29.05.2019

Canada - Manitoba Agriculture offers advice on spring frost damage to crops

Spring cereals “Spring cereals such as wheat, barley and oats, are very tolerant to temperatures as low as -6 C since the growing point is below the soil surface until the five-leaf stage to jointing. Winter wheat “Winter wheat at the tiller stage can withstand very low temperatures for a period of time (-11 C for less than two hours).” Canola Canola seedlings will usually recover from a light frost that can wilt leaves, but does not damage the growing point. The temperature where frost injury occurs varies with the plant’s growth stage, moisture content and the duration that temperatures are below freezing. For example, canola at the cotyledon stage is more susceptible to frost damage than plants at the three- to four-leaf stage. Corn Corn in the V5 stage (five leaves with collars showing) or less will recover from light frosts because the growing point is still below the soil surface. While extremely rare, if air temperatures drop to -2 C or less for more than a few hours, the growing point region of a young corn plant can be injured or killed even if it is still below the soil surface. The best way to assess frost damage to young corn is inspect and evaluate after three to five days. Soybeans Due to the variability of frost, evaluate on a field-by-field basis. Generally frost injury is more severe on fields with heavy residue. Plant size matters, the website says. The smaller the soybean plants the more tolerant they are to frost. Soybean plants that are just cracking through the soil (VE) and up to the cotyledon stage (VC) can tolerate -2.8 C for a few hours. If the main growing point is killed by frost, the two axillary buds will start to grow within a week of the frost event. Soybean plants that were still below the soil surface… will emerge normally. Edible beans Edible beans that have not emerged will not have been injured by the frost, the website says. Edible beans are more sensitive to frost than soybeans. Growers should wait four to six days to look for signs of growth from the main growing point and make a decision then. MASC seeding deadlines Farmers forced to re-seed due to frost damage still have lots of time before the crop insurance deadline for cereals and flax June 20. The full coverage deadline for Argentine canola is June 15 and 10 in Canola Areas 1 and 2. The Canola Area 1 and 2 deadlines for reduced crop insurance coverage is June 16 to 20 and June 11 to 15, respectively The full coverage deadlines for grain corn is June 6 in Grain Corn Area 1 and May 30, in Grain Corn Areas 2, 3 and 4. The full coverage deadlines for soybeans is June 6 in Soybean Area 1 and May 30, in Soybean Areas 2, 3 and 4. Source  - https://www.manitobacooperator.ca

29.05.2019

Mediterranean - Fruit production in the region will be affected by climate change

A study carried out by the research group in Ecophysiology and Biotechnology of the Universitat Jaume I of Castellón (UJI), in Spain, working in partnership with scientists from France, Greece and the United Kingdom, has concluded the main crops in the Mediterranean basin, such as citrus fruits, vines and olive trees, will be affected by climate change, and that their production will be drastically reduced. The rising temperatures and the reduced access to hydric resources will take a toll on the phenology of these fruit trees, altering their sprouting, flowering, setting and fruit ripening patterns. At the economic level, the consequences for the regions producing these fruits will be serious, as they will lose commercial competitiveness against other producing countries. Another important aspect is the quality of the fruit that will be obtained. In the case of citrus, the high temperatures can have an impact on the balance between sugars and acids, resulting in fruits without their characteristic hints of sourness. As for olive trees, the impact can be even "more dramatic", since the flowering is affected by the high temperatures in spring, summer and autumn affect, which could take a negative toll on the setting, as the timeframe in which the crops are produced would change. These changes in the periods in which the crops sprout or bloom would also have a direct impact on pollinating insects, as the synchronization that exists between the flowering and the hatching of those insects would be lost, and the production volume would fall as a result. The main author of the work, Carlos de Olla, stresses that the climatic variation prospects in the Mediterranean basin and its impact on agriculture "show the relevance of biotechnology as a fundamental discipline in the production of fruit trees with better characteristics, given how it makes it possible to maintain or even improve their productivity and quality." The research group in Ecophysiology and Biotechnology has also recently taken part in a study that has revealed how agricultural biodiversity is an effective tool to combat pests and the effects of climate change on crops. The results of the work showed that the preservation of traditional varieties can tackle the impact of water deficit and the damage caused by the red spider. Source - https://www.freshplaza.com/

