441.html
Invitation to submit an original research article, opinion paper or review article for a special edition of AIMS Agriculture and Food
Theme: Sustainable Crop Production Intensification
More...
http://www.aimspress.com/newsinfo/441.html
Seed bank in Arctic may be humanity’s ultimate backup plan
Peering inside the vault, built into the side of a mountain, that holds backup copies of seeds from gene banks around the world.
A vault built into the side of a mountain in a remote Arctic island in Norway holds seeds that are key to protecting the world’s genetic crop diversity.
More..
https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/20 ... -plan.html
Peering inside the vault, built into the side of a mountain, that holds backup copies of seeds from gene banks around the world.
A vault built into the side of a mountain in a remote Arctic island in Norway holds seeds that are key to protecting the world’s genetic crop diversity.
More..
https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/20 ... -plan.html
New approaches, sustainable partnerships needed to enhance food security in Africa
Wessel Lemmer, Absa – Africa will this year continue to be home to some of the fastest-growing cities; thanks to the continent’s large young population seeking jobs and improved livelihoods. However, a key challenge associated with rapidly urbanizing populations is a chronic food insecurity problem that is aggravated by a lack of sufficient property rights, agricultural investment and policy and regulatory uncertainty leading to rising food prices despite access to land and willing producers to cultivate it.
Achieving sustainable food security for both the urban and rural citizens remains an important priority for governments across the continent. Crucially, food security depends not only on a tricky balance between availability and affordability, but also on coordinated partnerships between the various stakeholders in the agricultural sector. Also, it is increasingly becoming important to explore newer and more innovative approaches to successful farming. Urban agriculture is one of the techniques considered to be on the cusp of advancements within the sector, and one that can contribute towards the provision of sustainable access to nutritious food.
The practice involves the growing of farm produce near or around urban cities in the form of gardens provides organic produce to the local community. According a report published by The Sustainable Development Goals Centre for Africa this year, the continent has 65% of the world’s arable land, with food demand in Africa is expected to rise by over 60% by 2050 due to population growth. Simple shifts can result in better efficiencies and environmentally friendly produce that are less prone to climatic changes, and which ultimately has a positive influence on production yields. Community gardens and what is commonly known as co-op’s (co-operatives) can also play a key role in supplementing household budgets, and more importantly, can introduce a wider range of vitamins and minerals into the consumer’s diet.
A healthy and diverse diet, comprising of fresh produce, is imperative for a strong body and mind, and is also essential for enabling Africa’s youthful population to grow into the workforce capable of driving Africa’s economic growth. With half the population being under the age of 25, and 72 percent of these young people seeking employment, agriculture can be a key contributor to economic development[1]. These statistics are only set to grow, with over 330 million young Africans set to enter the job market in the next 20 years[2]. One of the challenges has been attracting young people into the sector and positioning it as an attractive and lucrative career option.
In coping with the food demands of increasing populations, nations such as Nigeria have shifted towards a more intensified and commercialized production system. This shift from the traditional sense of farming has included increased irrigation and modernization of systems, as well as the use of genetically modified seed and fertilizer inputs. In another case study, Zambia, which had a net deficit in maize production a mere decade ago, is now considered a maize exporter with a surplus of grains, all due to an uptake of technology in its farming methods[1].
Another area of opportunity for greater investment in alleviating the vulnerability of crops and livestock, which many nations on the continent need to invest in, is production research. Countries such as Morocco invest heavily in research and development, and new technologies that will assist in increasing yields and quality of production. South Africa, for its part, has the most developed and profitable agricultural sector on the continent. Commercial farms are mainly large-scale, capital intensive and export oriented, accounting for approximately 90 percent of the total agricultural production and covering approximately 86 percent of the country’s cropland. However, the South Africa’s agricultural sector is also taking strain from insufficient investment into agricultural infrastructure, research and development, as well as education and training programmes particularly for farmers that are starting out.
