Bill Gates reveals that the debate and conflict over GM foods are threatening the efforts of The Gates Foundation in its attempt to end world hunger. ‘An “ideological wedge” threatens his global effort to help farmers.’

Over the recent years, The Gates Foundation has been ‘helping alleviate hunger and poverty by giving small farmers the tools to produce more.’ Gates and his wife have given more than $1.4 billion to agricultural development.

Recently, they pledged ‘nine new grants worth $120 million aimed at raising yields and farming expertise in the developing world.’ The $120 million fund ‘is intended to help develop genetically modified crops that are more drought-resistant and productive in marginal conditions.’ Under the sponsorship of the Gates Foundation, nitrogen-fixing legume crops, sorghum and millet, and sweet potatoes are all undergoing genetic experimentation.

Genetically modified (GM) crops have been under fierce agricultural debate. GM crops ‘undergo genetic manipulation in a laboratory, usually for the purpose of increasing crop yield or pest resistance.’ Many are skeptic, even wary, of genetic manipulation, believing that ‘GM crops will lead to even greater crop homogenization and threaten the stability of the global food supply.’

Gates slams the ‘false dichotomy between sustainability and productivity, but avoided mentioning genetic modification.’ “According to him, “The technology and new approaches that are transforming agriculture in other parts of the world can be applied in new ways, and help Africa flourish too. This global effort to help small farmers is endangered by an ideological wedge that threatens to split the movement in two. On one side is a technological approach that increases productivity. On the other side is an environmental approach that promotes sustainability. It’s a false choice, and it’s dangerous for the field.”

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Via the raw story

While India is under its worst drought in 20 years, the desert city of Jodhpur also known as Blue City, long a popular tourist spot, is slowly flooding because of the Indira Gandhi canal, a massive irrigation infrastructure that ‘diverts water from the northern “breadbasket” state of Punjab down to Haryana and Rajasthan.’ Jodhpur, the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, is geologically a catch basin of excess water, but the state of Rajasthan, itself, is suffering from depleted ground water in this time of drought. ‘Recent NASA satellite imagery suggests a foot a year is being lost.’

The monsoons are extremely important to India, a hugely agricultural country. With the monsoons providing 80 percent of the country’s water, approximately 450 million Indian farmers depend on these seasonal rains. Only two thirds of the average rainfall expected this year did arrive. And with the monsoons being delayed as they were, it was ‘far too late to save much of the crops.’

Only an hour outside Jodhpur, farmers are resigned to the fact that only 5 to 10 percent of their millet, mung, and mothbean crops will survive. This means that their staple food will have to be purchased.

But what nature cannot provide, the local government’s political will can. ‘Nearby villages are due to be connected to the canal.’ To even out the water supply, large pipes are being readied to siphon off Jodhpur’s rising waters to nearby villages. Such a plan will be both beneficial to flooding Jodhpur and its drought-stricken environs.

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Via globalpost

Organized by the Dryland Science for Development (DSD) Consortium, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) holds a global scientific conference with the main topic of desertification-climate change nexus. The global conference, entitled “Understanding Desertification and Land Degradation Trends,” is being held in connection with the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the UNCCD.

The conference will discuss the significance of ‘developing and implementing science-based methods for monitoring and assessing land degradation.’ The organizers are pushing for a ‘holistic approach to understanding and overcoming the devastating impact of desertification.’

The main thesis is that impeding desertification in drylands is central to the new climate deal. The organizers want to stress the viability of dealing with desertification as a critical avenue to achieve the objectives of addressing climate change.

The role of agricultural land use in reducing greenhouse gas emissions has not been in the forefront of climate deal negotiations. Scientists, thus, want to bring attention to the fact that agriculture is one of the most important areas where climate change can be addressed.

Part of the discussion is the set of strategies by which the rural poor or the agriculture grassroots can cope better with climate change. ‘Drylands comprise more than 40 percent of global land area and are home to nearly 35 percent of its people. As much as 20 percent of this land has already been affected by desertification, defined as land degradation (that is, loss of the land’s productive capacity), caused by a combination of human activity and climate conditions.’

