29.04.2015

USA - Avian influenza prompts state of emergency in Minnesota

On Thursday April 23rd the governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, issued an emergency order declaring a peacetime ‘State of Emergency’ in an effort to combat the H5N2 avian influenza (AI) outbreaks.The H5N2 AI strain has been identified on 46 farms in the state. Minnesota is the US's largest turkey producer – raising 46 million birds per year. This outbreak has killed over 2.5 million turkeys in the state so far. Also just this week the virus hit a chicken farm in the state."This is a moving target, and the number of farms affected has continued to increase," Dayton said. "We don't know what the ceiling will be."No human infections from the H5N2 outbreakFollowing a recommendation from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), State health officials said they were accelerating prescriptions for the antiviral drug Tamiflu for farm workers and others who have been in direct contact with infected flocks. However, no human infections have been reported in this outbreak.Poultry on supermarket shelves are safe to eatAlso state officials are emphasising the point that this is not a health risk for consumers. Dave Frederickson, commissioner of the Department of Agriculture. "The poultry on grocery store shelves is safe and will continue to be safe."Avian influenza hit 16 US statesAll in all this outbreak has caused the deaths of 7.3 million birds nationwide – appearing in 16 states. Most recently striking a 3.8 million hen farm in northern Iowa - the largest single outbreak nationwide.Source - http://www.blackseagrain.net/

28.04.2015

Soils in urgent need of protection

The UN has declared 2015 to be the International Year of Soils, and April 19-23 marked this year’s Global Soil Week. Such events, though not exactly glamorous, do not receive nearly the amount of attention they deserve.Intact soils are an invaluable and irreplaceable resource, one that performs myriad functions in achieving the international community’s main development and environmental goals. And now they are in urgent need of protection.Healthy soils are crucial to human nutrition and the fight against hunger. We rely on them not only for food production, but also to create new drinking water. They help to regulate Earth’s climate, storing more carbon than all of the world’s forests combined (only the oceans are a larger carbon sink), and are essential to maintaining biodiversity: a handful of fertile soil contains more micro-organisms than there are humans on the planet. Two-thirds of Earth’s species live beneath its surface.But erosion and contamination are placing soils under severe stress. Worldwide, 24bn tons of fertile soil is lost annually, partly owing to the growth of cities and infrastructure. In Germany alone, construction projects claim an average of more than 75 hectares per day.Inappropriate agricultural practices are also to blame: the liberal use of synthetic fertiliser, for example, decimates organisms inhabiting the soil and changes its structure.It takes millennia for fertile topsoil to form; in many places, a cloudburst is now all it takes to wash it away.At the same time, global demand for food, fodder and biomass for fuels is growing, in turn driving up the value of land – a fact that has not escaped international investors’ attention. According to a World Bank estimate, 10-30% of arable land worldwide – land that would be used by millions of smallholders, pastoralists, and indigenous people – has been affected by large-scale investment.The struggle to secure land rights for individuals and communities has thus become a matter of survival in much of the world. Access to land is one of the key determinants of hunger, and it is even more unequally distributed than income. Some 20% of households affected by hunger are landless, and 50% of food-stressed households are smallholder families.In Europe, we have long since outgrown our domestic agricultural land, so now we “import” it on a grand scale from the global South. Just producing the fodder needed to cover the European Union’s meat consumption requires an area of agricultural land in Brazil the size of the United Kingdom.If every human ate as much meat as the average EU citizen, 80% of the world’s arable land would have to be dedicated to producing it, compared to 33% currently. And let us be clear: given that 100 calories of fodder produce at most 30 calories of meat, using fertile land for this purpose is sheer waste.This trend will be exacerbated to the extent that the “green growth” that many governments are promising relies on biofuels to replace fossil fuels like oil and coal. Biofuels do not benefit the climate nearly as much as wind or solar energy systems, yielding only one-tenth the energy per square metre.As a result, the biofuel requirements contained in the EU’s 2030 Framework for Climate and Energy would need a further 70mn hectares of land – an area larger than France. Protecting soils need not undermine prosperity.On the contrary, sustainable soil-protection practices can actually boost agricultural yields – especially those of smallholders. Crop diversification, recycling, and soil cover can all contribute to living, fertile, and active soil capable of optimal water management.One approach, so-called agro-ecology, is based on small farmers’ traditional knowledge and experience, making it readily adaptable to local conditions.A study of agro-ecological farming practices by Jules Pretty in 2006 examined 286 sustainable agricultural projects in 57 countries and concluded that yields had increased an average of 79%.Despite the proven success of such methods, the use of synthetic fertilisers has increased by a factor of more than five over the past 50 years, and many African governments spend up to 60% of their agricultural budgets to subsidize them.Particularly in tropical environments, such products lead to the destruction of the topsoil and biodiversity loss (and the runoff is transported to the oceans, where it damages marine ecosystems).And, though their main component, nitrogen, could be produced biologically and sustainably, that would run counter to the interests of a handful of powerful fertiliser producers and distributors.Policymakers must address the following question: How can poor people produce enough food to escape hunger and destitution in a manner that protects soils, mitigates climate change and preserves biodiversity?Despite the issue’s urgency, approaches like agro-ecological production are not being promoted to any serious extent anywhere. Events like the International Year of Soils and Global Soil Week offer an opportunity to change that – from the ground up.Source - http://www.gulf-times.com/

