CEOs need to accelerate their action plans to safeguard the production of commodities critical to the global population and economy as heat stress and drought risk rise around the world, according to PwC's report, Climate Risks to Nine Key Commodities: Protecting People and Prosperity, published. The report, which analysed nine …
Lusaka — Forward-thinking farmers in drought-hit Zambia are planning to trim the amount of maize they plant, switching to faster-growing crops such as beans that can better survive erratic weather. "I will have to stop growing maize and find other crops to sustain our livelihood because we have had no …
Kenya is in the last stage of adopting genetically modified organisms if an application to secure a licence to supply cotton seeds is approved. Monsanto Kenya Ltd - a subsidiary of Monsanto Company - is a publicly traded US multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation and submitted an application to …
Reduced crop and livestock production resultant from the prevailing worst El Nino weather phenomenon is set to extremely impact on Swaziland’s food security in 2016, APA reports on Thursday. Economist and University of Swaziland (UNISWA) lecturer Christopher Fakudze in his analysis said he is expecting the hunger situation to worsen …
Biochar, a carbon-rich, porous pyrolysis product of organic residues may positively affect plant yield and can, owing to its inherent stability, promote soil carbon sequestration when amended to agricultural soils. Another possible effect of biochar is the reduction in emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O). A number of laboratory incubations have …
Kampala — Maize production in the country is expected to drop by 19 per cent if government does not tame the effects of climate change, a senior government official has said. Speaking at the launch of the Belgian government-funded projects aimed at averting effects of climate change in Uganda, Mr …
The World Bank projects a 1,5 to 2˚Celsius temperature increase as a result of climatic change by 2030, a situation that threatens food security in sub-Saharan Africa. The increase is set to trigger a 40% to 80% reduction in the production of maize, millet and sorghum, as the temperatures would …
Tanzania plans to conduct trials for new varieties of genetically modified maize that can survive recurrent droughts and pests. The confined field trials, to start in April 2016, will be conducted in the semi-arid area of Makutupora in Dodoma to assess the potential of the maize varieties to produce high …
Ranchi: Chief minister Raghubar Das and agriculture minister Randhir Singh on Wednesday convened a series of meetings with the agriculture department officials and disaster management department and appointed a task force at district-level to submit block-wise drought report by October 15. The government has admitted around 20% loss of paddy …
A tropical storm could have carried the corn disease tar spot into the heart of the U.S. farm belt for the first time, as winds and rain blew in from Latin America, researchers told Reuters. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed cases of tar spot in four locations in …
France is to use a new European opt-out scheme to ensure a ban on the cultivation of genetically modified crops in the country remains in place, it said on Thursday. The European Union's largest grain grower and exporter has asked the European Commission, the EU executive, for France to be …
Farmers in Makueni last week got a chance to ask questions and voice their concerns on genetically modified maize that could be released to farmers in one or two years time if approved. This follows an application for the approval of GMO maize by the Kenya Agricultural Research and Livestock …
Today, the Republic of Kenya and the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) signed an agreement to finance the Kenya Cereal Enhancement Programme - Climate-Resilient Agricultural Livelihoods Window (KCEP-CRAL). Ten thousand smallholder farmers, including women-headed households and young people whose livelihoods depend on maize, sorghum, millet and associated …
Around 1.5 million Zimbabweans are predicted to go hungry this year after a dramatic fall in maize production, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday. Some 16 percent of the population are expected to be 'food insecure' at the peak of the 2015-16 lean season, the period following harvest …
Stabilizing smallholder crop yields under changing climatic conditions in subSaharan Africa will require adaptation strategies focused on soil and water management. Impact studies of climate change on crop yields often ignore the potential of adaptation strategies such as rainwater harvesting (RWH). While RWH is bringing benefits to agricultural systems today, …
South Africa, the continent’s largest producer of corn, will probably cut its estimate for output of the grain in 2015 by 0.2 percent as a drought damaged the crop, a survey showed. Farmers will reap 9.74 million metric tons this season, according to the median of three analysts’ predictions in …
Scientists are lobbying for approval to commercialise a genetically modified maize variety. "Globally, Bt maize has been proven to effectively control stem borer and improve maize grain yield and quality due to reduced pest damage," Eliud Kireger said yesterday. Kireger, the director general of the Kenya Agricultural Livestock and Research …
The rise in farmer suicides has aggravated the distress in Karnataka’s agrarian sector. Over 50 farmers have allegedly committed suicide since the beginning of June across the State. Pushed into financial crisis due to a combination of factors such as poor realisation for their produce, delayed payments and crop failures …
Northern China is one of the most densely populated regions in the world. Agricultural activities have intensified since the 1980s to provide food security to the country. However, this intensification has likely contributed to an increasing scarcity in water resources, which may in turn be endangering food security. Based on …
ISABELA: To address the effects of climate change, a professor at the Isabela State University (ISU) is conducting a study to increase crop productivity by as much as 30 percent using Information and Communications Technology (ICT). ISU Research Director Dr. Orlando Balderama, also a full professor at the College of …
BATHINDA: Punjab chapter of the NGO 'Coalition for GM free India' has warned the state government against going ahead with field trials of genetically modified mustard and maize crops. The NGO has decided to oppose trials and commercial cultivation of these crops in future. The NGO, taking along other social …
