UN: Syrian Agriculture Industry Badly Damaged

U.S. Rep. Tim Walz of Minnesota’s First Congressional District has been appointed ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry.

The subcommittee has jurisdiction over soil, water and resource conservation, small watershed program, energy and biobased energy production, rural electrification, forestry in general and forest reserves other than those created from the public domain. Walz will also serve on the General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcomm-ittee.

“I look forward to working with both my Republican and Democratic colleagues on the subcommittee to promote energy independence and to ensure our wildlife and hunting habitats that we cherish in Minnesota and around the country are protected for generations to come,” Walz said in a statement.

Original Article Here

New York Times: the farming forecast calls for change

The New York Times has published a piece by Bruce Campbell, on the failure of the UN Climate Talks to properly address issues of agriculture and food security. Bruce, who is director of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) writes:

Another round of international negotiations on climate change wrapped up in Doha, Qatar, last week without a major consensus on emissions. [...] Strikingly, though, there was a lack of consensus on addressing agricultural adaptation. Efforts to implement a formal program that addresses the dire problem of food security ended without agreement and the issue was punted to June for additional discussion.

But outside of diplomatic circles, a different consensus is forming — one that does not rely on negotiations. People are noticing that climate change has already taken hold. [...] Many governments are not waiting for an international consensus before taking action.

Countries are already taking action by implementing large scale initiatives that help farmers in a changing climate. CCAFS presented these solutions in Doha, along with a report detailing each of the case studies.

Original Article Here

What's so smart about climate smart agriculture?

by Cecilia Schubert

In a world where some countries will experience temperature peaks over 45-50°C, finding crops and vegetation that can deal with such heat stress will be a struggle. There may in fact be a limit to how much we’ll be able to adapt. But there are things we can do that make us armed enough to tackle the climate challenge. One of these things is looking at what climate smart agriculture can offer smallholder farmers.

If you have followed our blog, I am sure you have heard the term “climate smart agriculture” before. But what are these “climate smart practices”? What do they look like on the farm, and are they really working?

Perhaps it is time to get our minds off the theory and instead get into what is really happening on the ground. We've compiled 14 inspiring examples of large scale successes in climate smart agriculture, from all over the world. And at the recent UN Climate talks in Doha, we heard about a few more.

The presenters at the "Role of the UN in achieving climate smart agriculture" COP18 side event last week gave a rundown of some of the farming practices that can help create farmer resilience while improving food security and in some cases deliver mitigation co-benefits.

Water Management: little things can make a big difference

“Zai” is a traditional African planting technique that uses water and nutrients better, according to Alexandre Meybeck from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Semi-deep pits are dug in the field, normally before the rainy season with compost, or manure, covering the zai, to improve fertility. Seeds are then placed in the pits. The hole helps ensure that water does not run-off and nutrients stay put. The practice can help revitalize the soil in dry areas and has proven to improve yields.Preparing Zai holes in CCAFS West Africa site in Burkina Faso. Photo: M.Tall (CCAFS WA)

In Burkina Faso, the CCAFS West Africa regional team is engaging with farmers and farmers’ organisations to help them change practices towards techniques such as zai, that help farmers deal with the staggeringly hot and dry farming conditions. See photos from this work: Burkina Faso farmers show off their zai knowledge.

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Zimbabwe: E-Vouchers Boost Access to Agricultural Inputs

Goromonzi — Johnson Mhaka, 50, an agro-dealer based in Goromonzi, about 40km southeast of the capital Harare, is enjoying robust 2012-13 sales thanks to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) innovative electronic voucher system, which is helping communal farmers access agricultural inputs.

Mhaka, who used to stock mostly groceries at his rural store, has become an authorized dealer in maize seed, fertilizers, agro-chemicals and farming tools such as wheelbarrows, ploughs and hoes.

"In the past two years, when farmers from this area started using vouchers to buy farming inputs, I have been recording relatively high sales and have made it a point to adequately stock my shop at the beginning of the farming season," Mhaka told IRIN.

Food security

"Even though I have always sold agricultural inputs, particularly maize seed and fertilizer, before registering as an agro-dealer with the FAO, the stocks were small because not many farmers came to buy," he said.