28.05.2019

USA - Endangered Mexican wolves blamed for more livestock deaths

It's shaping up to be a deadly year for livestock in the American Southwest as the number of cows and calves killed by Mexican gray wolves has skyrocketed, aggravating an already tenuous relationship between U.S. wildlife managers, environmentalists and rural residents. Federal reports show the endangered wolves have been blamed for the deaths of 88 domestic animals in New Mexico and Arizona in the first four months of the year. That's on pace to surpass the nearly 100 livestock kills confirmed in all of 2018 and significantly more than has been recorded over the same four-month period in any year since the predators were reintroduced in 1998. More Mexican wolves are in the wild now than at any time since they were nearly exterminated decades ago. A subspecies of the Western gray wolf, Mexican wolves have faced a difficult road to recovery that has been complicated by politics and conflicts with livestock. Catron County Manager Bill Green said his constituents have seen calf birth rates drop by one-third or more and they feel there's nowhere to turn because federal officials say they have a responsibility under the federal Endangered Species Act to restore the wolves. Some ranchers and rural residents expect things to get worse as the wolf population grows. There are at least 131 of the predators in the mountain ranges spanning southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona. "On the local front, it's been a battle to keep the impact as small as possible," Green said. "We have several ranchers in areas next to wilderness that are already being run out of business." Wolves were found to be responsible for killing more than three dozen cows and calves in April alone. That was almost double the previous month. While ranchers see the reintroduction program as a threat to a livelihood already complicated by drought and rising costs, environmentalists contend more can be done to discourage wolves from targeting livestock. The environmental group Defenders of Wildlife has been working with some ranchers in the Southwest. Some ideas are simple — from using range riders to keep a close eye on herds or quickly disposing of cattle carcasses to keep from attracting wolves. Brady McGee, who heads the Mexican wolf recovery program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said wolves often can run into trouble because the grazing and calving seasons are year-round in the Southwest. "Part of this is for the wolf program to survive, we need to create a social tolerance out there," he said. "In order to create that social tolerance, we have to be able to reduce and minimize wolves eating livestock and reduce those conflicts." Some money is allocated annually for reimbursing livestock losses, but federal officials acknowledge they need more to provide incentives for the livestock industry to take more precautions to protect herds. McGee said wildlife managers could set up food caches for denning wolves to shift the focus from cattle. He also suggested ranchers reposition their herds at key times and pen them up in smaller pastures, explaining that some of the highest livestock mortality comes early in the year when wolves are denning. "That's part of what the livestock industry could do, is be part of that chess game and move their cows around," he said. Some argue the wolves already are highly managed: They're rounded up when they stray outside certain boundaries, when they pair with the wrong mate or if they develop an affinity for livestock. Biologists also decide which captive-bred pups are matched with wild packs as part of fostering efforts to boost the population. Bryan Bird with Defenders of Wildlife says wolves are as much a social and cultural issue for ranchers and rural residents as they are a scientific challenge. "We believe that social change can only come from inside the community," Bird said. "It doesn't come from the federal government or the advocates pushing change on these people. It has to happen from within, and it has to happen organically." Source - https://thepublicsradio.org

28.05.2019

Mexico - Michoacan's avocado production has decreased slightly

Michoacan, Mexico's leading avocado producing state, has recorded the first drop in its volumes in the last five years. Even though it accounts for 88% of the national production, it has suffered a decrease of 2.2%. According to a report from the Agricultural Food and Fisheries Information System (SIAP), the state harvested 14,600 tons less than in the previous season. However, exporters have been able to comply with all the export programs contracted with the United States to date, as confirmed by the Association of Avocado Producers, Packers and Exporters of Mexico (APEAM). The APEAM has promoted a strong advertising campaign in the American Union to promote the consumption of avocados, under the Avocados from Mexico brand, with the collaboration of important chefs who have cooked various dishes with avocados. The campaign also included content in social networks, blogs, searches paid to Google and Bing and the Super Bowl, which was held on May 5, where consumption of avocados increases exponentially. Michoacan sent 121.908 tons of avocados for the Super Bowl. Michoacan has 167,745 hectares devoted to the cultivation of this fruit, concentrating 87.88% of Mexico's avocado production. Unfortunately, the greed to cultivate this economically profitable fruit has caused the intentional burning of protected forests and jungle to obtain more production areas. Source - https://www.freshplaza.com

