12.12.2014

India - Rs 7,000 crore relief package for drought-hit farmers

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday announced an unprecedented relief package of Rs 7,000 crore for drought-hit farmers, mainly from Vidarbha and Marathwada regions. He said his government was firmly backing farmers in their hour of crisis, but this was a one-off bailout package because of the exceptional situation. In the council, the package was announced by revenue minister Eknath Khadse after a marathon debate lasting two days.Fadnavis said the only way to end the cruel cycle of recurring droughts was by taking long-term measures like water conservation and infrastructure development to ensure moisture security for farmlands. Among nine cotton growing states, Maharashtra had lowest per acre yield and also accounted for highest number of farmer suicides. "Instead of getting despondent and giving up hope, farmers should make efforts to increase productivity and incomes to tide over bad times," he said.Besides short-term relief plan of Rs 7,000 crore, Fadnavis also announced and laid stress on a Rs 34,500 crore long-term plan of five years to improve field conditions and help increase farm productivity especially in dry-land farming in Vidarbha and Marathwada. "The relief packages given annually actually make no difference to the farmers' lot and the suffering continues year after year. The time has come for the government to admit that policy lapses and failure to create amenable conditions have resulted in unending series of farmers' suicides. I express my condolences to the bereaved families of farmers," said Fadnavis announcing the long-term and immediate relief measures.Several measures in the relief package are historic. A cash compensation totalling Rs 3,925 crore will be paid to horticulturists as well as other drought hit farmers, with aid expected from the central government.For the first time, the government will be freeing farmers from the grip of private moneylenders, who have a major role in crop lending. "Loans taken by farmers from licensed private money lenders are waived. The government will repay those dues and farmers do not have to settle it," said Fadnavis.It is an accepted fact that such licensed lenders account for only 10% loans, with illegal or unregulated moneylenders responsible for farmers' plight as they charge usurious interest and harass them. "But illegal lenders will face strict police action if the farmer complains against them," said the CM.The waiver of money lenders' dues would cost the government a burden of Rs 373 crore towards repayment to 4,441 licensed private lenders. Similarly, farmers' electricity bills for September quarter will be totally waived as immediate relief. This will cost the government Rs 215 crore.Admitting that crop loss this year was serious and back-breaking for farmers, the CM said crop loss in soyabean was highest at 58%. Losses in cotton crop were 26%, maize 53%, tur 45%, moong and urad 70 to 80%. "This is the worst year in last one decade as far as kharif yields of different crops are concerned," noted Fadnavis.One big relief in the package is total waiver of interest on short-term kharif crop loans along with a rescheduling of repayment terms of cooperative banks, public sector and nationalized banks. Towards this, the state would incur additional burden of Rs 1,200 crore. He said the relief measures would be extended to all farmers in the 19,059 drought-hit villages of the state, which are mainly in Marathwada and Western Vidarbha.Making it clear that such largesse should not be expected in the future, he said long-term plans like Rs 2,000 crore plan of dryland mission, Rs 15,000 crore for solar pumps, Rs 5,000 crore for micro-irrigation schemes in next five years, Rs 6,437 crore for integrated watershed management programme covering 50 lakh hectares of farm land, Rs 1,500 crore for farm ponds would be part of the long-term plan. In the next one year, 5,000 villages would be made drought-free for future, said Fadnavis.The government justified its stand for long-term measures, saying that in last five years, the previous government had spent Rs 8,377 crore towards natural calamities like drought, floods and hailstorm, which was almost three times more as compared to those spent on agriculture development, Rs 2,692 crore.MPCC chief Manikrao Thakre accused the government of only doing a restructuring job, while the farmer hadn't got even a penny. "The package is just an eyewash, since they have repackaged the old schemes. It's very unfortunate that they had funds to allocate for moneylenders, but not for farmers. They also have funds for distributing to Ambanis and Adanis but soyabean farmers and milk producers have been ignored."Farm activist Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti also echoed the Congress line, terming the relief package as "disappointing". He said it was nothing more than the relief norms fixed by NABARD for drought-hit areas."Fadnavis seems to have hurriedly announced some relief fearing opposition pressure but without considering woes of dry-land farmers in Vidarbha, who have lost at least Rs 20,000 a hectare in soyabean and Rs 15000 a hectare in cotton. These farmers were expecting cash compensation of at least Rs 15,000 a hectare. But all they will now get is Rs 4,500 a hectare with cap of two hectares. The orchard owners, including orange growers, will be better off with maximum relief of Rs 70,000, as they will the rate of Rs 35,000 a hectare with ceiling of two hectares," said Tiwari.Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