28.04.2015

Canada - Crop insurance changes coming for Ontario farmers

Receiving crop production insurance could soon be much easier for Ontario farmers.The Agriculture Insurance Act, alternatively known as Bill 40, proposes an expansion on what products are covered through Ontario’s crop production insurance.One of the major changes would be the addition of insurance for livestock producers.“Livestock producers can be at the whim of Mother Nature the same as crop producers can,” said Toby Barrett, Haldimand-Norfolk MPP and Opposition critic for agriculture, food and rural affairs in a press release.“The challenges facing livestock producers are not just weather-related, but also include predators such as coyotes and disease.”The Agriculture Insurance Act, an amendment on the Crop Insurance Act of 1996, would give the Ontario minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs the ability to designate which products can be included and allow additional crop coverage.The Bill passed on March 11, as Ontario MPPs voted to send Bill 40 to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs.In Ontario, farmers are supplied with crop production insurance through Agricorp, a Crown agency owned by the province.Currently, Agricorp covers production losses for vegetables, fruit and honey, forage, tobacco and plants that are insured.The Liberals, Conservatives and NDP all supported the second reading, but Barrett wasn’t without some concerns.He noted that the program supports livestock production insurance through regulation, not legislation. His press statement also said that the government “dragged its heels on implementation of parts, including tax receipts for producers who donate goods to food banks.”Interim Conservative party leader Jim Wilson was also skeptical of Bill 40.“I encourage the Minister to be open and listen to all commodity groups who may wish to be included,” Wilson said via press release. “Which group will be included is just one of the many questions left to be answered.”Of course, any expansion in coverage would also need to be met with an expansion in funding. With legislation yet to be enacted, it’s unclear as to what the expanded funding might look like and how it would impact Ontario farmers.Bill 40 is expected to bring Ontario in line with other provinces that have the ability to offer crop insurance for agricultural products that include more than just crops and perennial plants.Source - http://www.norfolknews.ca/

28.04.2015

India - Crop damage update: 189 lakh hectares

The unseasonal rainfall accompanied with hailstorm in February and March have caused much more damage to the crops than it was previously thought, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh told Rajya Sabha on Monday.Singh said that the latest assessments by the state governments add up to 189 lakh hectares of cropped land that have been affected by the recent rainfall.Replying after a marathon eight-hour debate on the agrarian crisis in the country, Singh said Uttar Pradesh has revised the extent of damage of cropped land from 29 lakh hectares to 94 lakh hectares.“I had told Lok Sabha on April 20 that a total of 94 lakh hectares of cropped land have been damaged. Since then some states have updated their numbers. As of now, the assessment is that 189 lakh hectares have been damaged,” Singh said, adding that the Centre was doing all it could to give relief to the affected families.At the same time , he admitted that the crop insurance schemes, run by various private companies, had not turned out be very effective.“The Central government has given licences to these companies to run crop insurance schemes. But it is the states who select which companies would be allowed to operate in their area,” Singh said.He said the government has already taken a number of steps to help farmers, including an increase in the compensation amount. He countered the claims made by several Opposition members on the number of farmers who had committed suicide.“Unhappy” with the minister’s reply, members of Congress, Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress walked out of the House.Earlier in the day, a large number of MPs took part in the debate, most of them taking up issues of minimum support price, farmers’ suicides, compensation for crop damage, and the land acquisition bill.CPM’s Sitaram Yechury said the government would be failing not just the nation but also the humanity if it did not take adequate steps to stop the spate of suicides being committed by farmers. He said the suicide of a farmer during the rally of Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi “was just a manifestation of a much bigger problem”.Ashwani Kumar of the Congress suggested that the minimum support price should be based on the income level of the farmers rather than on the cost of production.Source - http://indianexpress.com/