What is clear is that while Africa has leapfrogged within industries such as financial payments and telecommunications, the continent is yet to flex its muscle in providing grains and proteins that will feed not only its citizens, but also those in other parts of the world. If agriculture is to improve its contribution to economic development and the achievement of sustainable and secure food supply systems on the continent, key stakeholders have to be much more coordinated in their partnerships, not only within countries but also within the various regions of the continent. Ultimately, new approaches and partnerships among the many, but disconnected stakeholders, must be encouraged and strengthened if we are to curb hunger and malnourishment in Africa.
Lemmer is a Senior Agricultural Economist at Absa Bank. These comments were delivered at an Agriculture & Food Security panel discussion recently hosted by Absa, the Oliver & Adelaide Tambo Foundation as well as the University of Fort Hare.
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2017/07 ... -216274365
Wessel Lemmer, Absa – Africa will this year continue to be home to some of the fastest-growing cities; thanks to the continent’s large young population seeking jobs and improved livelihoods. However, a key challenge associated with rapidly urbanizing populations is a chronic food insecurity problem that is aggravated by a lack of sufficient property rights, agricultural investment and policy and regulatory uncertainty leading to rising food prices despite access to land and willing producers to cultivate it.
Achieving sustainable food security for both the urban and rural citizens remains an important priority for governments across the continent. Crucially, food security depends not only on a tricky balance between availability and affordability, but also on coordinated partnerships between the various stakeholders in the agricultural sector. Also, it is increasingly becoming important to explore newer and more innovative approaches to successful farming. Urban agriculture is one of the techniques considered to be on the cusp of advancements within the sector, and one that can contribute towards the provision of sustainable access to nutritious food.
The practice involves the growing of farm produce near or around urban cities in the form of gardens provides organic produce to the local community. According a report published by The Sustainable Development Goals Centre for Africa this year, the continent has 65% of the world’s arable land, with food demand in Africa is expected to rise by over 60% by 2050 due to population growth. Simple shifts can result in better efficiencies and environmentally friendly produce that are less prone to climatic changes, and which ultimately has a positive influence on production yields. Community gardens and what is commonly known as co-op’s (co-operatives) can also play a key role in supplementing household budgets, and more importantly, can introduce a wider range of vitamins and minerals into the consumer’s diet.
A healthy and diverse diet, comprising of fresh produce, is imperative for a strong body and mind, and is also essential for enabling Africa’s youthful population to grow into the workforce capable of driving Africa’s economic growth. With half the population being under the age of 25, and 72 percent of these young people seeking employment, agriculture can be a key contributor to economic development[1]. These statistics are only set to grow, with over 330 million young Africans set to enter the job market in the next 20 years[2]. One of the challenges has been attracting young people into the sector and positioning it as an attractive and lucrative career option.
In coping with the food demands of increasing populations, nations such as Nigeria have shifted towards a more intensified and commercialized production system. This shift from the traditional sense of farming has included increased irrigation and modernization of systems, as well as the use of genetically modified seed and fertilizer inputs. In another case study, Zambia, which had a net deficit in maize production a mere decade ago, is now considered a maize exporter with a surplus of grains, all due to an uptake of technology in its farming methods[1].
Another area of opportunity for greater investment in alleviating the vulnerability of crops and livestock, which many nations on the continent need to invest in, is production research. Countries such as Morocco invest heavily in research and development, and new technologies that will assist in increasing yields and quality of production. South Africa, for its part, has the most developed and profitable agricultural sector on the continent. Commercial farms are mainly large-scale, capital intensive and export oriented, accounting for approximately 90 percent of the total agricultural production and covering approximately 86 percent of the country’s cropland. However, the South Africa’s agricultural sector is also taking strain from insufficient investment into agricultural infrastructure, research and development, as well as education and training programmes particularly for farmers that are starting out.
What is clear is that while Africa has leapfrogged within industries such as financial payments and telecommunications, the continent is yet to flex its muscle in providing grains and proteins that will feed not only its citizens, but also those in other parts of the world. If agriculture is to improve its contribution to economic development and the achievement of sustainable and secure food supply systems on the continent, key stakeholders have to be much more coordinated in their partnerships, not only within countries but also within the various regions of the continent. Ultimately, new approaches and partnerships among the many, but disconnected stakeholders, must be encouraged and strengthened if we are to curb hunger and malnourishment in Africa.