28.05.2019

India - Hailstorm damages apple crop

A hailstorm, accompanied by heavy rains, hit several parts of the Rafiabad area in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Sunday. The effects were disturbing for the apple orchards of several villages. The affected areas include the villages of Watergam, Dangiwacha and Zaingeer area of Sopore. Local growers were visibly upset: “It is a huge loss. The vegetable crop and apple orchards, which are in early stage have suffered massive damage” said Farooq Ahmad of Watergam Rafiabad. President of the Fruit Growers Association Fruit Mandi Sopore, Kaka Ji, said the high intensity hailstorm has destroyed apples in at least around a dozen villages of Rafiabad area: “The apple crop is in the early stage and this hailstorm has inflicted major damage. The apple growers are devastated and estimated loss is in the tens of millions.” Source - https://www.freshplaza.com

28.05.2019

Spain - Watermelon cultivation continues to decline in Valencia

Watermelon, one of the summer fruits par excellence and traditionally popular in the Region of Valencia, is losing ground, and this gradual decline is only becoming more and more accentuated. In the last five years, the acreage dedicated to this herbaceous plant in the Region of Valencia recorded a severe drop of almost 38%, going from 2.312 hectares in 2014 to only 1.347 in 2018, according to a report from the Valencian Association of Agricultural Producers (AVA-ASAJA) elaborated with official figures from the Ministry of Agriculture. The following chart shows the development of the acreage devoted to watermelons in different Spanish regions: The cause of this trend is the continuous lack of profitability observed in recent campaigns, which has led to a collapse of the price of Valencian watermelons. Because of this, dozens of producers are throwing in the towel. In fact, practically all watermelon growers associated with AVA-ASAJA said they have given up on planting the fruit this season, because they are tired of the disastrous results achieved in previous years. and they do not want to keep losing money. Last year, they received between 5 and 10 cents per kilo, when the production cost amounts to around 20 cents, so the situation is unsustainable. The prospects for the campaign that is now starting aren't good either. The prices paid in Spain's earliest production area, Andalusia, have fallen by 60% over the last fifteen days due to the lack of heat in Europe, which causes consumption to fall. Furthermore, those markets are also supplied with watermelons from Costa Rica, Brazil, Senegal and Morocco. We must bear in mind that the watermelon harvests of Andalusia and Murcia start a little earlier than those of the Region of Valencia, and logically, they also reach the markets before the latter; a factor that plays against Valencian watermelon growers when it comes to price negotiations, especially because, shortly after, they must also compete directly against the abundant supply that comes from Castile-La Mancha. The situation is therefore unsettling for Valencia's watermelon sector, especially for small producers, and brings back memories of what already happened with melons. The Region of Valencia used to be a much better place for the agrarian sector; Valencia was a real power when it came to the production of melons, and nowadays, the acreage devoted to the crop is very small when compared to the whole of Spain. The following chart shows the development of the acreage devoted to melons in different Spanish regions: To be precise, Valencian melons currently represent a meager 2.6% of the total Spanish production, while watermelons are not too far behind and account for just 11% of the country's total acreage. The following chart shows the development of the share of the Region of Valencia's acreage in the Spanish total: "We continue losing ground," said the president of AVA-ASAJA, Cristóbal Aguado, and the outlook is certainly devastating, because, far from seeing an exit from the tunnel, the market prospects are only getting worse. This campaign, even more producers are likely to stop planting. Meanwhile, politicians are failing to deal with the issue head-on, while projecting a bucolic image that is far removed from the harsh reality we live in. We have the right climatic conditions and an ideal soil for the cultivation watermelons, melons and other products, and yet we are allowing this heritage to be lost in a regrettable way." Source - https://www.freshplaza.com

