agriculture land News | Agriculture XPRT

EEA land cover data to be used in mobile phone maps

Data on land use provided by the European Environment Agency (EEA) is soon to be included in electronic maps used for navigation in mobile phones and other devices. The EEA has concluded a license agreement with the company Navteq to use Corine Land Cover data in maps being developed for Navteq’s mother company Nokia. The Corine dataset will improve mapping and navigation with its broad ...

Dec. 13, 2012

By European Environment Agency (EEA)

Patrick Administration honors Hadley for agricultural land preservation

Officials of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR) today joined local famers, landowners and municipal officials to celebrate the town of Hadley’s achievement in protecting more farmland than any other community in the state. It’s an honor to be here, celebrating the immense success and commitment of the town of Hadley toward protecting agricultural land in our ...

Jul. 8, 2009

By Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection

Land acquisitions could add tension to transboundary waters

Millions of hectares of farmland in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America have been leased to foreign countries, sovereign wealth funds, and private corporations over the past half-decade with little to no explicit legal agreement on how water can and will be used on the acquired properties. A new report from the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Land acquisitions: How will they ...

Mar. 14, 2012

By Stockholm International Water Institute

USDA Announces Conservation Programs that Benefit Beginning Farmers

Yesterday U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the beginning of a sign-up period for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and implementation of the Transition Incentives Program (TIP): “I applaud the administration’s efforts to protect vulnerable agricultural land for the benefit of future generations of farmers,” said National Farmers Union (NFU) Senior Vice ...

Jun. 5, 2014

By National Farmers Union (NFU)

Rem Tec Obtains the Revocation of Fraunhofer Institute Patent

With the Hearing held in The Hague on 17/10/2018 REM Tec obtained the revocation of the patent EP 2 811 819 filed in 2013 by the Fraunhofer Institute. Fraunhofer's patent referred to agro-photovoltaic plants for the simultaneous use of agricultural crops and production of energy from solar sources, claiming characteristics already present in REM Tec's AGROVOLTAICO® plants, installed in ...

Feb. 8, 2019

By Rem Tec S.R.L.

Award for Quinoa project

The Wageningen UR project 'Salt tolerant Quinoa for food in China, Vietnam and Chile' has received a major prize. The quinoa project is one of the winners of the Securing Water for Food Grand Challenge. The prize is awarded to researcher Robert van Loo during the WWW in Stockholm. In agricultural lands impacted by high salinity, smallholder farmers realized lower-than-average yields and reduced ...

Sep. 3, 2014

By Wageningen University and Research Centre

Dust storms cause health problems in Afganistan

Unusually strong winds carrying dust from the parched land have increased respiratory and eye diseases in western Afghanistan, according to health and environmental officials. The winds - known locally as “the 120-day winds” - usually begin in early July and go on until late September in Herat Province, the provincial department of agriculture said. This year’s winds have been unusually strong, ...

Aug. 21, 2008

By IRIN Association

Understanding land use change and US ethanol expansion

Understanding changes in land use—such as deforestation, urbanization and agriculture expansion—is important if society is to properly address the challenges of climate change, utilization of natural resources, and energy production and consumption. However, the intensifying debate over potential indirect land use changes resulting from biofuels expansion is nebulous at best. At worst, it is ...

Nov. 14, 2008

By Renewable Fuels Association (RFA)

Despite drop from 2009 peak, agricultural land grabs still remain above pre-2005 levels

An estimated 70.2 million hectares of agricultural land worldwide have been sold or leased to private and public investors since 2000, according to new research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute (www.worldwatch.org) for its Vital Signs Online service. The bulk of these acquisitions, which are called “land grabs” by some observers, took place between 2008 and 2010, peaking in 2009. ...

Jun. 21, 2012

By Worldwatch Institute

Land “Grabbing” Grows as Agricultural Resources Dwindle

Since 2000, more than 36 million hectares—an area about the size of Japan—has been purchased or leased by foreign entities, mostly for agricultural use. Today, nearly 15 million hectares more is under negotiation (www.worldwatch.org). “Farmland is lost or degraded on every continent, while ‘land grabbing’—the purchase or lease of agricultural land by foreign ...