28.04.2015

USA - Peach crop can be affected by late freezes, leaf curl

Each year, the peach crop depends on whether or not we get a late freeze. As if that wasn’t bad enough, there are some maintenance practices that should be done early to ensure a good crop.Producers often find themselves pruning and spraying in early spring only to have the whole peach crop ruined by a late freeze. By failing to spray prior to knowing whether the crop will survive the freeze, a grower could end up with a springtime disease known as peach leaf curl.Peach leaf curl is caused by the fungus Taphrina deformans. The fungus survives the winter as spores (conidia) on bark and buds. Infection occurs very early in the growing season.Symptoms of leaf curl first appear on developing leaves. They become severely distorted (thickened and puckered), and have a reddish or purple cast. Later, as spores form on the leaf surface, the leaves become powdery gray in color. Shortly after this, the leaves turn yellow or brown and drop.During cool, wet spring weather, the conidia infect new leaves as they emerge from the buds. Host plant tissues are susceptible for only a short period. As the tissues mature they become resistant. The fungus produces another type of spore (ascospore) on the upper surface of the diseased leaves. During wet weather, ascospores produce additional conidia by budding. These conidia are carried to other parts of the tree by rain and wind, where they will over winter until the next spring.Environment can limit leaf curl infection. This partially explains why the disease does not occur every year. Leaf curl is worse when the weather is cool and wet. Low temperatures are thought to retard maturation of leaf tissue, thus prolonging the time infection may occur. The fungus can penetrate young peach leaves readily at temperatures between 50 and 70 degrees, but only weakly below 45 degrees. Rain is necessary for infection.Though rarely seen, flowers and fruit may also become diseased. They drop shortly after they are infected. Diseased fruit has shiny, reddish, raised, warty spots.When sprayed while dormant, peach leaf curl is not difficult to manage. Since the fungus survives the winter on the surface of twigs and buds, a single fungicide spray, thoroughly covering the entire tree, will provide control. If leaf curl does result in significant defoliation in the spring, the fruit on affected trees should be thinned to compensate for the loss of leaves.There is no secondary spread of this disease from leaves infected in the spring to new leaves produces later in the growing season. Once infected leaves drop, no further symptoms will appear during that growing season. Disease twigs become swollen and stunted, and may have a slight golden cast. They usually produce curled leaves at their tips.Peach leaf curl also affects nectarine trees but apricot trees are resistant.Source - http://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/

28.04.2015

India - Torrential rain, hail damage 50% wheat crop in Rajouri

Torrential rain coupled with hail and thunderstorms damaged between 35 and 50 per cent of the standing wheat crop in Rajouri district.The information was given by district agriculture officer Sadaqat Ali. He said the matter was taken up with the district administration and the higher authorities for compensation to the affected farmers.The district agriculture officer added that the hailstorm and torrential rain in Rajouri city and its adjoining areas, Palam, Nagrota, Thudi and Dungi, had also damaged vegetables.Meanwhile, farmers from Nowshera, Sunderbani, Darhal, Kotranka, Budhal, Kalakot and Manjakot tehsils have been holding protests, demanding compensation as their wheat crop has been damaged.“Torrential rain and hailstorms in the second and third week of April have damaged our wheat crop. No official from the Agriculture and Revenue Departments have visited the affected areas to assess the losses,” said Abdul Qayoom, sarpanch of Kotranka.Farmers from the Kotranka tehsil held a protest against the district administration and Agriculture Department officials at Kotranka yesterday, alleging that the casual approach of the officials concerned have forced them to hold protest.“After torrential rain and flash floods in September last year, the state government had issued cheques of Rs 300 to the affected farmers, which was a cruel joke with them,” said Qayoom. This time the affected farmers have been demanding suitable compensation and free of cost ration for six months, he added.After a protest by the farmers of Nowshera subdivision recently, the tehsildar concerned along with a team of revenue officials had conducted a tour of the area to make an on-the-spot assessment of the loss to the wheat crop and recommendation for suitable compensation.Farmers have also warned of a large-scale protest if their demands were not met soon.Source - http://www.tribuneindia.com/

28.04.2015

Canada - Cold kills grape buds again but there will be Essex County wine this year

A second cold winter has killed grape buds but at least this year Essex County wineries will have some grapes to make local wine.“Although the winter was cold and we did lose some grapes again, it’s not a total loss,” Stephen Mitchell, president of the Essex Pelee Island Coast Winegrowers Association and president of Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery, said Monday. “We will have grapes and so it’s better than last year.”A January 2014 deep freeze killed grape buds which meant no grapes grew at local wineries last summer. Wineries relied on selling 2013 wines or buying Niagara grapes to make wine. To sell a VQA Lake Erie North Shore wine you need 85 per cent locally grown grapes, so while you won’t find a VQA Lake Erie North Shore for 2014, you will be able to find some truly local 2015 wines, Mitchell said.“We’ve got buds that are active and ready to burst soon.”It’s too early to know how much damage was done in prolonged cold temperatures that dropped to about -22 C in late February. Wineries used wind machines to try to push slightly warmer air to the ground this year. That tactic didn’t work in January 2014 when it was windy and much colder.Jim Willwerth, a senior scientist with Brock University’s Cool Climate Oeneology and Viticulture Institute, said there may be damage across Ontario that is difficult to predict.“The biggest unknown is the back-to-back years — two years in a row — so now we’re waiting to see what kind of bud break we get,” he said.Tom O’Brien of Cooper’s Hawk Vineyards southeast of Harrow said there was “extensive damage” to buds.Brock University experts came to Essex County to do testing on bud survival. O’Brien said he had about two per cent survival rate for Merlot but there are rates as high as 40 per cent on some of the Rieslings, a 25 to 40 per cent survival rate on Cabernet Franc and a 60 per cent survival of Essex County’s own grape varieties.“Merlot took a real hit. We all expected that because it’s a very sensitive one. Chardonnay was next,” O’Brien said of an eight per cent survival rate at his vineyard for Chardonnay buds.It’s tricky to estimate how many grapes will be produced because vineyard managers don’t know what the growing season will be like and because grapes have primary buds, secondary buds (which may or may not produce grapes), and tertiary buds which will never grow grapes. The challenge with the secondary buds is that they take longer to produce grapes and ripen.O’Brien said the deep snow cover helped protect buds. In the next three weeks the buds will break and produce tiny flowers. He’ll have a better idea by June of the potential crop.“I’m happier than I was a year ago at this time,” O’Brien said.Grapes in the smaller crop should be high quality and winemakers will focus on premium end wines this fall, Mitchell said. When there are fewer buds the vine will put more into each grape which makes for better quality, he said.Source - http://blogs.windsorstar.com/

