Showing results for: agriculture land News
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FAO’s State of the World’s Forests Calls for Positive Interactions Between Agriculture and Forestry
It is not necessary to cut down forests to produce more food. Promoting more positive interactions between agriculture and forestry can stop deforestation, build sustainable agricultural systems and improve food security. This is the key message of 'The State of the World's Forests' (SOFO), the flagship publication of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), presented at the opening ...
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High-yield crops have curbed agricultural land expansion, but care needed to avoid negative biodiversity effects
The widespread use of higher-yielding improved varieties of crops as part of the Green Revolution’ has averted the conversion of between 18 to 27 million hectares of forests, woodlands and pastures in the period 1965 to 2004, according to a recent study. However, its authors caution that the relationship between these crops and land use change is complex, and good governance is needed to ...
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UN agency explores potential benefits of organic agriculture in Eastern Europe
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said this week it is partnering with an organic farming organization to examine the potential economic, employment and environmental benefits of greater investment in sustainable agriculture in the Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia region. The study by UNEP, in partnership with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements ...
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Balanced approach to restoring farmland biodiversity shares and separates land
It is possible to balance agricultural production with improved biodiversity on farmland, according to researchers. A new study suggests using a combination of land sharing techniques, which enhance biodiversity on existing farmland, with land separation techniques, which designate separate areas for conservation and farmland production. The expansion of agriculture and intensification of ...
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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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EPA administrator addresses Farm, Ranch, and Rural communities ffederal advisory committee / agency announces new committee members (HQ)
Today U.S. Environmental Protection Administration Administrator Lisa P. Jackson addressed the newly-appointed members of the Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Federal Advisory Committee (FRRCC) during their first official meeting since being appointed. The FRRCC is an independent committee, established by EPA in 2008, that advises the agency on a wide range of environmental issues of importance ...
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Rural development programmes 2007-2014 approved by the EC
Country profile GERMANY Size: 357,000 km² Population: 82.31 millions inhabitants (density: 231 inhabitants/ km²) GDP per capita: € 23,702 (year 2003; source: national strategy plan for rural development) Rural areas cover 80% of the German territory and about 40% of the population live in these areas. The German situation is characterized by important regional discrepancies such ...
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Harnessing carbon financing to boost sustainable farming
Some 100 experts from five continents have met to chart the way to harnessing a large new flow of funding – carbon finance – to agricultural development and to improving the lives of poor farmers the world over. Billions of dollars are available every year under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism to finance initiatives helping reduce the amount of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions into ...
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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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Transformations required in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and water management to halt biodiversity loss
Although international efforts to halt biodiversity loss are producing results in some areas, they have not yet been able to improve the current state of biodiversity worldwide. Agriculture, forestry, fishing and water management are the main causes of biodiversity loss, but they also could play a key role in the solution. In an underlying study for the fourth Global Biodiversity Outlook, which ...
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Europe rejects GM crops as new report highlights 20 years of failures
All 19 government requests for bans of GM crop cultivation have gone unchallenged by biotech companies, pathing the way for two thirds of the EU’s farmland and population to remain GM-free [1]. The growing opposition to GM crops coincides with a new Greenpeace report reviewing evidence of GM environmental risks, market failures, and increased pesticide use [2]. Greenpeace EU food policy ...
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Populations of grassland butterflies decline almost 50 % over two decades
Grassland butterflies have declined dramatically between 1990 and 2011. This has been caused by intensifying agriculture and a failure to properly manage grassland ecosystems, according to a report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). The fall in grassland butterfly numbers is particularly worrying, according to the report, because these butterflies are considered to be representative ...
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A call for nominations: Glynwood`s 8th national harvest awards
Glynwood is calling for nominations for its eighth annual Harvest Awards. The Awards recognize farmers, individuals, organizations, and businesses across the United States that demonstrate innovation and leadership in support of regional agriculture and sustainable food systems. Please help us recognize outstanding work from around the country by nominating someone whose work you admire. This ...
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New PED Talks Video Series Digs into Soil Health
A series of 10-to-15-minute, science-centered “PED Talks” on soil health has been posted on YouTube. Soil peds are aggregated particles of sand, silt, clay, and organic matter. Like their namesake, PED Talks combine soil-related topics including explanations of soil health, how we can improve it, and the progress that’s being made to ensure we have the healthy soils necessary to ...
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NRDC announces winners of the 2013 Growing Green Awards
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) today celebrates four remarkable food vanguards for their pioneering efforts to create healthier and more sustainable food systems at the fifth annual Growing Green Awards. The winners, who are leaders in tackling antibiotic resistance on farms, infusing urban areas with fresh produce in corner stores, championing business innovation in organic ...
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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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Sustainable Agriculture to Promote Biodiversity
• Biodiversity affects key ecosystem services, such as the primary production of food for humans and the rest of nature, plus the recycling of nutrients and water. • One hectare of land contains a lot of biodiversity in the soil – equivalent to the weight of one cow of bacteria, two sheep of protozoa, and four rabbits of soil animals such as earthworms. The INSPIA* project is ...
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Editor`s Note - Planetary Health Diets and Aquaculture
For aquaculture, resource constraints mean that production from existing land area must increase, a goal that is difficult without simultaneously increasing greenhouse gas emissions associated with greater energy use. For this, decarbonization of the world’s energy system must be accelerated. In January, a report was issued with the title “Food in The Anthropocene: the EAT-Lancet ...
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Africa’s agricultural revolution from city to field
Across the globe, universities play a significant role in a nation’s socio-economic development. They contribute to the advancement and dissemination of new knowledge. Umezuruike Linus of the Opara Faculty of AgriSciences, at Stellenbosch University, in South Africa, suggests that African universities must take up the mantle of reflective, critical and evidence-based analysis to allow a ...
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Challenges in soil and water conservation
Productive soils and clean water are essential elements for economic and social prosperity and environmental sustainability. Throughout history, civilizations have thrived or collapsed based on the availability of these vital resources. The lack of arable land and evidence of soil degradation have been identified as causes for the fall of many ancient civilizations, such as those in Mesopotamia, ...
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