12.12.2014

Ukraine harvested 64.1 mln tonnes of grains

According to operative data as of December 11, Ukraine harvested 64.119 mln tonnes of grains and pulses throughout the areas of 14.622 mln ha, or 99% of the planned areas (excluding the Crimea). The average yield totaled 4.39 t/ha, declared the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.On the same date in 2013 Ukraine harvested 62.504 mln tonnes of grains throughout 15.268 mln ha, with the yield of 4.09 t/ha.In particular, as of to date Ukraine harvested maize for grain throughout 4.574 mln ha (98%). The production volumes totaled 27.52 mln tonnes, with the average yield of 6.02 t/ha.Source - http://www.apk-inform.com/

12.12.2014

Mexico - Large losses citrus Tamaulipas

Citrus growers from the central region of Tamaulipas made a first assessment of their activity and concluded that they were already suffering losses amounting to just over US $7 million.The president of the Emiliano Zapata Regional Union of Citrus Producers, part of Taumalipas' CNC, Javier Ibarra Echartea, said those losses have been caused by several problems, which included the falling price of citrus, the presence of pests, and the excessive moisture that is causing the death of the trees.This sector has been hard hit during 2014 by this kind of natural phenomena, even though Tamaulipas ranks second in citrus production nationwide.He added that, as a result of these problems, at least eight thousand acres of orange have been abandoned and aren't producing, which is why it was urgent that the government authorizes financial aids to help citrus producers.He also stated that the economic losses had multiplied because they were unable to sell much of their fruit, as it was affected by pests, and because it wasn't profitable to sell it due to the low prices in the market.There have been different problems this season and producers have been severely affected by various causes, including the falling prices of a ton of oranges, which was at $50 dollars for the past two years, but collapsed due to lack of rains.Additionally, farmers don't have the guarantees required to provide them with loans so the banks refuse them.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

12.12.2014

Philippines - Estimates in 5 towns reach P78M

Crops, livestock and fishing boats worth some P78.781 million were lost in the five towns in northern Cebu that were affected by typhoon Ruby last week.The Provincial Government distributed 1,182 sacks of rice to these areas, based on the data provided by the Provincial Information Office (PIO) last Wednesday.Provincial Agriculturist Roldan Saragena said they already assigned a team to these areas.The most affected crops are bananas and corn, he said.According to records of the Provincial Agriculturist Office (PAO), Tabogon’s damage to crops and livestock reached P3.702 million.In Bantayan, the damage to corn, banana and vegetables reached P3.302 million. The town also lost fishing boats worth around P405,000.At least P27,500 worth of crops were damaged in the town of Carmen.In the data provided by PIO, San Remigio lost P71.55 million worth of crops, while Medellin lost fishing boats worth P200,000.The Province said the seawall in midwestern town of Ronda was also damaged, and it will cost P100,000 to fix.Saragena said farmers and fishermen who are insured in the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. can visit their office or go directly to the insurance agency so the damage to their crops or fisheries can be assessed and the agency can process the release of assistance.He said the delay of the municipalities’ submission of their damage assessment to agriculture is either due to lack of manpower or the availability of data in the barangays. Also, local counterparts may have been victims of the calamity, too.In a separate interview, Gov. Hilario Davide III said the assessment that the Province did was not easy that’s why the Capitol deployed rapid assessment teams after the typhoon.He said local government units were better prepared this year compared to when super typhoon Yolanda struck last year.Source - http://www.sunstar.com.ph/

