Agroinsurance

USA - Overcoming hailed corn losses

After a devastating hail storm hit the Lingle area on July 27, producers were wondering what their next step would be. They weren’t the only ones. Fields and test plots at the University of Wyoming James C. Hageman Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center had also been destroyed. The SAREC staff put their heads together and devised a plan to utilize the destruction to the advantage of future hail victims. According to Carrie Eberle, systems agronomist at SAREC, their plan is to determine the most economically viable and sustainable options following late season destructive hail on irrigated corn. They will look at the best way to remove the damaged corn, find the best forage cover crop to plant following the event, study the impact of management and crop choice on next year’s cash crop, and determine the economic costs and gains for each treatment. Area producers were invited to a field day on Oct. 18, where they had a first-hand look at early results. Eberle said the SAREC researchers were pleased with the turnout of community producers and business people. “It’s still real early in the research, but we wanted people to see the fields, going into the next year.” She said they were pleasantly surprised at how well the crops are doing, considering the amount of biomass that was taken off. The tillage treatments were surprising, especially the no-till stand. “Usually it’s hard to get good stands in corn residue,” she explained. “It’s hard for the seed to get contact with the soil, and get a crop up around corn residue.” On the other hand, she was disappointed with the sorghum results. The poor stand could be due to late planting, she noted. However, there is still a year to go with the research, and Eberle and her fellow researchers look forward to trying different treatments. “We want to evaluate the results and find what works best for everyone,” Eberle said. “We still have a full year to go before we get final results.” One of the aspects of the research is determining the value of the fall replacement crop. Wheat, rye, triticale and sorghum were planted on the hailed corn plots. They have determined biomass yield and cost to this point, which includes seed, fuel, equipment, herbicide and labor. They have also determined animal unit days per acre, and the cost per AUD. Treatments varied per crop. For corn management, replacement crops were direct drilled into standing corn. Stalk shredded corn was left in the field. Standing corn was disked twice. The stalk shredded corn was followed by one pass with a disk and Landstar. Preliminary study summary results, based on biomass production and cost of operation, indicate that wheat planted into hailed corn that was disked twice, will produce the most economic animal feed at $0.75/AUD, which is significantly cheaper than buying alfalfa at the current price of $90-145/ton ($1.17-1.89/AUD). Eberle emphasized that these results are preliminary and final budgets and cropping system values will be reported at the end of the study next fall. Fall 2016 activities will include grazing crops this fall and winter, then corn will be planted next spring after the termination of each cover crop. Economic analysis will continue for each cropping system. Forage clippings will be taken this fall and winter to measure feed productions, and livestock will be grazed. Aerial imaging will also be used to measure crop preference. Soil fertility will be tested and ground cover will be measured to estimate the erosion control value of each system. In the spring, ground cover will be measured again to determine how persistent erosion control was, and soil samples will be taken again at planting to measure fertility. In the fall of 2017, corn yield will be used to measure the impact of each cropping strategy on corn production. Other SAREC staff involved in the project are Steve Paisley, beef cattle specialist; Brian Lee, economist; Kevin Madden, farm manager; John Tanaka, director; and Kelly Greenwald, administrative associate. Source - http://www.starherald.com

Philippines - Agri damage from typhoons assessed at over P10 billion

“Base[d] on initial assessments, damage inflicted on the agriculture and fisheries sector has reached P10.2 billion, with rice, corn and vegetable suffering the greatest losses,” according to a DA statement e-mailed to reporters over the weekend. According to a separate summary from the DA, as of Oct. 22, rice bore the bulk of the impact from the two typhoons with estimated damage of P7.78 billion. This was followed by vegetables and corn with losses of P1.71 billion and P602.32 million, respectively. The fisheries sector saw losses worth P85.78 million while livestock damage worth P6.58 million. Cassava crops recorded P2.29 million worth of damage. The report is only partially validated and subject to further checks in the field. “This does not yet fully reflect the destruction brought by supertyphoon Lawin in these regions as we are still in the process of assessing all sectors,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol was quoted in the statement, referring to the later of the two storms. Mr. Piñol has ordered all DA officials and personnel to provide food assistance to affected farmers and fisherfolk, validate the extent of damage, estimate the number of farmers and fishers affected, and distribute seed from pre-positioned buffer stocks, fertilizers, fishing equipment, and other assistance. “I have also instructed the concerned DA agencies, particularly the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation and the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, to swiftly process crop insurance payments to enable the farmers and fishers cope with their loss,” he added. Latest figures show that more than 68,886 farmers were affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Lawin, translating to more than 467,617 hectares of damaged areas in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa and Bicol regions. Of the affected areas, 260,485 hectares are assessed to have prospects for recovery. Source - http://www.bworldonline.com

