Farmers and new agriculture

UBINIG is a grassroots organization founded in the 1980s by a handful of Bangladeshi academics and professionals who wanted to empower poor farmers. “We wanted to know why we were poor, why major development organizations were telling us what to do,” says director Farida Akhter, a slight woman with grey-streaked hair. At the time, the technologies of the Green Revolution—hybrid seeds and chemical inputs—were credited with increasing production and saving millions of lives in India and Bangladesh. But the women Akhter talked to were noticing something else: the chemicals in their food were making their children ill. Butterflies were disappearing from the fields and the small fish that thrived in the standing water in rice paddies were dying. UBINIG’s approach to agriculture is based on a combination of new research and old technologies. They call it nyakrishi, which means “new agriculture,” even though many of their practices are ancient. The people of Bangladesh expect to feel the effects of climate change sooner and more acutely than most places on the planet. The country is a low-lying sandy delta, split by three major rivers and criss-crossed by countless tributaries that drain into the Bay of Bengal. A one-metre rise in global sea levels would permanently inundate 15% of the country, wipe out thousands of acres of valuable agricultural land and displace 30 million people, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The country’s rich alluvial soil, which grows most of the food the country consumes, is in danger. Every year, about 8,000 hectares of arable land are lost to urbanization and degradation, according to research by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. Another 8,700 hectares are swallowed by shifting rivers. As sea levels rise, saltwater pushes inland, flowing up rivers and canals and rendering fields near the coast too salty to grow crops. Every year, tens of thousands of farmers move to the city, looking for work. Begum was one of the first people in her village to adopt nyakrishi farming.She heard about UBINIG and travelled to Dhaka, the capital, for a seven-day workshop. Since then, she has persuaded 257 farmers in her community to join the movement. Across Bangladesh, 300,000 farmer families now practice nyakrishi farming. Begum, a midwife, community activist and organic farmer in the township of Ishwardi, central Bangladesh, has taken on the role of safeguarding the soil her community depends upon. Begum doesn’t use synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. She makes her own organic compost and mulches her soil so it retains more water. She brews bio-pesticides with cow dung, ashes and banana leaves. To further protect plants from insects and preserve soil nutrients, she mixes crops—ginger with cumin, for instance. And she harvests her own seeds and keeps them in her seed hut. Among her treasures are 90 varieties of rice indigenous to Bangladesh: some are resistant to drought; others can survive in salty soil. Begum no longer has to spend money on seeds, pesticides or fertilizer. She can sell her produce for higher prices in the market because it’s organic. And she shares her organically grown seeds freely with anyone who promises to join UBINIG, the movement she belongs to. continue

AGRO-VETERINARY: Mobile veterinary clinics in rural areas .

In India ,according to (The Hindu )the State Government has decided to introduce mobile veterinary clinics in districts very soon to improve animal healthcare in rural areas. Nearly 100 such mobile clinics are expected to start functioning with at least one clinic for every assembly constituency. The decision was taken at a review meeting held here on Monday. The meeting was chaired by Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Talasani Srinivas Yadav. It was further decided to upgrade veterinary polyclinics as district level veterinary hospitals. Officials informed the Minister that a total of 2,142 veterinary dispensaries/hospitals are functioning in the State. Principal Secretary (AH) Suresh Chanda, Secretary (Finance) Navin Mittal, Director (AH) D. Venkateshwarlu, Managing Director of Telangana State Dairy Development Cooperative Federation (TSDDCF) K. Nirmala, Registrar of Veterinary University Kondal Reddy and others attended the meeting. The Minister wanted the officials to improve milk procurement from the existing 5 lakh litres a day to 6 lakh litres by the year-end along with popularising the milk and milk-products of TSDDCF – Vijaya Dairy Telangana by improving the market share and opening more stalls across the State. Officials stated that about 3.85 lakh litres milk was being sold every day in Hyderabad itself and another 50,000 litres in districts now. The Minister directed the officials to implement ‘Sunandini’ programme, under which cattle feed would be provided at 50 per cent subsidy, properly. He also told them to procure fodder for scarcity period of February-June every year in advance. This move by the Indian government can be adopted in other countries especially developing countries with large numbers of livestock to increase access of rural farmers to veterinary services. It is common knowledge that most communities in developing nations cant access veterinary care,thus leaving their animals at risk of various diseases and even health implications for the owners in cases of zoonotic diseases. When veterinary services are accessible by providing mobile services,by engaging more veterinary officers and training livestock hands in these communities will not only keep diseases at bay but also increase production in terms of capacity and quality of livestock. Employment opportunities will also be created as more hands will be needed to go to various communities,this coupled with upgrading of clinics,provision of drugs and vaccine will revamp the agricultural sector as more products such as eggs,beef,chicken,milk e.t.c will be readily available.

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.