All posts tagged: farmers

Armed groups kill at least 40 farmers in Nigeria’s Borno State | Boko Haram News

Armed groups kill at least 40 farmers in Nigeria’s Borno State | Boko Haram News

Published by Sam

Officials say Boko Haram and ISWAP groups suspected of being behind the attacks on farmers in the Dumba region. At least 40 farmers have been killed in an attack by armed groups in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State, according to government officials. Fighters from the Boko Haram group and ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP) were suspected of carrying out the attack, Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum and State Information Commissioner Usman Tar said on Monday. Tar said the groups rounded up dozens of farmers in Dumba on the shores of Lake Chad and shot them dead late on Sunday. “Initial report indicates about 40 farmers have been killed while the whereabouts of many who escaped the attack are being traced for reunion with their families,” Tar said. The state government has ordered soldiers battling rebel fighters in the region “to track and obliterate the insurgent elements” operating around Dumba and their enclaves in the wider Lake Chad area, Tar added. The farmers “strayed off” the safe limit set by the armed forces …

The Royal Agricultural University poised for pioneering partnership to help India’s farmers

The Royal Agricultural University poised for pioneering partnership to help India’s farmers

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Cirencester’s The Royal Agricultural University (RAU) is set to play a part in helping Indian farmers via a tie-up with the Himalayas Valley Educational and Charitable Trust (HVECT). Indian students will be offered the chance to study a one-year foundation in agriculture and business course through HVECT’s first higher education institute, the School of Integrated Learning (SOIL), with first students earmarked to start in September next year. READ MORE: Royal Agricultural University report puts cultured meat under the spotlight Senior staff from the Gloucestershire institution recently travelled to Lucknow in northern India to meet the SOIL team and SOIL’s founder and HVECT trustee Akhilesh Yadav. Professor David Main, pro vice-chancellor (academic planning and resources) at the RAU, said: “At the RAU, we are dedicated to enabling sustainable development for the future of our planet. India is renowned for its agricultural heritage and vast transformative potential but it faces challenges that demand attention. “Many farmers in India’s rural marginalised communities could benefit from the opportunity to study a Foundation Certificate focused on innovation and business management …

The plan to save European farming – POLITICO

The plan to save European farming – POLITICO

Published by Sam

On the other hand, this income-based program should not depend on whether farmers comply with additional environmental rules — meaning those that go beyond existing EU law, such as nitrate pollution or habitat protection rules. Instead, a separate set of payments should be distributed among farmers that use sustainable practices, and would be handled by both agricultural and environmental authorities. The participants also asked for an “annual substantial increase” in environmental support. Business as usual is no longer an option for European farmers. | Chrisophe Archambault/Getty Images 2. Sustainable food systems The next two elephants in the room were sustainable diets and meat consumption. The experts agreed that it was crucial to support ongoing reductions in the consumption of animal-based proteins — e.g. meat and dairy — in favor of plant-based alternatives.  They also called for a review of EU food labeling legislation and urged that food marketing to children be addressed, while advocating tax reductions and other social and fiscal incentives. “The sustainable choice needs to become the choice by default,” the report said. …

Farmers’ union lobbied to increase pesticide limit in UK drinking water | Water

Farmers’ union lobbied to increase pesticide limit in UK drinking water | Water

Published by skeptic

The National Farmers’ Union lobbied to increase the amount of pesticides allowed in the UK’s drinking water and to allow farmers to spread manure more frequently as part of a post-Brexit loosening of environmental regulations, it can be revealed. Nick von Westenholz, the director of strategy for the lobby group, met Timothy Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, the Earl of Minto, who is the minister of state for regulatory reform, last year and asked him to review EU-derived environmental protections. The Guardian revealed earlier this year that the UK’s EU-derived environmental regulations were being eroded following Brexit. According to government minutes released to Unearthed, the journalism arm of Greenpeace, after a freedom of information request, Von Westenholz told Minto in July last year: “Thresholds for pesticide residues are tiny. Burden on farmers and water companies on the amount they have to invest in systems to meet negligible requirements.” He added: “Opposition to relaxation of standards is around the greater use of pesticides. But [there is] no evidence that increasing thresholds would do any harm.” The NFU said the statement …