Nepal - Uptake of crop, livestock insurance encouraging

Crop and livestock insurance recorded growth of 88 per cent (in value of policies sold by insurance companies) in last fiscal as compared to fiscal 2014-15 and there was encouraging progress in crop insurance, according to Insurance Board — the insurance sector regulator. Crop and livestock insurance programmes have been given high priority by the government to safeguard farmers and the programmes are also expected to lure more people in commercial agriculture. The government has been offering 75 per cent subsidy in premium of crop, livestock and fowl insurance since fiscal 2013-14. However, the results were not encouraging initially due to lack of information of the government’s scheme. “But, we have witnessed encouraging results in the last two fiscal years,” said Kundan Sapkota, deputy director of the Insurance Board. In the previous fiscal, 2015-16, Insurance Board had sought Rs 60 million from the government in addition to the allocated Rs 120 million to extend premium. According to Insurance Board, insurance companies claimed Rs 169.82 million against the subsidised premium of the insurance policies sold by the insurers worth Rs 5.99 billion under crop, fish, livestock and fowl headings. In fiscal 2014-15, insurance companies had sold polices worth Rs 3.19 billion under the crop and livestock insurance. Livestock insurance covered large chunk of insured amount worth Rs 4.7 billion in fiscal 2015-16, according to the Insurance Board. Similarly, the claim amount was also high for livestock as compared to others. In fiscal 2015-16, the claim amount for livestock stood at Rs 146.08 million against the total premium of Rs 232.98 million collected by the insurance companies. The claim amount for fowl and fishery insurance is very low when compared to livestock and crop insurance. NLG Insurance with 29.41 per cent, Siddhartha Insurance with 15.88 per cent, Nepal Insurance with 15.88 per cent, Shikhar Insurance with 9.65 per cent and Sagarmatha Insurance with 4.95 per cent secured top five positions in terms of market share of crop, livestock and fowl insurance. Source - https://thehimalayantimes.com

USA - New Drought Insurance for Forage Crops to be Offered

Enrollment is now open for farmers to sign up for a federally subsidized, pilot drought insurance program designed to protect hay and other forage crops. Historically, crops such as hay have been viewed as low risk in Maine, due to adequate rain fall. But this year has been difficult for some hay growers, especially in southern Maine, and elsewhere in New England. University of Maine Cooperative Extension recently polled growers of a number of crops to ascertain how the summer drought has affected yields. "Anecdotally, a lot of people said they had reduced hay yields, their second and third cuts were lower." says Erin Roche a crop insurance specialist with University of Maine Cooperative Extension. But whether farmers are spooked enough to seek out the new insurance, remains to be seen. The insurance, known as the Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Crop Pilot Program, works differently to other kinds of crop insurance. It's not based on historical yields to determine impact and payout, rather it relies solely on historic rainfall data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, over the last 50 years. "If the actual rainfall during that year falls below a certain percentage of that 50 year average rainfall, then a loss payment might be triggered." says Roche. Many such payments would be triggered automatically under the pilot system, which Roche says could mean less onerous reporting for growers. "But it's important for farmers to know that if they experience a loss, but there is no corresponding drop in measured rainfall, no payment would likely be issued. It's different from other types of insurance they may be familiar with." Premiums are federally subsidized by 51% to nearly 60%. Source - http://mainepublic.org

