Full Coverage: Agriculture

13.05.2008 David Dickson, Director, SciDev.Net, presents the critique of a recent report on the future of modern agriculture. Even as we fight the current needs of a hungry world in an environmentally sustainable way, the contributions of science and technology deserve recognition and not merely blame, he asserts.

13.05.2008 British shoppers have been warned that some products on sale may contain palm oil grown in Colombia after paramilitaries murdered or forced poor people off their land amid mounting demand to use the fruit of palm oil trees.

12.05.2008 Fatima Ahmed from Sudan, Yanar Mohammed from Iraq, and Robitalia Moreno Díaz and María del Rosario Moreno Díaz from Colombia all link their experience of motherhood to their drive to work for social justice.

12.05.2008 A small village in rural Kerala has successfully dealt with the onslaught of globalisation. Farmer groups and a distribution and retail network by the local community have helped producers get maximum returns for their farm produce and traditional products. The farmers are now happy with the elimination of middlemen.

09.05.2008 Once called India’s bread basket, Punjab’s success story has been marred by pesticide poisoning, soil contamination, farmer indebtedness and drug addiction. A recent report says the production-centric approach of industrial agriculture needs to make way for environmentally sound practices that promote equitable access to food.

09.05.2008 Diverting agricultural land to produce biofuels, increased dependence on imports, hoarding by traders, ban on export of food grains by neighbours are reasons cited for rising food prices in Nepal. Experts feel the government needs to take long-term measures if it wants to save people dying of hunger.

08.05.2008 Innovative local initiatives are strengthening rural regions throughout Mexico, which have been losing both people and their competitive edge in agriculture since Mexico opened its markets to free trade.

07.05.2008 UN Security Council needs to discuss the current global food crisis and take corrective measures before the situation goes out of hand. Experts feel that the UN body must recognise that war and civil strife cannot be prevented without addressing social and economic conditions.

07.05.2008 New mobile text message service called Reuters Market Light has made it easier for poor farmers in western India to get farm-related information. By subscribing to the service they can get regular updates on their mobiles about weather forecasts, pest attacks and daily market prices for their produce.

06.05.2008 With food hitting the headlines like never before, the International Institute for Environment and Development has launched a web-based publication that describes how to rethink food production and distribution for environmental and social gain.

03.05.2008 UNITED NATIONS, May 2 (OneWorld) - The global food crisis is likely to persist if speculative investment by the corporate world is not reined in soon, warned a top expert responsible for reporting to the United Nations on human rights violations.

02.05.2008 Demand for biofuels is destroying tribal peoples’ land and lives, according to a new report. Palm oil is one of the most destructive crops followed by sugar cane, soy, corn, manioc and jatropha.
From: Survival