Showing results for: agriculture resource News
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Strengthening links between industry and agriculture to build sustainable food systems
Industrialization can be an important tool for poverty and hunger reduction but should not come at the expense of agricultural development, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today. “Industrial development and agriculture should complement each other,” he told participants at the Second Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development Forum (ISID Forum II) in ...
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Manure from millions of hogs fuels natural gas project
One recipe for renewable natural gas goes: Place manure from about 2 million hogs in lagoons, cover them with an impermeable material and let it bake until gas from the manure rises. Then, use special equipment to clean the gas of its impurities and ship the finished product out. That's the vision of one of the largest biogas projects of its kind in the U.S. currently being installed in northern ...
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Putting family farmers first to eradicate hunger
Nine out of ten of the world's 570 million farms are managed by families, making the family farm the predominant form of agriculture, and consequently a potentially crucial agent of change in achieving sustainable food security and in eradicating hunger in the future, according to a new U.N. report released today. Family farms produce about 80 percent of the world's food. Their prevalence and ...
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NRDC and Berkeley Food Institute Announce Winners of the 2014 Growing Green Awards
Today, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Berkeley Food Institute (BFI) celebrate four remarkable leaders who are advancing sustainable food and agriculture at the sixth annual Growing Green Awards. Chosen from hundreds of nominations submitted across the country by a renowned panel of judges, the 2014 winners are changing the way America eats and farms. They have helped ...
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UF/IFAS hosting Florida Agricultural Policy Outlook Conference in January
Florida agriculture and food industries are among the largest economic contributors in the state. Agricultural producers manage 9.5 million acres, growing more than 300 commodities, including everything from citrus and cows to peanuts and potatoes. Agricultural products are shipped to national and international markets. On January 28, some of the state’s top agriculture thinkers will ...
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Ag Attorney Sheds Light on Manure Handling, Application Regulations
Although the Lake Erie algae problems that contaminated Toledo’s water supply in early August have subsided, the crisis raised questions about animal manure application on farmland in Ohio and how it may have contributed to the problem. In response, Ohio State University Extension’s agricultural and resource law field specialist has written a summary of Ohio laws relating to ...
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Obama Budget Proposal to Slash Conservation Would Be Costly
President Obama's congressional budget request to slash funding for Farm Bill conservation programs in Fiscal Year 2013 by about $600 million could cost more than it saves in the long term, according to a leading conservation group. Farm Bill conservation programs assist farmers, ranchers and private forest landowners in adopting land management practices that improve water quality and wildlife ...
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China`s clever water use boosts food yields
China produces more food for the same amount of water than other countries in Africa and Asia, researchers have found. The report, completed by Li Baoguo and colleagues from the China Agricultural University, found that China produces 1–1.5 kilograms of wheat and corn per cubic metre of water, compared with Ethiopia's 0.1–0.2 kilograms, India's 0.2–0.7 and Kazakhstan's 0.2–0.3. The ...
By SciDev.Net
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Making agriculture sustainable
Agriculture is possibly the most important sector of global activity. It is a source of foods, fibers and, increasingly, fuel. It provides livelihoods and subsistence for the largest number of people worldwide. It is vital to rural development and therefore critical to poverty alleviation. Up to 40% of the land’s surface is used for agriculture, along with 70% of the world’s fresh water supply. ...
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Action needed to safeguard genetic diversity of the world`s forests
FAO today urged countries to improve data gathering and research to promote the conservation and sustainable management of the world's forest genetic resources, which are coming under increasing pressure. According to the first-ever edition of The State of the World's Forest Genetic Resources report, half of the forest species reported as regularly utilized by countries are threatened by the ...
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Ecosystem-based farming comes of age
A new FAO book out today takes a close look at how the world's major cereals maize, rice and wheat - which together account for an estimated 42.5 percent of human calories and 37 percent of our protein - can be grown in ways that respect and even leverage natural ecosystems. Drawing on case studies from around the planet, the new book illustrates how the "Save and Grow" approach to agriculture ...
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2012 Farm Bill Passes U.S. Senate
The U.S. Senate passed the 2012 Farm Bill today, meaning the measure is a big step closer to enactment. The Farm Bill, renewed every five years, is the largest source of funding for conservation on America's working farmland, ranchland and private forestland. In addition to funding federal conservation and nutrition programs, the bill also authorizes risk management and other programs that ...
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Agri-environment Schemes: Call for more landscape connectivity
A popular way to improve biodiversity is to provide financial rewards for environmentally friendly methods of managing farmland. A recent study investigates how the benefits of these schemes can be optimised and made more cost-effective. The findings highlight the importance of hedgerow trees in the survival of farmland wildlife. By 2010, the European Commission aims to halt the decline of ...
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Poor soil quality may reduce farmland bird population
Researchers have investigated the relationship between soil quality and the decline of yellow wagtail birds on arable farmland in the UK. The results suggest that reduced soil penetrability in particular affects the numbers and distribution of the species. Modern, intensive-farming methods can lead to changes in habitats with a loss in biodiversity, including farmland bird species. Degradation ...
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Food security may be increased by new agricultural production modeling
Farmers are used to optimizing crop production on their own lands. They do soil tests to choose the right amount of fertilizers to apply, and they sometimes plant row crops on some fields while keeping others in pasture. But is it possible to optimize production across a much bigger area—say, the whole East Coast of the United States? That’s the question a team of USDA-ARS scientists ...
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Soaring food prices put further pressure on African agriculture
Food insecurity has been exacerbated in Africa by the current rapid rise in food prices together with challenges such as climate change, greater demand for food products in emerging economies, agricultural production used for biofuels, rapid population and urbanization as well as transboundary animal and plant diseases, said FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf on June 19th at the 25th FAO Regional ...
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Soil and Water Conservation Society and Truterra Awarded $1.5M from USDA to Accelerate Adoption of Precision Nutrient Management Practices in Midwestern States
The Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) and Truterra, LLC have been awarded $1.5 million in funding from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to accelerate the adoption of precision nutrient management and soil health practices in partnership with agricultural retailers in Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. SWCS is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization that ...
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World leaders `have moral obligation to go vegan`
Many of our world leaders have remained almost silent about the UN warning that we have just 12 years to halt a climate catastrophe. That’s why the Million Dollar Vegancampaign offered $1m to charity if Pope Francis chooses to eat only plant-based foods during Lent, and encourages Catholics around the world to do the same. The campaign has so far attracted more than 500 media articles in ...
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