Philippines - WV fisherfolks need insurance protection

The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC)-6 encouraged the fisherfolk in Western Visayas to avail of the Fisheries Insurance Program offered by the agency. PCIC-6 Regional Manager Charlito Brilleta said that they provide insurance protection to fish farmers/fisherfolk/growers against losses in unharvested crop or stock in fisheries farms due to natural calamities and fortuitous events. “The object of insurance shall be the unharvested crop/stock in fisheries farms specified in the application for fisheries insurance and which the assured fish farmer/fisherfolk/grower has insurable interest on,” he said. PCIC said those who qualify are duly licensed owners/operators of fishponds, fish cages, fish pens and fisheries farms which culture or produce selected fish species such as milkfish, shrimps, groupers, snappers, tilapia, mudcrab, and seaweeds, whether borrowing or self-financed. Also eligible are duly licensed owner, co-owner, operators, lessees, Fishpond Lease Agreement (FLA) holders, farmer organizations engaged in fish farming/fisheries projects who culture/produce different fish species such as milkfish, shrimps, groupers, tilapia, mudcrabs and seaweeds whether borrowing or self-financed duly endorsed by Fishery Technologist/Technician. The fish farmer/fisherfolk must also agree to place themselves under the technical supervision of an accredited Fishery Technologist/Technician. The insurance shall cover the cost of production inputs, the value of the fish farmer/fisherfolk/grower’s own labor and those of the members of his own household, including the value of labor of hired workers per Fisheries Farm Plan and Budget (FFPB). For 2016, PCIC targets 2,663 fisherfolk in Western Visayas as prospective beneficiaries of its Fisheries Insurance Program. PCIC, a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) under the Department of Agriculture (DA), is the implementing agency of the government’s agricultural insurance program. Source -

Philippines - Subsidies to GOCCs drop in August

Subsidies to state-owned companies declined in August this year after it surged in the previous month, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed. Based on the Treasury report, the national government spent P7.4 billion in subsidies last August, down by 16 percent from R8.8 billion in the same month last year. Of that amount, about 45 percent of the total government subsidies went to the Power Sector Assets & Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM). During the Duterte administration’s first month in office, the government spent P35.26 billion, and bulk of which, or P33.8 billion, was used to pay off the health insurance coverage of indigent families, through the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth). The government needs to provide some financial support to PhilHealth to pay off the health insurance premiums of beneficiaries identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as indigent individuals. In August, the biggest recipient of government subsidies were the PSALM with P3.36 billion, followed by the National Development Co. with R1.5 billion, and National Irrigation Administration with P1.22 billion. Other recipients of state subsidies during the month were Light Rail Transit Authority (P478 million), National Kidney and Transplant Institute (R440 million), and Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (P182 million). In the first eight months of the year, total subsidies disbursed to state-owned companies amounted to P79.96 billion, higher by 45 percent compared with P55.1 in the same period last year. Last week, the Department of Finance (DOF) reported that the national government posted a budget surplus of P32.6 billion, more than double compared with P15 billon in the same month last year. The surplus in August, the first record under the Duterte administration, dragged down the eight-month fiscal gap to P138.4 billion, leaving the government ample fiscal room to support growth for the remainder of the year. The end-August budget deficit is also well within the P388.87 billion ceiling for the year, but significantly higher compared with the R3.4-billion gap incurred in the same period in 2015. During the month, government revenues reached P209.6 billion, up by 19 percent from P176.7 billion in the previous year. Of that amount, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) contributed P157.5 billion to state coffers, while the Bureau of Customs generated P33.1 billion in revenues. Public spending has also been on the march higher in August, with the government posting a 9 percent growth in expenditure to P177 billion from P161.6 billion in the same month last year. The government’s level of spending is a closely watched driver of economic growth as it contributes about a tenth to gross domestic product (GDP). Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III earlier said the Duterte administration would be responsible with its finances while addressing the underspending in the previous administration. Under the new administration, government infrastructure spending, a major driver for growth, is targeted to be equivalent to 6 percent of GDP, exceeding the previous administration’s five percent goal. Source - www.mb.com.ph

USA - Drought conditions worsen in Calhoun County, threatening crops, water supplies