12.12.2014

India - Rains: Canal breach; paddy, sugarcane crop damaged

Sugarcane and paddy crops in over 50 acres of fields were inundated due to a breach in the Visvesvaraya Distribution Canal near Chikkabyadarahalli, in Pandavapura taluk, Mandya district, following heavy rainfall on Wednesday night.The 24-km long canal is one of the oldest and was laid when the main Visvesvaraya Canal was laid and it gets water at Kuruhatti village. The Visvesvaraya Distribution Canal feeds water to the fields at Chikkabyadarahalli, Thimmanakoppalu, Doddabyadarhalli and other villages in Pandavapura taluk and Siddaiahna Koppalu, T M Hosuru and other villages in Srirangapatna taluk.When Assistant Executive Engineer Gurumurthy and other officials from the Cauvery Neeravari Nigama (CNN) visited the spot on Thursday morning, the farmers complained that the canal has not been modernised since over 50 years, causing damage to their crops. They blocked the Pandavapura-Mandya road for sometime and shouted slogans against the authorities concerned to vent their ire, when the officials failed to give convincing answers.The farmers said, “Four months back, the officials said they were renovating the canal, but they only took steps to level the banks. No steps were taken to reinforce the canal walls”.Later, Tahsildar D S Shivakumar visited the spot and assessed the extent of loss. He directed the officials to prepare a list of farmers, whose crops have been damaged.Ragi crop hitFarmers in Hirisave in Hassan district and neighbouring villages are a worried lot as the ragi crop — both harvested and ready-for-harvesting crops — have been damaged due to heavy rains which lashed on Wednesday night.Usually, harvesting of ragi crop starts in the first week of December. While some farmers had harvested the crop and had let it for drying on the fields itself, some were yet to harvest due to scarcity of labourers. The untimely rains have damaged the crops.Coffee crop affectedPaddy and coffee crops, in Sakleshpur taluk, in Hassan are badly affected due to the continuous drizzling since Tuesday evening across the taluk. A total of 30 mm rainfall has been recorded till Thursday morning. Paddy on most of the fields in the taluk has been just harvested and they have been either left on the fields for drying or stacked. Plucking of Arabica coffee is under progress in estates and in some villages, the coffee beans were being dried in yards. The rains have also caused the dropping of ripe coffee fruits from plants.General Secretary of Karnataka Coffee Growers Federation U M Thirthamallesh said, the coffee crop was already affected due to stem-borer disease and hence a yield of just one lakh metric tonne was expected in the taluk. “Now, at least 30 of the yield may be lost. The Coffee Board officials should visit the estates to asses the extent of loss and take steps to issue compensation to farmers,” he said.Source - http://www.deccanherald.com/

12.12.2014

Canada - Details emerge of latest Avian Flu outbreaks

Details have emerged of the three most recent confirmed outbreaks of H5N2 highly pathogenic avian influenza in British Columbia. The five outbreaks have affected 112,800 birds, mainly broiler breeders and meat turkeys.The three most recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian flu in Canada were all confirmed as the H5N2 variant and located in Abbotsford in the Fraser Valley region of British Columbia. Of the 72,000 birds on the three farms, 322 died and 40,728 have been destroyed.First was a broiler breeder farm with 14,000 birds, of which 250 died and the rest have been destroyed. The affected barn held breeding hens and roosters aged 37 weeks., where sudden deaths occurred around 2 December. In addition, two-week-old pullets on the premises experienced normal mortality rates.Also on 2 December, another farm with 27,000 broiler breeders were affected. Again, one barn of hens and roosters aged 41 weeks experienced sudden death, while other birds aged seven and 59 weeks of age appeared unaffected. Twenty-two birds died and the rest of the birds on the farm have been destroyed.Two days later, on 4 December, a meat turkey farm suffered an outbreak, with one barn of nine-week-old birds showing high mortality - 50 birds in all. The four- and 14-week-old birds on the premises had normal mortality rates.According to the report - Follow Up Report No.1 dated 9 December - testing at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease (NCFAD) on samples from the two original outbreaks in the same area confirm that the virus is a highly pathogenic form of the H5N2 subtype.CFIA has also confirmed H5 avian influenza virus in three additional farms in the same report. The two farms with outbreaks starting on 2 December have been humanely depopulated.At this point, this event is limited geographically to a portion of the Fraser Valley in the southern fringe of the province of British Columbia.Infected premises were quarantined by the CFIA and a stamping out policy is being implemented, as described in the Notifiable Avian Influenza (NAI) Hazard Specific Plan.The Canadian Notifiable Avian Influenza Surveillance System (CanNAISS) is an ongoing surveillance system built to demonstrate absence of NAI in poultry in Canada. CanNAISS results and epidemiological investigation to date are supporting that there is no evidence of infection outside of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.On 8 December 2014, CFIA established a primary control zone in the area where the disease has been identified. The primary control zone is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the United States border, on the north by Highway 16, and on the east by the border between British Columbia and Alberta. Additional information on the zone and the restrictions in place are available by clicking here.Further details of the two first outbreaks have emerged as follows:On 30 November, a farm with a total of 12,800 broiler breeders in Chilliwack reported 10 per cent mortality among 24-week old birds in one barn, while 47-week-old birds in an adjacent barn were unaffected. In all, 700 birds died within 24 to 48 hours and the rest were destroyed.On the same date in Abbotsford, a farm with 83-day-old turkey toms experienced 70 per cent mortality within 24 to 48 hours, amounting to 7,700 birds. Hens and two-week-old poults on the premises appeared unaffected. All remaining birds were destroyed.Source - http://www.blackseagrain.net/

