X-RAY BENEFITS ON PLANT MICRO-NUTRIENT ANALYSIS

X-RAY BENEFITS ON PLANT MICRO-NUTRIENT ANALYSIS

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Good afternoon from Manila!

Here’s a good news concerning XRay benefits on plant micro-nutrient analysis coming from Africa. Researchers in Rwanda are very particular about the potential benefits of XRay applications, so this development adds more points towards brightening the image of Rwanda as its old ethnic violence and purges must be expunged with good news.

Not only can XRay determine to the minutest details the micro-nutrient composition of plants, eg. mineral content of leaves, beans, fruits, etc. XRay application, as it was found out, could induce growth of plants as a whole, leading the increase in the micro-nutrients available in them.

The gladdening news is shown below.

[Philippines, 07 April 2012]

Source: http://www.scidev.net/en/health/nutrition/news/x-ray-technology-harnessed-to-grow-more-nutritious-crops.html

X-ray technology harnessed to grow more nutritious crops

Aimable Twahirwa

5 April 2012 | EN | ES

[KIGALI] Agricultural researchers in Rwanda have adapted a technology widely used in the mining sector to analyse the mineral content of food crops such as beans and maize, with a view to developing more nutritious crops.

The team, from the Rwandan Agricultural Board (RAB), say the idea was inspired by a study published in the journal Plant and Soil earlier this year (21 January), which noted the use of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis to determine the mineral content of soil samples.

XRF analysis generates X-rays of different colours to indicate the presence, and concentration, of elements such as iron and zinc. It is quick to display results, and each sample costs just 15 US cents to analyse – compared to US$20 for other chemical analysis technologies.

In Rwanda, beans are regarded as a near-perfect food as they contain many important nutrients, and between 22 to 30 per cent of arable land across the country is currently used to grow them, according to the RAB.

The Rwandan team used XRF to analyse three varieties of bio-fortified beans – climbing, bush and snap beans. They analysed 15 samples in total, and found four were particularly rich in mineral nutrients such as iron and zinc, according to Augustine Musoni, a senior researcher at the RAB.

"This is a step forward in [reducing] malnutrition while improving the lives of smallholder farmers," Musoni told SciDev.Net.

Iron deficiency in food crops can inhibit physical and mental development in children, and increase the risk of women dying in childbirth, Musoni added.

The Plant and Soil study was funded by HarvestPlus, which is part of the Agriculture for Improved Nutrition and Health programme of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

HarvestPlus has formed partnerships with research institutes in Bangladesh, Mexico and India to make further use of the technology in crops like rice and pearl millet. It has set up XRF facilities in these institutes and trained local scientists to use them..

The main purpose of the new technology according to Tiwirai Lister Katsvairo, the Rwanda country representative for HarvestPlus, is to deliver nutritious staple food crops to reduce "hidden hunger" — the lack of dietary vitamins and minerals, adding that more than half of Rwanda's children under five, and a third of the female population, are anaemic.

Daphrose Gahakwa, deputy director-general of the RAB said that XRF technology would be a beneficial method of testing mineral content in seeds. The challenge in delivering this innovation, she said, was how to deliver those benefits to remote areas of the country.

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ASIA’S 2ND GREEN REVOLUTION, WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?

ASIA’S 2^ND GREEN REVOLUTION, WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Crispin Maslog from the Philippines has been advocating for a 2^nd Green Revolution for Asia. I wonder what fellow development stakeholders think about this afterthought.

The Green Revolution was waged beginning in the 1960s, with no less than Philippine technocrats and industry players praising the UN-led initiative to high praises. The International Rice Research Institute was founded in Laguna, Philippines in 1964, and the rice science maturation is history.

Couples of decades later, could we ever say that the explosion in agricultural production which the term ‘green revolution’ ever redeem the shirtless folks from hunger? That wave of agricultural explosion immensely damaged the top soil of many developing countries, damage that is almost irreversible at this juncture. There was hardly any discernable association of the ‘green’ in that crop revolution to ecological balance that the term connotes today.

So what’s your take about this 2^nd Green Revolution for the world’s most populous continent?

[Philippines, 15 March 2012]

Source: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/opinions/asia-pacific-analysis-launching-a-second-green-revolution-1.html

Asia–Pacific Analysis: Launching a second Green Revolution

Crispin Maslog

23 February 2012

Feeding South-East Asia's rapidly growing population requires a second Green Revolution, says Crispin Maslog.

