India's 2018 budget aims to lift millions of rural farmers and workers out of poverty 1 Feb, 2018 Hundreds
of millions of poor rural Indians will be helped out of poverty, under
plans announced by government – spreading the benefits of the impressive
performance which the Indian economy is experiencing. More Indian homes
will be connected to the electricity network, farmers will see a steep
rise in the selling price of their produce and poor families will be
credited with approximately $7,500 (£5,300) of free healthcare,
according to the latest Union (national) Budget unveiled on Thursday. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/india-budget-2018-poverty-economy-help-farmers-bjp-arun-jaitley-trade-modi-china-a8189226.html
New technologies aid in transforming Alberta agriculture 31 Jan, 2018 More
than 1,000 farmers came out on the first day of a three-day Edmonton
agriculture conference to learn about how new technologies can make
their livelihoods more efficient. The FarmTech event at Northlands
featured innovations such as Climate FieldView, a new digital
agriculture software recently launched in Western Canada. It aims to
help farmers make better decisions out in the field. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/farming-future-technology-conference-alberta-1.4511631
Facial recognition for cows is latest Cargill-Backed tech idea 31 Jan, 2018 Cargill
Inc. is backing an Irish startup that uses facial recognition software
to help increase the productivity of dairy cows, the latest move by the
largest closely held U.S. company to bolster its agricultural-technology
efforts. Cargill has taken a minority stake in Cainthus, which
harnesses machine-learning and imaging techniques to identify cows and
glean information on everything from their behavior to appetite. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-31/facial-recognition-for-cows-is-latest-cargill-backed-tech-idea
[ Top ] CLIMATE CHANGE World's biggest miner BHP to exit global coal body over climate change policy 2 Feb, 2018 The
world's biggest miner BHP said Tuesday it would leave the World Coal
Association and review its membership of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to
show support for action against climate change. The Anglo-Australian
giant has been reviewing its industry group memberships to see if their
stances align with its view that climate change must be tackled through
emissions reductions and the use of renewable energy. https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/companies/world-s-biggest-miner-bhp-to-exit-global-coal-body-over-climate-change-policy-3707419.html
‘Silver bullet’ to suck CO2 from air and halt climate change ruled out 1 Feb, 2018 Ways
of sucking carbon dioxide from the air will not work on the vast scales
needed to beat climate change, Europe’s science academies warned on
Thursday. From simply planting trees to filtering CO2 out of the air,
the technologies that some hope could be a “silver bullet” in halting
global warming either risk huge damage to the environment themselves or
are likely to be very costly. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/01/silver-bullet-to-suck-co2-from-air-and-halt-climate-change-ruled-out
Global temperatures could pass limit set by Paris climate deal within 5 years 1 Feb, 2018 Global
temperatures could surpass a limit set by the Paris climate agreement
within the next five years, according to a new forecast by British
scientists. At least one year in the next five could exceed the
threshold the deal set of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or
2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, above pre-industrial levels. https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2018/02/01/global-temperatures-could-pass-limit-set-paris-climate-deal-within-5-years/1087326001/
[ Top ] DROUGHTS Drought-stricken Cape Town joins urban water project 1 Feb, 2018 As
drought-hit Cape Town faces the prospect of its taps running dry as
soon as April, it is joining a project to work out how cities can better
prepare for water shocks and stresses in the future. Engineering firm
Arup will collaborate with five cities this year to develop a set of
practical tools that will help urban areas deal with too little or too
much water. The four others are Amman, Jordan; Mexico City; Miami, and
Hull, England. The aim is to produce a guide for cities of all sizes to
understand and measure the resilience of their water systems. https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2018/0201/Drought-stricken-Cape-Town-joins-urban-water-project
Amid record heat, drought may return to California 2 Feb, 2018 January
in Southern California is typically marked by rain, chilly temperatures
and snow-capped mountains. But this month is ending on a decidedly hot
and dry note. The region is in the midst of a heat wave that on Monday
brought record high temperatures for the day in places such as Long
Beach (91 degrees), UCLA (89), Santa Ana (88), Oxnard (87) and Newport
Beach (85). At 93 degrees, Lake Forest was the hottest spot in the
United States. More records could fall Tuesday, and there is no rain in