11.12.2014

Australia - Insurance and protection against natural disasters destroying crops are being reviewed, again

Until this year, insurance coverage for farmers, protecting their crops from natural disasters, has been in the too hard basket in Australia.It's frustrated one company that has developed quite a different insurance package, called parametric insurance.In a year of dashed hopes for eastern grain growers, all insurance ideas may now be back on the table.Farming is a gamble, so is the share market. You can hedge bets on the share market, so why can't you in farming?The parametric insurance product is like hedging your bets on the weather.Jonathon Barratt, of global insurance company CelsiusPro (formerly WeatherPro), says a farmer can act quickly before a natural disaster strikes the crop."Within 15 days - so when a farmer looks at it, they can see when an event is going to happen or get an idea from the forecast that it's going to be a dry period or a wet harvest, or potential for a frost, and then they can come quite easily and take up the position and if it does happen acutely then they can get paid."That's quite different to covering yourself against all natural disasters, with multi-peril crop insurance, which has been offered for the first time this year, by Latevo International.Mr Barratt says Celsius Pro's product is modelled on the parametric insurance that is already used by global underwriters, as a swift hedge against a natural disaster, including cyclones.The cost of the short-term coverage depends on how likely and how damaging the risk will be."That cost may be as low as 3 per cent, or as high as 12 per cent of the cost of production."If the risk is more acute, the farmer is more likely to take it up."If he's sitting out there with a lot of profit and the market's good, the wheat's good, the crop's good, there's a chance of a wet harvest, then he'll look to cover it quite quickly, and that to me is one of the keys."When you're looking at a $60 a tonne downgrade in your wheat production, when you can cover something 15 days out from harvest you tend to weigh into that.It's more of a hedge on the weather so it's an amount that you actually pick."You might say the downgrade might be a particular amount, therefore I'll cover that amount, it might not be the overall percentage of your inputs."Mr Barratt says he's been very frustrated that Australian Governments, insurers and banks haven't adopted it, so his company Celsius Pro has more work overseas in the USA and African countries like Ethiopia."This is one of the programs which people love to hear about because the government could see the risk. The drought was prominent, which we all know."We worked with the government to cover the farmers. We worked in 15 regions of Ethiopia and covered 6,500 farmers, so that in the event that there is a drought, then the farmers get paid by the government."The National Rural Advisory Council NRAC reviewed parametric insurance, in 2012, along with other multi-peril crop insurance, and found insurance needs substantial government support to be viable for farmers.But in the face now of another expensive drought bailout, insurance is getting a second look.A group of Grain Producers is reviewing all the packages and Mick Keogh of the Australian Farm Institute is working with them.On parametric insurance, farmers would need confirmation that a severe weather event could trigger their insurance payout and weather stations have until now been too far apart."Yes that's correct, in situations where there is 200km between met. stations, you could have enormous variations with the climatic conditions that you experience on an individual property in that area," says Mick Keogh."That was the case in Western Australia, but the State Government has implemented an additional 140 weather stations in the grain zone to fix that."Are we going to see a shift now to insurance?"I think so. There's no doubt the high volatility caused by climate risk means farmers lock up a lot more capital, to be self insured."But that means farmers aren't investing in capital improvements to increase their productivity like new machinery, changing fences."Jonathon Barratt of Celsius Pro's blames laziness by Banks, insurance companies and Governments in not embracing parametric insurance."In Ethiopia we took six months to put a program in, but in Australia we've been talking to people since 2011, about putting in a measure that could save a lot of concern on the land, a lot of stress, by simply implementing projects."So we can solve a lot of these issues, depends on how willing people are to take up the gauntlet."Source - http://www.abc.net.au/