27.04.2015

India - Why crop insurance schemes fail poor farmers when they are needed the most

If the image of a farmer hanging himself from a tree at Jantar Mantar in the Capital haunts India, it is because perhaps for the first time urban India came face to face with self-destruction that so far appeared to be happening thousands of miles away in a Bharat cityslickers found difficult to put a finger on.And if thousands of farmers are killing themselves on their ravaged fields, it's not just because the weather gods have been brutal; it's also because the protection from such climatic flippancy, in terms of crop insurance, has failed the farmer when he needed it the most.The suicides that are being reported from farms across the country clearly indicate that these schemes have not found enough takers. Worse, even in cases where the farmer has signed up for a policy, he may not be eligible to make a claim when he is badly hit on account of loan defaults.Research suggests two major flaws apart from several lesser evils. The two biggest problems with the design of these schemes is that, first, even extremely poor farmers are expected to pay the premium. Second, if the farmer gets trapped in a cycle of debt and defaults on his agricultural loan — to which his crop insurance scheme is linked — his policy becomes inoperative.Thousands of farmers who have opened insurance plans through the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme for instance find they cannot claim insurance because of unpaid dues on their bank loan.Earlier in the week, ET reported that home minister Rajnath Singh is keen to fast-track the much-proposed National Crop Income Insurance scheme, which will merge all farm-related insurance schemes and provide cover for production-related risks and price volatility.As India appears headed for yet another below-par monsoon, the home minister's initiative is doubtless welcome, but if the new schemes have to be effective, the government may need to plug some basic flaws, suggest experts.States with Low Insurance Cover (Source: Crop Insurance officials)- Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Western Uttar Pradesh- Farmers here don't have any knowledge about insurance and remain without cover- Small farmers have no incentive as they have to pay the premium- In many cases farmers have written to banks saying they do not want insurance- The banks have complied with such requests to meet targets although insurance is a compulsory feature of agricultural loan schemesWhat the Experts Say:- The government needs to legislate on the subject, making insurance cover compulsory The government should pay the premium for small farmers- Holding agricultural as well as bank officials accountable for process pertaining to crop insurance should also be a part of the legislationStates with High Levels of Insurance Fraud (Source: Crop Insurance officials)- Maharashtra (Aurangabad and Jalgaon), Gujarat (Saurashtra), Andhra Pradesh (Rayalaseema), Karnataka (Dharwad and Haveri), Tamil Nadu (Nagapattinam and Sivaganga) and Telangana (Mahbubnagar)- Coverage in these regions is high and so is fraudulence- In some districts hundreds of farmers are literally living off fraudulent claimsThe Modus Operandi:- Networks of farmers, bank officials and agriculture department officials run these rackets- Government officials show a higher loss while bank officials help farmers insure the same land repeatedlyFood For ThoughtThat farmers have to pay the premium has met with a backlash in multiple states with several farmer associations even writing to insurance companies to not debit the insurance premium. Given that the banks are under pressure to meet targets for the KCC, they decide to waive off the premium component.According to a senior official with a public sector insurance company, crop insurance schemes were linked to farm loans to provide comprehensive coverage. But since the premium has to be paid by the farmers, they prefer to do away with the insurance component."If you tell the farmer that the crop insurance will stop if you default on loan repayments, how is this helping him during a crisis? This is important, given that the state decided to set up crop insurance schemes not only to help the farmer but also from a food security perspective. Giving aid to small farmers in terms of financial stability is one way of ensuring food security," says the officer.The Big DivideThese schemes have also broadly cleaved India into two parts with one set of states, which are under-penetrated , reporting lack of awareness among farmers about insurance even as multiple frauds are being reported from the second set of states that have better coverage.Talking to various experts who have implemented these schemes on the ground, researchers got a sense of the huge divide.An official who has worked on the field in several north Indian