Agriculture News

12:51 PM EST
2/9/2012 Rising prices and looming maize shortagesMalawi's maize-growing central and southern regions have not had good rains, prompting concerns about possible shortages of the staple in the coming months.

Source:IRIN Topics:Politics, Foreign Aid, Economy, Business And Finance, Agriculture, Arable Farming, Weather, Statistic

10:02 AM EST
2/6/2012 Thousands of chickens culled in new Nepal bird flu outbreakGovernment officials in Nepal have confirmed a fresh outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in eastern Nepal and sounded a health alert across the country. Some 2,000 chickens have died in the district in the past months. About 200 birds were culled Monday morning, according to a regional veterinary official.

Source:AHN Topics:Health, Disease, Virus Diseases, Economy, Business And Finance, Agriculture, Livestock Farming, Politics, Government, Safety Of Citizens

12:24 PM EST
1/31/2012 The 'less is more' philosophy of rice productionIn the 1970s Madagascar was a rice exporter but has since become a rice importer, a consequence of outdated farming methods and poor infrastructure, but farmers still produce 80 percent of the country's national rice requirement.

Source:IRIN Topics:Economy, Business And Finance, Agriculture, Arable Farming

2:41 PM EST
1/30/2012 FDA finds fungicide in Brazil and Canada orange juice shipmentsThe FDA found small amounts of an unapproved fungicide in Brazilian and Canadian orange juice shipments.

Source:AHN Topics:Health, Medical Conditions, Economy, Business And Finance, Agriculture

8:32 AM EST
1/27/2012 Fears of looming food shortage in BurundiThere are fears of a looming food shortage in Burundi after heavy rains damaged two successive harvests, say officials. The affected crop accounts for the country's June to December harvest that represents 15 percent of the annual production.

Source:IRIN Topics:Disaster And Accident, Flood, Economy, Business And Finance, Agriculture, Arable Farming, Social Issue, Poverty

7:15 AM EST
1/27/2012 Time running out for displaced farmersMuch of Dawood Boy's village in northern Afghanistan is empty. More than 1,000 families from Alburz in Balkh Province abandoned it four to six months ago after a drought affecting nearly half the country left 2.8 million people in need of food assistance, according to the World Food Program. The drought destroyed the crops Boy had planted, killed his livestock which no longer had animal feed, and left his family without seeds for next season.

Source:IRIN Topics:Disaster And Accident, Famine, Economy, Business And Finance, Agriculture, Arable Farming, Social Issue, Poverty

11:30 AM EST
1/24/2012 Agriculture in a changing environmentAgriculture has been seen both as a cause and victim of global warming at the UN climate change talks over the past few years - something that has thwarted efforts to attract the investment agriculture needs, say scientists.

Source:IRIN Topics:Economy, Business And Finance, Agriculture

8:31 AM EST
1/10/2012 Nepal's Monsanto debate spotlights seed sovereigntyAn effort by US donors and multinational agribusiness Monsanto to partner with Nepal to boost local maize production with imported hybrid seeds has met civil society opposition calling - instead - for home-grown solutions.

Source:IRIN Topics:Politics, Foreign Aid, Economy, Business And Finance, Agriculture, Arable Farming

7:48 AM EST
1/10/2012 Agriculture Department to close 259 officesThe U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to close 259 offices nationwide as part of a program to cut costs and improve service. The measures, which had been expected, will reduce the agency's workforce by more than 7,000 employees.

Source:AHN Topics:Economy, Business And Finance, Agriculture, Politics, Government, Government Departments, Labor, Employer

8:32 AM EST
1/6/2012 Rice harvests lost in Kachin conflict zonesThe annual harvest season in Myanmar's northern Kachin State has come and gone but much of the rice crop has not been harvested or was never planted after fighting between government forces and the Kachin Independence Army erupted on 9 June 2011.

Source:IRIN Topics:Unrest, Conflicts And War, Armed Conflict, Economy, Business And Finance, Agriculture, Arable Farming, Social Issue, Homelessness