Lemmer is a Senior Agricultural Economist at Absa Bank. These comments were delivered at an Agriculture & Food Security panel discussion recently hosted by Absa, the Oliver & Adelaide Tambo Foundation as well as the University of Fort Hare.
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2017/07 ... -216274365
Global hunger rises for first time in decade: U.N. agencies
Global hunger levels have risen for the first time in more than a decade, now affecting 11 percent of the world’s population, as conflict, climate change and economic woes bite, U.N. agencies said on Friday.
Last year, 815 million people were hungry – 38 million more than in 2015 – the five agencies said in the first global assessment since governments set an international target to eliminate hunger and malnutrition by 2030, as one of a set of so-called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The number of hungry began to rise in 2014, but this is the first time in more then a decade that the proportion of the global population going hungry has risen.
About 489 million of the hungry are living in countries affected by conflict.
“Over the past decade, conflicts have risen dramatically in number and become more complex and intractable in nature,” the heads of five U.N. agencies said in The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017 report.
“This has set off alarm bells we cannot afford to ignore: we will not end hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030 unless we address all the factors that undermine food security and nutrition,” they said.
Famine struck parts of South Sudan earlier this year, and there is a high risk that it could return there – and develop in other countries affected by conflict: northeast Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen, the agencies said.
The report was produced by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP) and World Health Organization (WHO).
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2017/09 ... -216274365
Global hunger levels have risen for the first time in more than a decade, now affecting 11 percent of the world’s population, as conflict, climate change and economic woes bite, U.N. agencies said on Friday.
Last year, 815 million people were hungry – 38 million more than in 2015 – the five agencies said in the first global assessment since governments set an international target to eliminate hunger and malnutrition by 2030, as one of a set of so-called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The number of hungry began to rise in 2014, but this is the first time in more then a decade that the proportion of the global population going hungry has risen.
About 489 million of the hungry are living in countries affected by conflict.
“Over the past decade, conflicts have risen dramatically in number and become more complex and intractable in nature,” the heads of five U.N. agencies said in The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017 report.
“This has set off alarm bells we cannot afford to ignore: we will not end hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030 unless we address all the factors that undermine food security and nutrition,” they said.
Famine struck parts of South Sudan earlier this year, and there is a high risk that it could return there – and develop in other countries affected by conflict: northeast Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen, the agencies said.
The report was produced by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP) and World Health Organization (WHO).
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2017/09 ... -216274365
The Economist explains
Argentina’s vegan Mondays
Some countries are considering ways to persuade people to stop eating meat
ARGENTINA is famous for its beef. After winning independence from Spain in the early 19th century, the nascent republic beat swords into ploughshares and turned the southern Pampas into a regional breadbasket. The number of cows grew rapidly (Argentina is home to 5% of the world’s herd) and so, for many years, did beef consumption. But things are changing. In 2010 Argentines lost the title of the world’s biggest beefeaters, when measured by annual consumption per person, to neighbouring Uruguayans. Diego Vecino, a writer, lamented Argentina’s declining beef consumption and suggested the country was “immersed in shame”. Now it seems the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace, is embracing the trend. In a bid to start a debate on health and the national diet, it has instituted meat-free Mondays. For one lunch each week, the canteen will only serve vegan options to the 500-plus employees, including President Mauricio Macri.
The introduction of meatless Mondays to the Casa Rosada adds Argentina to the list of countries investigating ways to limit meat consumption. The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are in the middle of an obesity crisis. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that a majority of people are overweight in all but three countries of the region. Argentina has particular grounds for concern. The rate of obesity among its boys is the highest in Latin America, and among girls it is the third-highest. This has been linked to various causes, including excessive eating of beef. Daily consumption per person in Argentina—150g—is over double the recommended amount. And health concerns are not the only ones cited by those looking to reduce meat consumption. The livestock sector accounts for 15% of the world’s greenhouse-gas emissions–the equivalent of all the vehicles in the world. Animal pastures have been blamed for 90% of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Beef is a particularly voracious user of water, with 15,000 litres of water needed to produce a kilogram of the meat.
