News

03.08.2012 |

Bhutan Plans Transition to 100% Organic Agriculture

Terraced fields in Tongsa, Bhutan (Photo: Curt Carnemark / World Bank)
Terraced fields in Tongsa, Bhutan (Photo: Curt Carnemark / World Bank)

The Kingdom of Bhutan has decided it will pursue its goal for all agriculture to become organic. The Himalayan nation, which borders India and China, plans for its food production to become 100% organic by 2020, an aim enshrined in Bhutan’s National Framework for Organic Farming. At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio, Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley explained that his government is developing a full-fledged ‘National Organic Policy’ and is training agricultural extension officers in organic methods. Farmers opting for organic agriculture will be given priority in technical assistance. At an event organised by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) Mr Thinley stated that “going organic will create new economic opportunities for farmers and rural communities, adding value to what they produce and reducing the costs of farming as they’ll no longer have to pay for expensive imported seeds, pesticides, fertilisers and other chemicals.” According to IFOAM President Andre Leu, an adviser to the Bhutanese government, the complete transition to an organic agricultural system is feasible: “I don't think it's going to be that difficult given that the majority of the agricultural land is already organic by default”. Only a minority of Bhutan’s farmers have access to synthetic chemicals and fertilisers because they cannot afford them. Most of them, however, are not currently officially certified as organic farmers.

01.08.2012 |

US Drought: Farmers Call for Suspension of Maize-based Ethanol Production

Drought-stressed corn in Western Tennessee (Photo: CraneStation/flickr)
Drought-stressed corn in Western Tennessee (Photo: CraneStation/flickr)

On Monday, US farmers and livestock groups called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce or suspend the use of maize for ethanol production for an entire year. The ongoing drought in large parts of the US has led to soaring grain prices, causing concern about food supplies and high feed costs for cattle farmers. “We are having trouble buying corn”, said J.D. Alexander, president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. “It's time to wean the ethanol industry and let it stand on its own.” In the US, around 40% of maize production is used to produce ethanol which is added to fuel in order to fill American petrol tanks. The EPA has the mandate to reduce the quotas, but has not granted a waiver since the Renewable Fuels Standard came into force in 2007. EPA officials announced that a waiver is currently not being taken into account. The request does not come as a surprise: Livestock farmers have been severely hit by the 50% increase in maize and wheat prices over the last six weeks following the worst drought in the US since 1956. According to a Reuters poll of 13 analysts, maize production will drop to 11.3 billion bushels, and soybean production to 2.834 bushels – the lowest figures in six and nine years respectively. These figures largely coincide with estimates from the US Department of Agriculture released last week.

27.07.2012 |

Norwegian Project to Study Impact of Sustainable Agriculture on Soil

Malawi farmer prepares his field for sowing seeds
Malawi farmer prepares his field for sowing seeds (Photo: Clive Shirley / Greenpeace)

In tandem with local farming partners, the Development Fund of Norway has today launched a project designed to establish the impact of sustainable agriculture on Malawi’s soils. Agriculture consultant Mahara Nyirenda explained to reporters that the project will gather empirical evidence that would serve to help promote sustainable farming practices to a larger proportion of farmers throughout the country. "For a long time, we have been saying that sustainable agriculture practices are very effective once engaged just because we observed increased crop productivity, we want to establish what exactly happens in the soils where a particular sustainable agriculture practice has been used." He said the Development Fund of Norway, together with its implementing partners Find Your Feet, Circle for Integrated Community Development (Cicod), Mzuzu Agricultural Development Division (Mzadd) and Trustees for Agricultural Production and Promotion (Tapp), have already started conducting soil analysis to determine changes that have taken place in the soil over past years. The Development Fund of Norway has, since 2001, been promoting sustainable agricultural practices in the country under a project that extends to neighbouring Zambia. However, Nyirenda said there was now a need to move from the current practice which solely assesses the efficacy of sustainable farming solely on changes in harvest output, to one that would detail the exact changes in the soil. "It might be hard for some people to understand that its these practices that lead to the improved yields because improved yields could be influenced by other factors as well depending on location," added Nyirenda. "We believe that when we have this evidence in place, we will be able to say this is what you can get if you use a particular sustainable agriculture practice, and we believe this way we can easily market the practices." Nyirenda also said that Norway’s local implementation partners are also starting to encourage farmers who have already tested sustainable agriculture practices to implement them on a larger scale.