11.12.2014

New Zealand - Cherry crop hit by rain

Cherry growers in Marlborough are out in force this morning inspecting the damage from yesterday's heavy rain.Peter Taylor from Ryland Estate cherry orchard said it was a case of keeping their fingers crossed that some of their crop has survived the rain, which can split fruit ready to harvest.Another Marlborough owner, Terry Sowman, from Kiwi Cherries said it's not looking good."We are expecting to have a problem - but that's the name of the game. The cherries were late this year so we're just coming into our straps now, everything is coming ready at once and this is really what we don't want."Years ago people had insurance, but it got too expensive so nobody insures for a rain event now ... I have a section of my crop that's covered in plastic, so that will protect it to a big degree but again that's very expensive - that's probably my form of insurance."Source - http://www.radionz.co.nz/

11.12.2014

1st El Nino in 5 yrs can trigger drought, affect crop yield

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has warned that the oceanic warming phenomenon, El Nino, would continue into winter, causing drought and affecting the crop yield."We can't tell whether or not El Nino will continue until spring, but we can say that there is a higher chance of it continuing in the winter," JMA forecaster Ikuo Yoshikawa said on Wednesday.According to the bureau, the weather pattern first appeared between June and August and continued into November.El Nino is characterized by the warming of surface waters in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, which is connected with drought in Southeast Asia and Australia and heavy rains in South America.The atmospheric disturbances threaten the yields of agricultural crops, including rice, wheat and sugar.Last week, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology announced that climate models suggest El Nino weather conditions would occur over the next three months, although linked weather patterns are already being observed.This comes as the US weather forecaster also estimated a 65-percent chance of El Nino conditions during the Northern Hemisphere winter and into spring.The weather pattern is the first El Nino to occur since 2010.Source - http://www.presstv.ir/

11.12.2014

India - Farmers face pest attack

It is a double whammy for Kendrapara farmers. After facing crop loss due to cyclone Hud Hud, they are now challenged by pests that are destroying whatever crop was left.Brown plant hoppers, locally called as Haladigundi, have destroyed crops on a large-scale in Mahakalpada, Pattamundai, Garadapur, Rajkanika and Aul leaving the farmers almost shattered.On Wednesday, the affected farmers met Collector Pramod Kumar Das demanding compensation.Meanwhile, the Agriculture Department has organised awareness camps educating farmers on how to deal with the menace.Climate change and impact of cyclone Hud Hud are said to be the main reasons behind the arrival of brown plant hoppers, which was not seen earlier in coastal Odisha, said president of district unit of Krusaka Sabha, Umesh Chandra Singh.Source - http://www.newindianexpress.com/