The farmers were deterred by the inputs' high prices, as Mhaka bought his wares from Harare and then added his own mark-up.

But the initiative makes inputs and tools more accessible to cash-strapped small-scale farmers. In the "market-based input assistance initiative", farmers are each given US$128 in e-vouchers, with beneficiaries additionally contributing $32.

The system is designed to improve food security among vulnerable households through crop and livestock production, said the FAO in a statement. It also aims "to resuscitate the fragile rural agricultural input supply chain through re-engagement of markets, provision of subsidized inputs... [and] farmers' timely access to inputs".

"Through the voucher system, many more farmers are coming to buy from here," Mhaka said. His client-base has increased from about 90 people - buying mainly 50kg bags of fertilizer and maize seed - to more than 300 this year.

The initiative receives financial and technical support from the UK's Department for International Development (DfID), the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the European Union and Zimbabwe's agriculture ministry, which also provides extension and training services.

Original Article Here

Action on agriculture needed at upcoming U.N. climate talks

BOGOR, Indonesia (21 November, 2012)_Support for a work program on agriculture is urgently needed at Doha to incorporate the growing sector into international efforts to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change as well as address looming food security issues, said experts.

“Agriculture is still considered a sideshow in the climate arena and a decision has been lacking over several years of U.N. climate negotiations. Agriculture will be massively impacted by climate change, both the increase in extreme conditions and the rising temperatures. We need global action to ensure food security under climate change,” said Bruce Campbell, head of the CGIAR Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) research program.

While the adaptation challenges are immense, agriculture is also a source of greenhouse gasses. Recently published CGIAR research analysing the global carbon footprint of the food industry showed that food systems contributed 19 to 29 percent of greenhouse gas emissions — between a fifth and third of emissions worldwide. Agriculture accounts for around 80 percent of these emissions.

At last year’s climate talks in Durban, agriculture was included in an outcome for the first time in history when the ad-hoc working group on Long-term Cooperative Action requested the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) to consider issues related to agriculture at its meeting last June.

“There were more than 30 submissions on agriculture prior to the SBSTA meeting, so discussion in June was wide-ranging, but no decisions were reached. There will be further discussion at SBSTA in Doha,” Campbell said.

“Despite many issues of common interest, there is still disagreement on the balance between adaptation and mitigation, and the inclusion or exclusion of the UNFCCC principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.”

Proponents are looking for next week’s climate summit to cement some progress on agriculture. Unlike forestry, which has a dedicated negotiating stream under REDD+, agriculture discussions are scattered in many different streams (read the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Roadmap to Agriculture at UNFCCC ).

This is problematic because agricultural adaptation and mitigation are intertwined, Campbell said. Agriculture needs a dedicated work program where a variety of issues are tackled, including the adaptation needs for different crops and farming systems; adaptation and mitigation trade-offs and synergies; adaptation options that have mitigation co-benefits; and the incentives are needed to implement these options.

Agriculture is still considered a sideshow in the climate arena and a decision has been lacking over several years of U.N. climate negotiations.

However, there are some points of contention that need to be negotiated to reach this next stage, as outlined in a report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development. These include questions of whether to focus a work program on mitigation, adaptation or both; the trade implications of addressing agriculture in a climate change agreement; and the role of carbon markets and agricultural offsets.

Work by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) has shown that the agricultural sector is one of the main drivers of deforestation in regions such as Africa and Asia.

As negotiators move towards a ‘post-Kyoto’ phase at the Doha talks, integrating agriculture into agreements on the UN-backed Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) program will also be critical for the program’s success, according to research by CCAFS.

Innovations such as CIFOR’s landscape approaches to land management demonstrate that agriculture and forests are already connected and that there is potential for the two to coexist.

“What happens in forests has an impact on water quality and quantity. What happens to water has an impact on agricultural productivity. What happens to agricultural productivity has an impact on how much forest is removed from that landscape,” said Louis Verchot, Director of CIFOR’s environment research programme.

