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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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Unlocking the Potential of Agriculture for Afghanistan’s Growth, World Bank, May 6
A joint report by the Government of Afghanistan and the World Bank Group emphasizes that with the right mix of policies and investments, the agriculture sector can drive down poverty and boost sustained growth in Afghanistan through jobs, better productivity, and inclusiveness.
SEE REPORT: Jobs from Agriculture in Afghanistan, World Bank, February 5
African Countries Need to Push Climate Smart Agriculture, AllAfrica, May 8
Climate smart agricultural practices and initiatives have a great promise for boosting Africa’s agricultural productivity and helping to build farmers resilience. Several strategies include planting of improved and drought tolerant crop varieties, delivering timely seasonal and current weather information to farmers, and sharing agricultural innovations.
India’s Public Health is a ‘Mixed Story’: Bill Gates, Economic Times, May 5
Gates has hailed India's expertise in public health but underlined the need for it to do more in the nutrition and sanitation sector to improve child health. Globally, including India, the health sector has produced excellent results. The biggest reason is the delivery of new vaccines, including a rotavirus vaccine and a pneumococcus vaccine that deal with the majority of the cases of diarrhea and pneumonia.
Diets Rich in Fish Could Save Millions of Hectares of Land, Anthropocene Magazine, May 4
If we fulfilled a large share of our future protein needs with farmed fish instead of livestock, we would save several hundred million hectares of land. That’s an area of land twice the size of India. This fact comes down to the much less resource-intensive diet of farmed fish, compared to their livestock counterpart.
SEE REPORT: Comparative Terrestrial Feed and Land Use of an Aquaculture-Dominant World¸ PNAS, April 30
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GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES
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African Smallholder Farmers Get Insurance Payouts of $1.5 Million after Low Rainfall, WFP, May 9
Farmers participating in the R4 Rural Resilience Initiative will receive insurance payments totaling $1.5 million to compensate for weather-related crop losses in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, and Zambia. The pay-out enables nearly 30,000 farming households to cover immediate needs and sustain their business.
Senegal Rice Farmers Offer Lessons for Rest of Continent, Financial Times, May 7
Senegal has long imported most of its rice, the most important staple in the West African nation’s diet. But the government’s effort to develop rice farming has helped production double since 2014. Agricultural self-sufficiency is a pillar of the government’s 20-year plan to transform the Senegalese economy. Senegal’s progress offers important lessons for a continent that imports roughly $40 billion of food a year.
‘I Can Go Days Without Eating’: Hunger Rises in South Sudan, AP, May 5
Five years into South Sudan’s civil war more than 7 million people are facing severe hunger without food aid. Aid workers warn that a recent surge in fighting could once again plunge thousands of people into famine. But the international community’s patience is wearing thin as reports continue of aid workers being blocked from carrying out their work, and as peace talks yield little progress.
Agritech Startups Aim to Lift Nigerian Smallholder Farmers out of Poverty, Devex, May 4
More than 80 percent of Nigeria’s farmers are smallholder farmers, and they account for the poorest 40 percent of the population. Hoping to use a range of tools to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, a number of agri-tech startups have appeared in Nigeria. However, expanding digital solutions to smallholder farmers in Nigeria is often constrained by illiteracy, cultural barriers, and geography.
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US Announces Additional $18.5 Million for Venezuela Response While Calling for Regime Change, Devex, May 8
The US announced an additional $18.5 million in humanitarian assistance to Colombia for response to the Venezuelan crisis, on top of the more than $21 million the US has already pledged. The new pledge, if approved, will fund mobile health units to help underserved populations and a school feeding program.
Secretary of Agriculture Commits to Prioritizing Food Waste Solutions, USDA, May 8
US Secretary of Agriculture hosted a food waste roundtable with Representatives, food industry leaders, and non-profit groups. This roundtable, the first of many USDA public events on food waste, serves as an opportunity to raise awareness while discussing solutions with leaders throughout the entire food supply chain.
Trump Says May Move to Count Ethanol Exports towards Biofuels Quotas: Sources¸ Reuters, May 8
President Trump is considering allowing exported ethanol to count toward the volumes mandated under the nation’s biofuels law, a move intended to appease both Big Oil and Big Corn by cutting the refiners’ regulatory costs while preserving demand for corn.