28.05.2019

Bangladesh - Virus plagues pumpkins, farmers incur losses

Although pumpkin farming has changed the socioeconomic condition of many farmers in the district over the past few years,  a crop virus named mosaic has adversely affected cultivation this year. The virus has beset pumpkin crops and is at risk of invading other nearby yields. Not only is this alarming for the farmers, but also for seasonal honey extractors, as pumpkin fields are one of their primary sources for honey. Tajul Islam, a pumpkin farmer in Sadar upazila's Nargun village said although his yield was significant this year, it all started to fade in colour, including roots and leaves. Shah Alam, another farmer from the same village, said pumpkins are usually a secondary crop, but the recent losses he incurred in potato farming turned to surprising profits selling pumpkins. However, the advent of the mosaic virus is also putting his dreams of profit in jeopardy, he added. Abdul Latif, a farmer from neighbouring Baliati village, says the pumpkin seeds they got from distributors this season might have caused this viral outbreak. Assistance and suggestions from the local Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) have not helped in healing the crops either, he complained. Many farmers said they had not experienced such a crop disease before. This is posing a big risk to those who invested heavily in pumpkin farming. As said earlier, this virus outbreak is also adversely affecting honey farmers, as their bees are sitting idle in their box hives, instead of collecting honey from pumpkin fields. Instead, the extractors are having to purchase sugar to feed the bees, adding more to their expenditure. A farmer in the district said it takes Tk12,000 to cultivate a bigha's worth of pumpkins, including fertilizers and pesticides. This has prompted many farmers to post complaints against the guilty pumpkin seed distributors at the Sadar upazila agriculture office. Anisur Rahman, Sadar upazila agriculture officer, said they have not received any medicine to combat the mosaic crop disease. He said he also received a letter of complaint from farmers, but has no jurisdiction to take any action against the guilty parties. Local DAE sources said over 1,070 hectares of land was used to grow pumpkins in the district this year. Aftab Uddin, deputy director at the local DAE office, said an exceptional disease which they had not anticipated attacked pumpkin farms in the region. However, the DAE will conduct training sessions to tackle this in the near future. Source - https://www.dhakatribune.com

28.05.2019

USA - Clatsop County ranchers blame eagles for livestock deaths

Residents of Oregon’s Clatsop County can remember when it was rare to see a bald eagle. The raptors are now being blamed for killing lambs on northern ranches, The Daily Astorian reported. Brownsmead rancher Ben Parker has lost four lambs and suspects the same eagle is responsible. She has flown so low he has felt the wind from its wings. “She comes right down overhead,” he said. The raptors were once on the brink of extinction but they recovered enough by 2007 to be removed from the federal endangered species list in Oregon. Now they’re found in nearly every county. “It’s basically almost an explosion,” said Neal Maine, a wildlife photographer based in Gearhart. State and federal reports say predation of livestock by eagles is rare on the North Coast. Many people don’t report it or are not sure it’s a bald eagle that did the killing. “It gets a little murky,” said Russell Hunter, a veterinarian who practices in Knappa and investigates livestock deaths. “The predation is real and it’s emotional and it’s a little bit hard to determine how much of it is going on.” An animal may die in a field from other causes but be found with an eagle or coyote eating it. Bald eagles remain a protected species. Eagles can be hazed with if a rancher obtains a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit. None have been issued to ranchers, but the agency has received inquiries. ″(Bald eagles) are demonstrating increasing tolerance for human activity in parts of Washington and Oregon as their increasing numbers — and increasing human populations — create more overlap between human-occupied and eagle habitats,” said Jason Holm, an agency spokesman. Parker is keeping his sheep inside the barn for now. He is experimenting with scarecrows and flags. He has retained the carcass of a gutted 2½-month-old lamb that he spotted with an eagle on top of it. Federal biologists will determine if the eagle killed it. Neighbor Ed Johnson has lost three lambs this spring. Johnson uses guard dogs to protect sheep from coyotes and roaming domestic dogs. Multiple people have spoken to Dirk Rohne, a Brownsmead dairy farmer and Port of Astoria commissioner, about eagle predation. “The bald eagles impacting livestock is a new one,” he said. “I can’t say anyone was talking about that until this year.” On a positive note, he said, eagles appear to have taken a major bite out of Brownsmead’s invasive nutria population. Johnson says issues with eagles come in cycles. When runs of smelt runs are strong in the Columbia River, he doesn’t see as many eagles. When runs of the forage fish are low, more eagles appear, he said. “It kind of depends what’s around to eat and unfortunately, sometimes it’s lambs,” he said. Eagle predation has not become a major financial problem for Brownsmead sheep ranchers. They expect some loss each year to predators. “I’ve got nothing against the eagles,” Johnson said. “They’re beautiful. But at times there would be seven or eight of them sitting around waiting for a little action.” He’s not interested in spending $100 on a hazing permit and more money on explosives or other noisemakers. Johnson said It takes time to get the permit and the eagles have not been a problem every year, he said. Source - https://www.registerguard.com