The Day of Seven Billion was proclaimed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on 31 October 2011 as a historic milestone — the day the world's population reached seven billion people. And the world is on a steep growth curve for the rest of this century.

More than half (3.8 billion) of the population are Asians. Although South-East Asia comprises only 0.6 billion, it is growing fast — by almost 200 per cent between 1950 and 2000 — and is set to grow by another 50 per cent by 2050. [1]

One of the most critical challenges facing a world with a population of seven billion is how to feed the roughly three billion people living below the poverty line in the slums of developing countries.

A 'perfect storm'

Scientists have warned that in the next 50 years, the world will consume twice as much food as it has since the beginning of agriculture 10,000 years ago. [2] This is a startling statistic.

But thinking beyond food security to other crises facing the planet, the prospects look even more daunting. Asian agricultural scientist William D. Dar, director-general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), spoke last month of a coming "perfect storm". [3]

This will be triggered by food shortages resulting from the population explosion, and aggravated by a combination of climate change (leading to warming temperatures and weather extremes including droughts and floods), land degradation, loss of biodiversity and increasing demand for energy.

To meet the challenge of feeding the half-billion or so poor people in South-East Asia and the Pacific, Dar and other agricultural scientists, including International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) director-general Robert Zeigler, have called for a second Green Revolution.

The first Green Revolution, led in Asia by IRRI in the 1960s and 1970s, prevented a predicted famine. Much of its success was due to the technological development of crops, such as semi-dwarf rice variety IR8, also known as the 'miracle rice' that produced 10 times the yield of traditional rice.

But despite its success, the Green Revolution had its share of critics. There were mistakes and side effects. Lessons must be learned if the countries of South-East Asia and the Pacific are to benefit from a second Green Revolution.

A greener revolution

The Green Revolution was criticised for focusing on a few high-yielding varieties that depend on irrigation, chemical fertilisers and pesticides. These practices harmed the environment and affected both agricultural and wild biodiversity.

It also meant that farmers began to rely on just a few crop species. In India, for example, there were about 30,000 rice varieties before the Green Revolution. Today there are around 10 — the most productive types.

Mono-cropping has left the three staple crops of the Green Revolution — rice, maize and wheat — vulnerable to plant diseases that cannot be controlled by agrochemicals. It also led to concerns about the permanent loss of valuable genetic traits bred into traditional varieties over thousands of years.

To avoid repeating these mistakes, a second Green Revolution should include more than the staple crops that fed the world from the 1950s to the 1980s, and embrace dryland farming to grow crops such as sorghum, cassava and beans.

And it should harness South-East Asia's vast upland, rain-fed agricultural areas, not just the irrigated lowlands at the centre of food production decades ago. About 70 per cent of the land area of South-East Asia is rain-fed, and most of its poor people live in these areas.

Harnessing science

Agricultural science and technologies developed over the decades can contribute to the success of a second Green Revolution. The challenge is to increase production using less water, nutrients and land, and with lower environmental impact.

But food security also requires crops that can withstand extreme weather. For example, IRRI has developed a rice variety that can survive two weeks of complete submergence in water, and recently released to farmers in Bangladesh two drought-tolerant rice varieties, BRRI dhan56 and BRRI dhan57. [4]

And ICRISAT has developed and tested innovations in crop, soil and water management that can help farmers better adapt to the impacts of climate change. For example, it has shown that adapting the germplasm of sorghum — the dietary staple of more than 500 million people in rain-fed areas — can help maintain crop yields in warmer temperatures.

Scientific innovations are here to be harnessed to head off the looming 'perfect storm'. What is needed is the political will — from governments, foundations and international agencies — to jump-start a second, greener Green Revolution in the uplands.

Crispin Maslog is a Manila-based consultant for the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication. A former journalist, professor and environmental activist, he worked for the Press Foundation of Asia and the International Rice Research Institute.

References

[1] Hayes, A. C. and Zhao, Z. Population prospects in East and Southeast Asia. (East Asia Forum, 2012)
[2] International Service for the Acquistion of Agri-Biotech Applications. Brief 43-2011: Executive Summary. Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2011.
[3] Dar, W. D. Weathering the perfect storm. (Disaster Management Times, 2012).
[4] Dobermann, A. Blueprint for a greener revolution. Rice Today 10, 18–21 (2011)

GLOBAL FOOD PRICE INDEX DECLINE

GLOBAL FOOD PRICE INDEX DECLINE

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Global food price index ended up with a general decline, as per report from the FAO. This was a quick reversal of the year-long trend that saw food prices rising as a whole.