Momentum is growing for negotiators to recognise the links between forests and agriculture. In March, an international research group led by Sir John Beddington, Britain’s chief scientific advisor, published a list of recommendations in the journalScience, calling for an agreement in Doha to expand understanding of sustainable agriculture practices and the relationship between agriculture and forestry.

This call was also reiterated in the final report of the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, set up by CCAFS to identify the necessary policy changes needed to help the world achieve sustainability in the agricultural sector.

“We need to develop agriculture that is ‘climate smart’ – generating more output without the accompanying greenhouse gas emissions, either via the basic techniques of farming or from ploughing up grassland or cutting down rainforest,” Sir John told BBC News.

In the lead-up to the Doha talks, the Qatari government hosted an international conference on food security in drylands, a move that Campbell thinks could potentially indicate a stronger focus on the food issue when the parties meet.

Agriculture will also be discussed at a number of side events at Doha, including during a discussion forum on forests on a cultivated planet at Forest Day 6 on November 2 and atAgriculture, Landscapes and Livelihoods Day on November 3.

However, Campbell remains sceptical that significant progress will be made on agriculture until decisions have been reached on some broader UNFCCC issues –especially the key questions of climate finance and legally binding emissions commitments.

“To make progress on sustainable agriculture, we really need these big issues to be settled.”
Original Article Here

R8.3m boost for sustainable agriculture

Nedbank has invested R8.3-million in conservation group WWF South Africa's Sustainable Agriculture Programme, which aims to tackle food security challenges as well as protect natural resources in the country.

"A recent United Nations report titled 'Food and Agriculture: The future of sustainability' stresses the urgent need for the world’s farmers to be empowered to produce more food per unit of land, water and agrochemicals, while confronting widespread physical resource scarcity, a changing climate, and rapidly increasing input costs," WWF-SA's senior manager for sustainable agriculture, Inge Kotze, said at the launch in Cape Town last week.

"These challenges overlaid with the degradation of our natural eco-systems and biodiversity make modern day agriculture more precarious than ever."

Collective and collaborative partnerships

Collective and collaborative partnerships have an important role to play in enabling sustainable agriculture which contributes to the reduction of environmental and natural resource impacts, said Nedbank Agriculture's John Hudson.

"No single individual or organisation has the capacity to deliver the level of change required to make a real and lasting contribution to the sustainability of our country’s agriculture,' he said.

"[This] is why this partnership with WWF-SA is designed to unlock the full power of collective, public-private partnerships, collaborative investment, and support and recognition for those that demonstrate commitment and innovation in meeting the agricultural challenges facing South Africa and the world in the 21st century."

Only 13% of the South African landscape is suitable for arable or permanent cropland, and two-thirds of the country's surface freshwater resources are currently utilised for irrigated agriculture, according to WWF-SA.

Supporting a vibrant agricultural sector

"There is an urgent need to redefine and refocus our vision in terms of the future of food and the role of agriculture in reaching that future," Kotze said.

"This is why the Sustainable Agriculture Programme is aimed at enabling better production, rather than merely focusing on increased output alone.

"By promoting and supporting a vibrant and profitable agricultural sector in this way, we can all help to address potential food security challenges, while at the same time protecting the country’s/the planet’s natural resources, and unique biodiversity," she said.

Hudson said Nedbank aimed to promote and reward agricultural best practice and innovation. "By 2050, conservative estimates are that there will be around 9-billion people living on Earth.

"If our country is going to overcome the significant environmental, social and economic challenges involved in feeding our population at this time, it is the responsibility of every one of us to start thinking and acting more sustainably right now," he said.

SAinfo reporter

Fly me to the moon, says minister as he remembers childhood dream

When the Americans sent a man to the moon in 1969, the world was hooked. Millions followed Neil Armstrong’s footsteps as he made history.

Those who couldn’t watch this unfold on television read about it. An of course, there was Sputnik (‘travelling companion’ in Russian), which was launched by the USSR nearly a decade earlier in the midst of the Cold War. In 1999, to commemorate the contributions made to exploring space, science and technology, the United Nations decided to celebrate World Space Week around the world from October 4 to October 10.

This year’s space week is all about ‘Space for Human Safety and Security.’ It will be celebrated in 10 cities across the country. The inaugural ceremony was held at the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) in Karachi with Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq as chief guest.

