agriculture drought News | Agriculture XPRT

Agricultural production: drought and other abiotic stresses

The 65% of productive losses in main crops such as corn, wheat or barley are caused by abiotic stresses related to climatic variations (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Plants, Buchanan, Gruissem, Jones, American Society of Plant Physiologists, 2000). Source: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Plants, Buchanan, Gruissem, Jones, American Society of Plant Physiologists, 2000. Plant ...

Feb. 8, 2019

By Iden Biotechnology

New Chickpea Helps Turkish Farmers Adapt to Global Warming

ALEPPO, Syria, September 4, 2007 (ENS) - The chickpea, one of the plants with the highest amount of protein, is a staple of Turkish food - enjoyed as a dip called hummus, roasted as a snack food called leblebi, often thrown into a soup or tossed onto a salad. But Turkish farmers have been enduring a severe drought for several years, which has caused their crops to fail. Now a new chickpea ...

Sep. 5, 2007

By Environment News Service (ENS)

California judge says she`ll likely uphold farmer water cuts

California's demand for lower agricultural water use during the drought will likely survive a legal challenge, a judge indicated Thursday. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang said during a hearing that she believes the state's revised approach to warning farmers of insufficient supplies is legal. She previously ruled that other notices were improper. At issue are thousands of ...

Jul. 30, 2015

By Associated Press

Grassroots conservation efforts in Senegal receive international award

The Association Inter-Villageoise (AIV Ndiaël) of northern Senegal was awarded the prestigious 2015 Conservation Award by the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) today. Vogelbescherming Nederland (BirdLife in The Netherlands) and Wetlands International have supported the work of AIV Ndiaël and were present at the award ceremony. AIV Ndiaël represents 32 communities and ...

Nov. 9, 2015

By Wetlands International

Free webinar: Managing nutrients after the drought

Join a panel of experts as they discuss how to practice good nutrient management in the wake of this year's drought Sponsored by the Agricultural Nutrient Policy Council and hosted by the American Society of Agronomy The drought of 2012 will long be remembered for its devastating effects on crops across a huge swath of North America's most productive soils. And while late summer rains eased ...

Sep. 17, 2012

By Soil Science Society of America (SSSA)

We have the tools to prevent another famine in Africa

Long-term investments in agriculture and a focus on helping smallholder farmers with existing tools are crucial for avoiding another food crisis on the scale of that seen in the Horn of Africa, argues Sam Dryden, programme director for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Famines are not forces of nature, he says, but complex events rooted in factors that can be controlled, such as ...

Oct. 4, 2011

By SciDev.Net

Genetic makeup of thousands of rice varieties placed in global seed data pool

Genome sequences of more than 3,000 rice varieties have been placed with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) by the world's leading rice research institute in a move boosting plans to set up a global data exchange system for crop genetic resources. The Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Treaty (ITPGRFA) made ...

Oct. 7, 2015

By Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Weather extremes slash cereal yields

Climate change may have already begun to take its toll of agriculture. New research suggests that drought and extreme heat in the last 50 years have reduced cereal production by up to 10%. And, for once, developed nations may have sustained greater losses than developing nations. Researchers have been warning for years that global warming as a consequence of rising levels of carbon dioxide in ...

Jan. 8, 2016

By Climate News Network

Innovative Irrigation Filter Helps California Combat Drought

A leading US filtration specialist has developed a new product which could help to combat the severe water shortage that is blighting the South-West. California is currently suffering through one of the worst droughts in the past century, threatening the state’s massive agricultural sector. Porvair Filtration Group Inc.’s Sinterflo® MC metal mesh composite product line - ...

Dec. 1, 2014

By Porvair Filtration Group

Conservation agriculture: keeping people and wildlife safe

Worldwatch Senior Researcher Danielle Nierenberg reports on the activities of the Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO), a Zambian organization that helps farmers improve their agricultural practices without increasing pressure on wildlife habitats. One of the first things you notice about grocery stores in Zambia is the plethora of processed foods from around the world, from crackers ...

