After generations of tilling the land in central Nepal’s mid-hills, 47-year-old Purna Lama’s family is at a daunting crossroads.Weather patterns, shifting dramatically over the past five to six years, have posed difficulties for farmers like Lama, who supports a family of eight on a plot of land smaller than two acres (0.8 hectares).
Relentless rainfall, attributed to the El Niño phenomenon, has unleashed devastating floods in the Horn of Africa, particularly in Kenya, compounding the region's challenges after experiencing its worst drought in four decades.
Vineyards on over 50,000 acres in the Sangli district in India were damaged due to heavy unseasonal rainfall last week, some of which were in the flowering stage and some almost ready to be harvested.
A few weeks ago, as Micah Onyango, a farmer from Kisumu planted seedlings in anticipation of a bountiful fall harvest, heavy rains and hailstones shattered his hopes, devastating crops like kale, eggplant, and green grams.
In the wake of the devastating Lahaina wildfire in August 2023, researchers from different fields at the University ofHawaiʻiare embarking on two public impact research projects focused on transforming how we monitor and respond to disasters in the agricultural sector, and analyzing the possible effects of chromium on Lahaina agricultural lands.
In the final week of November, farmers in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Gujarat faced distress as they were greeted by untimely rainfall and, in some instances, hailstorms.
Heavy rainfall with strong gales over the last two days dumped by cyclone Michaung dealt a blow to farmers in parts of Andhra Pradesh as agricultural and horticultural crops in thousands of hectares were damaged.
Chile’s early cherry production will be down by 50 per cent, according to the latest forecast released by Fedefruta. This revises its earlier estimate that 30 per cent of the early crop would be lost due to split fruit and points to a total export crop of below 80m cartons.
The Spanish Rosa de Barbastro tomato campaign ended with a yield of two million kilos. That is 1 million less than the initial forecast of the season. The decrease affected small producers who faced various challenges.
According to new estimates, the crop damage caused by the unseasonal rains over the last few days has climbed to 390,000 hectares.The maximum damage has been in Yavatmal, where 130,000 hectares of crops have been affected.
“Producers in Malaga believe that they've lost a third of their subtropical crops due to two consecutive years of drought,” stated Enrique Colilles, the president of the recently established Avocado and Mango Inter-branch Organization.
In just a few weeks, the passion fruit harvest will begin on the Costa Tropical of Granada, after a mango campaign that, in the case of Finca El Edén, has been quite good. "We are specialized in the production and marketing of organic tropical fruit, and when it comes to mangoes, we grow the Irwin variety," said Eva Cantos, owner of the farm.
The farmers of Dharwad district who have been hit by intense drought finally have some respite as interim crop insurance has been sanctioned. However, compensation for crop loss, which has been a major demand of drought-hit farmers, remains elusive.
Groundnut produce worth lakhs of rupees kept in open in themandigot soaked in various parts of Bundelkhand region, including Mahoba and Banda, destroying at least thousands of quintals of the produce. With more rains predicted over the next few days, the problem could only get worse.
The young man ran quickly, carrying a gun that he used for guarding his grocery, towards the wild boars, which were trying to cross the river to attack children and women. He and the fellow residents who responded to the sounds were able to force theswinesto flee.
A drone buzzed back and forth above rows of verdant orange trees planted near Nabeul, eastern Tunisia.The black unmanned aircraft, equipped with a multi-lens camera and sensors, has been enlisted by Tunisian farmers to help adapt to years of drought and erratic weather patterns caused by climate change.