More...
https://www.economist.com/blogs/economi ... lydispatch
Argentina’s vegan Mondays
Some countries are considering ways to persuade people to stop eating meat
ARGENTINA is famous for its beef. After winning independence from Spain in the early 19th century, the nascent republic beat swords into ploughshares and turned the southern Pampas into a regional breadbasket. The number of cows grew rapidly (Argentina is home to 5% of the world’s herd) and so, for many years, did beef consumption. But things are changing. In 2010 Argentines lost the title of the world’s biggest beefeaters, when measured by annual consumption per person, to neighbouring Uruguayans. Diego Vecino, a writer, lamented Argentina’s declining beef consumption and suggested the country was “immersed in shame”. Now it seems the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace, is embracing the trend. In a bid to start a debate on health and the national diet, it has instituted meat-free Mondays. For one lunch each week, the canteen will only serve vegan options to the 500-plus employees, including President Mauricio Macri.
The introduction of meatless Mondays to the Casa Rosada adds Argentina to the list of countries investigating ways to limit meat consumption. The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are in the middle of an obesity crisis. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that a majority of people are overweight in all but three countries of the region. Argentina has particular grounds for concern. The rate of obesity among its boys is the highest in Latin America, and among girls it is the third-highest. This has been linked to various causes, including excessive eating of beef. Daily consumption per person in Argentina—150g—is over double the recommended amount. And health concerns are not the only ones cited by those looking to reduce meat consumption. The livestock sector accounts for 15% of the world’s greenhouse-gas emissions–the equivalent of all the vehicles in the world. Animal pastures have been blamed for 90% of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Beef is a particularly voracious user of water, with 15,000 litres of water needed to produce a kilogram of the meat.
More...
https://www.economist.com/blogs/economi ... lydispatch
Working Together For Water
How can we manage this essential resource?
Part One
Without water, there is no life. It keeps every cell – human, animal and vegetable – alive. Water is essential to ensure biodiversity, irrigate crops, hydrate people and animals, move nutrients, seeds and even waste, and fuel our factories and economy.
Yet, by 2030, the world faces a possible 40 percent gap between renewable freshwater available for human consumption and the demand for it, according to “Charting Our Water Future,” a 2009 study by the 2030 Water Resources Group. So the challenge of sustainably managing this essential resource is great.
Collaborative effort, say water experts, is the core of water stewardship, which brings together multiple stakeholders with different goals to find common solutions. For Anders Berntell, executive director of the 2030 Water Resources Group, a unique public–private–civil society collaboration that drives action on water-resources reform in 13 countries, the process starts at a national level, using collective action to create programs that address challenges for the country and that will benefit all users and uses of water there. “We have 500 to 600 partners in the various countries,” he says, “and our local partners: local NGOs, government, public entities, the private sector — these are really at the core of this effort.”
Long before the term water stewardship entered common parlance, Nestlé Waters was applying collective action to its water-bottling operations. “We were tackling different challenges by assessing the situation together with local stakeholders,” says Cédric Egger, corporate water resources manager for Nestlé Waters, “to come up with a response and solutions together.”
Nestlé Waters is now implementing that approach globally, throughout its 95 bottling facilities. “We need to preserve the integrity of this water from a quality and quantity standpoint, with all stakeholders,” says Egger.
https://paidpost.nytimes.com/nestle-wat ... =188712100
How can we manage this essential resource?
Part One
Without water, there is no life. It keeps every cell – human, animal and vegetable – alive. Water is essential to ensure biodiversity, irrigate crops, hydrate people and animals, move nutrients, seeds and even waste, and fuel our factories and economy.
Yet, by 2030, the world faces a possible 40 percent gap between renewable freshwater available for human consumption and the demand for it, according to “Charting Our Water Future,” a 2009 study by the 2030 Water Resources Group. So the challenge of sustainably managing this essential resource is great.
Collaborative effort, say water experts, is the core of water stewardship, which brings together multiple stakeholders with different goals to find common solutions. For Anders Berntell, executive director of the 2030 Water Resources Group, a unique public–private–civil society collaboration that drives action on water-resources reform in 13 countries, the process starts at a national level, using collective action to create programs that address challenges for the country and that will benefit all users and uses of water there. “We have 500 to 600 partners in the various countries,” he says, “and our local partners: local NGOs, government, public entities, the private sector — these are really at the core of this effort.”