Apr. 12, 2010

By Worldwatch Institute

Zambia in a good position to take full advantage of its agricultural assets in the future

“It is an over-worn cliché to say that Zambia will one day become the ‘bread basket’ of the region but there is no doubt that, despite of current challenges, the future of Zambia’s farmers, both small and large scale, as suppliers of food products to the region and as drivers of Zambian economic growth is very positive.” This is according to Rob Munro, ...

Feb. 13, 2016

By Clarion Events Ltd

15000+ farmers and agri experts expected at Agritech Expo in Chisamba, Zambia

Zambia’s President, Mr Edgar Lungu and the Zambian Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Mr Given Lubinda, are expected to join some 15000 emerging to commercial farmers at the third Agritech Expo Zambia, taking place from 14-16 April in the agri-hub of Chisamba. More than 145 local and international farming technology and service providers will showcase their products in what is the ...

Apr. 10, 2016

By Clarion Events Ltd

Cactus could feed East African livestock, say scientists

A succulent, wild-growing cactus that has been widely dismissed as a noxious weed could sustain African livestock during drought, according to scientists at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). A paper by John Kang"ara and Josiah Gitari, animal nutritionists at KARI, concludes that Opuntia species — the prickly pear or paddle cacti — have extreme tolerance to drought and ...

Jul. 27, 2010

By SciDev.Net

How to feed the world without destroying the planet

By 2050, there will be another two to three billion people on Earth, and the planet's population will consume twice as much food as now. For 50 years farmland has grown at the cost of natural habitat and biodiversity, and already more than two-thirds of agricultural land is either in use or protected. As a result, we need to develop the technology to double the output of the 10–15 main ...

Jul. 28, 2011

By SciDev.Net

Agricultural biotechnology `should be open source`

Open source biotechnology, through which biotechnology inventions are made freely available for others to use and improve upon, could help developing countries overcome hurdles created by stringent intellectual property rights (IPRs), a study says. The concept is based on open source in software development. To date, open source software's free accessibility, low cost, openness to modification ...

Sep. 13, 2012

By SciDev.Net

DuPont leader calls for commitment and accountability to prevent global food crisis

DuPont Executive Vice President Jim Borel yesterday urged more than 200 business, government and non-profit leaders to commit to a new level of collaboration and personal accountability to achieve global food security. His remarks came at The Economist Conferences Feeding the World Summit in Geneva, which explores actions needed to ensure that a global population rising to 9 billion or more can ...

Feb. 10, 2012

By GLOBE SERIES

Murray-Darling Water Crisis Leaves Farmers, Environment Dry

CANBERRA, Australia (ENS) - Record low water inflows to the Murray-Darling Basin this year mean that water will not be available for irrigation, the environment or any purpose other than critical drinking water supplies, Prime Minister John Howard and the premiers of three Australian states said today. The prime minister called the drought 'unprecedented' and said that 'based on the need to ...

Apr. 20, 2007

By Environment News Service (ENS)

Record-breaking $17.3 billion in crop losses last year; significant portion potentially avoidable

Report shows county-by-county analysis of impacts in the ten states with highest crop insurance losses due to extreme weather: Extreme weather forced the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) to pay out a record-breaking $17.3 billion in crop losses last year, much of which could have been prevented using water-smart strategies, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Payments made ...

Aug. 27, 2013

By Natural Resources Defense Council

Agriculture: the unlikely earth day hero

Rising temperatures, erratic weather, population growth, and scarce water resources - along with growing civil unrest and skyrocketing food prices - are putting unprecedented stress on people and the planet. For over 40 years, Earth Day has served as a call to action, mobilizing individuals and organizations around the world to address these challenges. This year, Worldwatch Institute's ...

Apr. 18, 2011

By GLOBE SERIES

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