According to Qurat-ul-Ain, a Suparco employee, they want to get students interested in the Milky Way, the galaxy and the universe. “It is not something we talk or think about in our daily lives. You won’t see two people just discussing the moons that orbit Jupiter,” she said while talking to The Express Tribune. “For space week, we have organised events such as rocket competitions, to keep the students and young ones interested.”

The minister, who was visiting the space centre for the first time, said it was a dream come true. “I wanted to visit the headquarters of a space agency since I was a child,” he said. “When I was young I used to jump in the air and pretend that I was flying in space.” Even though he wanted to be up-to-date with what was going on in space, his secretary had told him that he would need permission or an invitation to set foot in Suparco.

On Thursday, around 61 public schools participated in a water rocket competition to build them in two hours at the commission. Water rockets are a well-known medium for teaching students about the principles of rocket science. Tanzeelur Rehman, an eighth grade student from Usman Public School, was confident that he would win. “If I get a certificate, it will add to my academic portfolio and when I apply to college, it will work in my favour,” he said while talking about studying engineering in a university abroad.

A quiz was also held for students of public and private schools, more than 50 students participated and made it to the qualifying round. The final competition will be held at PAF Museum during the Space Family Fair on October 7. Among their many events to celebrate space week, Suparco has also set up a Space Education Bus, which will go around the province teaching people about space through multimedia presentations and lectures till October 6.

In Jamshoro, Suparco will celebrate World Space Week by organising events on October 9 and October 10 at the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology. On Tuesday, they will hold a declamation contest and a water rocket competition. On Wednesday, they will hold a mela at the university’s auditorium.

From outer space?

While talking about Suparco, Dr Sajid Mirza, who works for the commission, said that the national space agency was working on a multidisciplinary space science and application programme for students.

“We have worked with the Institute of Tibetan Plateau to measure the impact of climate change in the region, especially in Gilgit-Baltistan,” he said. “The way the glaciers are melting, it can affect our water supply, agriculture, hydroelectric power, transport, tourism and ecological habitats. This is important because our country depends on irrigation and water resources for 90% of its food and crop production.” He added that Suparco’s space application and research wing was also carrying out a satellite-based a crop yield estimation project.

Published in The Express Tribune,

Gaza Farmers Find Canadian Support

Mohammed Al-Bakri from Gaza’s Union of Agricultural Work Committees points out the "no-go" zones for Palestinian fishers and farmers. Credit: Eva Bartlett/IPS.

GAZA CITY, Sep 29 2012 (IPS) - “From the coast to eight miles out, the sea is like a desert: it’s sandy and there are no fish.” Mohammed Al-Bakri traces a thick line on the wall map before him, following the lines of Gaza’s eastern and northern borders, continuing south from three miles off the coast.

General manager of Gaza’s Union of Agricultural Work Committees, Bakri is well-versed in the woes of the Strip’s fishers and farmers. He explains the insufficient fishing waters Palestinians are limited to, and the consequences of being on the sea at all.

“The Israeli navy attacks the fishermen, arrests them and takes their boats, even within three miles,” he says, referring to the three-mile limit the Israeli authorities have unilaterally imposed on Palestinian fishers.

Under the Oslo accords, Palestinian fishers are authorised to fish 20 nautical miles into Gaza’s sea. The Israeli authorities have illegally downsized Palestinian fishing waters, using lethal violence to enforce new fishing limitations. On a given day, Palestinian fishers are subject to Israeli navy machine gun fire, shelling, water cannoning, and abductions.



“When the fishers are arrested, they just have a boat and a net,” says Bakri. “No weapons, they are just trying to catch to sell at the market, to earn money for their families.

“More than 500 fishers have been arrested and at least 12 killed by the Israeli navy,” says Mohammed Al-Bakri.

With over 3,600 fishermen and 70,000 people dependent on income from the sea, Gaza’s fishing has been decimated by such Israeli tactics and policies. “When there is no income, fishers must depend on food aid from the United Nations (UN),” says Bakri. “But there are a lot of other needs, like housing, clothing, medical care, education.”

