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This week's round up of the latest news, research, and policy developments from across global agriculture.
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CONTENT
December 29, 2017 - January 4, 2018
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President-Elect Weah Tempers Expectations, Plans Agriculture Push, Reuters, January 2
Liberian President-elect George Weah has set modest goals for his six-year term, calling for Liberia to start exporting crops and repair decrepit infrastructure. Weah said the government has a responsibility to have agricultural programs so people are able to grow their own food. More than 60 percent of Liberians depend on agriculture for their livelihood.
To Sate China’s Demand, African Donkeys Are Stolen and Skinned, New York Times, January 2
A gelatin made from donkey hides is prized as a traditional Chinese remedy, called ejiao. Now slaughterhouses have opened in Africa and domestic animals are disappearing from villages. For millions of people around the world, donkeys are the primary means to transport food, water, firewood, goods, and people. Fifteen years ago, ejiao sold for $9 per pound in China; now, it fetches around $400 per pound.
How the African Economies Tipped to Thrive in 2017 Actually Performed, Quartz, January 3
Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Benin, Togo, Morocco, Nigeria, Angola, and South Africa, the African economies that investors were keeping an eye on in 2017, were ones that were eager to harness renewable energy sources and strengthen their manufacturing sectors. Quartz took a look at how the African economies tipped to thrive in 2017 actually fared.
Arkansas Panel Stands by Proposal to Ban Disputed Herbicide, Washington Post, January 3
Arkansas regulators stood by their plan to ban dicamba, an herbicide that farmers in several states say has drifted onto their crops and caused damage, despite a request from lawmakers to reconsider the restriction. Monsanto, which makes dicamba, has filed a lawsuit challenging the ban and claiming the regulators exceeded their authority in prohibiting the weed killer.
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GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES
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Calestous Juma, 64, Dies; Sought Innovation in African Agriculture, New York Times, January 1
Professor Juma, a prominent global advocate for sustainable development in struggling countries, particularly in his native Africa, was widely credited as having been an important force in ensuring that biotechnology would play a critical role in improving economic life in many developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
A Farmers Activist Is Beaten to Death, and the Video Goes Viral. How Tensions over Land Are Tearing at Myanmar, Los Angeles Times, December 29
In Myanmar, where 70 percent of the population makes a living from agriculture, a slow transition from half a century of military rule has reopened old grievances over army seizures of land. The seizures robbed countless citizens of Myanmar of their only tangible resource. Now, more farmers across Myanmar are trying to recover what was taken.
Inside India’s Epic Effort to Bring Electricity to Millions of People for the First Time, Los Angeles Times, December 29
India is racing to connect thousands of villages to power grids for the first time, a mammoth undertaking that aims to reach more than a quarter of a billion people who lack electricity. In Barnali, an apple-growing community perched on a wooded slope in the Himalayan foothills, farmers had petitioned government departments for two decades asking to be connected to the power grid.
SEE ALSO: In 2017, Small Experiments Had a Big Impact on India’s Clean Energy Sector, Quartz, December 28
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Electronic Food Vouchers Bring Relief to Vulnerable Nigerian Families, Relief Web, January 3
An electronic credit—supported by USAID—allows Nigerian families at risk to buy food at local vendors’ shops, where “we can go and buy food, any food of our choice.” As of December 2017, 2.6 million people face life-threatening hunger in the northeast. USAID support is staving off hunger in areas that humanitarian organizations can access.
Trump Plan to Shrink Ocean Monuments Threatens Vital Ecosystems, Experts Warn, Guardian, January 2
Changes to protected monuments in the oceans—vastly larger areas than their land-based counterparts—could have major consequences for the livelihoods and ecosystems dependent upon the marine environment. The secretary of the interior has recommended that three marine monuments be either opened up to the commercial fishing industry or reduced in size, or both.
