News
Updated Friday 3rd February 2012. On this page.... ..
Pesticide Stewardship
Farmers advised to use pesticides in safe way (1 February, indianexpress.com)“The excessive, indiscriminate and unregulated use of pesticides has led to new pest problems and has resulted in the presence of pesticide residues in the food chain and environment,” opined experts of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).
Food Security
Govt pegs food grains output at 250 mt this year (3 February, thehindubusinessline.com) India’s food grains production, for the second year in a row, is expected to be a record 250.42 million tonnes in 2011-12 crop year, bolstered by a significant contribution from eastern belt, especially Bihar and Jharkhand.
Erratic rains, inputs shortage threaten Zimbabwe maize yield (3 February, coastweek.com) Farmers are also moving away from maize production in favor of cash crops such as tobacco and soya beans.
UN declares Somalia’s famine over, but says millions across East Africa still in crisis (3 February, washingtonpost.com) The United Nations said Friday that Somalia’s famine is over, but the world body’s Food and Agricultural Organization warned that continued assistance is needed to stop the region from slipping back.
Environmental Security
Farmland security (3 February, chinadialogue.net) Crisis on the financial markets has brought investors flocking to agricultural assets. But the risks may help drive a more sustainable approach, writes Alejandro Litovsky.
Fake pesticide destroys 16,000 maunds of cucumber crops (2 February, brecorder.com) Business Recorder Logo Fake pesticide has allegedly destroyed about 16,000 maunds of cucumber crops in Bahawalnagar and Chishtian causing a loss of over Rs 8 million to the growers.
Food crops damaged by pollution crossing continents (30 January, farminguk.com) Man-made air pollution from North America causes Europe to lose 1.2 million tonnes of wheat a year, a new study has found.
Pesticide Industry
Huskie® Complete Herbicide registered by EPA (3 February, prweb.com) Farmers have access to active ingredient that is new to the cereals market.
Syngenta releases Innovotech from Right of First Refusal obligation (1 February, marketwatch.com) Innovotech Inc., a pioneer in the field of biofilm product development, today announced that Syngenta AG has decided not to pursue its Right of First Refusal for Innovotech's seed treatment product, Agress(R).
BASF SE : BASF Crop Protection pipeline value jumps to €2.8 billion (30 January, 4-traders.com) The value of the BASF Crop Protection pipeline increased by €400 million to €2.8 billion.
Climate Change
Start preparing for climate change, Welsh farmers told (2 February, dailypost.co.uk ) NORTH Wales farmers have been told they can help mitigate climate change by adopting new practices without harming profits.
Insight: Siberian agriculture could benefit from climate change (31 January, environmentalresearchweb.org) Some nations, like Russia and northern parts of China, may actually benefit from climate change.
Research shows climate change may shrink wheat crops (30 January, abc.net.au) New research predicts that climate change will have a far greater impact on wheat crops than expected.
Pesticide Legislation and Regulation
Kenya: EU forces pesticide chemical banning (31 January, freshplaza.com) Last year Europe rejected produce from Kenya worth Sh 20 billion due to the presence of pesticide chemical Dimethoate in quantities exceeding the permitted 0.02 parts per million.
State wants to use unregistered pesticide (29 January, eagle.com) Nikki Rothwell: 'Fire blight is just so detrimental.'
Pesticide Exposure and Residues
Is your orange juice safe?: FDA says Carbendazim causes no safety concern (3 February, abcnews.go.com) Low levels of a banned pesticide found in orange juice imported from Brazil is safe for sale in the domestic supply, says the Food and Drug Administration after conducting new tests.
Cancer causing chemical banned as vegetable pesticide (3 February, nation.co.ke) Kenyans have been consuming a chemical for the last 20 years which might have sparked cancer in their bodies.
Bill restricting pesticide spraying has few farm, state-agency backers (28 January, seattletimes.nwsource.com) A bill that sponsors say is needed to protect farmworkers from pesticide drift was met with concerted disapproval last week from state agencies that say they can't take on new enforcement duties.
Agricultural Policy
Supermarkets may try to muscle in on farm shops (1 February, farming.co.uk) A retail specialist has warned farm shop owners in Scotland that the sector is in danger of major retailers muscling in on their territory.