The FAO reported in the mid-phase of last year that food prices were rising, and rising alarmingly. Famine struck the Horn of Africa, while calamities damaged to food base of other countries, events that shook the world food terrain.

Last year also saw the raging conflicts in the MENA (middle east & north Africa), political quakes that also affected the supply chain of food production and distribution. As of this writing, a world war prospect looms as Iran has been threatening to close the Hormuz area, and pronouncements have already been leading to speculations in the oil spot markets and food trading.

Will the pattern of declining food price index hold through for 2012?

[Philippines, 09 February 2012]

Source: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/119775/icode/

FAO Food Price Index ends year with sharp decline / But record high prices mark the year as a whole

12 January 2012, Rome - Food prices fell in December 2011 with the FAO Food Price Index dropping 2.4 percent, or five points from November, FAO said today.

At its new level of 211 points, the Index was 11.3 percent (27 points) below its peak in February 2011.

The decline was driven by sharp falls in international prices of cereals, sugar and oils due to bumper 2011 crops coupled with slowing demand and a stronger US dollar. Most commodities were affected.

However, although prices dropped steadily in the second half of 2011, the Index averaged 228 points in 2011 — the highest average since FAO started measuring international food prices in 1990. The previous high was in 2008 at 200 points.

A period of uncertainty

Commenting on the new figures, FAO Senior Grains Economist Abdolreza Abbassian said that it was difficult to make any firm prediction on price trends for the coming months.

“International prices of many food commodities have declined in recent months, but given the uncertainties over the global economy, currency and energy markets, unpredictable prospects lie ahead,” Abbassian said.

Among the principal commodities, cereal prices registered the biggest fall, with the FAO Cereal Price Index dropping 4.8 percent to 218 points in December. Record crops and an improved supply outlook sent prices of major cereals declining significantly. Maize prices fell 6 percent, wheat 4 percent and rice 3 percent. In 2011, the FAO cereal price index averaged 247 points, up some 35 percent from 2010 and the highest since the 1970s.

Oils and fats down

The FAO Oils and Fats Price Index stood at 227 points in December, down 3 percent from November and well below the level of 264 points one year ago. Larger than expected overall supplies of vegetable oil led to a rise in stocks (notably palm and sunflower oil), which, together with poor global demand for soybeans, deflated prices.

The FAO Meat Price Index averaged 179 points, slightly down compared with November. The decline was mainly driven by pig meat, whose price dropped by 2.2 percent, with sheep meat also receding somewhat. By contrast, poultry and bovine meat prices recorded mild gains. On an annual basis, meat prices in 2011 were 16 percent higher than in 2010.

Dairy products mostly up

The FAO Dairy Price Index averaged 202 points, almost unchanged from November. All dairy products were up slightly with the exception of butter, which dropped by 1 percent. Over the whole year, dairy products were on average 10 percent dearer than in 2010, with particularly strong gains witnessed for skim milk powder and casein, which gained 17 percent each. More modest increases were seen for butter and whole milk powder prices, which progressed by 11 percent, and cheese, by 8 percent.

The FAO Sugar Price Index declined for the fifth consecutive month to 327 points in December, down 4 percent from November and 18 percent from its July 2011 peak. The Index’s weakness in recent months mostly reflects expectations of a large world production surplus over the new season, on the back of good harvests in India, the European Union, Thailand and the Russian Federation.

CAN SMART FARMING REVERSE CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT?

CAN SMART FARMING REVERSE CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT?

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Can smart farming equalize or even totally reverse the deleterious impact of climate change? What parameters and factors (soil? seeds? water? skills? technology?) need to have some control altogether to see the positive effects of the interventions?

That question is the subject of intense response today by stakeholders in Malawi, Vietnam and Zambia that have embarked on smart farming pilot works. FAO and the European Commission have bankrolled the pilot projects.

It may take at least three (3) years of experimentations and observations before the projects can bear fruit. Smart farming is no new concept actually, as the International Rice Research Institute or IRRI had already introduced similar interventions—applied to rice production—since its launching in 1964 yet.

Let’s see what will happen to these pilot projects.

[Philippines, 08 February 2012]

Source: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/119835/icode/

FAO-EC project to promote climate-smart farming

16 January 2012, Rome - FAO and the European Commission announced today a new €5.3 million project aimed at helping Malawi, Vietnam and Zambia transition to a "climate-smart" approach to agriculture.

Agriculture — and the communities who depend on it for their livelihoods and food security — are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. At the same time agriculture, as a significant producer of greenhouse gases, contributes to global warming.