Long before the term water stewardship entered common parlance, Nestlé Waters was applying collective action to its water-bottling operations. “We were tackling different challenges by assessing the situation together with local stakeholders,” says Cédric Egger, corporate water resources manager for Nestlé Waters, “to come up with a response and solutions together.”
Nestlé Waters is now implementing that approach globally, throughout its 95 bottling facilities. “We need to preserve the integrity of this water from a quality and quantity standpoint, with all stakeholders,” says Egger.
https://paidpost.nytimes.com/nestle-wat ... =188712100
15 Foods That Are Banned Around the World
Some foods may be off-limits nutritionally, but what about legally? We’ve found 15 foods that have been banned for health or ethical reasons around the globe. There are certain kinds foods that should be avoided for health reasons, but what about dishes with government laws against them? Some of your favorite foods could be banned internationally for a host of environmental, dietary, and customary reasons.
We’ve rounded up a list of 15 foods that are illegal to consume and produce in certain countries. With crimes ranging from trademark infringement to inhumane production processes associated with them, these foods and beverages are unlawful here and across the globe.
In addition to steering clear of these illegal foods, be sure to check out our list of the 75 Unhealthiest Foods On the Planet to avoid any diet disasters.
Slide show:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/foodanddrink/ ... ut#image=1
Some foods may be off-limits nutritionally, but what about legally? We’ve found 15 foods that have been banned for health or ethical reasons around the globe. There are certain kinds foods that should be avoided for health reasons, but what about dishes with government laws against them? Some of your favorite foods could be banned internationally for a host of environmental, dietary, and customary reasons.
We’ve rounded up a list of 15 foods that are illegal to consume and produce in certain countries. With crimes ranging from trademark infringement to inhumane production processes associated with them, these foods and beverages are unlawful here and across the globe.
In addition to steering clear of these illegal foods, be sure to check out our list of the 75 Unhealthiest Foods On the Planet to avoid any diet disasters.
Slide show:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/foodanddrink/ ... ut#image=1
The world’s first major city to run out of water may have just over three months left
It’s the height of summer in Cape Town, and the southwesternmost region of South Africa is gripped by a catastrophic water shortage. Unless the city adopts widespread rationing, the government says, the taps “will be turned off” on April 22, 2018, because there will be no more water to deliver.
This would make Cape Town the first major city in the world to run out of water, according to Anthony Turton, a professor at the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of the Free State in South Africa, who spoke to the New York Times. “It’s not an impending crisis—we’re deep, deep, deep in crisis.” The shortage is the result of a multi-year drought.
The city is asking residents to restrict their water use to 87 liters per person per day. That’s roughly the equivalent of a four-minute shower using a regular shower head, or an eight-minute shower using a low-flow shower head.
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/th ... ailsignout
It’s the height of summer in Cape Town, and the southwesternmost region of South Africa is gripped by a catastrophic water shortage. Unless the city adopts widespread rationing, the government says, the taps “will be turned off” on April 22, 2018, because there will be no more water to deliver.
This would make Cape Town the first major city in the world to run out of water, according to Anthony Turton, a professor at the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of the Free State in South Africa, who spoke to the New York Times. “It’s not an impending crisis—we’re deep, deep, deep in crisis.” The shortage is the result of a multi-year drought.
The city is asking residents to restrict their water use to 87 liters per person per day. That’s roughly the equivalent of a four-minute shower using a regular shower head, or an eight-minute shower using a low-flow shower head.
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/th ... ailsignout
Cape Town: What happens when a city of four million runs out of water?
Cape Town is in a race against time. Dams are draining. People and businesses face fines for wasting water. Construction companies are building desalination plants and a recycling centre, while drilling to access ground water.
South Africa’s second biggest city is going through one of the worst droughts in recent decades, with lack of rain and a surge in population rapidly depleting the municipal water reserves. In a few months, it could run out, bringing about what the city has apocalyptically dubbed “Day Zero”—when officials are forced to turn off the tap because there’s just not enough water left in the reservoirs to keep the system running.