24.07.2012 |

Global Food Crisis Looms as America Bakes

Dried up maize field (photo: Martin Jehnichen / Greenpeace)
Dried up maize field (photo: Martin Jehnichen / Greenpeace)

Food experts are warning that America's Midwest drought threatens a repetition of the 2008 global food crisis, when spiraling prices set off riots in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. With corn and soybean crops in the midst of an unrelenting heat wave, huge crop losses are inevitable. This will, in turn, boost food and fuel prices and cut exports and aid from the United States, the world's largest exporter of these key crops. "We're moving from a crisis to a horror story," said Purdue University agronomist Tony Vyn. "I see an increasing number of fields that will produce zero grain ". The drought is the worst since 1956, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a report released on Monday. Drought is now affecting 55% of the land mass in the lower 48 states. Marie Brill, a policy analyst at ActionAid joined the voices raising alarm saying "What's difficult is that we see a drought happen today but people really are going to be feeling that six months from now, possibly a year from now". Brill went on to say that it was already clear the reduced supply, and high prices of corn and soybean were set to cause serious hardship – especially among poor people in poor countries which depend on imported grain. Countries that are net importers of corn will be hit the hardest including South Korea, Japan, Peru, Guatemala, El Salvador and Columbia. Much of East Africa will also be badly affected, she said. Even those African countries that produce their own corn will suffer because they are locked into the higher global prices. America's demand for ethanol may further limit the amount of corn on the world market. This is because 40% of America's corn is used for ethanol which serves to drive up the price of corn. But there were some reports that American ethanol factories have been temporarily closed down across the mid-west, because high corn prices made ethanol production uneconomic.

20.07.2012 |

United Nations: Sustainable Diets Central to Achieving Nutritional, Environmental and Humanitarian Goals

Sustainable Diets and Biodiversity’ image
Sustainable Diets and Biodiversity - Directions and solutions for policy, research and action (Photo: FAO/Bioversity International)

A ground breaking new book, ‘Sustainable Diets and Biodiversity’, exploring sustainable diets and how they relate to the production and consumption of the food we eat, has this week been released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Bioversity International. Written by prominent scientists, policy makers and practitioners, the book studies the link between agriculture, health, the environment and industry. Making a compelling case for re-examining both food systems and diets, this new publication attempts to address concerns around the vast numbers of the global population not deriving sufficient nutrition from their diets. The authors also look at viable solutions to address biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation and the resulting impact on poverty and health. Barbara Burlingame, Principal Officer of the FAO Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division said “Sustainable Diets are those diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations. Sustainable diets are protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable; nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy; while optimizing natural and human resources.’ Emile Frison, Director General of Bioversity International added “This publication is an important milestone in sharing our work on sustainable diets and their contribution to sustainable development. It makes the much-needed link between agriculture and the environment and is at the core of our work on nutrition. Sustainable food systems need good policies based on the best evidence from smallholders, large-scale producers and even at the global level. This book illustrates that imaginative, holistic approaches, that combine disciplines from the natural and social sciences to address the multiple dimensions of malnutrition and sustainability, are possible.” Welcomed by experts in this field, ‘Sustainable Diets and Biodiversity’ elevates food from being viewed just as nutrients, to being considered an integral part of our lives and livelihoods profoundly affecting us and the environment around us. In doing so, this publication represents a tangible contribution to Rio+20 ‘follow-up’ and the post 2015 development agenda.