“If the situation continues like this, we won’t see any fishers on the sea in the future.”

Nor farmers.

Bakri refers back to the red line on the UN map of Gaza marked ‘Areas restricted for Palestinian access’. Imposed unilaterally by Israeli authorities, the “buffer zone” officially bans Palestinian farmers and civilians from the 300 metres of land flanking Gaza’s eastern and northern borders.

In reality, the UN, international NGOs, and Palestinian organisations have documented Israeli soldiers’ targeting of Palestinians even as far as nearly two kilometres from the border.

“Shooting at people accessing restricted areas is often carried out from remotely-controlled weapon stations…every several hundred metres along the fence, each containing machine guns protected by retractable armoured covers, whose fire can reach targets up to 1.5 km,” reads a 2010 UN report.

Via machine gun fire, shelling, flechette (dart) bombs, drone attacks, land razing and setting crops on fire, the Israeli army has rendered one-third of Gaza’s agricultural land deadly and inaccessible.

Palestinian farmers continue to face Israeli attacks as they attempt to farm their land, for the majority their sole source of income and food for their families.

“We need political support internationally, to pressure Israel into allowing farmers to work their land and fishers to access their sea,” says Bakri.

Heeding his call, and hoping to build “connections of mutual solidarity between Canada and Palestinian farmers and fishers,” a Vancouver-based group aims to broaden political support via their Sep. 30 ‘Day of Action For the Fishers and Farmers of Gaza, Palestine’.

“This particular aspect of the siege is quite compelling because when a society is deprived of the ability to fish and to farm, it is deprived of its ability to sustain itself. It’s part of the ongoing Nakba, and part of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine,” says Charlotte Kates, a lawyer and one of the Day of Action coordinators.

Kates and a delegation traveled to the Gaza Strip earlier this year, meeting with Palestinian fishers and farmers.

“We want to make it clear what is happening at the hands of the occupation, and how it is denying people’s right to live, to exist,” Kates says. “One of our translators could not attend our meetings: a cousin, in the ‘buffer zone’ had been murdered the same day by the Israeli military.”

Noting the close alliance of the Canadian government with Israel, Kates says “the government of (Canadian prime minister) Stephen Harper has nothing but praise for the Israeli state that enforces this siege on Gaza. On March 29, 2006, Canada became the first country in the world to impose a siege on the Palestinian people living in Gaza and the West Bank, declaring cancellation of aid to Palestine.”

Building cross-Canada and international alliances with Palestinian farmers, fishers and civil society is the Vancouver group’s focus with its Day of Action. No less important is changing Canadian policies regarding the siege of the Gaza Strip.

“We want to build a movement that can challenge the Canadian government on these policies, policies which predate the Harper government,” Kates says.

Canada is not alone in endorsing the illegal siege on Gaza – what Desmond Tutu and UN special rapporteurs John Dugard and Richard Falk, among many others, have called collective punishment.

“Last month, the European Union decided to increase their support with Israel,” says Mohammed Al-Bakri.

The Sep. 30 Day of Action will take place in cities across Canada, with “rallies, vigils, the launching of the book ‘Freedom Sailors’, and leafletting,” says Charlotte Kates.

The day of solidarity with Palestinian farmers and fishers has the backing of, among others, Independent Jewish Voices, the Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group (SFPIRG), and former Vancouver city councillor Tim Louis.

“The UN is quite aware of the inhuman condition that Palestinians are subjected to and yet there is no concrete action, except allowing humanitarian aid,” says Louis, calling for “the Canadian government stop its indiscriminate support for Israel until such a time when Israel complies with international law.”

Original Article Here

Agriculture will be ex-Rep. Villar’s Senate ‘baby’

AGRICULTURE is the new advocacy of former Rep. Cynthia A. Villar and she pledged to work for the passage of remedial laws that would help propel the growth of the local agriculture industry.

“We need to put in place a good agriculture development program to the poor folk who comprise 70 percent of the agri sector,” she told a dinner-news conference with the staffers of the media outfits of the Antonio L. Cabangon Group of Companies (BusinessMirror, Philippines Graphic, Pilipino Mirror and DWIZ) at the BusinessMirror editorial offices in Makati City where she and her husband, Sen. Manny Villar, were the featured guests.