There was very little hay to be had in Doug Trantham’s fields this year; they produced only a quarter what they would in a normal summer, the Alexandria farmer said by phone Thursday. So Trantham found himself baling soybean stubble, plant parts discarded in harvest, just to feed his herd of cows through winter. The blame lies above his head. “This drought’s been going on all summer long,” Trantham said Thursday, “and it's just got to a severe level now.” While all of Alabama is in the grip of some level of drought, dryness in Calhoun County this week reached its most severe level yet, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The monitor — based at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and pulling from many state and federal data sources — classifies much of northeast Alabama as in “exceptional drought,” painting it on an online map with the color of dried blood. That means drought conditions are so severe they could mean the loss of pasture and crops and threats to water supplies, according to the monitor’s classification scheme. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="717"] All of Calhoun County and most of Alabama is classified as in exceptional drought. That means drought conditions are so severe they could mean the loss of pasture and crops and threats to water supplies, according to the monitor’s classification scheme.[/caption] The dry conditions last week led Gov. Robert Bentley to declare a drought emergency in Alabama, banning all outdoor flame in 46 of the state’s 67 counties. Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Calera say the area has a rainfall deficit of more than a foot so far this year, and with little rain predicted, that deficit will likely only grow. For Trantham, the bone-dry summer meant a drop in his land’s bounty. Where he might harvest nearly 150 bushels of corn per acre of farmland, he’s taken perhaps 40 bushels this year. Soybean production is down, too, to maybe 10 bushels from a normal level of 40 or 50 per acre, he said. Fortunately, the farmer said, he’s got federal crop insurance. “It will help offset some of this, but it won’t alleviate everything,” he said. “I just hope this drought doesn’t linger all winter long and into summer.” Water supplies in Calhoun County, meanwhile, remain in good shape despite the dearth of rain, officials said Thursday. “We’re in good shape,” said Anniston Water Works and Sewer Board general manager Ed Turner. The utility draws its supply from Coldwater Spring, which pushes about 30 million gallons of water to the surface each day. “As with any natural resource, we use wisely.” While the water table — liquid stored deep underground — is down because of the drought, it’s not depleted enough to cause the Calhoun County Water Authority any trouble. “We’re not in a bind right now,” authority chairman Echols Bryant said by phone Thursday. The authority’s nearly 1,400 miles of water pipes serve about 11,000 customers, Bryant said, all over Calhoun County. There are no restrictions from either utility on water use right now, both men said. Turner says there’s “no need to panic. “If there is a situation where there needs to be water restrictions, we’ll notify the public,” he said. Meanwhile, meteorologists said Thursday that Calhoun County could possibly see a small amount of rain later that night or in the morning hours. (None had fallen by 1 a.m., although there was more cloud cover than there had been earlier, and a constant breeze made it seem like something was trying to happen.) “It’s not going to be the drought-busting rain we need,” said Jason Holmes, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Calera office. Holmes says the quick-moving storms may drop a quarter of an inch on Calhoun County. That will do little to soothe the 13.23 inch deficit the area currently suffers, he said. There’s some good news, though: Holmes said another storm system may develop next week. Rain is expected in November and December, he said, when weather conditions become more favorable for such. For the next 10 days, though, the weather pattern that’s seen drought entrench itself in this state and others in the Southeast will continue. High pressure will keep most moisture away. The ground will remain dry and easily heated or cooled — with daily high temperatures in the 70s and 80s, and nighttime lows between 40 and 50 degrees. Source - http://www.annistonstar.com/