11.12.2014

Australia - Hail storm wreaks havoc on Hunter vineyards

Some Hunter Valley vignerons say they lost nearly all their grape crop in the hail storm that lashed parts of the region at the weekend.A large hail storm moved through the northern part of Broke Fordwich on Friday night, bringing with it more than 34 millimetres of rain.In 2011, two major hail storms ravaged the region later in the growing season, meaning the damage was far greater.Andrew Margan of Margan Family Wines says it could have been much worse, and is hopeful the tropical humidity is over."Some vineyards lost nearly all their crop," he said."I have a large holding there and I lost anywhere between five and 20 per cent of the fruit that was hanging there."Right now the berries are still very hard, still very green."We've got very good canopies this year and that's probably protected us significantly, compared to what the damage could have been."Mr Margan says this year's harvest still has the potential to be one of the best, despite the hail damage."With any luck, sooner or later this weather will dry out, and we'll leave this incredible tropical humidity."The damaged fruit tends to just shrivel up and falls off."You're left with a little bit less fruit, but that fruit can be even better quality, it ripens a lot quicker because there's less fruit to ripen."At the end of the day, losing fruit is losing money, but if that ends up meaning we have a much better quality harvest then I can live with it."Source - http://www.abc.net.au/

11.12.2014

Canada - CFIA establishes control zone in wake of Bird Flu outbreak

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has established a primary control zone in the province to help prevent the spread of the avian influenza.The control zone will cover a huge part of the province as avian influenza is highly contagious between birds and can spread very rapidly. Because southern British Columbia has a high concentration of poultry operations, the primary control zone covers an area beyond the premises that are currently affected.“The primary control zone is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the United States border, on the north by Highway 16, and on the east by the border between British Columbia and Alberta,” said the CFIA in a release. “The primary control zone is divided into three disease control zones: infected, restricted and security. The three zones represent relative levels of risk and movement restrictions vary accordingly. Most of the restrictions apply to the infected and restricted zones because of the greater potential that the virus can spread.”B.C.’s Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick issued a statement following the implementation of the control zone.“Our first priority is to ensure this highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza is contained and eradicated. The primary control zone will help us to achieve that, to allow our producers to resume normal operations just as soon as possible. This is also an important signal to global markets that Canada and British Columbia are taking swift and decisive action to respond to this outbreak."From the moment the virus was first detected, our government has worked very co-operatively and constructively with both industry and the CFIA. This effective partnership led to immediate controls being established to prevent the spread of the virus. In my discussions with both industry leaders and the federal Agriculture Minister, it is clear our joint response is helping to get ahead of this very contagious virus.”All movement of captive birds in and out of, and through this zone is strictly controlled and requires a permit from the CFIA. The movement restrictions also apply to poultry products and by-products and material that has come into contact with captive birds.Source - http://www.kelownanow.com/

11.12.2014

USA - Disaster declaration can lead to ag loans

An early October storm that swept through southern Marshall County contributed to a disaster declaration by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in late November.The declaration triggers farm aid to those hit by the storm, which brought intense hail and high winds to a swath of county farmland and homes and outbuildings in rural areas and in Frankfort and Vermillion.The window of time in which producers are eligible for the disaster-related loans also includes earlier storms in September and August that may have affected area farms.“Farmers in Marshall and Nemaha counties who suffered crop or livestock losses due to excessive rain, flash flooding, high winds and hail occurring Aug. 9 through Oct. 2 may now apply for Farm Service Agency emergency loans,” said FSA farm loan manager Kay A. McCoy, Seneca.To be eligible for an emergency disaster loan, an applicant must be operating a family-size farm or ranch, must be unable to get credit elsewhere, and must have suffered a qualifying physical and/or production loss from the disaster.Riley, Pottawatomie, Brown and Jackson counties also became eligible under existing legislation which provides that farmers in counties bordering on those that have been designated for disaster assistance, may also qualify for such assistance.Brandon Wilson, executive director of the Marshall County Farm Service Agency, said the Oct. 2 storm, which started in Mitchell County, entered Marshall County west of Waterville and exited the county north of Vermillion.“Generally, a county cannot be considered eligible for a secretarial disaster unless a major crop in that county experiences a 30 percent production loss,” Wilson said. “Countywide the crop losses were less than 10 percent for each major crop (corn, soybeans and grain sorghum). However, in this situation, a smaller number of producers experienced a much larger percent of total damage (100 percent in some instances), therefore extenuating circumstances existed and prompted the State Emergency Board and the governor’s office to request optional relief for producers in the four counties hit hardest by the storm.”Applications for assistance will be accepted by FSA until July 27.Loans covering physical and production losses are scheduled for repayment as rapidly as feasible, consistent with the applicant’s ability to pay.Source - http://www.marysvilleonline.net/