"Climate-smart agriculture" is an approach that seeks to position the agricultural sector as a solution to these major challenges.

It involves making changes in farming systems that achieve multiple goals: improving their contribution to the fight against hunger and poverty; rendering them more resilient to climate change; reducing emissions; and increasing agriculture's potential to capture and sequester atmospheric carbon.

"We need to start putting climate-smart agriculture into practice, working closely with farmers and their communities," said FAO Assistant Director-General for the Economic and Social Development Department, Hafez Ghanem. "But there are no one-size-fits-all solutions — better climate-smart farming practices need to respond to different local conditions, to geography, weather and the natural resource base," he added.

"This project will look closely at three countries and identify challenges and opportunities for climate-smart agriculture and produce strategic plans tailored to each country's own reality," Ghanem said. "While not all solutions identified will be universally applicable, we can learn a lot about how countries could take similar steps and begin shifting to this approach to agriculture."

Tailor-made solutions

The EU is providing €3.3 million to support the effort; FAO's contribution is €2 million.

Working closely with agriculture and other ministries in each of the partner countries, and collaborating with local and international organizations, the three-year project will:

• Identify country-specific opportunities for expansion of existing climate-smart practices or implementation of new ones
• Study the constraints that need to be overcome to promote wider adoption of climate-smart agriculture, including investment costs
• Promote integration of national climate change and agricultural strategies to support the implementation of climate-smart agriculture
• Identify innovative mechanisms for linking climate finance with climate-smart agriculture investments
• Build capacity for planning and implementing climate-smart projects capable of attracting international investments

FAO will take the overall lead on the project, working in partnership with national policy and research institutions, as well as global organizations such as the Global Crop Diversity Trust.

By tackling the urgent need to incorporate climate change concerns into agricultural development planning, this new project represents a concrete step forward, said Ghanem. "The problems of climate change are increasingly being felt on the ground, and thus early actions to address the problem are needed, even as international negotiations continue in the search for a global climate agreement," he said.

HUNGER STOKES AFGHANS, CRUEL WINTER COMES!

HUNGER STOKES AFGHANS, CRUEL WINTER COMES!

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Severe drought just struck northern Afghanistan, inducing shortfalls in crop yields. Over 2 millions of Afghans up north have begun to feel the severity of the shortfall.

The news is surely alarming, as it comes amid the eco-catastrophes of similar types in the Horn of Africa, parts of Pakistan, and other regions of the planet. The seeming coincidence of too many droughts is indicative of the dire consequences of ecological changes brought forth by both human intervention and natural phenomena.

Meantime, as winter now knocks at the doors of northern hemispheric communities, over 2 millions of Afghans face coupling disasters of hunger, diseases, and gargantuan mortalities due to the drought there. Is the world ready to respond to the new eco-challenge and help out the said small tillers and workers?

[Philippines, 26 December 2011]

Source: http://www.devex.com/en/articles/in-afghanistan-millions-face-hunger-as-winter-approaches?source=ArticleHomepage_Center_6

In Afghanistan, Millions Face Hunger as Winter Approaches

By Ivy Mungcal on 21 November 2011

More than 2 million people in northern Afghanistan are facing hunger following a severe drought that has caused crop shortfall in the region. The situation is expected to worsen with the upcoming winter, according to several aid groups.

Nine aid groups, including Oxfam, have released a joint statement to highlight the situation and urge the international community and Afghan government to ensure people receive the food assistance they require quickly.

“Donors and relief agencies must remain vigilant and responsive as more resources will be required if the situation deteriorates because of a harsh winter,” said Manohar Shenoy, Oxfam’s country director in Afghanistan, according to The Associated Press.

Some aid agencies have also raised questions on why the situation in northern Afghanistan persists despite the billions of dollars in foreign aid received by the country.

One theory is that donors focus their aid programs in Helmand, Kandahar and other conflict-torn cities in southern Afghanistan, BBC notes, adding that aid agencies have slammed this policy, which they describe as “militarized aid.”

“They are aiming on winning hearts and minds by implementing quick fix, quick impact projects,” said Louise Hancock, Oxfam’s policy and advocacy director in Afghanistan. “These result in schools being built in areas where there are no roads going to them, where needs are not at their greatest or where there are not enough teachers to staff that school.

Read more development aid news online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive top international development headlines from the world’s leading donors, news sources and opinion leaders — emailed to you FREE every business day.