27.05.2019

Mexico - Rambutan harvest decreases due to climate change

The Mexican state of Chiapas is the national center of rambutan production. Rambutan crops are concentrated in the localities of Metapa, Frontera, Tuxtla Chico, Kilometer 10 and the high zone that corresponds to Cacahoatan and Carillo Puerto. Extreme weather events caused by climate change have reduced the volume harvested this season by more than 30%. Producers harvested 30 thousand tons of rambutan in last year's season. This year, production has dropped to 20 thousand tons. The manager of the Exotic Agricultural products company, which produces rambutan, Victor Alfonso Perez Saldaña, said the plants hadn't undergone their flowering process, but produced more foliage, due to the rains in January, February, and March. He also said that some farmers had started to harvest the product and were getting paid 40 to 45 pesos per kilo, a price that is expected will remain the same. In this campaign, 40% of the production will be exported to the United States, 30% to Guatemala, 10% will be sent to other states in the country, and 20% will be sent to the municipalities of Comitan, Tuxtla Chico, San Cristobal and Tapachula. Producers trust that production will increase in the coming years thanks to the Sowing lives! program launched by the federal government. Source - https://www.freshplaza.com

27.05.2019

Serbia - 80 percent of raspberry crop was destroyed

Serbian raspberry farmers are calling on their government to declare a natural disaster and provide aid for them, as they claim that 80 percent of their crops have been destroyed by bad weather and disease. Raspberry Farmers’ Association President, Dobrivoje Radovic says that the crop is 50 to 70 percent lower than in previous years because of disease and even up to 80 percent lower because of the recent snow, hail and stormy weather. He said that last year’s low prices forced farmers to use less protection against disease. The Association is calling for an urgent meeting with officials from the Agriculture Ministry, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and President Aleksandar Vucic to ask for state help. The local authorities in the Cacak area, where a large number of raspberry farmers are based, declared a state of emergency on Monday because of bad weather with heavy rainfall. Recently, the Serbian government has passed a regulation that will ensure a subsidy for raspberry and blackberry producers whereby the state will refund the 65 percent of the money they invested in plantings. Source - https://www.freshplaza.com

27.05.2019

China - Fruit trees pollinated by hand due to a lack of pollinating insects

The lack of pollinating insects in some areas of fruit production in China has forced producers to pollinate their fruit trees by hand. In these areas, the excessive use of pesticides and the lack of a natural habitat put an end to all the pollinators that inhabited the ecosystem. There is increasing awareness of insects and other pollinating animals for agriculture worldwide. In fact, in the long term, they are basically the only ones responsible when it comes to growing food and without them agriculture could collapse. There are simple solutions to avoid their collapse. Studies in Europe and North America have found that it is possible to increase the population of pollinating insects by planting strips of wild flowers near crops and leaving patches of natural vegetation, such as trees and forests. These practices can also increase the population of natural predators, decreasing the need to use pesticides. With a little effort, it is perfectly possible to grow food and at the same time take care of the environment. In an attempt to control and transform nature to our advantage, Mao Tse Tung had the incredible idea that certain animals  (sparrows, mosquitoes, flies and mice) were harmful to the performance of agriculture, so he decided to declare war on them, beginning what was called the campaign against the four plagues, with which he intended to exterminate these four species. The sparrow owed its persecution to the eating of stored grain, causing problems for agriculture. As a result, it was placed in the list of dangerous animals. In the words of Mao Tse Tung, "Sparrows are one of the worst plagues in China." In 1960, alerted by the increase of insects, which were the basis of the diet of the sparrows, that plan was abandoned. But in some regions it was already too late. Despite having stopped the persecution, the damage caused by the annihilation of the sparrows brought with it the proliferation of locusts. They were responsible for a terrible plague that had a very important impact on the Great Chinese Famine, in which 16 to 30 million people died. As insects began to multiply, producers used insecticides and pesticides in huge quantities, which did not distinguish between beneficial and harmful insects. The result was that in large regions of China pollinating insects became extinct and among them the best pollinator on the planet: bees. This was a huge and tremendous error, and it seems that we still haven't learned the lesson well enough. Source - https://www.freshplaza.com