Mrs. Villar plans to run in the 2013 Senate elections to replace her husband who is now serving his last term as senator.

Toward the end of the news conference, Senator Villar said it was not true that his wife will run for the Senate to keep his bench warm. (Elective public officials are entitled to only three consecutive three-year terms or a total of nine years; they can run for another elective position after this but can return to their former elective positions after three years.)

The senator said Mrs. Villar established a good record in the House of Representatives, where she led the organization of woman legislators during her incumbency as representative of Las Piñas. Mrs. Villar, said the senator, is a graduate of the University of the Philippines and took further studies at New York University.

Mrs. Villar said that if she got elected to the Senate, she would also pursue enactment of laws that would expand livelihood programs to augment the income of poor families, as she had done during her three terms (nine years) in the House of Representatives.

“We intend to improve on those projects to serve more poor folk and help them earn a living through institutionalized livelihood programs,” Mrs. Villar said. She also said she plans to replicate in various areas of the country the livelihood programs of the Villar Foundation that she and her husband and their family founded to help the poor folk of Las Piñas. One of their projects won a United Nations award.

In response to questions, Senator Villar reported that majority of the senators were wary of granting “too much powers” to the Anti-Money Laundering Council as proposed in an amending law demanded by the Financial Action Task Force. 

The FATF is a Paris-based global finance watchdog seeking to expand the coverage of the existing Anti-Money Laundering Act (Amla) in order to take the Philippines out of the list of borderline compliant countries.

He also said a closed-door meeting called by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile during a break in Wednesday’s session failed to reach a consensus on the last Amla amendment, seen to upgrade the status of the Philippines in the FATF as a fully compliant country, to avoid impeding foreign-currency remittances by overseas workers, as well as bank letters of credits to Philippine businesses.

“There is no consensus yet on the Amla amendment,” Villar said, adding that there were “many issues that have to be clarified first…. questions that have to be cleared.”

Villar noted that Congress already passed into law two previous Amla amendments that removed the Philippines from the FATF watch list of non-compliant countries.

He then admitted that the main stumbling block to its early passage in time for the FATF meeting in October were provisions granting extra powers to the Anti-Money Laundering Council. “’Yung ginawa kasi sa [amending] bill, the AMLC would be more powerful than the President. It covers everything.”

The amending bill, co-sponsored by Senators Sergio Osmena II and Teofisto Guingona III, cited the “urgency to put more teeth to the country’s anti-money laundering law, not only to make the Philippines compliant with international standards, but to protect the country’s financial integrity and economic development.” Villar, however, told the BusinessMirror forum that proposed amendments to expand the list of medicines covered by the cheaper medicines law will likely pass before the current Congress adjourns next year. 

In Photo: Sen. Manny Villar answers questions from editors and reporters of the BusinessMirror, the Philippines Graphic, Pilipino Mirror and DWIZ during a dinner-news conference at the BusinessMirror editorial offices in Makati City. Former Rep. Cynthia Villar also answered questions about her plans to run for the Senate and her current advocacies. Flanking them in the photo are Pilipino Mirror President and Publisher D. Edgard A. Cabangon (left), and BusinessMirror Publisher T. Anthony C. Cabangon. (Roy Domingo)

Strategies for investing in agriculture

By Russell Pearlman

High crop prices could be a boon to farmers and investors alike. Here are ways to buy into the world’s growing demand for food.

Play it safe: farming equipment

The world’s population is growing fast, but the amount of land to grow food is not. So, as simple supply and demand economics would dictate, food prices are rising.

According to the United Nations, grain prices have more than doubled since 2003, and some analysts expect them to continue rising for the foreseeable future. That trend could be a boon to American farmers, and when farmers feel rich, they often shop for new equipment.

Gary Bradshaw, a portfolio manager for the Hodges family of mutual funds, likes Titan Machinery TITN -0.99% , a distributor of tractors in the Great Plains. Titan’s 2011 net income was $44 million, nearly double what it was in 2010.