states for over two decades said some states that had an early lead in setting up cooperative banks and other institutions were able to implement crop insurance schemes faster. These states also have had to repeatedly deal with drought, cyclones and other calamities.However, strong "local networks" of farmers, bank officials and agriculture department officials have cornered all these schemes by perpetrating various frauds.The states where crop insurance frauds are being reported continuously include Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. According to this official, farmers in some districts in these states pay off officials handling the yield assessment."In Mehsana in Gujarat, there was a case where the farmers had collected claims which suggested the groundnut yield was 32 quintals per acre. But when the state government did a re-check, they found the actual yield was around 450 quintals," said this official."There are districts in the country where the farmers only harvest insurance claims." The districts that report crop insurance frauds regularly include Dharwad and Haveri in Karnataka, Sivaganga and Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu, Aurangabad and Jalgaon in Maharashtra, the Saurashtra region of Gujarat and the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh.Political influence has also played a role in the acceptance of multiple claims over the same plot of land, which is the most common form of fraud. "If you have influence, you can get the bank manager to sanction multiple loans and crop insurance policies over the same plot under the names of various members of the family. This is almost the norm in these districts," says the official.In Maharashtra, officials say, farmers take up insurance only for seasons when they know they would suffer bigger losses. They are able to do so because a high court order has made crop insurance a strictly voluntary component of farm loans. There is also an ample time lag between the last date for acceptance of insurance policy applications and the time for assessing the monsoon pattern.Officials say this affects their business case because the premium collected in the state is extremely low when compared to the claims.Lack of AwarenessEven as the insurance company struggles to deal with fraudulent claims in these states, there exists another set of states where the coverage is poor and the farmers have little awareness. These states are led by Punjab which is yet to sign up for any crop insurance policy. Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are some of the other states that have a poor record of getting crop insurance schemes implemented.In Bundelkhand more than 20 farmers said that although they did pay premium for a couple of years, they have never been able to claim insurance money despite suffering losses year after year.An officer with a local bank that implements the KCC scheme said the farmers were not aware of how the insurance schemes worked. Most of them, for instance, did not know that the policy becomes inoperative if they default on payments. "The farmers do not know anything about the guidelines. The government has also not made any effort to make them aware. This is why these schemes are not too effective," the bank manager said.An official with the government insurance company said the average small farmer in the country is estimated to earn around Rs 1,700 per month and a 10% insurance premium — Rs 170 per bi-annual season — is a substantial amount for him.Experts said India needs to legislate on crop insurance. A crop insurance expert suggested five broad points for an effective legislation. Firstly, banks should not be allowed discretionary powers of doing away with crop insurance as a component of farm loans. Secondly, the premium component for small farmers should be paid for by the state.Also, well-to-do farmers should not get any subsidy for premiums as this will also help curtail frauds pertaining to repeat claims on the same plot of land. "But most importantly crop insurance policies should not come to a halt when a farmer defaults on account of the stress on him. When he gets continuous protection from agricultural distress, he will be motivated to continue with farming," said the expert.How Loans Going Bad Also Result in Unpaid Insurance Premiums- Farmer takes a loan to meet cost of cultivation and for working capital; insurance premium is deducted- Drought, flood or, as was seen recently, unseasonal rains damage the crop- The farmer is unable to repay loan; as a result the insurance premiums can't be paid; insurance goes to waste- Farmer takes a loan from a moneylender to pay off previous loans- The moneylender gets aggressive in case of default and threatens him. Many a time, the humiliation causes the farmer to commit suicide.Source - http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