27.05.2019

Canada - Rains already set P.E.I. potato crop behind

At a time of year when Prince Edward Island farmers would normally be flat-out busy, most of their equipment is sitting idle as they wait for a break in the weather. Harris Callaghan, a potato grower from Miminegash, estimated spring planting in western P.E.I. is already at least a week behind schedule, and if the weather doesn’t soon turn, they’ll be two weeks behind. He’s already eyeing a sunny forecast for Thursday; hopeful of getting on some of his drier fields before the end of the week. Production is already lagging a little behind 2018, Callaghan said, pointing out farmers contended with a late spring last year, too. “It’s a risky business. You take chances. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. That’s the way it is, and there’s no point complaining about it." “It’s getting frustrating,” said P.E.I. Potato Board general manager Greg Donald, who is all too familiar with last year’s growing season which got off to a late start and then felt the effects of drought-like conditions, followed by an extremely soggy harvesting period and early frost. As a result, Donald said, over 7,000 acres out of a total P.E.I. crop of 86,000 acres, went unharvested. That’s in addition to a high cull rate for small and mis-shaped potatoes. “The stakes are high,” Donald said, pointing out the production cost is more than $3,000 per acre. “There’s lots of hardship after last year.” While conditions looked favourable at the start of the month, with optimism for a normal planting season, conditions have turned wet and cold. Donald estimates fewer than five per cent of the 2019 crop is in the ground, and he said fewer than 100 acres have been planted west of Portage. The rainy and cool weather has also been bad for Nova Scotia farmers. The lack of sun and warmth and the excess of rain is causing havoc for farmers who need to get crops in the ground as well as those who have already sown the fields. Some say the weather has set them back up to four weeks. Philip Keddy, of Charles Keddy Farms in Kings County, who is also president of Horticulture Nova Scotia, said he has two or three days left to get strawberry plants in the ground for them to be ready to be dug up and shipped to Florida on Sept. 20. “Normally we’d be done two weeks ago,” he said. “I don’t have time to wait. They have to grow every single day until they’re harvested,” he said Tuesday. “Every day like today I’m losing yield. I have a window [for harvesting to ship south] that I have to follow no matter what.” He said he harrowed a piece of land Saturday night until 11 p.m. to get it ready for planting the next day, “and by Sunday night when they were finishing, it was raining again. We’re just getting these short little windows of opportunity.” Source - https://www.freshplaza.com

27.05.2019

Spain - Murcia hit once again by hail

The fields of Murcia have again been hit by storms and hail this spring, and this has caused serious damage to crops in the municipalities of Cieza, Blanca and Jumilla. Manuel Martínez, vice-president of the agricultural cooperatives federation Fecoam, said that "up to one hundred percent of the harvest has been lost in some areas, such as the Macetúa area, where there was a lot of rainfall and hail." The actual extent of the damage has yet to be evaluated. The stone fruit harvest was in full swing in these areas of the region, so these products are the most affected. Other areas that could have been affected are La Carrichosa, La Corredera, El Horno, Elipe or Venta del Olivo, says Martínez. European meeting This week, Murcia has also hosted the meeting of the Peach and Nectarine Contact Group of the mixed Italo-Hispano-French Committee, in which the producers of these three European countries have analyzed the situation of the stone fruit campaign and shared information from the three countries. The agrarian organization Coag in the Region of Murcia has announced that it will ask the Contact Group to ensure all European producers work together "to avoid a new ruinous stone fruit campaign." According to Coag, the profitability of Murcia's fruit farms has fallen significantly in recent seasons, although there has been no decrease in the yield or commercial flow. "While a few years ago we talked about prices of around 1 Euro / kilo at the beginning of the campaign, data corresponding to the last 2-3 campaigns reveal an average that does not exceed 0.50 Euro / kilo," lamented the person in charge of this organization, Pedro García. Source - https://www.freshplaza.com