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Via SCIENCE CODEX

The developing countries will now play a more significant role in the economic policies of the world. The ultra-elite club of the richest industrial nations known as G7 will relinquish its top level global economic forum to the much broader G20 that includes the emerging economies and developing countries such as China, Brazil, and India.

The recent development is in recognition of the ‘growing economic importance of Asia and some Latin American countries, particularly since the United States and many European countries have found their banking systems crippled by an economic crisis originating in excesses in the American mortgage market.’

Over the past thirty years, the G7, composed of the countries of the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, was the main economic group. Russia was eventually added to the short roster.

The move is a much-needed break for the emerging economies whose main concerns have been monumental, an example of which is eliminating trade barriers especially in politically sensitive sectors like agriculture.

There are criticisms to the move: ‘Proponents of the smaller group say the friendships it fosters are important when friction arises in the group or outside it in one-on-one policy disputes between nations. They also point to complications that arise when 20 countries with vastly different economies try to reach agreement on setting exchange rates or other complex financial questions.’

On the other hand, those who support the broadening of the global economic forum say that ‘the emerging nations, and the huge slice of the world’s population that they represent, must have a seat at the table to debate not only economic issues, but also environmental issues like climate change.’

Via The New York Times

Brazil is getting ready to break the patents of North American pharmaceutical products if the World Organization of the Trade decides today that the country can make it, in retaliation to the subsidies granted to the North American cotton farmers, it informed the Brazilian press.

Brazil challenged the subsidies of the USA to the cotton in 2002 and, two years later, OMC decided that the about of US$ 3 billion paid to the farmers of cotton of the USA a year distorted the global prices and they violated the trade rules.

An option would be to increase the import tariffs against the North American goods. But Brazil is getting ready to take measures in relation to the intellectual property, a much more significant area to the USA. OMC should include that possibility in its decision today.

According to a matter published in a Brazilian newspaper, the government prepared a decree to allow to the Brazilian pharmaceutical industries to produce medicines protected by North American patents.

The expected decision for today comes to the surface in a context of growing frustration in Brasília in relation to the Obama government’s reluctance of acting on the subsidies to the agricultural production that they affect the cotton and other sections of the Brazilian agribusiness, including the sugar and the ethanol.

Via: Financial Times.

Serbia has suffered for long on account of both its history and geography. Now it is suffering yet again due to its own economy and impact of global recession. One would rarely find any other nations in Europe like these former Yugoslavian breakaway nations – they never seem to recover and heal completely. First wars and genocides killed people and those who survived it all are now being driven to suicide by economic despair.

When the baggage of the past is heavy it often becomes very difficult to recover. Serbia too had never really recovered from the international economic sanctions imposed against former President Milosevic. Its plans to privatize old factories too had failed over decades.  And now it is in deeper crisis due to current global recession. Agriculture is suffering and unemployment is all time high. It would be indeed difficult for common farmers and fruit growers in the interiors of Southern Serbia to afford their livelihood. And there is no other option too except maybe die of hunger or kill oneself.

Serbia has received emergency loan from The International Monetary Fund May and may receive second installment soon. Serbian government is desperately trying to attract investment from developed countries. A German company has taken over old decaying factory and some thousand people may find employment. But this is definitely not enough.

Serbia has shown a rare spirit to survive in spite of everything and this time too it will. But sadly human costs are always too high!

Via BBC

The Pygmies are basically a nomadic people. None of them knows that their oral traditions are part of the recently acknowledged ‘intangible heritage of humanity.’ Pygmies do not exactly live as their ancestors. Today, they wear t-shirts and even plastic shoes. They have long traded their crossbows to gun craft. They have learned the use of some kitchen utensils, soap, and even cigarettes. In some Pygmy camps, a bad radio ‘sizzles’ from morning to evening.

But most of the Pygmy culture remains, and it still revolves around the forest. They still use the bark of trees to cure such illnesses as heartburn, for instance. When bitten by a snake, the victim will not take long to find a leaf that heals the bite wound. There are also treatments for deadly scorpion stings.