15.07.2012 |

FAO/OECD: Sustainable Food Production Crucial for Global Food Security

Agricultural Outlook
OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría with FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva (Photo:FAO)

According to the latest OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook, released Wednesday, sustainable farming systems will be essential for world farm production to rise by the necessary 60 percent by 2050 to meet the needs of a growing population. FAO head Jose Graziano da Silva made it clear at the public launch of the Outlook Document that the world had to pursue new and more sustainable ways to increase production. “We cannot increase production with the same model as in the past. We must increase productivity in a sustainable way, particularly in developing countries and among small-scale farmers,” he said. The FAO head went on to say that “for consumers, especially for the millions of people living in extreme poverty, high food prices have caused considerable hardship. We need to redouble our efforts to bring down the number of hungry people”. The Outlook document made clear the need for the world to focus more on increasing sustainable productivity growth, especially in developing countries, and especially for small producers. It also drew attention to the fact that 25 percent of all agricultural land is highly degraded and that for many countries critical water scarcity in agriculture is a reality. It is clear that developing countries should now focus on promoting investment in agricultural infrastructure in rural areas to improve storage, transportation and irrigation. Investment in human capital is, it was claimed, equally important and depends on more public spending on health care, education and training. The report also highlighted the importance of policies to address the reduction of food loss and food waste, making reference to a recent FAO study that found that roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted. Addressing this issue is of vital importance in order to limit the need to increase production and conserve resources.

10.07.2012 |

Critical week for CAP reform

Friesian Cattle
Holstein - Friesian Cattle (Photo: Emma Stoner / Greenpeace)

This week, across Europe, sustainable food campaigners, industrial farming lobbyists and national governments will be putting together lists of suggestions to the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and passing them to MEPs for consideration. This is the week set aside in which MEPs on the agriculture and rural development committee have the opportunity to table amendments to a reformed CAP which is currently at the first reading stage in both the Parliament and Council. Over the course of this year and next the EU will then work to agree on a new subsidy regime which will define and shape European farming practices and subsidies over the coming years. Critics of the current system of subsidies given to farmers in Europe point to major negative impacts including encouraging intensive farming that degrades land, water and habitats. Similarly, rich-world subsidies, like the CAP, can make life even tougher for poor farmers in developing countries. It is increasingly accepted that developed world subsidies depress world prices, making it difficult for developing countries to compete and invest. Export subsidies can also result in "dumping" excess production, further undermining developing country agriculture. With reforms due to be finalised next year, the battle is on, not just to trim the subsidy bill but also to make the scheme work for, rather than against, the environment and international development. To address these concerns, the EU is currently proposing that almost a third of the main payments should depend on three environmental measures: crop diversification, retention of permanent pasture and the creation of "ecological focus areas". This is not enough for the critics. Some want the main subsidy payments to be dependent on farmers signing up for schemes to enhance biodiversity, protect water courses and mitigate climate change. In addition the European parliament environment committee wants a maximum period during which land can be left bare, to prevent soil erosion, while others, including Friends of the Earth, want radical changes to encourage a move away from intensive meat and dairy production. This is an important debate that we will all hear more about, as it takes its course, over the next 24 months.

07.07.2012 |

GMO Labelling - India joins peers with ‘right to know’ ruling

Farmer Spraying Crops
Farmer Spraying Crops, India (Photo: Peter Caton / Greenpeace)