India - Odisha waiting for central share to settle crop insurance claims

Even as the State Government has released its share of about Rs 760 crore towards crop insurance claims of the farmers for 2015 kharif season, the Centre is yet to provide the matching share. Farmers who had sustained crop loss due to drought during last year kharif are still waiting for their claims to be settled by the National Agricultural Insurance Company. The state government submitted its crop loss report to the Ministry of Agriculture on September 3 for approval and release of central share of the insurance claims of the farmers. Even after one and half months the state government is clueless about the delay in sanction of funds. "We apprehend that the Centre is not fully convinced about the crop loss claims by the state government as the foodgrains production of the state during last kharif season is no less than the previous year," sources in the cooperation department said. Official sources said that the state government is contemplating to disburse its share of the claims to put pressure on the Centre for release of the matching share without further delay. Wide variance in crop yield data provided by Agriculture and Revenue Departments for assessment of crop loss had put the State Government in a fix. The designated agriculture insurance companies refused to accept the crop loss date. The opposition Congress and the BJP raked up issue in the monsoon session of the Assembly where Cooperation Minister Damodar Rout had promised to disburse the insurance claims within two weeks. Admitting the delay in payment of insurance to the affected farmers to contradictory crop cutting reports, Rout said the state is waiting for the matching share from the Centre. Earlier, both the Congress and the BJP members had strongly criticised the state government for not giving insurance amount to farmers, "forcing" them to commit suicide. This government has betrayed farmers so far as assured irrigation and free supply of power are concerned. Now the farmers are victims to the Chief Minister's greed for more Krishi Karman Awards, commented Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra. State waiting for central share to settle crop insurance claims Even as the State Government has released its share of about Rs 760 crore towards crop insurance claims of the farmers for 2015 kharif season, the Centre is yet to provide the matching share. Farmers who had sustained crop loss due to drought during last year kharif are still waiting for their claims to be settled by the National Agricultural Insurance Company. The state government submitted its crop loss report to the Ministry of Agriculture on September 3 for approval and release of central share of the insurance claims of the farmers. Even after one and half months the state government is clueless about the delay in sanction of funds. "We apprehend that the Centre is not fully convinced about the crop loss claims by the state government as the foodgrains production of the state during last kharif season is no less than the previous year," sources in the cooperation department said. Official sources said that the state government is contemplating to disburse its share of the claims to put pressure on the Centre for release of the matching share without further delay. Wide variance in crop yield data provided by Agriculture and Revenue Departments for assessment of crop loss had put the State Government in a fix. The designated agriculture insurance companies refused to accept the crop loss date. The opposition Congress and the BJP raked up issue in the monsoon session of the Assembly where Cooperation Minister Damodar Rout had promised to disburse the insurance claims within two weeks. Admitting the delay in payment of insurance to the affected farmers to contradictory crop cutting reports, Rout said the state is waiting for the matching share from the Centre. Source - http://www.newindianexpress.com

USA - Rain ruins Idaho harvest plans

During the week which ended Oct., 16, Idaho's farmers were kept out of their fields due to very muddy conditions caused by heavy rain, reported the USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) Idaho field office. According to the NASS report, days suitable for fieldwork were 4.5. Power County reported the weather was still good enough for sugarbeet harvest, and other counties across the state noted that corn silage, potato, onion, and dry bean harvests were wrapping up. Ninety-five percent of Idaho’s corn crop is rated in good to excellent condition. Ninety-one percent of the corn has dented, well behind last year’s pace. Eighty percent of the corn has reached maturity and field corn for silage is 85 percent harvested. Dry edible beans are 95 percent harvested, catching up to last year’s pace. A couple weeks ago the harvest was well behind the 2015 pace. Onions are 90 percent harvested, also behind last year’s pace. Idaho dry bean production is forecast at 2.78 million hundredweight (cwt), up 30 percent from last year. Harvested area, at 139,000 acres, is up 20,000 acres from 2015. Yield is also expected up 200 pounds from last year at 2,000 pounds per acre. Potatoes are 91 percent harvested, while sugarbeets are 52 percent harvested and 96 percent are in good to excellent condition. Source - http://www.freshplaza.com

Super typhoon hits the Philippines

On the night of Wednesday 19 October, super typhoon Haima, one of the most powerful typhoons to ever hit the Philippines, struck the northern province of Cagayan with winds almost on a par with catastrophic Haiyan, which was then the strongest storm to strike the disaster-prone south-east Asian archipelago and claimed more than 7,350 lives in 2013. Haima destroyed houses, tore roofs off schools and ripped giant trees out of the ground on Thursday, reports The Guardian. “Rice and corn plants as far as the eye can see are flattened,” Villamor Visaya, a university teacher in Ilagan, one of the main northern cities with a population of 130,000 people, said. Haima hit coastal towns facing the Pacific ocean with sustained winds of 225km/h (140mph), and wind gusts of up to 315km/h. It weakened overnight as it hit mountain ranges and by 9am on Thursday was leaving the western edge of Luzon, heading towards southern China. President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday night all possible preparations had been made for Haima, with tens of thousands of people evacuated, but he still struck an ominous tone. “We only pray we be spared the destruction such as the previous times, which brought agony and suffering,” Duterte said in Beijing, during a state visit. “But we are ready. Everything has been deployed.” About 10 million people across the northern parts of Luzon were at risk, the government’s disaster risk management agency said on Wednesday. The Philippine islands are often the first major landmass to be hit by storms that are created over the Pacific ocean. The south-east Asian archipelago endures about 20 major storms each year, many of them deadly. The most powerful and deadliest was Haiyan, which destroyed entire towns in heavily populated areas of the central Philippines. Haima was the second typhoon to hit the northern Philippines in a week, after Sarika struck on Sunday claiming at least one life and leaving three people missing. Source - http://www.freshplaza.com