27.04.2015

Tanzania - Coffee production slipping as temperatures rise

Warmer weather means that Tanzania is producing less coffee as higher temperatures affect yields, hurting both the nation’s producers and coffee drinkers who may pay more per cup, a South African university has found.According to a study conducted by the University of Witwatersrand, researchers have established that higher night-time temperatures are the main factor behind a significant decline in Tanzania’s Arabica coffee yields.Coffee is Tanzania’s largest export crop; on average the country produces around 50,000 metric tons each year of which approximately 70 percent is Arabica. Sales generate over $100 million per year, according to data from Tanzania’s Coffee Board.The East African nation produces less than 1 percent of the world’s Arabic coffee, but the industry employs about 2.4 million people in Tanzania and several millions in neighboring countries.Since 1966, however, coffee production has dropped by 46 percent in Tanzania – a trend research predicts is likely to continue. Over that period, Tanzania’s night-time average temperature has risen by 1.4 degrees Celsius.1 DEGREE RISE, HALF THE COFFEEAccording to the study, published in the journal Agricultural and Forests Meteorology, for each 1-degree Celsius rise in mean minimum (night-time) temperature, farmers in Tanzania are likely to see a loss of approximately 137 kilograms of coffee per hectare. That is almost half the average small producer’s production, which is currently 225 kilograms per hectare.Negotiators at U.N. climate talks are working toward a global agreement to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius – but the world is currently on a path toward at least 4 degrees Celsius of warming by the turn of the century, scientists say.“Our forecast indicates that if the trend continues as has been observed during recent decades, then Arabica coffee production in Tanzania will drop to 145 kg per hectare by the year 2060," the University of Witwatersrand study said.Researchers say the threat to Tanzania’s coffee production should spur the country’s authorities to design climate-smart practices that might help cushion farmers from worsening losses.The study, which looked at the impact of climate change on Tanzania’s Arabica coffee production over the past five decades, warned that dwindling coffee yields will affect incomes and jobs not only in Tanzania but in other coffee producing countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica, which could also see temperature rises.In Tanzania, Arabica coffee is cultivated in the southern and northern highlands along the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and in the Mbeya region, where the majority of small producers are based.Alessandro Craparo, the study’s author, told that if temperature increases follow the trend of the past few decades, coffee yields in Tanzania’s highlands will likely to drop to around 200 kg per hectare by the year 2030.“Coffee yields have declined to their lowest point in years, with many farmers in Tanzania giving up on coffee completely,” Craparo said.Temperature changes are unlikely to affect other coffee species such as Robusta, which is grown at lower altitude and is more climate-resilient than Arabica, he said.Godsteven Maro, a soil scientist with the Tanzania Coffee Research Institute (TACRI), said falling coffee yields in Tanzania may also be related to problems such as aging coffee trees, something the Witwatersrand study acknowledges.“To attribute the trend solely to the change in minimum temperature carries some subjectivity,” he told.JOBS RISKAccording to the study, although governments in coffee producing countries have invested heavily in the coffee sector, most have not put in place strategies to adapt to climate change, putting at risk the lucrative industry and the jobs of millions of small-scale farmers who depend on coffee.James Teri, the head of TACRI, said Tanzania’s government has taken some measure to deal with the changing conditions, including advising farmer to relocate to higher altitudes in order to sustain coffee quality and quantity.“We have also introduced new climate-tolerant coffee varieties which have been introduced to farmers in various coffee growing areas,” he said.Haji Semboja, an economics professor from the University of Dar es Salaam, warned that if adaptation to changing conditions is not effective, “the effects to livelihoods and jobs will be huge.”Source - http://uk.reuters.com/

27.04.2015

EU apricot estimate down 4% on 2014

The European apricot harvest is expected to be 4% lower than last year and the 2009/2013 average, reaching 510,000 tons. Figures on the 2015 season were released 23th April.ItalyItaly’s production is also expected to decrease, to 197,000 tons, down 7% compared to 2014, and -12% compared to the average.SpainSpain expects an almost 100,000 ton harvest, 12% higher than last year and 21% above the average. Conditions were relatively favourable in all zones.FranceFrance expects the apricot harvest to reach 166,000 tons, 4% less than last year and 2% higher than the 2008/2012 average. Lack of cold over the winter and frequent rainfall during flowering led to low fruit set for many varieties on many plots. These forecasts are probably quite high and could decrease over the next few weeks.GreeceApricot production in Greece is expected to be down 13% on last year and 20% compared to the five year average. Greece is yet again victim to climate conditions in 2015, with 46,000 tons of production expected. Production should reach a good level in Peloponnese where the harvest should begin in the 2nd ten days of May. Meanwhile frost in Macedonia destroyed 80% of production in the main areas.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

27.04.2015

India - Himachal releases Rupees 9.14 crore for crop insurance

With a view to compensate a huge loss to the farmers and horticulturalists’ of the state due to harsh weather conditions, rain and heavy snow, the state government has released the largest ever relief of Rupees 9.14 crore under the Disaster Relief Fund to the affected.A state government spokesman said that it had launched Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) on pilot basis to safeguard interest of apple growers, as horticulture is the major revenue-earning avenue for them. The official also informed that it has extended an insurance scheme to all blocks of the state for current financial year 2015-16.During rabi season 2014-15, WBCIS has been extended for apple crop from 17 to 35 blocks and for mango crop to 42 blocks. The additional fruit crop namely citrus (kinnow) has been covered in 14 blocks, plum in 12 blocks and peach in four development blocks.During last two years 1,06,113 farmers were covered under WBCIS for which the state government has borne 25% of premium share amounting to Rupees 12.33 crore the insurance companies to compensate the losses.During 2013-14, as many as 64782 farmers were covered under WBCIS for apple crop who had insured their 1,26,14,524 trees for which the state government had borne 25% premium share of Rupees 6.17 crore subsidy with a claim of Rupees 8.14 crore.Source - http://www.himvani.com/