They make tobacco pipes out of bamboo, and mats from certain species of trees. Cords of bark maintain the overall structure of their homes. Building the hut is a woman’s job.

Agriculture has never been attractive to them. They are content with tubers such as taro and yams that they find at the bottom of dug holes. Banana shoots and cassava are a food staple. In their makeshift camps, what they want most is to discover more and better means of medication. Pygmies are also predators of the forest. They do not hesitate to sacrifice trees for clearings.

In Central Africa, Pygmies are victims of deep racism. Because of their small size, they are still considered sub-human, even if they vote in presidential elections.

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Via The Africa Guide

An ‘e-Biosphere’ summit, organized by Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) which is based at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, will be held on June 1-3 in London. Approximately 400 personalities and authorities in the fields of biology and technology coming from 50 countries will discuss about the plans to design and compile an ‘Internet-based observatory of life on earth as a guide to everything from the impact of climate change on wildlife to pests that can damage crops.’

Hosting the discussions during the summit is Norman MacLeod, keeper of paleontology at the Natural History Museum in London, who says, “This would be a free system that everyone can access and contribute to.” 

The citizens of the planet are being requested to monitor life on earth and, through the Internet, link up their ground information and data to this giant database that is envisioned to become a most current monitoring of planet Earth. 

The project is inspired by the fact that many people the world over are already uploading on the Internet observations about the different parts of the biosphere such as flora and fauna. This colossal database may be the central repository of these bits of information. 

EOL believes that this ambitious ‘biodiversity overview’ can have far-ranging benefits such as monitoring of climate change, diseases linked to global warming, analyses for agriculture, and public safety, among others. 

Via Reuters

In 2006, Beijing signed agreements on agricultural cooperation with several African countries that led to the installation of 14 farms in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Tanzania. By 2010, there will be one million Chinese peasants in Africa. The official goal: to help host countries increase production through Chinese technologies. The hybrid varieties of rice developed by Beijing are said to be able to improve yields by as much as 60 percent compared to the global average. It is clear, however, that much of the crop will be exported to China to ensure the country’s long-term market supply.

Agricultural lands have become more and more coveted. Of late, there has been a rush to invest in or outrightly purchase arable land in another country. By end of 2008, five countries were distinguished by the size of their land acquisitions abroad: China, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Together, these countries now have over 7.6 million hectares for agricultural production outside of their respective national territories.

The aim of these land-purchasing countries is clearly ‘to deal with the consequences of stagnation in domestic production caused by rapid urbanization and declining water resources.’ Arable lands are becoming increasingly rare in the Middle East, for example. The oil monarchies have invested in the creation of extraterritorial annexes. Qatar has agricultural land in Indonesia, the Philippines, Bahrain, Kuwait, Burma, etc. Japan and South Korea have already been importing 60% of their food from abroad. Saudi Arabia has decided to embark full time on grain importation.

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Via Dar Al-Hayat

They were mired in heavy debt that could not be paid to money lenders because their crops failed to yield enough. The agricultural state of Chattisgarh, a widely agricultural region in India, has been devastated by poor water resources that farming badly needs, with water levels dipping below 250 feet from 40 feet during the past years. There were hardly any rains.

Driven by desperation about their seemingly hopeless situation, 1,500 farmers from the district ended their lives in a massive mass suicide. One family was up in debt in the amount of £400. The head of the family was one of those who committed suicide. Last year, economic distress also caused 206 farmers to take their lives.

“Farmers’ suicides are increasing due to a vicious circle created by money lenders. They lure farmers to take money but when the crops fail, they are left with no option other than death,” said Bharatendu Prakash of the Organic Farming Association of India.

Some parts of India have been reeling under the pressure of extreme poverty, in a country where development has been uneven and inconsistent. Many have criticized that development in India has not been for all. Add to that are commonly observed problems such as poor political governance and unsustainable public policies. At the bottom of the socioeconomic pit are the impoverished farmers whose livelihood has been heavily affected by the cruelties of nature and failures of government.

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Via The Independent