the foreseeable future. http://www.governing.com/topics/transportation-infrastructure/tns-california-heat-drought.html [ Top ] FLOODS France sees worst rains in 50 years, floods peak in Paris 29 Jan, 2018 Rivers
swollen by France's heaviest rains in 50 years have engulfed romantic
quays in Paris, swallowed up gardens and roads, and halted riverboat
cruises. The national weather service said Monday that January has seen
nearly double normal rainfall nationwide. Weeks of heavy rains force
road closures, engulf scenic embankments and halt riverboat cruises. http://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/world/article/France-sees-worst-rains-in-50-years-as-floods-12534926.php
[ Top ] FOOD SECURITY Hunger continues to intensify in conflict zones, UN agencies report to Security Council 29 Jan, 2018 Food
insecurity continues to worsen in places torn by conflict, United
Nations agencies reported Monday, listing Yemen, South Sudan and Syria
among the countries most affected by acute hunger. Highlighting the
extremely critical importance of humanitarian support for affected
communities, the report was generated by the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) as part of
bi-annual briefings to the UN Security Council on food security. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=58500
Aquaculture, urban farming key to UAE food security 1 Feb, 2018 Abu Dhabi: The
UAE will promote innovations in aquaculture and urban farming to ensure
food security, a top official said on the sidelines of a press
conference to announce the details of a global conference on food
security to be held in Abu Dhabi next week. Aquaculture is the farming
of fish and other aquatic organisms in controlled conditions, even in
the desert. More than 40 innovations will be exhibited at Global Forum
for Innovations in Agriculture. http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/environment/aquaculture-and-urban-farming-key-to-uae-food-security-1.2167044
[ Top ] IRRIGATION Karnataka gets Asia’s largest drip irrigation project with Israeli tech: India 29 Jan, 2018 The
largest drip irrigation project in Asia, the Ramthal project in
Karnataka, executed by Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited
(MEIL), has been commissioned. Netafim, an Israeli corporation, has
provided technical assistance for this project, which is based on the
Israeli drip technology. A total of 2,150 km length of pipeline was laid
for the drip irrigation project which will irrigate 12,300 acres of
land and benefit 6,000 farmers. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/karnataka-gets-asias-largest-drip-irrigation-project-with-israeli-tech/article22592938.ece
[ Top ] WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT World Bank: $210 mln project to improve Baghdad water quality 2 Feb, 2018 Erbil, Kurdistan Region: A
new World Bank project will allocate $210 million to rehabilitate key
infrastructure needed to improve the quality of drinking water and
wastewater services that will benefit some 5 million Baghdad residents
who suffer from water shortages and help prevent the outbreak of
waterborne diseases. http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/010220182
China's wetland protection in high gear 2 Feb, 2018 Beijing
plans to restore or create 2,200 hectares of wetlands this year, as
part of China's continued efforts in wetland protection. In 2017, the
city restored more than 1,700 hectares of wetlands and created some 680
hectares, bringing the new and restored wetland area to 8,000 hectares
over the past five years, according to Beijing's municipal gardening and
greening bureau. Known as the "kidneys of Earth," wetlands play a
crucial role in water purification, flood control, and maintaining
bio-diversity. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-02/02/c_136945007.htm
[Top] FORTHCOMING EVENTS
8th Asian Regional Conference, 2-4 May 2018, Kathmandu, Nepal, on the theme “Irrigation in Support of an Evergreen Revolution” Website: http://nencid.org.np/
69th IEC & Regional Conference, 12–17 August 2018, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, on the theme: Innovative and Sustainable Agri-water Management: Adapting to a Variable and Changing Climate. Website: http://www.icid2018.org/
Global Water Security for Agriculture and Natural Resources (GWSAN): An ASABE Global Initiative Conference, Hyderabad, India, 3-6 October 2018. Website: http://www.asabewater.org/
[Top] LATEST PUBLICATION(S) Water Saving in Irrigated Agriculture in Egypt: Case Studies and Lessons Learned, November 2017 The
Egyptian National Committee for Irrigation and Drainage (ENCID) has
launched a new book titled 'Water Saving in Irrigated Agriculture in
Egypt: Case Studies and Lessons Learned.' The publication is a
compilation of successful water saving innovation ideas at the farm
level and is a rich source of reference work for all the professionals
engaged in agricultural water management aspirating for "More and more
crop per drop." For more info, kindly write to Encid@link.net http://www.encid.org.eg/
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