27.04.2015

USA - Report failed crop acreage prior to destruction

With spring planting quickly approaching, the Morrow County Farm Service Agency (FSA) encourages farmers to report failed crop acreage that will not be brought to harvest to their FSA office. Failed acreage must be reported to FSA before destroying and replanting to allow time for a field check.“It is very important that farmers report failed acreage that will not be brought to harvest to the FSA office prior to destruction,” said Angie Thorpe Morrow County Executive Director. “This simple act of insuring that failed acres are documented could be the determining factor in whether or not a farmer is eligible for future crop disaster program payments.”Form CCC-576, Notice of Loss, is used to report failed acreage and may be completed by any producer with an interest in the crop. For crop losses covered by the Non-insured Assistance Program (NAP), producers must contact their local FSA office within 15 days of the occurrence of the disaster or when losses become apparent. Producers with crop insurance should also contact their local agent when losses occur and before destroying the crop.Producers are encouraged to keep good production records on acreage with a low crop yield to document crop losses. To be eligible for crop disaster programs in the future, production records may help support crop loss claims.Source - http://www.morrowcountysentinel.com/

27.04.2015

Philippines - Davao City farmers affected by dry spell to receive financial aid; crop losses now at P2B

Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte said he was open to giving financial assistance to farmers affected by the El Nino phenomenon in the farming districts of the city after the City Agriculturist’s Office last week estimated crop losses of at least P2 billion.This, after the Department of Agriculture said in a statement that it was already too late for cloudseeding operations as the damage to crops have already been too severe and unrecoverable.Duterte said the farmers were already being bled dry by available measures to respond to drought, citing the need to pay for services of the National Irrigation Administration.Michael Alexis Nota, Bureau of Soils and Water Management project development officer, said in a statement called severe the damage of the phenomenon to crops, especially corn.Duterte said he hoped the city could also access some of its natural sources of water, especially in the uplands, to help mitigate the dry spell affecting the farmers.DA regional director Remelyn Recoter asked farmers to report their crop losses to their municipal agriculturists, who will in turn coordinate the information to the concerned DA regional office for the replacement of seeds and other forms of assistance.According to the DA release, Davao del Norte could still benefit from cloudseeding, with at least P3 million allocated for cloudseeding operations in the banana-producing province.The DA’s high value crop development program places Davao del Norte’s banana industry to be at 23,772 hectares.According to the DA, the province has also counterparted P10 million for the cloudseeding operations.“We will not conduct cloud seeding in Davao City because the damage is already big and it can’t be recovered. Davao Oriental and Davao del Sur have a minimal damage and it does not require cloud seeding intervention,” Nota said.Dr. Rafael Mercado, assistant regional director for research and regulatory, said the agency has prepared 6,923 bags corn seeds as buffer stock while the rice program has prepared 4,200 bags certified rice seeds, 1,130 bags registered rice seeds , 125 units Pump Irrigation System and 5 units Pump Irrigation System (Open Source for rehabilitation).For the high value crops program, the DA has prepared 575 drums, 66 bags mungbean, one unit spring development and one unit farm reservoir.In an earlier report, City Agriculturist Rocelio Tabay said the dry spell threatens to affect 11,151 farmers working in 7,075.15 hectares of farmlands in Paquibato, Marilog, Toril, Tugbok and Baguio Districts.Source - http://www.mindanews.com/

27.04.2015

India - Maharashtra ropes in Swiss Re to streamline crop insurance schemes

Amid a rising in suicides by farmers and delays in settlement of insurance claims, the government in Maharashtra has brought in a reinsurance company, Swiss Re, to improve crop insurance schemes.The government proposes village-level surveys for crop loss instead of the circle, through satellite-based imaging.Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said Swiss Re will implement a pilot project covering five crops, including jowar and cotton. The location will be decided soon. "It will be completely a satellite-based survey, which will zero in to the individual fields," he said.Swiss Re director G Satish Raju, who was present at the CM's briefing, said they'd bring in some more insurance companies in the pilot project. Efforts will be made to hasten the processing of farmer claims. The aim, he said, would be subsequently plan to cover a large number of villages, so that the state can become a role model for others.A state government official said natural calamities had added to agrarian distress. ''A robust crop insurance would provide an instrument to face this situation. No product (in crop insurance) which satisfies farmer aspirations really exists. Swiss Re has responded to the government's invitation and we are hopeful,'' he said.Fadnavis also said the government was conducting "vulnerability mapping" of farmers in Yavatmal and Osmanabad districts, with the aim to curb a spate of reported suicides.Source - http://www.business-standard.com/