India - Ensure more ryots avail crop insurance scheme

The Telangana State government must ensure that more farmers availed the Central government’s crop insurance scheme, said Union Minister for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya here on Thursday. Addressing a press conference here after reviewing crop loans with State Level Bankers’ Committee, the Minister pointed out that only eight lakh farmers were utilising crop insurance scheme while the farmers eligible to avail it were nearly 37 lakh. “The State government must direct agricultural field officers to ensure that all the eligible farmers benefit from the scheme,” the Minister said. He felt the scheme was the best shield the government could offer to farmers. In case of crop damage or other losses, they can fall back on the scheme’s support. Equally important was to make use of the Centre’s Soil Health Scheme. All farmers in Telangana must be persuaded to secure Soil Health Cards, he said. Reiterating that Narendra Modi’s government was committed to farmers’ welfare, he said Rs. 1,515 crore was allocated for National Disaster Fund for the period 2015-20. The money allotted to this Fund earlier was mere Rs. 143 crore during the Congress regime in 2010-15, he added. “This allocation of funds clearly shows how different are Congress and BJP governments,” Mr. Dattatreya remarked. criticising that Congress always targeted BJP only on communal issues. He advised the Congress party to judge BJP from the parameters of economic progress instead of attributing communal issues to the ruling party. Even in supply of fertilisers, the BJP government was way ahead of the previous Congress regime, he added. There used to be serpentine queues and frequent lathi-charge on agriculturists during sale of fertilisers during the previous government rule. He claimed that no such incidents were reported now. Referring to triple Talaq issue, Mr. Dattatreya said some Muslim women were fighting for gender justice, but the attempt to politicise the issue by some parties like Congress was unfair. Source - http://www.thehindu.com

New Zealand - Intense hail storm blitzes Motueka kiwifruit orchard

Motueka orchardist Richard Horrell may not run his packhouse this summer after most of his kiwifruit and apple crops were destroyed in last Friday's intense storm. Horrell was with his accountant when the storm hit. He came home to find 30mm of hail at his back doorstep. While he is insured, claims he made after hail last year meant his possible cheque would be reduced. "The loss of potential earnings is quite high." Horrell had 13 hectares of apple and kiwifruit orchard and a further 13ha of grapes across land in Lower Moutere/Motueka. Five of his six blocks of apples were badly hit, all his green and gold G16A kiwifruit have been written off, along with one of his Gold G3 blocks, he said. Hail stones up to 20mm cross had completely stripped his green kiwifruit vines. "We will salvage what we can. But it will be about a month before we know the extent of the damage," Horrell said. The volume of fruit salvaged would decide if Horrell ran his packhouse at the end of the season. "If we don't it will mean a loss of jobs. But the district is short of packing capacity, however if our volume is low it will not cover the fixed costs." It was the second year Horrell had been hit by hail. He had rot in his grapes last year as well. "We are becoming a bit blase about disaster - which is not good. But all in all it has not been a good episode." General manager of Riwaka's Fry Rod Ltd, Jared Fry, said around five hectares of its Peach Island kiwifruit block were destroyed in the first hail storm earlier this month. The hail had broken off young canes and stripped leaves. Fry said the company's orchards had been hit hard by hail in 2014 and "tickled" last year. "Mother Nature is a hard mistress," he said. Riwaka kiwifruit grower and NZ Kiwifruit Growers South Island representative, Paul Thomas, said the hail caused isolated pockets of damage across the region. Damage to fruit already set meant reduced volumes. "There has also been a lot of cane damage, which potentially affects next year's crop as well." Source - www.stuff.co.nz/

