Rain fed agriculture increases food insecurity

Climate change and dependence on rain-fed farming has led to a reduction in yields of 10-50% for staple cereals, increased water scarcity for crops, livestock and domestic use in Botswana and the region, said experts at the ongoing National Agricultural Show. Furthermore, the imperatives of climate change impose serious challenges on nations’ ability to feed themselves, thus requiring alternative innovative ways to combat the adverse effects of such impositions. The Minister of Agriculture, Patrick Ralotsia when opening the show encouraged farmers and urged locals to embark on climate smart agriculture. He spoke against over-reliance on rain fed agriculture, and poor soil but called on farmers to adopt conservation methods and techniques such as the use of drought tolerant crop varieties and livestock breeds. “Total dependence on rain-fed agriculture and poor soil increases vulnerability of farming systems and predisposes rural households to food insecurity and poverty, thus eroding their productive assets and weakening their coping strategies and resilience,” he said.continue

Internet of things and agriculture.

Internet of Things (IoT) is already a mainstream phenomenon, being driven by the promise of revenue growth across multiple sectors such as manufacturing, transportation, resource extraction, agriculture, and the military. IoT, combined with big data, provides farmers with a wealth of information that they can use to maximize productivity and maintain the quality of food in the supply chain. The agriculture industry, primarily depends on engineering, technology as well as the biological and physical sciences. In this digital era, the agriculture industry has been an enthusiastic adopter of IoT and the applications of IoT in this sector is proliferating at a lightning speed with big farmhouses having to rethink their methods to find the efficiency and cost savings necessary to compete. With the real-time data provided, it can be possible for farmers to work in the acres of land and still watch their assets across entities such as their field, machinery and finance, monitored without being physically present. IoT, combined with big data, further provides farmers with a wealth of information that they can use to optimize efficiency, maximize productivity, and maintain the quality of food in the supply chain - from field to fork. Initiatives to modernize agriculture have already been undertaken by developing IoT systems that enhance livestock welfare, these systems use data collected from a variety of sensors to ensure all operations are being executed within a set parameter and alerting farmers of any issues. For instance, when using IoT to monitor the health of livestock remotely, the farmers can track the animals’ movement to establish grazing patterns and help increase yield. continue

Donald Trump and agriculture.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says he will help lead Donald Trump’s agriculture advisory committee, which is still in the process of coming together. Miller revealed his involvement in an interview Friday with Texas radio station KFYO, noting he’d serve as a co-chair. He added that the effort would be formally announced early this week. “Personally, I think Donald Trump will be great for agriculture,” Miller said during the KFYO interview, arguing that Trump would appoint conservative judges and combat regulations that adversely affect agriculture — from WOTUS to the Endangered Species Act. “You know he understands over-regulation, and I think that will be tremendous for our producers,” he added. continue

The Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (Agra) has called for greater adoption of technology in agriculture.

The Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (Agra) has called for greater adoption of technology in agriculture as the best solution for improving output among smallholder farmers. The know-how which ranges from improved seeds to storage facilities will increase production and halt wastage after harvest, a move that would assure continued national food security and surplus production for the market, according to Agra Country Head for Tanzania Dr Mary Mgonja who spoke ahead of Farmers Day (Nane Nane) being marked today. Agra which works in 18 countries was formed in 2006 in response to former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's call to focus on problems related to seed production, soil health and agriculture markets specifically for Africa and targets to double yields and incomes for 30 million farming households by 2020. continue

Black quarter Kills 23 Cow and Infects 63 Others In Katsina.

23 cows have been killed by black quarter disease while 63 others have been infected in Musawa Local Government Area of Katsina State. In a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the disease was isolated on Aug. 5, 2016 when veterinary officers from the state and local council moved in to curb the outbreak. The council’s Director of Agriculture, Alhaji Aliyu Lawal-Doro, confirmed that the affected cows were from Kaduna State moving to neighboring Charanchi Local Government in the state. The official, who spoke through the council’s spokesman, Malam Shuaibu Sa’idu, said when the council officials noticed the high number of deaths, they immediately notified the state veterinary services for urgent intervention. The state government deployed experts to the area to contain the situation, which is now stable. He has however said that veterinary officials and herdsmen in the area have been put on high alert, to avert further outbreak. The official added that the local council was educating livestock owners on the symptoms of the disease, for them to remain vigilant and report cases. The name black quarter or black ill stems from the fact that the infected animal has blackened and swollen hind limb. The infection is acute ,it has a short course of between 12-24 hours and very common in well muscled animals. The vaccination of animals is the best option to prevent loss of prized animals. Black quarter caused by the bacteria Clostridium Chauvoei ,these are present in soils from where they are picked by animals through ingestion of contaminated feeds or soils especially during dry weather when animals graze close to the ground or following soil excavations on the farm. The bacterial spores can remain in the soil for a long period of time,thus in confirmed cases the carcass is not opened but buried deep in the earth to prevent further contamination of environment.The bacteria reside in the intestinal tract and muscles of animals and under suitable conditions they turn around and increase in number and produce poisons that cause the disease Black quarter disease is characterized by a sharp increase in body temperature and very painful localized muscle swelling. The skin around the hip, shoulder, neck and back muscles, will be discolored and when touched produces crackling /sandpaper sound . The animal normally have tremors and will drop,the affected animals in most cases are found dead without any history of sickness. Farmers /herdsmen that are always around their animals can easily observe clinical signs of black quarter and start treatment as the bacteria responds to penicillin.

Agribusiness: leveraging technology in agriculture.

Drones are just one of many technologies whose use in the agricultural sector could cut operation costs and improve yields, helping a growing global population with shrinking resources to cultivate more food with fewer inputs Silicon Valley and the vast cornfields of the U.S. Midwest may appear to have little in common, but a growing relationship between big data and agriculture is poised to improve yields, reduce raw material use and decrease production costs. 

 Over the past year, the precision agriculture industry, which has pioneered the use of unmanned aerial vehicles and robotics to increase data collection and efficiency in agriculture, has continued to expand in the United States and around the world. As drone use in agriculture becomes even more prevalent and new achievements in machine learning and artificial intelligence are made, high technologies — the internet of things, big data, robotics and artificial intelligence — will overlap with agriculture more and more. 

 The concept of precision agriculture, or the use of data to enhance agricultural production, has been around for more than two decades. The field includes a range of different technologies, including GPS-guided tractors, yield and soil monitoring, variable rate applications for water and fertilizers, and data collection by satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles. 

 Technology in agriculture will enable farmers to do more with less — especially as advances in sensor technology and computing technology continue — to keep up with rising demand for agricultural products over the next few decades. Using even one of the precision agriculture technologies can save farmers substantially on a per-acre basis. continue

Cattle farmers warned of imminent lungworm outbreaks .

Livestock farmers are being asked to remain vigilant as the threat of lungworm outbreaks increases. Due to recent warm weather followed by rainfall, this has resulted in perfect conditions for lungworm larvae to migrate from droppings into grass which beef and dairy cattle may be grazing. Sudden outbreaks of lungworm - the parasite which causes parasitic bronchitis in cattle - can be severe and if the early signs of infection are not identified quickly, significant production losses and death of animals could occur. Animal health experts have warned that outbreaks are likely to occur across the country in the coming weeks and months. Sioned Timothy, Merial Animal Health's Veterinary Adviser, said whilst young stock are traditionally thought to be more susceptible to lungworm infection and associated respiratory disease, there is an increasing trend for adult cattle to be affected. continue