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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
February 9-15, 2018
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Global Food Security Symposium 2018
March 21-22 | Washington, DC
Space is limited, register now for our early bird rate!
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By 2050, Africa’s population will double, with 1 billion projected to be under 18 years old, and many others regions are experiencing similar trends. How can we harness the potential of this promising demographic to secure economic growth and stability? Global leaders, innovators, disruptors, and trailblazers are shaping the future of food and agriculture. Attend this year’s symposium to learn why this transformative moment is a crucial to global food security and stability.
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The Next Generation: Youth on the Move, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, February 13
Projections suggest that by 2050 almost 90 percent of those under 24 years old will live in low- and middle-income countries. The stability of not only these countries but of the entire world depends on the ability of youth to find meaningful employment in their communities. Without the right investments in the rural areas that many of these young people live, youth migration will continue to rise.
Outrage and Inspire with Roger Thurow – The Power of Three Little Letters, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, February 12
The outrages of hunger are many. But so, too, are the inspirations of people who confront—and conquer—hunger and malnutrition. They provide both the outrage and the inspiration—and the stories of this podcast series. In this episode, we hear about the power of agricultural development to move families from "neither/nor" to "and" lifestyles.
Is Cape Town Thirsty Enough to Drink Seawater?, Wired, February 9
If current projections hold, Cape Town, South Africa, a city of 4 million, will run out of water on May 11, known as Day Zero. Cape Town is turning to desalination—specifically, temporary reverse osmosis plants—to tackle the shortfall. Despite the ecological and social costs of the desalination process, failing to diversify the city’s water portfolio may pose serious consequences as the crisis continues.
SEE ALSO: What Happens When a Major World City Runs Dry?, Foreign Policy, February 14
UN Agency Sets Ambitious Target to Reduce Hunger and Poverty for Millions Worldwide, UN News, February 13
The International Fund for Agricultural Development announced an ambitious target of $3.5 billion to generate resources to fund loans and grants to strengthen developing countries’ food security and livelihoods. The fund is expected to benefit 47 million smallholder farmers with improved technology, finance, and knowledge; improve market access for 46 million; and build resilience to climate change impact of another 24 million.
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GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES
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Venezuela’s Economy is So Bad, Parents Are Leaving Their Children at Orphanages, Washington Post, February 13
Poverty and hunger rates are soaring as Venezuela’s economic crisis leaves store shelves empty of food, medicine, diapers, and baby formula. There are no official statistics, but interviews with officials at private and public organizations that manage children in crisis suggest that the cases number in the hundreds—or more—nationwide.
WFP Spent Over $126 Million on Food in Nigeria in 2017, All Africa, February 12
According to the representative and country director of World Food Program, WFP has spent over $126 million on food aid to Nigeria and also provided food assistance to average of 1.1 million people every day in 2017. The focus for 2018 was said to invest and engage in effort to support everyone to become completely sustainable and autonomous.
Africa: Towards a Food-Secure Africa, Africa Renewal, February 9
Africa’s enormous agricultural potential, if tapped, can feed the continent and spur socio-economic growth. Former UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, believes that Africa’s smallholder farmers are more than capable of feeding the continent as long as they make use of the latest agronomic practices in combination with appropriately adapted seeds and fertilizers to boost their crop yield.
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US Boosts Aid to Jordan, Downplaying its Break with Trump over Jerusalem, Washington Post, February 14
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his Jordanian counterpart, Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi, signed a memo of understanding to give Jordan at least $1.275 billion annually over the next five years. The agreement comes despite steep cuts proposed in foreign aid overall and disagreements over the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
State Department, USAID Face Drastic Budget Cut, Foreign Policy, February 12
A funding shortfall of about $8.8 billion would impose the biggest reduction in resources for the US diplomatic corps and development programs since the 1990s. This funding shortfall for the State Department and USAID affects operations for the current fiscal year, and for 2019.
Trump Signed a Bill that Gives Millions to the US Agency in Charge of Climate and Weather Science, Quartz, February 9
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency responsible for weather predictions, ocean science, and climate research, got a nice chunk of funding when President Trump signed a stopgap government spending deal passed by Congress. Included in the spending bill are funds for the agency to get better weather satellites, improve hurricane intensity forecasting, and enhance their supercomputing infrastructure.
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BIG IDEAS AND EMERGING INNOVATIONS
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Making Insects Tastier Could Alleviate Global Hunger, Global Citizen, February 13
Hunger and all forms of malnutrition will not end by 2030 unless all the factors that undermine food security and nutrition are addressed. Experts say that education can reduce the amount of meat consumed and increase the use of alternative protein sources such as insects. According to the FAO, there are already more than 1,900 edible insect species on Earth.