27.05.2019

Netherlands - The effects of last year's dry weather still being felt

The new Dutch potato season is beginning. It is expected that over two weeks, there will enough supply from the southwest of the country to start selling. The Dutch market is currently mostly being supplied by import potatoes. “At the moment, we are still getting our potatoes from mainly Morocco, Malta, and southern Spain," says Ton Kruythof of Kruythof potato traders. "We get varieties such as Nicolas, Maltese, and Doré from these regions. We sell the most Doré potatoes in the Netherlands." "The harvests, as well as quality, of these southern countries' potatoes is good. However, the demand for new potatoes is high. We are, therefore, running out of stock. The old Dutch harvest is drying up. These potatoes were affected by last year's dry weather." The new Dutch season will start soon. "We are expecting our first load from Tholen and, after that, from the rest of the region. We are, however, again facing a dry season this year. We have plots in Hoekse Waard. Conditions are not great there," Ton says. "It has only rained a little in Tholen and Goeree-Overflakkee. The dry weather ensures that the potatoes remain small. It also does their shelf life no good. But, we are still getting large Dutch french fry potatoes. These are of the Agria, Marquis, and Victoria varieties." "We should not even mention exports here. These kinds of potatoes are grown much less elsewhere in the world. The potatoes we are getting, like Agrias from Spain, are made up of limited volumes," the potato trader continues. Last year, Ton cultivated his own Doré potatoes on the Spanish island of Mallorca. He is skipping this, this year. "I was very busy with growing Menopper potatoes on our own plot in Hoekse Waard. We started growing this variety two years ago. We have seen that this potato sells very well on the market." "The Menopper is 85% resistant against potato diseases. It can be boiled, baked, and fried. We started cultivating Menoppers on two hectares. Last year, we were at four hectares. And this year, we are expanding to ten to twelve hectares. Of this, a small 1,5 hectares will be for organic cultivation of this variety," he explains. Source - https://www.freshplaza.com

24.05.2019

Italy - How to save plants and vegetation from extreme weather conditions

Five days after the violent hailstorm that hit some areas of Basilicata and Apulia on the afternoon of Sunday, May 12, 2019, we returned to the fields to better understand the situation in Metapontum. "The damage is really serious on a good percentage of the harvest. In Matera, the areas most affected are Marconia di Pisticci, Bernalda, Tursi, Rotondella and Montescaglioso. In other areas, fortunately, the crops have not been affected excessively. Francesco Vitelli, president of the  Consortium for the Defence of Agricultural Productions based in Metapontum, describes the situation. "Several millimetres of rain, strong winds and violent hailstorms have destroyed, or at least severely compromised, hundreds and hundreds of hectares of stone fruit, vineyards and citrus groves. According to initial estimates and reports received, only 30% of the crops were insured against such events. In one figure we read that, out of 100 companies, 80 are insured in the north and 20 in the south". We have also heard from the agronomist Vito Vitelli, who explains: "When storms arrive at high speed, with blows similar to stones, the plants and fruits are filled with wounds through which, after about 24 hours, begin to develop a series of pathogens like mold, fungal agents, bacteria and more". "In the less affected areas, a plant with slight lesions regenerates within a year. In other places where the event has shown its extreme strength, there is permanent damage, I always propose the drastic pruning or renewal of the plant, just because the trunk and the branches of the plant are the parts not affected". "Since there are no other solutions for the harvest, as has occurred in some areas of the Ionic arch, it is necessary to carry out anti-mould treatments and wound healing. Although such a hailstorm has been a cause of despair for several farmers, we must look at the positive side: the hailstorm that fell last Sunday occurred at the beginning of the vegetative recovery and not between June and July, when the flower buds of the fruit-bearing plants begin to differentiate. In this way, through a renewal pruning, the plant has every opportunity to regenerate again, so next year, we could have a good harvest, albeit in limited quantities". The agronomist's advice. Farmers should learn to live with the constant and worrying climate changes, trying to adapt to the new agronomic techniques. Among the most important and common are the construction of anti-hail systems. We cannot start a real fruit growing if it is not able to ensure income. We must adopt agronomic techniques that allow us to achieve high productivity and quality, so that we can cover the costs of anti-hail structures. The second aspect is the choice of variety. In some areas, we are having frosts when in the past there were no frosts at all. Therefore, in this case, it is necessary to choose varieties that have a later flowering period, adopting the so-called technique of escape (from calamitous events). Given the frequent and abundant rainfall in recent years, resort to techniques that can reduce radical asphyxiation. Among the best known, I always recommend raising the bed of cultivation. Less soil tillage: Frequent tillage of the soil could result in oxidation of the organic matter, while the turf retains and ensures the structure. Rational use of irrigation water. Abundant use, in addition to water bombs, causes problems for plants. Therefore, irrigation techniques must also be adequate. Source - https://www.freshplaza.com/