If it happens, a city known for its rich and complex history, diverse population and lush national parks will start sending its four million residents to about 200 collection points, where each person will be allotted 25 litres of tap water per day. That’s just 10 litres more than the minimum amount the World Health Organization says people need to survive in an emergency.
More..
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/ca ... ailsignout
******
Warming, Water Crisis, Then Unrest: How Iran Fits an Alarming Pattern
UNITED NATIONS — Nigeria. Syria. Somalia. And now Iran.
In each country, in different ways, a water crisis has triggered some combination of civil unrest, mass migration, insurgency or even full-scale war.
In the era of climate change, their experiences hold lessons for a great many other countries. The World Resources Institute warned this month of the rise of water stress globally, “with 33 countries projected to face extremely high stress in 2040.”
A water shortage can spark street protests: Access to water has been a common source of unrest in India. It can be exploited by terrorist groups: The Shabab has sought to take advantage of the most vulnerable drought-stricken communities in Somalia. Water shortages can prompt an exodus from the countryside to crowded cities: Across the arid Sahel, young men unable to live off the land are on the move. And it can feed into insurgencies: Boko Haram stepped into this breach in Nigeria, Chad and Niger.
Iran is the latest example of a country where a water crisis, long in the making, has fed popular discontent. That is particularly true in small towns and cities in what is already one of the most parched regions of the world. Farms turned barren, lakes became dust bowls. Millions moved to provincial towns and cities, and joblessness led to mounting discontent among the young. Then came a crippling drought, lasting roughly 14 years.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/clim ... d=45305309
Cape Town is in a race against time. Dams are draining. People and businesses face fines for wasting water. Construction companies are building desalination plants and a recycling centre, while drilling to access ground water.
South Africa’s second biggest city is going through one of the worst droughts in recent decades, with lack of rain and a surge in population rapidly depleting the municipal water reserves. In a few months, it could run out, bringing about what the city has apocalyptically dubbed “Day Zero”—when officials are forced to turn off the tap because there’s just not enough water left in the reservoirs to keep the system running.
If it happens, a city known for its rich and complex history, diverse population and lush national parks will start sending its four million residents to about 200 collection points, where each person will be allotted 25 litres of tap water per day. That’s just 10 litres more than the minimum amount the World Health Organization says people need to survive in an emergency.
More..
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/ca ... ailsignout
******
Warming, Water Crisis, Then Unrest: How Iran Fits an Alarming Pattern
UNITED NATIONS — Nigeria. Syria. Somalia. And now Iran.
In each country, in different ways, a water crisis has triggered some combination of civil unrest, mass migration, insurgency or even full-scale war.
In the era of climate change, their experiences hold lessons for a great many other countries. The World Resources Institute warned this month of the rise of water stress globally, “with 33 countries projected to face extremely high stress in 2040.”
A water shortage can spark street protests: Access to water has been a common source of unrest in India. It can be exploited by terrorist groups: The Shabab has sought to take advantage of the most vulnerable drought-stricken communities in Somalia. Water shortages can prompt an exodus from the countryside to crowded cities: Across the arid Sahel, young men unable to live off the land are on the move. And it can feed into insurgencies: Boko Haram stepped into this breach in Nigeria, Chad and Niger.
Iran is the latest example of a country where a water crisis, long in the making, has fed popular discontent. That is particularly true in small towns and cities in what is already one of the most parched regions of the world. Farms turned barren, lakes became dust bowls. Millions moved to provincial towns and cities, and joblessness led to mounting discontent among the young. Then came a crippling drought, lasting roughly 14 years.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/clim ... d=45305309
In Kenya, and Across Africa, an Unexpected Epidemic: Obesity
Excerpt:
Obesity may be an especially tough battle in Africa for other reasons. For one, people who did not get enough nutrients when they were young (which is still a problem in Africa) are more prone to putting on weight when lots of food is available. And second, African health systems are heavily geared toward combating other diseases.
African doctors say their public health systems have been so focused on AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and tropical fevers — historically, Africa’s big killers — that few resources are left for what are called noncommunicable diseases, like diabetes and heart ailments.