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IS SOMALIA’S FAMINE HOPELESSLY IRREVERSIBLE?

IS SOMALIA’S FAMINE HOPELESSLY IRREVERSIBLE?

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Is the Somalia famine hopelessly irreversible? If the catastrophe can be reversed, can the interventions be sustained without aid from external donors?

Those are pretty tough questions to answer. Admittedly, the famine in the Horn is too large a human & nature predicament, with over 11 millions of hungry people affected at its peak some couples of months ago. Somalia seems to be a classic basketcase of the catastrophe, as the problem there is complicated by peace & order challenges.

Below is a reportage on the subject by the UNDP. Note that the UNDP experts have taken the standpoint that the problem can be reversed but with substantial assistance from benevolent sources.

[Philippines, 21 December 2011]

Source: http://www.beta.undp.org/undp/en/home/presscenter/articles/2011/11/21/famine-in-somalia-can-only-be-reversed-with-continued-assistance.html

Famine in Somalia can only be reversed with continued assistance

21 November 2011

Water tanks have also been placed along the routes being used by displaced people. (Photo: OCHA/Buhaene)

Nairobi – Increased humanitarian assistance to Somalia has had a significant impact in the famine‐affected parts, bringing the three southern regions of Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle out of famine.

However, according to the latest data compiled by the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit and Famine Early Warning System in southern Somalia, famine persists in parts of the Middle Shabelle region and in the areas hosting internally displaced persons in the capital Mogadishu and along the Afgooye corridor, northwest of the city.

Malnutrition and mortality rates in many parts of southern Somalia continue to be the highest in the world.

“Any improvements can only be sustained if the current level of humanitarian assistance continues,” said Mark Bowden, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, who also serves as the UN Development Programme’s Resident Representative.

“If humanitarian activities are interrupted or reduced in southern Somalia, many areas will fall back into famine. It is only thanks to the generosity of donors that we have been able to save tens of thousands of lives in the past three months. We need this support to continue or the price we pay will be the loss of thousands of lives.”

The UN and other partners are working to increase access to food, markets and health services. UNDP has been working in Mogadishu and in some of the famine-affected districts building shallow wells, boreholes and water pumps, rehabilitating essential agricultural infrastructure, and helping to create short term jobs which allow households to improve access to food.

Somalia continues to face the largest humanitarian crisis in the world with over half of its population in urgent need of assistance.

Three million out of the four million people in crisis are in southern Somalia, where access to the population in need remains a major challenge.

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AGRICULTURE AS INCOME SOURCE FOR YOUTH: SHOWCASING JAMAICA

AGRICULTURE AS INCOME SOURCE FOR YOUTH: SHOWCASING JAMAICA

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Does agriculture still promise Glad Tidings for the youth of today in developing countries more so the poor ones?

Urbanization has been rapidly spreading across the developing world. The rising cities present themselves as lands of vast opportunities for the youth, an enchanting experience that has lured even the sons and daughters of small planters to seek jobs in the cities right after high school. Those who take up college degrees never return to their rural communities.

With new opportunities for agriculture setting in today, created by global markets, does agriculture promise a career to the youth in parallel manner as industries and services offer to them? Jamaica seems to show the way to such a positive track in farming for the youth as shown in the report below.

[Philippines, 08 November 2011]

Source: http://www.beta.undp.org/undp/en/home/ourwork/povertyreduction/successstories/agriculture_opens_new_doors_for_young_jamaicans.html

Agriculture opens new doors for young Jamaicans

Kingston – Some 650 young and jobless women and men in four impoverished areas of Jamaica have received training in cultivation and food production skills to boost their job opportunities in local farming and agro-industries.

Through a three-year programme started in January 2010 by the Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the young people have learned how to process fruit and vegetable juice, herbs and ginger powder to produce dried fruit, jams, sorrel, meat and honey.

“This project provides not only technical knowledge and training, but facilities and equipment that would have been difficult or impossible for them to do otherwise,” said Machel Stewart, UNDP Poverty Programme Advisor.

The Rural Youth Employment Project also involves workshops and career days with presentations by farmers and agribusiness professionals from around the country where nearly one third of Jamaicans aged 15-29 are unemployed.

“Agriculture is beneficial to my family and to the whole world,” said a 15 year-old high school student who dreams to own a farm in Saint Thomas, one of the most underdeveloped parishes in the island, with high levels of unemployment, poverty and early pregnancy cases.

“It helps us spend less money because we grow what we eat,” she added.

