Sorghum Farming News
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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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Putting the right inputs in the hands of Niger’s farmers
A five year, €6 million multi-donor initiative to intensify agriculture has achieved yield increases of up to 100 percent in over half of Niger's farmer villages, FAO said today ahead of a high-level meeting on renewed efforts to end hunger in Africa, where Niger will present its new hunger reduction strategy. According to FAO's most recent hunger statistics, Niger has brought down ...
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Cassava`s huge potential as 21st Century crop
Save and Grow, an environmentally-friendly farming model promoted by FAO, can sustainably increase cassava yields by up to 400 percent and help turn this staple from a poor people's food into a 21st Century crop, FAO said today. In a newly-published field guide detailing Save and Grow's applications to cassava smallholder production, FAO noted that global cassava output has increased by 60 ...
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Climate data `has helped African farmers boost production`
Farming communities in Africa are benefitting from an exchange programme to improve access to, and understanding of, climate science, according to a report presented at a seminar. The seminar, held in in Dakar, Senegal, last month (20–21 November), discussed the results of the programme — which encompassed two demonstration studies in Kenya and Senegal — and identified the ...
By SciDev.Net
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Ceres and Syngenta to Collaborate on Sweet Sorghum Market Development
Energy crop company Ceres, Inc. (Nasdaq: CERE) today announced that its Brazilian subsidiary Ceres Sementes do Brasil Ltda., has signed a sweet sorghum market development agreement with Syngenta (NYSE: SYT). The companies will work together to support the introduction of sweet sorghum as a source of fermentable sugars at Brazil's 400 or more ethanol mills. Sweet sorghum is a hardy crop that can ...
By Ceres
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Ceres Receives $3.5 million from USAID for Trait Stacks
Energy crop company Ceres, Inc. (Nasdaq: CERE) today announced that the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, has expanded its grant to the company to develop traits in rice for Asia. Based on Ceres' success to date, USAID will provide an additional $3.5 million to Ceres over the next four years to extend field trialing and development of the company's biotech traits and trait ...
By Ceres
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EPA Region 7 to Participate at National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk Event Nov. 8 in Kansas City, Mo.
EPA Region 7 officials will be available for interviews at the annual National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Trade Talk event at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, Mo., on Thursday, Nov. 8. Interview topics include regulatory updates on air and water quality programs, animal feeding operations, nutrient management and pesticides. WHAT: National Association of Farm ...
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Ceres` Richard Flavell to Become Chief Scientific Advisor
Energy crop company Ceres, Inc. (Nasdaq: CERE) today announced that Richard Flavell, PhD., will transition from his position as Chief Scientific Officer and an executive officer of the company to a new role of Chief Scientific Advisor. Flavell will maintain his seat on the Ceres board of directors and now serve as an exclusive consultant to the company in the field of commercial bioenergy crops. ...
By Ceres
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Ceres Showcases Energy Crop Advances at Field Day
Energy crop company Ceres, Inc. (Nasdaq: CERE) today hosted a bioenergy field day at the company’s 200-acre research center near Houston, Texas. The outdoor event, which draws industry representatives, policymakers and investors, highlighted innovations in the company’s development pipeline that are expected to increase yields and enable greater use of ...
By Ceres
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Ceres Expands Board of Directors with former BP Chief Scientist and Undersecretary of Energy Steven Koonin
Energy crop company Ceres, Inc. (Nasdaq: CERE) today announced that former BP Chief Scientist and Undersecretary of Energy for Science, Steven E. Koonin, PhD, has joined the company's board of directors. Ceres' board will now have 12 members, including 10 independent directors as defined under the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market. "It is a great pleasure to welcome a board member with such a ...
By Ceres
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Asia–Pacific Analysis: Launching a second Green Revolution
Feeding South-East Asia's rapidly growing population requires a second Green Revolution, says Crispin Maslog. The Day of Seven Billion was proclaimed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on 31 October 2011 as a historic milestone — the day the world's population reached seven billion people. And the world is on a steep growth curve for the rest of this century. More than half ...
By SciDev.Net
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Nitrogen fertiliser `could prevent locust swarms`
A surprising finding promises a cheap and environmentally friendly way of controlling locust swarms, a major plague that devastates crops around the world. Land erosion caused by heavy livestock grazing promotes locust swarms by lowering the nitrogen content in plants that locusts feed on, according to a study published in Science today (27 January). Conversely, the study also found that ...
By SciDev.Net
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PA Region 7 to participate at national association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk Event, Nov. 10 in Kansas City, Mo.
EPA officials will attend the annual National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Trade Talk event at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, Mo., on Thursday, Nov. 10. Interview topics include regulatory updates on air and water quality programs, animal feeding operations, nutrient management and pesticides. WHAT: National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention and Trade Talk ...
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Micro-insurance scheme pays off for Kenyan farmers
Some of the farmers who lost their crops in the Horn of Africa drought this year may be able to afford farming next season, with the help of a 'micro-insurance' scheme. Kilimo Salama — Swahili for 'safe farming' — was launched last year, providing small-scale farmers in Kenya with crop insurance by combining mobile phone payment with the data from automated weather stations. Farmers ...
By SciDev.Net
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India-UK fund to boost agro-innovation in Africa and Asia
The Indian and UK governments are tapping into agricultural innovation outside the traditional international development community with the launch of a £20 million (US$32 million) programme for food security. Sustainable Crop Production Research for International Development (SCPRID) will allow scientists to research stressors, ranging from pests to climate change, on five key crops ...
By SciDev.Net
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Josh Svaty selected as senior adviser to EPA’s region 7 administrator Karl Brooks (IA, KS, MO, NE)
Today, EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks announced the selection of Josh Svaty, who just served as Secretary of the Kansas Department of Agriculture, to be his senior adviser. “I look forward to working closely with Josh on the range of urgent environmental issues we face,” said Karl Brooks, regional administrator. “His varied experiences representing a rural district in ...
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Growing Sorghum for Biofuel
Conversion of sorghum grass to ethanol has increased with the interest in renewable fuel sources. Researchers at Iowa State University examined 12 varieties of sorghum grass grown in single and double cropping systems. The experiment was designed to test the efficiency of double cropping sorghum grass to increase its yield for biofuel production. The author of the report, Ben Goff, found that ...
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Growing sorghum for biofuel
Conversion of sorghum grass to ethanol has increased with the interest in renewable fuel sources. Researchers at Iowa State University examined 12 varieties of sorghum grass grown in single and double cropping systems. The experiment was designed to test the efficiency of double cropping sorghum grass to increase its yield for biofuel production. The author of the report, Ben Goff, found that ...
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Can one-time tillage improve no-till?
A one-time tillage has no adverse effects on yield or soil properties on no-till land, according to field research conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Although tillage is another expense for farmers and generally increases the risk of soil erosion, a one-time tillage may be performed to correct some problem, such as a perennial weed problem. The feasibility study was conducted for ...
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Africa, India to boost agricultural technology cooperation
[CHENNAI] Africa and India will boost cooperation in agricultural technologies for smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a view to achieving food security by 2015. The Hyderabad-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the European Market Research Centre (EMRC) this month, to facilitate ICRISAT's ...
By SciDev.Net
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