“What we are seeing is likely the worst epidemic the country will ever see, probably in the long run worse than the H.I.V. epidemic of the ’90s,” said Anders Barasa, a cardiologist in Kenya, referring to obesity and its related diseases. “But changing the health care system to cater for obesity related diseases is like turning a supertanker.”
In Kenya, one of Africa’s most developed nations, there are around 40 cardiologists for the entire population of 48 million people. In the United States, there is one cardiologist for every 13,000 people.
Even as the obesity problem worsens, Africa’s older problem of malnutrition has hardly vanished. While millions of Africans are eating unhealthy foods or overeating, millions of Africans are still starving or near to it.
Last year was one of the worst on record for hunger. In March, United Nations officials warned that famines could break out in three different African countries — Somalia, Nigeria and South Sudan — because of wars and long dry spells.
Full-blown famines have not materialized, because aid agencies got to the hardest hit places quickly enough. But thousands have died from a cholera epidemic catalyzed by malnourished people streaming into camps, and famine still stalks a large part of Africa.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/27/worl ... d=45305309
Excerpt:
Obesity may be an especially tough battle in Africa for other reasons. For one, people who did not get enough nutrients when they were young (which is still a problem in Africa) are more prone to putting on weight when lots of food is available. And second, African health systems are heavily geared toward combating other diseases.
African doctors say their public health systems have been so focused on AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and tropical fevers — historically, Africa’s big killers — that few resources are left for what are called noncommunicable diseases, like diabetes and heart ailments.
“What we are seeing is likely the worst epidemic the country will ever see, probably in the long run worse than the H.I.V. epidemic of the ’90s,” said Anders Barasa, a cardiologist in Kenya, referring to obesity and its related diseases. “But changing the health care system to cater for obesity related diseases is like turning a supertanker.”
In Kenya, one of Africa’s most developed nations, there are around 40 cardiologists for the entire population of 48 million people. In the United States, there is one cardiologist for every 13,000 people.
Even as the obesity problem worsens, Africa’s older problem of malnutrition has hardly vanished. While millions of Africans are eating unhealthy foods or overeating, millions of Africans are still starving or near to it.
Last year was one of the worst on record for hunger. In March, United Nations officials warned that famines could break out in three different African countries — Somalia, Nigeria and South Sudan — because of wars and long dry spells.
Full-blown famines have not materialized, because aid agencies got to the hardest hit places quickly enough. But thousands have died from a cholera epidemic catalyzed by malnourished people streaming into camps, and famine still stalks a large part of Africa.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/27/worl ... d=45305309
Running Dry in Cape Town
Excerpt:
In addition to the idea that population growth has collided with drought and climate change, there’s a feeling that water has been too cheap for too long and that the city hasn’t done enough to upgrade its infrastructure. Leaking water pipes are a major problem. Apparently this is true for many cities, but it is unacceptable in a world where resources are increasingly scarce and stretched thin.
There’s also a sense here that this crisis isn’t going to be a one-time event with a quick fix. Even with upgrades to the water system, the larger question is: How do we rethink our relationship to water and plan for next 50, 100 and 200 years? On a global scale, we need to reimagine how we live and use our resources. We should be asking ourselves how might we redesign our homes and cities to make conservation efforts easier and optimize our natural resources for the long term on a large scale.
As we have learned here in this crisis, homes should be built with rain water tanks to supply washing machines and water pipes to pump used water from those machines into toilets. We also need clearer feedback on our own habits. Water meters should be brought inside the house so we see how our choices make a difference.
Cape Town is at the forefront of what’s likely to be a new way of life in our increasingly overextended world. Experiences like these challenge our perceptions of what we need and of what’s precious. You could think of it as practice for what’s to come.
More..
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/01/opin ... dline&te=1
Excerpt:
In addition to the idea that population growth has collided with drought and climate change, there’s a feeling that water has been too cheap for too long and that the city hasn’t done enough to upgrade its infrastructure. Leaking water pipes are a major problem. Apparently this is true for many cities, but it is unacceptable in a world where resources are increasingly scarce and stretched thin.