Oct. 6, 2015

By Worldwatch Institute

Land “Grabbing” Grows as Agricultural Resources Dwindle

Since 2000, more than 36 million hectares—- an area about the size of Japan—- has been purchased or leased by foreign entities, mostly for agricultural use. Today, nearly 15 million hectares more is under negotiation (www.worldwatch.org). “Farmland is lost or degraded on every continent, while ‘land grabbing’—- the purchase or lease of agricultural land by ...

Oct. 6, 2015

By Worldwatch Institute

Calgary’s Steeper Energy Canada Ltd. awarded $90,000 Industrial Research Assistance Program Grant

Calgary Alberta – April 1, 2013 – Steeper Energy Canada Ltd., a Danish-Canadian clean-fuel company, has been awarded a $90,000 grant from the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) of Canada’s National Research Council. The project, “CPS Pre-engineering”, will be carried out in the 2013 fiscal year. The project is intended to undertake a set of ...

Apr. 1, 2013

By Steeper Energy

Forests` long-term potential for carbon offsetting

As well as cutting our fossil fuel emissions, planting new forests, or managing existing forests or agricultural land more effectively can capitalise on nature’s ability to act as a carbon sink. Research published online in the open access journal Carbon Balance and Management shows that although planting trees alone is unlikely to solve our climate problems, large-scale plantations could have a ...

Apr. 15, 2008

By Environmental News Network (ENN)

The effects of agricultural land use change on farmland birds in Sweden

The effects of changing agricultural practices on farmland birds are explored in a recently published study from Sweden. Overall abundance of 16 common species declined by 23% between 1994 and 2004, which may be partly caused by changes in land use, such as an increase in the amount of wheat cropland. However, effects vary between species, and some species increased or stayed stable in number. ...

May 8, 2015

By European Commission, Environment DG

Climate change to shift global spread and quality of agricultural land

New areas of land suitable for agriculture will open up under climate change’s effects, new research predicts, particularly in far northern regions of the world. However, the overall quality of land for farming will decline and many regions, including Europe, could lose large areas of suitable land. Demand for agricultural products is expected to rise by 70–110% by 2050. This is ...

Feb. 12, 2015

By European Commission, Environment DG

US forests and soils store equivalent of 50 years of nation`s CO2 emissions, new estimates find

The first phase of a groundbreaking national assessment estimates that U.S. forests and soils could remove additional quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere as a means to mitigate climate change. The lower 48 states in the U.S. hypothetically have the potential to store an additional 3-7 billion metric tons of carbon in forests, if agricultural lands were to be used for planting ...

Dec. 17, 2009

By ScienceDaily

Comparing farmland changes in China, the Netherlands and Germany

Converting agricultural land for non-agricultural use has implications for food security and environmental degradation, and concerns many countries across the world. How different nations address these issues has been examined in a recent study which compares the governance structures for farmland conversion in the Netherlands, Germany and China. Working within the RECREATE project1, partly ...

Jun. 8, 2009

By European Commission, Environment DG

Agricultural land grabs threaten local property rights and sustainable development

With large-scale agricultural investments on the rise, the rights of local people must be protected. Large-scale land acquisitions for agricultural use by both local and foreign commercial entities – often dubbed “land grabs” - are on the rise worldwide. Often touted as a form of economic development, these investments could have profound negative effects on the environment and ...

Apr. 18, 2011

By World Resources Institute WRI

New satellite sensing tool for improving agricultural land use observation

FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) data indicate that annually 2500 km3 of freshwater are used for agricultural production, which amounts to 70% of the water resources the whole of humanity consumes in a year. With the global population continuing to grow at a high pace, it is essential to optimize the use of water resources and to increase agricultural production in ...

Jun. 4, 2008

By Environmental News Network (ENN)

National Association Of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) commends EWG report on agricultural nutrient run-off

NACWA commends the Environmental Working Group for its report “Troubled Waters: Farm Pollution Threatens Drinking Water” and for shining the spotlight on the critical public health issues raised by agricultural sources of nutrient pollution. Nutrient pollution in U.S. surface and ground waters is becoming the Nation’s greatest water quality challenge. According to state water ...

Apr. 12, 2012

By National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA)

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