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BIG IDEAS AND EMERGING INNOVATIONS
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How Prized Bull Semen and DNA Testing are Reshaping America's Beef Herd, NPR, May 8
Beef cattle ranchers have always known that making the best steak starts with the genetic makeup of the herd. Over the past year, those genetics have taken a historic leap thanks to new, predictive DNA technology. Today, ranchers can shop for bulls or bull semen touting a very specific genetic concoction that's prime for improving their herd.
Can You Believe This? Agriculture and Energy are Now High-Tech Frontiers, Forbes, May 8
One of the amazing aspects of new technology is how it can be applied with awesome results to traditional "legacy" industries. High tech in the agricultural sector is radically transforming what we think of as a bucolic, hardly changing endeavor into a truly cutting-edge one with vast increases in productivity. Even as populations grow, food harvests are increasing at a far faster pace.
Combating Water Wars: What It Means to Manage Our Supply with Blockchain, Forbes, May 7
Water is now seen as a commercial necessity and a commodity to be bought and sold, which leads to debates about how best to use this valuable resource. As water scarcity increases, a system will need to be developed in order to keep track of water usage and rights. Blockchain can’t yet track the flow of water. But it can increase efficiency, reduce costs, and evolve how physical commodities like water are distributed.
In Japan, Doing More with Less Means Getting a Robot to Milk Your Cows, Wall Street Journal, May 6
Fully robotic milkers could be the investment that might rescue Japan, which is struggling to deal with its declining population. There is a problem even with those who are still working: They are only about two-thirds as productive as Americans, on average. Agriculture is at the bottom of the heap, with the average American farmer producing 40 times as much as the average Japanese farmer.
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FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ISSUES
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Kenya: Herders Turn to Grazing App to Cut Drought Risks, Thomson Reuters Foundation, May 7
As climate change brings longer droughts and more unpredictable rainfall, herders often need to travel further and to less-well-known areas to find grass and water for their animals. The Afriscout app, which uses satellite images to identify where there is grass and surface water, help protect herds and incomes, making families more resilient to the harsher conditions.
Milk! The 'Most Over-Argued Food in History', NPR, May 6
It wasn't until about mid-19th century with the advent of pasteurization and widespread refrigeration that milk became the ubiquitous drink we think of it as today. But some wonder if we are treating our milk-producing animals humanely, or if we should even be drinking milk at all. Farmers have to balance consumer demand for more humane and organic dairy products with government subsidies that keep prices artificially low.
Scientists in China Race to Edit Crop Genes, Sowing Unease in US, Wall Street Journal, May 6
China is seeking a lead in editing plant genes, potentially shifting the epicenter of the emerging agricultural technology toward the East. This stokes long-running worries in the US that the forefront of agricultural science could swing from the US Farm Belt to China, where the government has encouraged the development of large-scale, Western-style farming operations to boost domestic food production, and rely less on imports.
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UNICEF: Babies from High-Income Countries 5 Times Less Likely to Be Breastfed¸ Devex, May 10
Babies in low- and middle-income countries are much more likely to be breastfed than young children in high-income countries due to variation in government policy, social support, and public perception. Breastfeeding has multiple health benefits for both mother and child, but is not always a feasible option for women.
SEE REPORT: Breastfeeding: A Mother’s Gift, for Every Child¸ UNICEF, May 10
Botswana: Food Bank to Provide Nutritional Supplement, Daily News, May 7
Food Bank Botswana and Moamogwa Primary School have partnered in effort to help improve students' performance. Food Bank Botswana was committed to provide nutritional supplement to all students in the form of the “High Energy Nutritional” meal, a package with 20 vitamins and minerals.
Experts Warn against Excessive Alcohol Consumption, New Times, May 6
Economic development experts have warned that the rising alcohol consumption in a number of regional countries warrants attention as one of the emerging social problems. Related to Sustainable Development Goal target 3.5, experts say the rising level of alcohol consumption is one of those social problems that could impose a further burden on public health systems.
SEE REPORT: Macroeconomic and Social Developments in Eastern Africa 2018, UNECA, May 3
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ENVIRONMENT, WATER, AND CLIMATE
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Should Nations Close the High Seas to Fishing?, Quartz, May 9
Global fisheries economist Rashid Sumaila explains that closing the high seas would increase global fish catch, increase revenue, improve climate resilience of coastal countries, and reduce inequality inherent in the distribution of the benefits of the high seas. This is the idea behind the UN’s High Seas Treaty, the details of which will be finalized over the next two years.