SEE REPORT: Final Report Summarizing Findings of the Review of Designations Under the Antiquities Act, Secretary of the Interior, September 17
USAID Spends Mere $3 Million Under Michelle Obama’s Education Program, Pakistan Today, December 30
The United States has only utilized $3 million under its much trumpeted $70 million program “Let Girls Learn,” launched by former US first lady Michelle Obama. The US embassy officials did not respond to queries to give clarification over the utilization of small amount of funds in two years, the reasons of slow pace of fund utilization, and existence of a time frame for the utilization of the funds.
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BIG IDEAS AND EMERGING INNOVATIONS
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In Argentina, Cow Dung Generates Heaps of Electricity, World Crunch, January 4
Argentina's Adecoagro, an industrial farming multinational, has turned one of its dairy farms into a surprising source of power. A new technique for generating energy from cow dung has now proven to supply enough electricity from cowpat to power a town of 5,000 residents.
‘Raw Water’ is the Latest Health Craze. Here’s Why Drinking It May Be a Bad Idea, Los Angeles Times, January 3
Proponents of the "raw water" movement are selling people on the idea of drinking water that contains the things they say nature intended without the chemicals, such as chlorine, often used in urban water treatment processes. But by shunning recommended water-safety practices, experts warn, raw water purveyors may also be selling things you don't want to drink—dangerous bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can make you sick.
Roseda Farm Is Breeding a 'Supercow' in a Quest to Become the Berger Cookies of the Beef Industry, Baltimore Sun, January 2
Nestled in Baltimore County’s rolling hills, Roseda Farm has been slowly perfecting its Black Angus herd to create beef prime for plating. Through genetic testing, dry-aging, and a closed system that allows the ranch to see its cattle from conception to butchering, Roseda has built one of the largest beef operations in the Mid-Atlantic and the farm wants to become synonymous with Baltimore.
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FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ISSUES
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Born in the USA and Working in the Fields-What Gives?, Los Angeles Times, January 4
For generations, rural Mexico has been the primary source of hired farm labor in the United States. Nine out of 10 agricultural workers in places like California are foreign-born, and more than half are undocumented. But farm labor from Mexico has been on the decline in California. But companies have found it impossible to attract enough US-born workers to make up for a shortage from south of the border.
‘Smothered’ and ‘Shoved Aside’ in Rural America, Washington Post, December 29
Rural counties have 72 percent of the nation’s land but a shrinking population, as urban areas have ballooned in size and wealth. In one farmer’s view, farmers were too often shoved aside during the presidency of Obama, while environmentalists and conservationists, many of whom live nowhere near a farm, took over the national conversation.
SEE ALSO: The Famer is ‘Smothered’ by Her Own Self-Interest, Not the Feds, Opinion, Virginia Nuta, Washington Post, January 3
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Americans Will Eat a Record-Breaking Amount of Meat in 2018, Los Angeles Times, January 4
Americans are predicted to eat more meat than ever before. America's health is always a growing concern, but this could be a step in the wrong direction. The government recommends eating 5 to 6.5 ounces of protein per day—but these new predictions foresee adults devouring close to 10 from red meat and poultry alone.
From Vegan to ‘Keto’ and Mediterranean: Experts Rank 2018’s Best Diets, NPR, January 3
A panel of experts has ranked the Mediterranean Diet as the No. 1 "Best Overall Diet." The DASH diet tied for the top spot. The Mediterranean diet also earned the top spot as the “Easiest To Follow." Despite its popularity, the Keto Diet comes in last place in the ranking.
Russia Reports Virulent H5N2 Bird Flu at 660,000-Bird Farm-OIE, Reuters, December 29
Russia has reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N2 bird flu on a farm that led to the death of more than 660,000 birds. Bird flu has led to the death or culling of more than 2.6 million poultry between December last year and November this year. Neither the H5N2 or H5N8 strains has been found in humans.
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ENVIRONMENT, WATER, AND CLIMATE
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Foreign Fishermen Settle Human Trafficking Suit, Washington Post, January 4
A human trafficking lawsuit just settled between two Indonesian fishermen and an American boat owner. Hawaiian commercial fishing boats rely almost entirely on foreign crews from impoverished countries who have no legal standing and never set foot in the United States. Two fishermen ran away from their boat and sued the boat owner, claiming they were denied medical treatment, verbally abused, and threatened if they tried to leave.