More than 360 high-school students – 60 percent of them women – have been involved in agriculture career days. In addition, 114 young community leaders attended workshops on leadership, team building and management, fund-raising and event planning, community safety and security.

The project - a US$1,000,000 partnership with the National Centre for Youth Development, the Rural Agricultural Development Authority and national youth organizations - is implemented by Jamaica’s Scientific Research Council and funded by UNDP and the United States Agency for International Development.

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POPULATION IMPACTS CROPS LARGER THAN CLIMATE CHANGE

POPULATION IMPACTS CROPS LARGER THAN CLIMATE CHANGE

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

I have no fondness for Malthusian bogey perspectives about population outstripping food production. And I do scorn such fear-mongering neo-Malthusians as Paul Erlich’s nauseating ‘population bomb’ thesis.

Albeit, there is indeed validity to the pressure exerted by burgeoning population on limited arable lands. A study done in Africa shows the demographic factor as having greater impact on crops than the much ballyhooed climate change. However, the study didn’t go to the extent of prescribing genocide and population decimation strategies in order to return the food security situation of the past, as such mad prescriptions belong more to the Malthusians and the eco-fascists hiding under the rubric of ‘environmentalists’ or ‘greens’.

Below is a special report on the subject coming from the SciDev.net.

[Philippines,

Source: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/farming-practices/news/population-has-bigger-effect-than-climate-change-on-crop-yields-study-suggests.html

Population has bigger effect than climate change on crop yields, study suggests

Bernard Appiah

4 October 2011 | EN

Climate change and population hike might mean smaller maize yields in the future

Population pressure will be as significant a factor as climate change in reducing crop yields — and thus increasing food insecurity — in West Africa, according to a modelling study.

The authors inserted different climate change, land use, and demographic change scenarios, into an internationally validated model to estimate maize yields in Benin from 2021–2050.

They found that, as the population increases, farmers frequently cultivate cropland without allowing adequate resting periods for the soil to regain its fertility — thus reducing crop yields.

Overall, they found that various land use scenarios reduced maize yields by up to 24 per cent over the period, whereas climate change scenarios reduced them by up to 18 per cent.

But beyond 2050, "climate change is most likely to be the predominant driver for crop productivity", they concluded.

"Our main assumption [before conducting the study] was that the low-input fallow systems (which allow resting periods for ploughed, but un-seeded land) in Benin and other West African countries would not change in the near future," said Thomas Gaiser, lead author and a researcher at the University of Bonn, Germany.

"If governments in the region introduce policies such as the promotion of the use of mineral fertilisers, then the decrease [in the amount of land left fallow] will not be as serious as that without fertilisers," he added.

Gaiser said farmers should use mineral fertilizers or intercrop with leguminous crops to promote soil fertility and increase yields.

He added that the findings are relevant to many Sub-Saharan African countries relying on leaving land fallow for soil fertility, like Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

"I am not surprised by the findings," said Brian Keating, the director of Sustainable Agriculture Flagship of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), based in Australia. "It is important to look at all the factors that contribute to agricultural productivity output, and not just on climate change."

But Keating told SciDev.Net that many farming systems in West Africa yield only 20–30 per cent of what would be possible if better practices and technologies were adopted.

Temi Ologunorisa, director of the Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research at Osun State University, in Nigeria, said African governments should adopt climate change adaptation strategies.

"Agriculture in Africa is about 80 per cent rain-fed, and this must change given the declining amount of rainfall," Ologunorisa said.

The study was published in the August edition of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology.

Link to abstract in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology

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GLOBAL SOIL PARTNERSHIP FOR FOOD SECURITY

GLOBAL SOIL PARTNERSHIP FOR FOOD SECURITY

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

A great news about soil partnership—on a global scale—was recently churned out of the news mills of the Food and Agricultural Organization or FAO. Addressing soil problems at this juncture isn’t only timely, it is in fact a bit late already.

The problem with soil deterioration due to over-farming and over-grazing was already experienced across many nations as early as the 1980s yet. I still recall, as a young development expert and academic, how we stakeholders expressed chagrin over the abusive use of land by the tillers and biz herders. Even the lakes in my country PH were already being threatened by over-fishing through unregulated fishpens.

Today the ecological problem posed by agri-related concerns had already reached a near-catastrophic proportion globally. Global partnership to address soil problems is a very urgent strategy, more so that climate change had entered the arena with gargantuan challenges and threats.

The report on the subject is shown below.