An announcement issued recently by the Indian Government’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has stipulated that every food package containing genetically modified food must, as of January, 2013, bear at the top of its display panel, the words 'GM.' This new ruling will give Indian consumers the right to know whether the packaged food that they are buying contains genetically modified organisms bringing India up to date with Russia, China, Brazil, and 49 other major industrialized nations in requiring GMO labelling. In contrast, the US and Canada are conspicuous in not requiring such disclosure or protection, even though food labels are required to list more than 3,000 ingredients. But a similar labelling debate is brewing in the US: last month, nearly 1 million signatures were delivered to county registrars in California calling for a referendum on the labelling of genetically engineered foods. If the measure, to be on a state-wide ballot by November 2012, is passed, California will become the first US state to require that GM foods be labelled on the package. Polls show that 90% of Americans believe they have a right to know whether the food they eat contains GMOs, which leads commentators to assume that corporate efforts to continue to refuse to label are futile. Currently, in the US, about 70% of packaged food products contain traces of GM crops, since ingredients such as corn, soya and canola oil are genetically modified. In Europe, only 5% of food sold contain GM traces as the EU operates a 'zero tolerance' policy that bans any imported food from containing even traces of GM substances.

03.07.2012 |

Project Helps Communities Secure Rights in Battle Against Land Grab

Community members and government technicians consult a community map as they take GPS coordinates of the boundaries of community land
Rachael Knight/Namati: Community members and government technicians consult a community map as they take GPS coordinates of the boundaries of community land

A new report offers hope for rural communities fighting to protect their land and natural resources from global 'land grabbing'. The report, published by Namati and the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), documented the experiences of communities, all located in Sub-Saharan Africa, who had survived years of war and upheaval merely to find their lands sought after by foreign investors and local elites. Pioneering collaboration between Namati, IDLO and local communities helped villagers use national laws to document community lands, protecting not only family land, but also common resources. The report concludes that community land protection should combine three processes: the technical task of mapping and titling community lands, the peace-building task of land conflict resolution, and the governance task of strengthening local land administration and management. Ilaria Bottigliero, Director of Research and Policy for the IDLO said "Land titling can be the key that unlocks traditional barriers faced by women and vulnerable groups in rural communities. Law and legal tools can be successfully used to mediate disputes over land claims and at the same time help empower rural communities to realize their rights." A community leader of one community in Liberia's Rivercess County went on to said. "I don't care what anyone says, this project is the best thing to happen in our history. Imagine: now we know our borders, we know our resources, we know our rules and they are written down for everyone to see and know. People are attending clan meetings; and our clan feels stronger together. This has never happened before! Now it is easy for us to organize and ask the government or [foreign investors] for things we want or refuse things we don't want in our community." According to the World Bank, between October 2008 and August 2009, transactions covering at least 56.6 million hectares--including 39.7 million hectares in sub-Saharan Africa, more than the size of Germany and Switzerland combined--were concluded or under negotiation.

28.06.2012 |

Cuba Developing Drought-resistent Crops

Organopónico Vivero Alamar
Organopónico Vivero Alamar, an urban organic farm near Havana (Photo: cheeses/flickr)

Cuban researchers are currently developing crops which are adapted to climate change. The National Institute for Basic Research in Tropical Agriculture (INIFAT), a government institution, has been investigating over 30 species of vegetable, including cabbages, tomatoes and cucumbers, in order to breed resilient varieties that can cope with tropical conditions. Development of resistant varieties can take up to 15 years, depending on the vegetable. According to INIFAT researcher, Laura Muñoz, the targeted characteristics of the new plants are “growth, resistance and vitality”. The researchers have already obtained varieties which are more resistant to pests and droughts, and which can be cultivated outside the normal planting season. INIFAT also supports the development of urban farming on the island. Almost 45% of the fresh vegetables in Cuba derive from urban and suburban agriculture, a form of production which has evolved in recent years following national efforts to promote sustainable and agro-ecological agriculture, and become less dependent on food imports. These urban crops are known as ‘organoponic’ - a term for organic production in reduced spaces. One success of INIFAT is a drought-resistant cabbage variety called ‘Marien’, which took 12 years to be developed and is now used for urban gardening. It is the first cabbage species which produces seeds. In the past, Cuba had to import five tons of cabbage seed annually, but in 2011, a ton of Marien seeds were produced and exchanged.

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