Bamboo flowering threatens famine in Assam’s North Cachar

The cricket ball-sized flowers have sprouted along entire lengths of bamboo stalks to produce a huge volume of seeds that attract thousands of rats, which feed on them as they are very nutritious, say agriculture and forest experts.And the flowers are threatening to create a famine, a phenomenon the district has witnessed every 50 years … Read more

Israeli researcher discovers new fungus that could provide low-cost alternative fuel

Dr. Amir Sharon of Tel Aviv University has discovered a transgenic fungus strong enough to convert even the most resilient plant parts into bioethanol, a chemical used for biofuel. Strengthened with an anti-death gene, this fungus is resistant to harsh conditions such as heat and toxic substances – both of which are released while converting … Read more

Africa’s booming food exports

Africans feeding Americans – it sounds like one whopper of a fish tale. Africa remains a continent of episodic starvation and chronic food shortages; tens of millions of sub-Saharan Africans are unable to reliably and consistently feed themselves. But these imbalances coexist with pockets of increasingly vibrant commercial farming throughout much of the continent.Uganda is … Read more

Diminishing Land, Water Resources Pose Threat to Rice Production

Diminishing land and water resources due to increasing pressure from industrialization and urbanization pose real threats to the global rice production and its future, Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said today. He said other factors like climate change and uncertainties over policy and trade practices had also greatly influenced the world’s rice situation. Addressing the … Read more

BRETHREN GIVE $50,000 TO AGRICULTURE IN NORTH KOREA

Recent grants from two Church of the Brethren funds–the Global Food Crisis Fund and the Emergency Disaster Fund–include $50,000 to support agriculture in North Korea, which continues to experience periodic famine. “The Church of the Brethren’s reaching out to North Koreans goes beyond the matter of food security,” said Howard Royer, manager of the Global … Read more

More Crops per Drop

To measure a farmer’s ability to produce “more crop per drop”, agricultural scientists now use the term “water productivity”. Farm water productivity can be as high as 20kg/cubic metre water with cereals, or about 10kg/cubic metre with oilseeds and legumes, but such high efficiencies are obtained only in the best managed crops. Almost any factor … Read more