Smartphones Boost Latin American Farmers in Fight Against Climate Change, Reuters, February 12
A pilot project in El Salvador and Colombia will help farmers receive vital information such as weather forecasts and early warnings via their smartphones, as well as online training and equipment to help improve water usage. The project is similar to another smartphone invention in Chile that led to a 20 percent reduction in water usage.
Nice Threads: The Waste-Based Fibers Cleaning up Fashion, Guardian, February 12
The fashion industry is undergoing a change in business models in terms of where materials come from and how they are produced. Orange Fiber is just one of a number of small firms experimenting with repurposing everything from waste milk to pineapple stalks to make fibers for clothing and accessories. QMilk, a German company, recently presented a fiber made from waste cow’s milk.
Love Local Farming? Try Your Living Room, Wall Street Journal, February 12
Homeowners are re-outfitting their homes to grow the freshest produce possible, even in winter. Hydroponics, a soil-free way of growing plants, appeals to homeowners who like the idea of gardening but would rather avoid the dirt, especially indoors, despite potential downsides of bright lights at odd hours, noisy hums, and clunky-looking contraptions.
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FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ISSUES
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A Widening Conflict between Herdsmen and Farmers is Redefining Nigeria’s Geopolitics, Quartz, February 12
Due to the fact that the herdsmen are mostly Fulani Muslims and the farming communities are predominantly Christians, the resource conflict is viewed by many as ethno-religious. These clashes have not only led to the displacement of thousands of people but have also led to steep drop in food production, as these areas make up part of Nigeria’s rich agricultural “Middle Belt” zone.
'Leave Us Alone': India's Villagers Rebel Against Urbanization, Guardian, February 12
Farmers from a village near Ahmedabad, India protested against the state government’s inclusion of villages to expand the land for cities. Many villagers grow groundnuts, cotton, wheat, rice and cumin; losing nearly half their land would split up large holdings, posing a risk to their agricultural industry. They also fear that large-scale urbanization will further rob them of water.
Farmers Trained on Using Herbicide Blamed for Crop Damage, AP, February 12
Tens of thousands of soybean and cotton farmers across the country are taking free but mandatory training in how to properly use a weed killer blamed for drifting and damaging crops in neighboring fields. Monsanto, one of the three major agribusiness companies responsible for providing the training, is confident that the coming training sessions will sharply reduce drift problems this season.
Mozambique's Farmers Battle to Keep Land in Nakarari, Al Jazeera, February 12
The government wants to implement the Program of Triangular Cooperation for Agricultural Development of the Tropical Savannahs of Mozambique in Nakarari. The project aims to convert the whole area into commercial agriculture, increasing the productivity and harvesting cash crops such as soybean, cotton, and maize for export.
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Is Chocolate a Healthy Choice for Valentine’s Day? That Depends on Which Kind, Wall Street Journal, February 13
Americans spend more on chocolate products than the gross national product of some of the countries where cacao is grown. One of the reasons chocolate managed to buck the bear market in candy is the widespread perception that chocolate, unlike other sweet treats, is good for you. This notion has some basis in the latest research, but it’s also been created by headlines that exaggerate the findings.
Flu Fears Halt a Long Decline in Orange Juice Sales, Wall Street Journal, February 9
Greater public awareness of orange juice’s high sugar content has dented its image as a healthy drink. Consumption has been dwindling over the past decade. However, orange juice sales rose 0.9 percent to 38.66 million gallons in the four weeks ended January 20. That uptick marked the first year-over-year increase in nearly five years, though this trend is not expected to last much beyond flu season.
SEE ALSO: What Some People Say about Orange Juice and Flu Prevention, Wall Street Journal, February 9
New Technology Aims to Take the Sugar out of Gelato — Not the Flavor, NPR, February 9
Machines have long relied on temperature control to maintain the small ice crystals that give gelato its signature structure. The new machine's batch freezers have become smarter and more responsive, so they're able to recognize an unconventional mixture and make whatever adjustments necessary to keep those small crystals.
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ENVIRONMENT, WATER, AND CLIMATE
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Even with Pledges to Fight Global Warming, You'd Better Brace Yourself for More Extreme Weather, LA Times, February 14
Even if humans manage to meet the temperature target set forth in the Paris Agreement, record-breaking weather events will become increasingly common. The actual commitments made by these countries would probably allow the global average temperature to rise by as much as 3 degrees Celsius. In that case, extreme weather events would become much more commonplace almost everywhere on the planet.
SEE ALSO: Scientists: Long-Buried Ice Age Forest Offers Climate Change Clues, NPR, February 9
What Canola Can Tell Us about Crops and Climate Change, NPR, February 12
A new study suggests rising temperatures trigger a genetic cascade in the canola plant that leads to premature fruit development. Researchers at the John Innes Centre in the United Kingdom think it might be possible to stop heat from changing the gene. As climate change increases the risk of heat waves and sweltering summers, this is research that may be sorely needed in the future to protect many crops—not just canola.