[Philippines, 09 October 2011]

Source: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/89277/icode/

Global Soil Partnership for Food Security launched at FAO / New effort to assure soils future generations

7 September 2011, Rome - FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf warned today that pressure on the world's soil resources and land degradation are threatening global food security. He called for a renewed international effort to assure sufficient fertile and healthy soils today and for future generations.

Diouf was speaking here at the start of a three-day meeting to launch a new Global Soil Partnership for Food security and Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation.

"Soil is an essential component of the world's production systems and ecosystems," Diouf said. "But it is also a fragile and non-renewable resource. It is very easily degraded and it is slow, difficult and expensive to regenerate," he added.

Increased pressure

Soil resources across the globe are subject to increased pressure from competing land uses and are affected by extensive degradation processes that rapidly deplete the limited amounts of soils and water available for food production, Diouf noted.

According to FAO, in Africa alone 6.3 million hectares of degraded farmland have lost their fertility and water-holding capacity and need to be regenerated to meet the demand for food of a population set to more than double in the next 40 years.

In 1982 FAO adopted a World Soil Charter spelling out the basic principles and guidelines for sustainable soil management and soil protection to be followed by governments and international organizations.

Implementation lacking

"However, there have been long delays in applying the Charter in many countries and regions of the world. New efforts to implement it must be made as soon as possible," Diouf said.

Besides helping implement the provisions of the World Soil Charter, the Global Soil Partnership is intended to raise awareness and motivate action by decision-makers on the importance of soils for food security and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

The partnership is also aimed at providing favourable policy environment and technical solutions for soil protection and management and at helping mobilize resources and expertise for joint activities and programmes.

The Global Soil Partnership will complement the 15-year-old Global Water Partnership initiated by the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank in 1996 to coordinate the development and management of water, land, and related resources in order to maximise economic and social welfare without compromising the sustainability of vital environmental systems.

Greater resilience

Short-term interventions to provide food, water and basic needs such as seeds and fertilizer to kick-start agriculture is the usual response to food crises and extreme weather events such as in the Horn of Africa. However, longer-term and large-scale measures are needed in order to build greater resilience to degradation, drought and climate change and reduce human vulnerability to disasters.

The Horn of Africa crisis, with the ongoing famine in Somalia, is the most severe food security emergency in the world today. Besides issues of insecurity and governance, the crisis is caused to a large extent by inadequate soil and water management policies and practices.

The Rome meeting is expected to start work on an Action Plan on sustainable soil management that will develop synergies between partners and bring together work currently being done separately on soil survey, assessment and monitoring, soil productivity, soil carbon, soil biodiversity and ecology and soil and water conservation.

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WILL KENYA’S SCIENTISTS DEBATE ON GMO?

WILL KENYA’S SCIENTISTS DEBATE ON GMO?

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Should Kenya continue with the policy of grains importation to meet its food security goals? More importantly, should genetically modified maize be imported on a sustained or prolonged basis?

It seems that the GMO controversy has hit the African republic hard enough that fears over GMO’s adverse effects on human consumers have generated policy conflicts of sorts. Climate change is creating new ecological challenges on food production, and this has spared nary a country including Kenya.

Below is a SciDev.net summary report on the urgency for the GM debate in Kenya.

[Philippines, 03 October 2011]

Source: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/gm-crops/news/kenya-s-scientists-urged-to-engage-in-gm-debate.html

Kenya's scientists urged to engage in GM debate

Maina Waruru

16 September 2011

[NAIROBI] Kenya's agriculture secretary is urging researchers to join the debate on genetically modified (GM) foods — and not leave the issues to politicians.

Wilson Songa, who is also a practising scientist, said that, by keeping quiet, scientists are putting the public at risk of being misled by politicians.

There has been fierce debate at a high level about allowing the import of GM maize to improve food security, and some politicians have claimed that GM foods are harmful.

"Our research institutions have experts who can educate the public and save them from dangerous propaganda," said Songa. With the Horn of Africa faced with severe drought and crippling food shortages, he said scientists should inform the public of alternative options.

"We [scientists] must no longer be cowed into silence as our people face starvation year in year out while politicians make wild allegations," he said.

Songa was speaking at the fellowships awards ceremony for African Women in Agricultural Research and Development last month (18 August). He said scientists feared being seen to contradict ministers and policymakers.

Shaukat Abdulrazak, head of the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST), told SciDev.Net that scientific bodies such as the Kenya Agriculture Research Institute (KARI) and the National Biosafety Authority must educate the public, but stressed that this should be about the drawbacks of GM crops as well as their benefits.