For a more international bet on farming, Bradshaw also likes Deere DE -1.50% . The Moline, Ill., maker of giant green tractors and other big-ticket farm equipment grew its net income by 56% in four years, from $1.8 billion in 2007 to $2.8 billion last year.

Go for broke: a chicken run

If the rest of the world is going to eat more food, it surely will eat more chicken, right? U.S. chicken-piece prices have risen anywhere from 2% (breasts) to more than 120% (wings) from a year ago.

But buying into poultry is a lot riskier than taking a flier on most other farm-related businesses.

Because prices have been so good, chicken firms could produce a lot more birds. “The danger is you drive prices lower,” says Heather Jones, a managing director at BB&T Capital Markets.

Plus, higher crop prices pose a problem: Sanderson Farms, the nation’s No. 3 chicken producer, says its feed costs (primarily corn and soybeans) were nearly 40% higher last year than in 2010.

Still, chicken producers have made their operations more efficient, and they’ve steadily increased exports to Asia and Europe. Bradshaw says he’d consider buying Pilgrim’s Pride, another major chicken producer, if its stock price dipped. 

Original Article here

We'll make a killing out of food crisis, Glencore trading boss Chris Mahoney boasts

JAMES CUSICK

The United Nations, aid agencies and the British Government have lined up to attack the world's largest commodities trading company, Glencore, after it described the current global food crisis and soaring world prices as a "good" business opportunity.

With the US experiencing a rerun of the drought "Dust Bowl" days of the 1930s and Russia suffering a similar food crisis that could see Vladimir Putin's government banning grain exports, the senior economist of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, Concepcion Calpe, told The Independent: "Private companies like Glencore are playing a game that will make them enormous profits."

Ms Calpe said leading international politicians and banks expecting Glencore to back away from trading in potential starvation and hunger in developing nations for "ethical reasons" would be disappointed.

"This won't happen," she said. "So now is the time to change the rules and regulations about how Glencore and other multinationals such as ADM and Monsanto operate. They know this and have been lobbying heavily around the world to water down and halt any reform."

Glencore's director of agriculture trading, Chris Mahoney, sparked the controversy when he said: "The environment is a good one. High prices, lots of volatility, a lot of dislocation, tightness, a lot of arbitrage opportunities.

"We will be able to provide the world with solutions... and that should also be good for Glencore."

Glencore announced pre-tax global profits of £1.4bn. The G20 is considering holding an emergency summit on the world food crisis.

Oxfam was scathing about Glencore's exploitation of volatile world food prices. Jodie Thorpe, from the aid agency's Grow Campaign, said: "Glencore's comment that 'high prices and lots of volatility and dislocation' was 'good' gives us a rare glimpse into the little-known world of companies that dominate the global food system."

Oxfam said companies like Glencore were "profiting from the misery and suffering of poor people who are worst hit by high and volatile food prices", adding: "If we are going to fix the ailing food system then traders must be part of the cure."

Stephen O'Brien, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development, said: "We know that food-price spikes hit the poorest hardest. Ensuring the poor can still access enough food is vital in times of food-price rises, which is why the UK is investing in safety nets that deliver food and cash to the poorest."

A Glencore spokesperson said: "Regardless of the business environment, Glencore is helping fulfil global demand by getting the commodities that are needed to the places that need them most."

Original Article Here

Africa Urged to Diversify, Turn to Agriculture

Africa needs to embrace economic diversification as well as focus on agribusiness to lift the continent out of poverty and put it on the path to prosperity, a senior United Nations official said today.

"Agriculture is the most important sector of the African economy and will have to be its driving engine out of poverty. It accounts for 65 per cent of the continent's employment and 75 per cent of its domestic trade," the Director-General of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Kandeh K. Yumkella, said in a news release.

He added that Africa is also urbanizing at a fast rate, noting that "in order to turn bright prospects into employment opportunities for its young people, Africa needs to embrace economic diversification."

Mr. Yumkella's comments came at the Africa Caucus Meeting in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which brought together Africa's finance ministers, central bank governors, and representatives of international development agencies and financial institutions and where he was a keynote speaker.