24.04.2015

Canada - Looking at the new crop insurance initiative from AFSC

Alberta farmers: are your dreams of growing coriander stymied by the perils of farming without insurance coverage? Would you try your luck with fields of clover if only there was a backstop in case of a drought or grasshopper invasion? Then the new crop insurance initiative (NCII) from Alberta’s Agricultural Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) is for you.In all seriousness, coriander production probably wasn’t the driving force behind this new program, but it will be eligible for coverage along with soybeans, dryland hemp seed, caraway, borage and several varieties of perennial seed, including brome grasses, wheat grass and common alfalfa and timothy.Many of the crops covered under NCII are grown on small acreage and have access to straight hail insurance, but not multi-peril coverage. This program is AFSC’s answer to farmers who want to try growing new crops but also mitigate the risk involved.Because AFSC lacks data yield data on these crops, coverage will be based on an average cost of production (includes: seed, seed treatment, herbicide, fertilizer, insecticide, fungicide and fuel) combined with a land opportunity cost.Ken Handford, product development analyst with AFSC, describes the land opportunity cost as “analogous to a cash rent.”“We look at the value of the land if [producers] were using it for another commodity,” explained Handford. The land cost is based on provincial data, not necessarily what you’re paying for cash rent in a given year. Most crops covered by NCII will also be eligible for the hail endorsement which is a significantly cheaper product than straight hail.Where applicable, dryland and irrigated premiums and coverage will be determined separately to account for different management costs. For example, dryland soybeans will be eligible for up to $225 per acre with a premium of $8.89 and irrigated soybeans will be covered for $310 per acre at a cost of $5.36 per acre.For producers to be eligible for NCII they need to have an active crop insurance contract on annual crops. NCII payouts will be based on the average loss producers have on all other annual crops covered by traditional insurance. So if you grow wheat, barley, canola and soybeans and average 30 per cent loss on your wheat, barley and canola, you’re eligible for $67.50 per acre on your soybeans (30 per cent of $225).Handford noted that coverage areas are limited for some crops. For example, dryland soybeans are currently eligible for coverage in Township 50 and south (west of the fourth meridian only) and in the southern Peace region in risk areas 17, 18, and 19. Irrigated soybeans are covered in risk areas 2, 3, 4, 5 and 9.Farmers must elect coverage under NCII by the usual AFSC deadline of April 30. Handford encouraged producers to speak to their local branch office about the options and if the crop you want to grow isn’t on the list, don’t assume the door is closed.“We will definitely take a good hard look at other commodities that producers are growing and if it makes sense to offer coverage then we will,” said Handford. “From AFSCS’s point of view it gives us an avenue to get data on crops that we don’t have a lot of information on.”As a producer accumulates farm data on a particular crop she will eventually be able to transition from provincial numbers to her individual records. If AFSC gathers enough information from across the risk areas, they may be able to move a crop from NCII to traditional crop insurance.“Irrigated hemp seed is one of the commodities that we are bringing into regular production insurance in 2015,” said Handford, explaining that some crops may never be grown widely enough to be given multi-peril insurance, while others may move into the mainstream coverage quite rapidly.It is with some personal interest that I explored this new program. We grow intermediate wheatgrass for seed and have not been eligible for crop insurance. I’m checking the details with my local branch.John Kowalchuk farms near Rumsey, Alta. and plans to plant his first crop of soybeans in 2015. He said he would have grown soybeans regardless of coverage, but appreciates the peace of mind that comes with the program.“I think the biggest thing for me is shared risk,” said Kowalchuk. “In the past the farmer took all the risk to test the viability of crops in new areas.”Risk and reward: farmers need a balance of each. While insurance doesn’t add any weight to the reward side, it can reduce the burden on the risk side of the beam. Good on farmers and AFSC for working towards an equilibrium fitting of 21st century farming practices.Source - http://www.grainews.ca/

24.04.2015

USA - ADM could use drones from 2016 to get crop insurance claims data

Archer Daniels Midland Co. plans to use drones to gather data on crop insurance claims as soon as the summer of 2016, its risk services head told on Wednesday.ADM's Crop Risk Services Inc won clearance to use drones earlier this month from the Federal Aviation Administration, which currently bans their commercial use, and will begin testing the technology in the U.S. Midwest this year.The unmanned aircraft can gather data about crop damage from hail, wind, flooding and drought, and automatically upload the information to the company's claims software, Greg Mills, president of ADM CRS said.The company is one of a small number of businesses with agriculture connections, including Monsanto Co.'s Climate Corp. and Trimble Navigation Ltd., that have received exemptions to the FAA's ban on commercial use.The FAA proposed rules on commercial drones in February that limit their use, but final regulations may not be in place for two years.Mr. Mills said cost savings from using the drones were likely to be "significant" for ADM CRS, but declined to give any detailed estimate."I think it will create some general efficiencies and some specific efficiencies for claims," Mr. Mills told, adding the company already owns two drones and has contracted for another two.The FAA exemption allows ADM CRS to use only Phantom 2 Vision quadcopters made by Shenzhen, China-based Da-Jiang Innovations, which according to the company's website, cost about $900 apiece. ADM CRS would need further FAA approval to fly different aircraft.Drones can be deployed to find and assess multiple areas of crop damage over a broad area. Currently, claims adjusters often have to physically walk out into a field to measure the extent of crop damage, Mr. Mills said."The goal is to test the savings to the business in the Midwest and then potentially release nodes of equipment by next spring to be used for the summer of 2016 for use in a larger area," he said.The FAA exemption allows ADM CRS to fly its drones only within 400 feet of the ground and within sight of the operator. Pilots must also have a farmer's permission to fly over their land.Crop insurance is used by farmers to protect their income from losses caused by natural disasters. About 90% of planted farmland is covered by insurance every year.Source - http://www.businessinsurance.com/