There’s also a sense here that this crisis isn’t going to be a one-time event with a quick fix. Even with upgrades to the water system, the larger question is: How do we rethink our relationship to water and plan for next 50, 100 and 200 years? On a global scale, we need to reimagine how we live and use our resources. We should be asking ourselves how might we redesign our homes and cities to make conservation efforts easier and optimize our natural resources for the long term on a large scale.
As we have learned here in this crisis, homes should be built with rain water tanks to supply washing machines and water pipes to pump used water from those machines into toilets. We also need clearer feedback on our own habits. Water meters should be brought inside the house so we see how our choices make a difference.
Cape Town is at the forefront of what’s likely to be a new way of life in our increasingly overextended world. Experiences like these challenge our perceptions of what we need and of what’s precious. You could think of it as practice for what’s to come.
More..
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/01/opin ... dline&te=1
Pakistan's Water Crisis Is a Ticking Time Bomb
When it comes to Pakistan, President Trump’s Twitter feud with one of America’s most important partners in the fight against terrorism has dominated the news. But beneath the headlines, a massive water crisis is unfolding that has profound implications for the country’s stability and security. Rapid urbanization and conflict combined with corruption, crime and years of mismanagement have left a massive proportion of the population without access to clean water. And now, this long-festering crisis threatens to upend Pakistan’s politics.
More...
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/pak ... ?page=show
When it comes to Pakistan, President Trump’s Twitter feud with one of America’s most important partners in the fight against terrorism has dominated the news. But beneath the headlines, a massive water crisis is unfolding that has profound implications for the country’s stability and security. Rapid urbanization and conflict combined with corruption, crime and years of mismanagement have left a massive proportion of the population without access to clean water. And now, this long-festering crisis threatens to upend Pakistan’s politics.
More...
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/pak ... ?page=show
Africa has a water crisis but these innovations could fix it
Excerpt:
Despite the depth and the breadth of the challenges at hand, solutions are within reach.
Innovation, technology and training are an essential part of creating sustainable solutions.
Many organisations are building sustainable, community-owned water projects to help improve the water situation in Africa.
Communities are working together to solve their water problems:
Community managed latrines
Gravity-fed Schemes
Hand dug wells
Rehabbed wells
Bore-hole wells
Solar disinfection systems
Hand pumps
household sanitation
Spring water protection
Rain water harvesting
Sanitation and hygiene practices
Urban pit waste management
Wastewater treatment
Sand dams
Fog harvesting
Portable water purification
The Hippo Water Roller was developed by two South Africans, Pettie Petzer and Johan Jonker, in response to the daily struggle of rural women and children across Africa to access safe, drinkable water.
Mark Algra of Cape Town, created Aquatrap to save water, by using recycled tyres. Algra has been implementing his design at local schools.
He assists in educating children on how to save water, by providing with knowledge that they can take home and share with their families and communities.
The blend of solutions can balance competing demands on the finite resource and help to ensure that Africa is able to meet its water needs both today and in the future.
Water, the single greatest power to drive industrialisation, health and education across the continent.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/zdnl-mc/2018 ... -216274365
Excerpt:
Despite the depth and the breadth of the challenges at hand, solutions are within reach.
Innovation, technology and training are an essential part of creating sustainable solutions.
Many organisations are building sustainable, community-owned water projects to help improve the water situation in Africa.
Communities are working together to solve their water problems:
Community managed latrines
Gravity-fed Schemes
Hand dug wells
Rehabbed wells
Bore-hole wells
Solar disinfection systems
Hand pumps
household sanitation
Spring water protection
Rain water harvesting
Sanitation and hygiene practices
Urban pit waste management
Wastewater treatment
Sand dams
Fog harvesting
Portable water purification
The Hippo Water Roller was developed by two South Africans, Pettie Petzer and Johan Jonker, in response to the daily struggle of rural women and children across Africa to access safe, drinkable water.
Mark Algra of Cape Town, created Aquatrap to save water, by using recycled tyres. Algra has been implementing his design at local schools.
He assists in educating children on how to save water, by providing with knowledge that they can take home and share with their families and communities.
The blend of solutions can balance competing demands on the finite resource and help to ensure that Africa is able to meet its water needs both today and in the future.
Water, the single greatest power to drive industrialisation, health and education across the continent.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/zdnl-mc/2018 ... -216274365