The Director-General stressed the need to boost agricultural productivity to achieve sustainable industrial and agribusiness development as a means of wealth and job creation.

"The transformation of agricultural raw materials into industrial products depends increasingly on the capacity of African entrepreneurs to participate and compete in global, regional and local value chains.

"Accordingly, African agribusiness value chains will have to adapt to changing market conditions, continuously improve efficiency and strive to meet consumer requirements in a competitive global trade system," said Mr. Yumkella.

He added that Africa needs "new learning and innovation systems involving regional cooperation, new types of partnerships between farmers, sellers, investors and researchers, and the right incentives and public actions that crowd-in rather than crowd-out private investment."

Investment in transport infrastructure, access to energy and water, information and communication technologies and management efficiency were vital for agribusiness to thrive, he noted.

In 2012, in partnership with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UNIDO launched the Accelerated Agribusiness and Agro-industries Development Initiative, or 3ADI, to promote value addition to agricultural commodities. The initiative is now operational in 12 African nations.

Original Article Here

ESCAP report: UN urges Pakistan to subsidise agriculture

AGAINST ODDS: 4% is Escap’s projected growth for Pakistan this year, based on last year’s provisional growth figure of 2.4%. DESIGN: ALI DARAB

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations (UN), in its latest report on Asia, has advised Pakistan to provide agricultural subsidies and introduce modern technologies to increase per acre yield, arrest rising food prices and alleviate hunger.

The Economic and Social Survey for Asia and Pacific (Escap) – launched by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in 32 countries across the region – has said in its flagship report that Pakistan faces increasing risk from rising food prices that directly affect the most vulnerable sections of the population.

The report suggests that the best way to bring food prices under control in the long term is to increase agricultural productivity.

“The country should continue to support rural development; a green revolution based on modern technology and new seed varieties; subsidised supplies of inputs such as fertilisers; and provision of credit to farmers,” it says.

Escap’s recommendations are in contrast to the advice given by the International Monetary Fund and other lending agencies as well as the US to Pakistan, who call for greater fiscal consolidation.

The report also lists Pakistan as one of the two South Asian countries where growth will accelerate in the current financial year; although this growth will not create more jobs.

“China remains the powerhouse of the region, despite slowdown of growth from 9.2% to 8.6% – but India and Pakistan are two countries where growth has accelerated this year,” said Clovis Freire, an official of the Development Policy section of Escap, while speaking at a launching ceremony here in a local hotel.

He said that in Pakistan, 4% growth is expected this year; against 2.4% growth in the previous fiscal year.

The Escap report launching coincides with the release of provisional growth estimates by Pakistani authorities. This year, the economy grew by 3.67% against revised growth figures of 3.04% last year, according to provisional estimates from the National Accounts Committee. The UN’s projection of 4% growth is based on last year’s provisional growth figure of 2.4%.

Freire said inflation will remain stubborn, and according to Escap’s assessment, is expected to hover at 12% this year. He said the biggest challenge faced by Pakistan was a resolution to the energy crisis.

To address energy shortages, Pakistan needs to urgently setup viable energy projects, minimise transmission and distribution losses, increase oil and gas exploration, and incentivise renewable energy resources, Escap has suggested.

The Escap report also says that: “A major share of the fiscal deficit is being financed by domestic sources; resulting in rapid rise in domestic public debt; which in turn is fuelling concerns about macroeconomic stability and monetary management.”

The Escap report confirms that the world has entered a second phase of recession – this time due to the European debt crisis. “Amid global turbulence, the Asian region’s growth will slow down to 6.5% against last year’s growth of 7%,” said Dr Noeleen Heyzer, Under Secretary General of the UN.

Commenting on Escap’s findings on Pakistan, NUST Business School Dean Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan said that inflation remained high due to higher food and energy prices and high government borrowing for financing the budget deficit. Dr Ashfaque said large budget and current account deficits were expected this year, and financing of the twin deficits was the biggest challenge for the government.

He said sharp fluctuations in commodity prices were raising concerns about increasing hunger and poverty. He said Pakistan should focus more on increasing per acre agricultural productivity instead of fixing a wheat support price, which is inflationary.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2012.