24.05.2019

Ethiopia - Farmers fight drought with insured cows

After farmer Manza Bulacho’s crops were wiped out in a drought that devastated parts of Ethiopia in 2017, the father of 10 hoped a cow could keep him going. Bulacho, 42, who lives near the city of Arba Minch in southern Ethiopia, joined a program that helped him borrow money to purchase a dairy cow and get it insured. The milk would bring in much-needed income - as much as 300 birr ($10.45) a day, he was told. As climate change tests the livelihoods of crop farmers and herders, the innovative scheme aims to foster a culture of saving and micro-insurance - but not all has gone smoothly. Run by UK-based nonprofit Farm Africa, the project organizes farmers into savings groups and links them with micro-finance companies that give them loans to buy cows for extra income. They then sign up to insurance policies to ensure they can still repay their loans if their cows die. But some farmers complain such market-driven initiatives leave participants waiting too long for the money to come in. A year on, after several insemination attempts, Bulacho’s cow had still not calved, so had not produced a drop of milk. With the added cost of keeping the cow, and none of the additional income he was expecting, Bulacho struggled to pay his bills. “I told them to take this cow away from me,” he said. Melese Olte, 32, another farmer in the Arba Minch region, tried three times to get his cow to conceive so she could make milk, but never succeeded. She died a few months later, he said. The insurance policy he got with the program guaranteed to pay out on a claim within 72 hours, but it was over five months before he got his money, he said. In the meantime, he still had to pay down the loan he got to buy his cow in the first place - with interest. TECH TROUBLES According to Farm Africa, since the project launched in 2015, it has established more than 340 village savings and loans associations, through which households have put away more than $100,000 and farmers have accessed nearly $70,000 in loans. Dereje Agizi, a project coordinator for aid agency Mercy Corps, one of Farm Africa’s partners, said problems like those experienced by Bulacho and Olte were rare - and could be due to “the age of the cow and poor feeding”. “Almost all cows bought from the same source and at the same time have given birth,” Agizi said by email. Hundreds of farmers had taken out insurance, and the five who had so far made claims had been compensated, he added. Addis Ababa-based Nyala Insurance S.C., which provides the livestock cover, said payouts to a few farmers had been delayed. That was mainly because of the technology Nyala agents use to record and submit claims while in the field, said Solomon Zegeye, micro-insurance business manager at the company. “The reality was that (the) sales agents who entered the particulars of insured cattle on the app did not do it properly,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by email. The company is working to make the software easier to use while providing more training to its agents, he added. Tsegalem Hailemichael, from the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries in the Arba Minch area, also noted a general lack of knowledge about how to care for cows among farmers, which could make it difficult for some to benefit from such projects. The farmers should get “good and continuous training” on how to keep their cows healthy and recognize when the animals are ready for insemination, he said. SPREADING THE BENEFITS Despite about 80% of Ethiopia’s population earning a living from farming and pastoralism, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, crop and livestock insurance is still a nascent business in the country. That means new programs based on insurance are bound to hit snags, said Farm Africa’s Negusu Aklilu, who heads the livestock insurance project in Ethiopia. “The important thing is to take those lessons and improve the service,” he said. One result of the initiative, which ends in June, is that even farmers who are not involved in the project are now approaching insurance firms about covering their animals, according to Zegeye from Nyala Insurance. Demand has been so high Nyala is expanding its service into areas around Arba Minch, to cover up to 5,000 heads of cattle, he said. The hope is that the growing interest will motivate micro-finance institutions and insurance companies to do more to arm Ethiopia’s farmers with the financial tools they need to adapt to climate change, Zegeye added. But Aklilu at Farm Africa does not believe that should be left to the private sector. “The government has to come up with incentives or mechanisms that can encourage the businesses ... to insure the uninsured,” he said. Farmer Bulacho kept his cow in the end. It is due to give birth in a few months’ time, and maybe then he will finally get the milk that could help save his livelihood. “God knows the future. I have nothing to say about what might happen to the cow next,” he added. Source - https://www.reuters.com/