10.12.2014

Philippines - 2 million affected, P1 billion crop losses due to Ruby

RUBY, the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year, had caused P1.04 billion in damage to the agricultural industry in the storm-prone eastern Philippines, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Tuesday morning.What was now a tropical depression -- since it has weakened by the time it reached the central part of the Philippines on Monday -- first hit land in Eastern Visayas during the weekend and caused P691.3 million in damages.This figure included P30 million worth of damages to local agricultural infrastructure, with the most of the damage affecting rice and corn crops, and fisheries -- mainstays of local livelihood in an area devastated by the deadly 2013 super-typhoon Yolanda.The province of Leyte alone incurred P365 million in damage.Another P341.5 million worth of damage were caused in the Bicol Region, where the provinces of Albay, Camarines Sur and Catanduanes have each declared themselves under the “state of calamity.”NDRRMC’s figures were not far off from the Department of Agriculture’s data, whose latest update on Tuesday afternoon pegged the reported agricultural damage at P1.27 billion, up from the P1.02-billion initial estimate the previous day.Of the total, rice accounted for the largest production loss amounting to P890.92 million equivalent to 52,034 metric tons (MT). Corn had P101.72 million worth of losses, while high-value crops registered P199.23 million.“These are minimal and losses in these areas will have no critical impact on the national palay and corn production target,” the Agriculture department said.As of Tuesday morning, the typhoon was said to have affected 2.1 million people (2% of the population) living in 3,419 barangays in eight regions. Almost a million of this were from Eastern Visayas.Some 10,743 residents in Metro Manila, mostly the city’s poorest residents who live in shanty homes along the coast and riverbanks, spent Monday night in evacuation centers to wait out the storm.With bad weather finally giving way to travel-friendly skies, the military flew emergency flights with food, water and other essentials from Cebu to the worst-affected areas on Samar on Tuesday.Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Manuel “Mar” A. Roxas II said 200,000 people were believed to be in need of help in Eastern Samar, but this could rise as more comprehensive assessments were carried out in isolated communities.“The emergency phase is over and the patient has started to stabilize,” Mr. Roxas, who has been stationed in Samar since before the storm struck, said in a nationally televised briefing. “What is most important is we feed the patient and gather accurate data so that we know how many food packs need to be distributed.”In a separate briefing, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail F. Valte reacted to reports of destroyed bunkhouses, which still served as housing for the residents displaced by Yolanda a year after the disaster.“[T]he bunkhouses are not meant to be permanent shelters...Again, by the very nature... of it, that’s temporary and some of them are no longer in use because [the residents] have been transferred to new homes,” Ms. Valte told reporters.Meanwhile, the NDRRMC had adjusted its official death toll to three, but this figure no longer included the two initially reported casualties in Iloilo that were determined not to be directly related to the storm.However, the Philippine Red Cross counted 27 casualties, most of which were in Eastern Samar. NDRRMC Administrator Undersecretary Alexander P. Pama said that the interagency body was careful in validating that the deaths were caused by the storm.Having downgraded Ruby further into a tropical depression, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) lifted all storm warning signals in the country.Located at sea 215 kilometers west of Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro as of 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Ruby packed winds of 45 kilometers per hour (kph) while moving in a southwest direction at a speed of 13 kph. It was now expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Thursday morning.However, the northeast monsoon would still bring light to moderate rain over Metro Manila and much of Northern Luzon.Meanwhile, residents who have been experiencing power outages owing to Ruby will not celebrate Christmas Day in the dark.The Department of Energy (DoE), which overlooks electricity restoration activities in areas affected by the weather disturbance, said energy agencies are exerting all efforts to bring back power as soon as possible.Patrick T. Aquino, DoE director, said parts of Leyte, Samar and Batangas are still without power as of press time yesterday.“Restoration activities are expected to be completed before Christmas,” Mr. Aquino said in a text message.Latest data from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines showed that at least 16 transmission lines have yet to be restored.Source - http://www.bworldonline.com/