SEE ALSO: Coast Guard Cites Fishing Boat for Illegal Foreign Captain, AP, December 29
SEE ALSO: Seventh Person Charged in Teen Forced Labor Case at Egg Farm, AP, December 28
Scottish Seafood Processors Increasingly Reliant on Non-UK Workers, Seafood Source, January 4
Fifty-eight percent of employees at Scottish seafood processing businesses are now from the non-UK European Economic Area, up from 37 percent of the sector’s workforce in 2016. The processors in the sample highlighted potential labor market impacts from the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union and concerns that it could directly affect their businesses survival.
Three New Year’s Resolutions That Can Help Fight Climate Change, New York Times, January 3
Walk more, waste less, and measure your impact. Worldwide, agriculture accounts for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Luckily, we can help slash emissions. One way is to waste less food. Consumers and restaurants in North America throw away almost 40 percent of available food. There are even refrigerator management apps that track the food in your fridge and let you know when it will spoil.
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GENDER AND GENERATIONAL INCLUSION
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Do Women Matter to International Security? Trump Just Changed the US Government’s Answer to That Question, Opinion, Hilary Matfess, Washington Post, January 4
Does the status of women elsewhere in the world matter to US national security? President Trump released his answer in the latest National Security Strategy, with a sharp turn away from recent policies that treat the well-being of women around the globe as critical to peace and prosperity.
SEE REPORT: National Security Strategy of the United States of America, White House, December 18
The Feminized Farm: Labor Migration and Women's Roles in Tajikistan's Rural Communities, Diplomat, January 4
As Tajik men go abroad in search of higher pay, women take on increased roles in Tajikistan’s agriculture sector. Even under the touted gender equality of the Soviet system some agricultural tasks, such as planting, weeding, trimming, and harvesting were women’s jobs while men took on roles in irrigation, transportation, mechanization, and heavy land preparation tasks.
SEE REPORT: The Feminization of Agriculture in Post-Soviet Tajikistan, Journal of Rural Studies, December 9
Invisible Labor: Women’s Labor Migration to Libya, Relief Web, January 3
Among the scarce literature on women’s migration to Libya, little or no attention is paid to the independent economic motivations behind their journeys or their role in the workforce. Whether motivated to transit Libya or to settle and work there, many women are inclined to seek employment, and independently navigate their status and opportunities in the new country.
SEE REPORT: Invisible Labor: Women’s Labor Migration to Libya, Danish Refugee Council, January 3
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MARKET ACCESS, TRADE, AND AGRIBUSINESS
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You'll Be Shelling out More Money for Eggs In 2018, NPR, January 4
The USDA predicts consumers will be paying less for beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and turkey in early 2018 than at the start of 2017. Not so for eggs. Egg prices during the first three months of 2018 are likely to be more than 35 percent higher than they were during the same period of 2017. American egg producers are increasing the size of their flocks, which ultimately will increase supply and potentially push prices down.
McDonald’s Tests Fresh Beef in Another Burger, AP, January 2
McDonald’s is testing the use of fresh beef in another burger, the latest move by the fast food chain to swap out frozen beef as it seeks to improve its image. McDonald’s has made several changes to its menu in recent years in an attempt to appeal to Americans who are increasingly concerned with the ingredients in their food. McDonald’s said the latest test is limited, and it is seeking feedback from customers and its restaurants.
End of Japanese Rice Market Controls Should Be Boon for Ramen Lovers, Chicago Tribune, December 30
Japan’s rice farmers may plant alternative crops like wheat once government control ends by March 31 and look to tap into rising demand for ramen. Ramen demand has climbed in recent years with restaurants opening from London to Sydney. Japan relies on grain from the United States, Canada, and Australia to produce ramen noodles domestically
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