Spain - Climate change already affecting citrus, grapes and almonds

It may seem that climate change is still far away, affecting just the ice at the poles, but it's already here and its impact is to be seen in our daily lives. Products such as Valencia's oranges, for instance, are suffering from the impact of drought. "This year, the production costs of oranges have increased by between 8 and 10%," explains Cristóbal Aguado, president of AVA-ASAJA. The shortage of water causes citrus fruits to be smaller, resulting in many not even being harvested. Moreover, it will become increasingly rare to see almond trees in bloom in Spain. The heat is reducing the almond production and prices will rise. We will also see grapes disappearing from south to north. In 50 years, if nothing changes, our Designations of Origin will lose its relevance. "The acreage and production volume will decrease in the Mediterranean and Central Europe," affirms Felipe Fernández, Professor of geography and physics at the Autonomous University of Madrid. All this would force us to change our consumption habits, although we still have time to stop climate change if we take action to reduce our CO2 emissions. Source - http://www.freshplaza.com

Argentina - Fruit flies affect 20% of the citrus from the NEA

The National Health and Agricultural Food Quality Service (Senasa) and the Ministry of Agricultural Industry, will host the 9th, Western Hemisphere's, Meeting of the Fruit Flies Working Group, a plague that has decreased fruit production by 20% in the citrus region of northeastern Argentina. "The fruit fly is a pest that causes direct damage in fruit production because the flies lay their eggs in the fruit and the larvae born there feed directly on the fruit," said the Director of Plant Health of Senasa, Wilda Ramirez. "Effective control of this plague is achieved through national plans that, in the NEA, aim at reducing that 20% and at protecting the areas that are free of the presence of the fly so that they remain that way," said Ramirez. "This work involves everybody. The producers and the consumers, because people must understand the risks of moving infected fruits across the Patagonian limits - a region that is free of the plague - as it could put at risk all of the economies of those provinces," he added. The meeting will be held on Monday, October 17th, and continue until the following Friday, at the Buenos Aires Auditorium in Buenos Aires. In it, the participants will discuss the issues that the plague has caused at the continental level. There are two species of fruit fly in Argentina, the American and the Mediterranean fruit flies. Their habitat extends over the entire national territory, except Patagonia, because its climate does not allow the insect to develop. The meeting will be attended by 250 to 300 scientists, researchers, specialists in the management of fruit flies, representatives of national plant protection agencies (ONPF), and representatives of industries from different countries in the continent that will share their latest discoveries, identify needs, and promote new technologies to combat this pest. "All the countries of America have control programs for the fruit fly. Its presence complicates marketing these products. That's why one of the major topics at the meeting will be quarantine and the post-harvest treatments to which the fruits are subjected," said the Director of Plant Health at Senasa, Wilda Ramirez. Source - http://www.freshplaza.com

Spain - Murcia's vegetable production to fall by 40%, due to drought

Exporters and cooperative organizations have warned that drought is taking a toll on the planting this season, and as a result, the harvest volume expected for early 2017 will be reduced. Fecoam has estimated this drop at 40 percent. Santiago Martínez, president of Fecoam, which brings together 86 cooperatives and 22,000 members, said that final data on the losses in sales to foreign markets will be available between February and March. Meanwhile, the president of Proexport, Juan Marín, has stressed that the lack of the necessary irrigation resources since the summer has caused a decline in the production volume and, above all, in the quality of the fruit, which fails to meet the minimum requirements of international chains. Therefore, he explained that the production is moving to neighbouring provinces, where the weather is not as benign, but where they have the necessary water resources, although he lamented how the workforce is affected by this change, making it necessary for labourers to move or for new ones to be hired at origin. For his part, Francisco López, president of Fecamur, which has 30 cooperatives and 5,000 members, defended the need to promote the arrival of water from other river basins, and to minimise the use of desalination plants, because of their high cost, reminding us also that Murcian agriculture creates thousands of direct and indirect jobs. Source - http://www.freshplaza.com