Wheat groups want an open border for U.S., Canadian farmers (1 January, usagnet.com) Signaling a desire for more market efficiency, the boards of directors of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) each passed a resolution on Jan. 29 calling for an open border with Canada that provides reciprocal bilateral wheat trade.
State Senate passes two pieces of pro-agriculture legislation (31 January, syracuse.com) This is a statement from Dean Norton, president of New York Farm Bureau: “Yesterday, the New York state Senate unanimously adopted two important pieces of legislation for New York’s farmers.
Soil Management
Holy cacti! Is the prickly pear the antidote to toxic soil? (1 February, takepart.com) Farmers in California are waging war on selenium in their fields with the help of a spiny savior.
Soil moisture sensors tell you when, how much to water (1 February, thegrower.com) Growers first experimented with drip irrigation in the 1940s, but with the advent in the 1960s of polyethylene plastics to make the drip tubes, the practice quickly became widespread.
Results prove regular soil sampling is essential (31 January, independent.ie) Sustainable intensification could be the future of tillage farming, according to Professor Ian Crute who spoke at the National Tillage Conference in Kilkenny last Wednesday.
Water
Mahaica/Mahaicony farmers battling to save crops from rising water (1 February, stabroeknews.com) As the rain continues, the water level in the Mahaica and Mahaicony is getting higher and some residents have already lost their entire crops while others are struggling to save what is left of theirs.
Surplus water stored from last year will help offset impacts of dry winter, experts say (1 January, hanfordsentinel.com) Last year, Kings County's growers were basking in the glow of two consecutive wet winters.
GM Crops
China won’t have genetically modified crops this year, Chen Says (1 February, businessweek.com) China hasn’t approved large-scale commercialization of genetically modified grain seeds and won’t produce GM crops this year, Chen Xiwen, deputy head of the Central Rural Work Leading Group under the State Council, said at a press conference in Beijing today.
GM OK for banana growers (1 February, truthabouttrade.org) While other food crops have faced considerable hurdles in both public and industry acceptance of genetically modified products, the “GM bogey man” has seemingly not raised his head when it comes to bananas.
12 reasons to avoid GMOs (31 January, huffingtonpost.com) I love talking to people about food. And these days at my restaurant, I inevitably end up talking about GMOs. Often, people ask me the reasons why I do not allow any GMO foods at GustOrganics.
Organic Crops
Organic production survey being conducted (2 February, agriview.com) USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is conducting a survey of certified organic farming to gather production and marketing information on organic farming in the U.S. The survey runs from December to April, and focuses on crop and livestock production.
Organic farmers challenge Monsanto patents in NY court hearing (31 January, villagevoice.com) A U.S. District Court hearing in downtown New York today could determine the eventual fate of several organic farmers from across the country, including some in upstate New York.
The problem with “organic” (31 January, nextgenjournal.com) Organically grown food is viewed as a more environmentally friendly method for growing and producing agricultural products.
Biofuels and Biopesticides
Burning food for fuel kills the poor, hurts the environment (3 January, vancouversun.com) Diversion of food crops to ethanol has massive unintended consequences.
European report expects diminished use of biofuels (2 February, greenoptimistic.com) One alternative source of energy grows in trees…or almost!
GITAM Trishul launched (29 January, thehindu.com) A biopesticide ‘GITAM Trishul', developed by an Associate Professor of GITAM University, was launched by Chief General Manager of NABARD P. Mohanaiah at a function organised by GITAM University here on Saturday.
Research, Resources & Knowledge Transfer
Two key nutrients can help crops cope with drought (3 February, fwi.co.uk) New research has shown that potassium and magnesium are linked to the efficiency of water use in plants, according to fertiliser company K+S KALI.
Research quantifies viability of travelling irrigation systems (2 January, theland.farmonline.com.au) A study by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) has investigated the viability of adopting centre pivot and linear move (CPLM) irrigation systems to replace surface irrigation in the southern Riverina.
Even the wealthy understand the need for GMO research to address world hunger (30 January, southwestfarmpress.com) Innovation is the key to improving the world” and agricultural research represents the best method to achieve that goal, says Bill Gates.