10.12.2014

Farming must change its ways if we are to save our soils

The ground beneath our feet is vital in so many ways, yet we mistreat it on a vast scale, says researcher Jane Mills – and we shouldn't just blame agriculture for our collective failure to look after it.Just 1cm of soil can take more than 150 years to form. This is why soils are regarded as a non-renewable resource and must be adequately protected and conserved to ensure that their many functions are not lost or diminished.Not only do they provide the food on which we depend, but they also have a role in the buffering and filtering of water and the storage of nutrients and carbon.It is a resource that has until recently been largely neglected by policy-makers, who have tended to focus on biodiversity, air and water.Our soils are vulnerable to periods of high rainfall, clearly illustrated by a satellite photo of the UK after the February 2014 floods which showed brown water flowing out from estuaries into the surrounding sea. Once washed away, this soil can take hundreds of years to be replaced and it is estimated that at such slow rates of soil formation, soil losses exceeding 1 ton/ha/year can be considered irreversible and unsustainable within a time span of 50-100 years. Part of the problem relates to changes in farm practices in recent decades, not least the move away from spring to winter cereals leaving the soil bare and vulnerable over winter.Another impact is soil compaction. Ever-larger machinery piles pressure on soil, increasing its resistance to root growth and reducing soil aeration, so affecting productivity. It also reduces water movement in the soil, increasing surface run-off.Recent research has shown that tyre pressure affects compaction in topsoil, while the wheel load affects deeper layers. The ability of soil to recover from compaction has proven particularly poor for subsoil layers and so can be a stealthy problem often not recognised by farmers. Potential solutions include the use of wider, low-pressure tyres or controlled traffic farming.Organic matter is regarded as a vital component of a healthy soil, and this has also declined in recent decades, partly as a result of a reduction in organic inputs such as farmyard manure and intensification of tillage practices. On some farms this had led to reduced soil structure and yields. Insufficient soil organic matter also affects soil biodiversity; soil fauna and flora are the 'engine room' in soil for breaking down organic matter and releasing essential nutrients. Without this diversity, many of the processes which happen unseen in the soil will not take place or occur more slowly, further reducing the soils effective functioning.But it is not only agriculture that threatens our soils. Soil contamination by harmful products from industry, cities and mining has occurred over the last few decades. Furthermore, there is a threat from "soil sealing", where housing and industrial development, often on good-quality soil, leads to irreversible loss of soil and its functions.In recognition of these threats, the UN last week launched the 2015 International Year of Soils, with the aim of raising awareness of the issues. To help find solutions, the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) at the University of Gloucestershire is in involved in two large-scale European projects. The SmartSoil project (www.smartsoil.eu) is using the results from long term experiments operating across Europe to identify 'win-win' practices that will not only improve organic matter but also crop productivity.Such practices include the use of cover crops, green manure, reduced tillage and crop residue management.Dr Julie Ingram from CCRI said: "We plan to produce a decision-support toolbox that will help advisors and farmers to make decisions to about soil management practices that will best suit their farms."Another project, RECARE (www.recare-project.eu) is working with 27 organisations across Europe to work with farmers to find innovative solutions to the soil threats.As the importance of soil in underpinning our way of life is increasingly recognised, so is the need to find solutions. Hopefully, more emphasis will be placed on raising awareness of the issues.Source - http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/

10.12.2014

The climate in 2050 could be this

Weather reports that give a brief overview of what could reach the sky climate in 2050.On the occasion of the Conference on Climate Change to be held in Lima (Peru) to December 12, the World Weather Organization organized a "staging" of the weather report of 17 August 2050.With the help of current presenters weather reports on various channels of various countries, we can get an idea of what could happen in 36 years.In France, the east "benefits" of a temperature of 40 ° C, only the Brittany region is experiencing a "freshness" of 30 ° C. In Spain, the entire country under a suffocating heat wave 45 to 49 ° C.In Vietnam, the Mekong Delta suffers catastrophic floods that devastated the rice producing areas. In Peru, Machu Picchu is closed due to heavy rains, while the north is affected by the worst "El Niño" ever.Source - http://www.blackseagrain.net/