A Nearly Invisible Oil Spill Threatens Some of Asia’s Richest Fisheries, New York Times, February 12
A fiery collision that sank an Iranian tanker in the East China Sea a month ago has resulted in an environmental threat unlike any before: an almost invisible type of petroleum has begun to contaminate fishing grounds in Asia. Exposure to condensate is extremely unhealthy to humans and potentially fatal. Experts said it is almost impossible to work out the impact and the only real solution is to let it evaporate or dissolve.
Here’s What Happened the Last Time the Living Things in Our Oceans and Lakes Died, Quartz, February 11
Around 8,000 years ago, the entire eastern half of the Mediterranean Sea became severely oxygen-starved. The conditions wiped out virtually the entire ecosystem. Similar conditions are now expanding rapidly again because of warming, which speeds up the oxygen-consuming microbial processes of decomposition, and because human actions are increasing nutrient input via runoff.
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GENDER AND GENERATIONAL INCLUSION
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'Can You Dig It?' Africa Reality Show Draws Youth to Farming, AP, February 13
"Don't Lose the Plot," the first new reality TV show of its kind in Africa, is aimed at inspiring youth in East Africa to pursue agribusiness entrepreneurship. Backed by the US government, this show trains contestants from Kenya and neighboring Tanzania and gives them plots to cultivate, with a $10,000 prize for the most productive. The goal is to prove to young people that agriculture can be fun and profitable.
Filling the Growing Need for Ag Expertise, Daily Sun, February 12
Agricultural industry growth and digital innovation, combined with retirements, are driving significant demand for college grads and other professionals, including those without ag-related experiences. The USDA and Purdue University predict 57,900 jobs requiring agricultural skills will become available each year between now and 2020, while only 35,000 grads in ag-related studies will look to fill those jobs each year.
The Future of Food Is Farming, and the Future of Farming Is Female, Forbes, February 12
Only 14 percent of American farmers are women, and they cultivate less than 10 percent of the farmland. But they are younger and often better educated than their brothers and fathers. Many have come to farming as a second or third career. Audra Gaines Mulkern, started the Female Farmer Project to attract more female farmers.
A Young Rohingya Mom: Pregnant, Stateless, Living in Limbo, NPR, All Things Considered Podcast, February 8
Sanura Begum misses her family's farm back in Myanmar. In August, she joined the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees fleeing their homeland. Begum says she runs out of rice each month and has to beg for food from her neighbors until she can get her next set of rations from the World Food Program. She says she'll only go back to Myanmar if she's given citizenship and the return of her livestock.
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MARKET ACCESS, TRADE, AND AGRIBUSINESS
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These Citizen-Regulators in Arkansas Defied Monsanto. Now They're Under Attack, NPR, February 14
The Arkansas State Plant Board banned dicamba spraying, a weed-killing chemical which hurt millions of acres of soybeans, backyard tomatoes, melons, and orchards. Monsanto sued the board and each individual member, calling their decision arbitrary, capricious, and unlawful. Hundreds of farmers who say they need dicamba to control their weeds signed a petition calling for the board to reconsider.
SEE ALSO: Farmers Trained on Using Herbicide Blamed for Crop Damage, AP News, February 13
Climate Change Could Mean Less Maple Syrup for Your Pancakes, NPR, February 12
A new study found that climate change has led to warmer, drier growing seasons, stunting the growth of sugar maple trees. Research published last year also found that climate change could cause sugar maple habitat to decline and suggests that it would take an additional five million taps to maintain current US production levels, which totaled 4.27 million gallons last season.
The Beef Industry Has Fired its First Shot in the Fight Against Cell-Cultured Meat, Quartz, February 12
The US Cattlemen’s Association has filed a 15-page petition with the USDA, asking it to differentiate conventional meat from the cell-cultured—known in the industry as “clean meat”—by creating a formal definition. The nation’s ranchers are signaling they’re ready to force a fight that has, until now, only been whispered about within the broader industry.
Coca-Cola, Pepsico Try New Ways to Combat Soda Slump, Wall Street Journal, February 10
Soft drink giants have recently embraced different strategies to combat the long slide in soda sales. PepsiCo is launching a colorful seltzer water brand called Bubly, making it the latest drink company to go after a larger piece of the flavored sparkling water market. Dr. Pepper revealed plans to merge with Keurig Green Mountain, a company best known for its single-serve coffee pods. Coca-Cola is betting four new flavors of Diet Coke in sleeker cans with names like “Zesty Blood Orange” that will help it hold on to soda drinkers a little longer.
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