"Scientists have a responsibility to link science with society. They must be proactive and inform the public on the pros and cons of GM technology. They must engage politicians and provide facts and figures for them," he said.

Abdulrazak said that although scientists have been commenting on GM organisms (GMOs), it has been mainly within their 'comfort zone' — classrooms and conferences. "When scientists engage in public debate there is a suspicion that they are interested in politics," he said.

He said that Kenyans are yet to have confidence in the ability of their scientific institutions to deal with the pressure from abroad to introduce GM foods.

But Shem Wandiga, managing trustee at the Centre for Science and Technology Innovations in Kenya, which is associated with UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), said that rather than fearing to enter the GM debate, scientists are avoiding "unnecessary controversy".

Wandiga said that the civilised approach would be for governments and policymakers to seek the opinion of scientists, which would then be given in a "sober manner".

"But when politicians shoot from the hip like they have been doing in this case, then we do not want to get sucked into the mess.

"It is not that Kenya lacks scientists that can give advice but when there are vested interests, like in the GM maize importation, then we do not need to get involved," he said.

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G20 WARMS UP ON FOOD SECURITY RESEARCH

G20 WARMS UP ON FOOD SECURITY RESEARCH

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

There is a good news coming from the stakeholders of the G20 nations: the enthusiasm on food security research. This is a most welcome move, and let’s hope for sustained action on funding, launching and disseminating food security research & development results.

This is not to say that food security has been outside the ambit of science discourse among G20 nations. It was on the plate of options in the past, though it played second fiddle to industrial agenda and global trade reforms. Besides, there were the peace & development studies aimed at eradicating terrorism and organized crime in the long run.

With the Millenium Development Goal and post-Kyoto Protocol at the backdrop of worldwide guides to state policies and executory measures, the G20 has finally shown a warmer reception to food security research. Land use patterns across the globe have shown a general deterioration of soil fertility and utility due to monocropping and inorganic inputs, while genetic engineering has offered new opportunities for sustainable grains and livestock production.

Below is a report from the SciDev.net about the latest G20 initiatives on food security research.

[Philippines, 03 October 2011]

Source: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/food-security/news/g20-nations-turn-to-agricultural-research-for-food-security.html

G20 nations turn to agricultural research for food security

Yojana Sharma

16 September 2011

The G20 group of major economies has for the first time put international agricultural research on its agenda, in an effort to take a long-term view on the fight for food security.

The group's first meeting on the topic has endorsed the key role of agricultural research not only in preventing global food crises, but also in making an effective contribution to economic growth.

The meeting, taking place in Montpellier, France, this week (12–14 September), is being hosted by the French presidency of the G20 — the group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies. It involved representatives of international development organisations including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN and the World Bank.

"It is the first time the G20 has actively put international agricultural research on its agenda," said Mark Holderness, executive secretary of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), and one of the conference rapporteurs. "That is a big step in itself — the G20 countries have recognised that [agricultural research has] a wider economic relevance."

Although food security shot to the top of the political agenda during the 2008 food riots, "people put in a rapid response … there was no political buy-in to have a long-term view," Holderness told SciDev.Net.

"We have had another price spike and the World Bank is predicting another because food stocks are dwindling and there isn't the capacity in the system — we need to increase food productivity to meet that need."

According to the meeting's draft summary document, research systems in the G20 countries that help increase agricultural productivity can "contribute decisively to the improvement of food security" in the developing world through "improved coherence and coordination, stronger and equal partnerships and better knowledge sharing".

The G20 countries have been described as "a powerhouse of both agricultural innovation and production, with around 70 per cent of scientific publications on agriculture, and around 60 per cent of agricultural exports," said a paper for the conference prepared by Brazil, Canada, France and Japan, together with international organisations including the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the World Bank and the FAO.

"We are not going to have global-scale research for development without appropriate scientific partnerships," said Anne-Marie Izac, CGIAR chief science officer and another rapporteur.

The meeting also recognised the need for foresight studies to improve preparedness.

Izac said that foresight did not mean just being prepared for emergencies, but asking the research questions "which may not be urgent now, but are nonetheless essential for food security in a dynamic, constantly changing environment".

The CGIAR's Independent Science and Partnership Council advises donors on future scenarios, but foresight studies are "not yet embedded in the international agricultural research system", acknowledged Izac.

France's minister for cooperation Henri de Raincourt said the meeting's outcomes would be taken into account at the G20 meeting of finance and development ministers in Washington DC, United States, next week (23–24 September) before the G20 Summit in November in France.

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