UN Forum to Coordinate Global Efforts to Address Worsening Water Shortages, UN News, May 7
With extreme weather costing hundreds of billions a year, fears are growing that by 2050 one in four people will be living in a country affected by severe water shortages. The problem has been further complicated by a lack of comprehensive water supply data and monitoring systems which is making it harder to respond to the growing crisis.
For Oyster Farmers, the Fight against Climate Change is Personal, Quartz, May 4
For Oyster growers, climate change is a matter of protecting their farms, their families, and their legacies. As the oceans heat up, water molecules move further apart, allowing oxygen molecules to escape into the atmosphere, thus depriving oysters of the oxygen they need. Warmer waters also spur the spread of diseases like Vibrio, a bacteria found in oysters that can be deadly to humans.
Africa: FAO Releases Alarming Report on Soil Pollution, Inter Press Service, May 4
Soil pollution is posing a serious threat to our environment, to our sources of food, and ultimately to our health. The FAO warns that there is still a lack of awareness about the scale and severity of this threat. It also highlights the positive increase in research conducted on soil pollution around the world and fortunately, determination is turning into action at international and national levels.
SEE REPORT: Soil Organic Carbon Mapping Cookbook − Second Edition, FAO, May 2
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GENDER AND GENERATIONAL INCLUSION
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‘Gender-sensitive’ Trade Policies Help Empower East African Women¸ UN News, May 9
Crediting improved education, employment, and other key areas, the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development said that East African countries can put better policies in place to address gender inequalities and bring women further into the workforce. Despite equal property rights, women’s land ownership remains low in many countries.
SEE REPORT: East African Community Regional Integration: Trade and Gender Implications¸ UNCTD, May 9
Who Runs the Better-For-You Food World? These 6 Women, Forbes, May 8
In response to consumers’ growing demand for organic and natural products, six female entrepreneurs are doing their best to disrupt the food industry by bringing healthy, all-natural products into stores. In addition, they’re preaching a triple-bottom-line mentality, focusing not only on profits but also their companies’ impacts on people and the planet.
Four Ideas to Stop Violence against Girls: A Walking School Bus, Sports Talk, and More, NPR, May 7
Together with the World Bank, the Sexual Violence Research Initiative is investing in new ideas and solutions to fight gender-based violence. The groups awarded $100,000 each to 11 creative projects from low- and middle-income countries. Among the winners were a walking school bus in South Africa, clean cookstoves in Rwanda, support for teen moms in Colombia, and workshops to teach gender norms in Papua New Guinea.
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MARKET ACCESS, TRADE, AND AGRIBUSINESS
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China Cutting US Soybean Purchases in Face of Tariffs Threat, AP, May 9
With the threat of tariffs and counter-tariffs between Washington and Beijing looming, Chinese buyers are canceling orders for US soybeans, a trend that could deal a blow to American farmers if it continues. Roughly 60 percent of US soybeans are shipped to China. At the same time, farmers in China are being encouraged to plant more soy, apparently to help offset any shortfall from the United States.
SEE ALSO: US Farmers Are Already Suffering from Lost Chinese Orders for Corn, Soybeans and Pork, Wall Street Journal, May 4
China Ramps up Checks on US Pork Imports in Potentially Costly Slowdown, Reuters, May 8
China has ramped up inspections of pork shipped from the US, the latest American product to be hit by a potentially costly slowdown at Chinese ports in the past couple of weeks. Trade experts said Beijing is sending a defiant warning to Washington in response to the sweeping US trade demands made on China.
Algeria to Open Farming Concessions to Foreigners, Reuters, May 7
Algeria plans to offer foreign investors concessions for farm land for the first time, according to an official document, as the oil producer seeks to boost food output and reduce reliance on imports. Under the plan, any foreign investor would need to work in partnership with the state or a private Algerian firm.
Brazil Soy Boom Spells Bumper Year for Agricultural Equipment, Reuters, May 7
Agricultural equipment makers in Brazil are banking on strong sales this year, boosted by a second straight bumper soy crop and rising grain prices, which will more than offset weakness in the sugar cane sector. Some machinery producers are forecasting sales growth as high as eight percent in 2018.
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