UK farmers consider quitting after extreme wet weather and low profits | Farming

UK farmers consider quitting after extreme wet weather and low profits | Farming

Published by skeptic

British farmers are considering walking away from their farms as the recent record run of wet weather has left the sector “on the brink”, rural bodies have warned. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and the Soil Association raised concerns over the perilous situations facing many in their industry, with profits being squeezed and extreme weather driven by the climate crisis putting financial and mental strain on farm owners. Helen Browning, the chief executive of the Soil Association, said: “A lot of farmers are really considering their options, and thinking about walking away from their farms, as they could make far more money doing something else.” Browning, who runs a livestock and arable farm in Wiltshire, added: “If you were economically rational, you wouldn’t farm.” The trade bodies’ comments came during a briefing on Thursday run by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) thinktank ahead of the second annual Farm to Fork summit being hosted by Rishi Sunak at No 10 next week. The summit is expected to discuss the UK’s future food …

Frans Timmermans tried to destroy European farming, says Italian agriculture minister – POLITICO

Frans Timmermans tried to destroy European farming, says Italian agriculture minister – POLITICO

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“And maybe they arrive through my ports as they once did and maybe I can rebuild an economic force that I can’t build with my country’s strength alone,” he mused. “I don’t think Timmermans is crazy. I think he coldly calculated in the interest of the Netherlands and not in the interest of Europe.” A spokesperson for Timmermans, who stood down last August to run in national elections, declined to comment on the Italian farm minister’s broadside. Lollobrigida doubled down on his claims in an interview with POLITICO. “If you reduce internal production, Europe’s food would be imported through Rotterdam,” he insisted, shaking his head as he munched Roman cheese. “It’s what happened from the 1600s to the 1750s in Europe, when the Netherlands became an empire with the East India company.” “Some things aren’t coincidences.” The bizarre statement was merely the latest by Lollobrigida, who was in Parma to open the CIBUS food fair, Italy’s largest agricultural show. His opening speech rambled from the birth of Italian food in the first millennium to the culinary devastation …

How Slavery in Ancient Rome Drove Farmers to Poverty

How Slavery in Ancient Rome Drove Farmers to Poverty

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  In the 2nd century BCE, rapid socio-economic change was afoot for the plebeian farmers of the Roman Republic. According to the traditional historical narrative, these citizen farmers, who owned family-run smallholdings, were overburdened with military duties during the period of the Second Punic War onwards. No longer able to effectively run their farms, they were displaced by wealthy landowners who established large agricultural estates worked by slaves. This led to an exodus of now landless farmers who became destitute proletarii in urban Rome.   Citizen Farmers: The Backbone of the Roman Republic  Cincinnatus, Léon Bénouville, 1844. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Plebeian farmers were the backbone of the Roman Republic. By the late 6th century BCE, after the last Etruscan king of Rome had been overthrown, the young Roman Republic had become a state largely populated by citizen smallholders of the plebeian class. These smallholders were at the heart of Rome’s agricultural output, but they also served in the military and participated politically as citizens.   The Romans grew a variety of grains including wheat …

Why are Pakistan’s wheat farmers protesting against the government? | Food News

Why are Pakistan’s wheat farmers protesting against the government? | Food News

Published by Sam

Islamabad, Pakistan – Tens of thousands of farmers in Pakistan are holding protests in several cities over the government’s decision not to buy their wheat, causing them huge losses in income. The farmers in Punjab, the country’s largest province and often called the “bread basket” of Pakistan, are demanding that the government stop wheat imports that have flooded the market at a time when they expect bumper crops. At a protest in Lahore, the provincial capital, on Monday, police violently pushed back the farmers with batons and arrested dozens of them. Here is what we know about the issue so far: What triggered the protests? The farmers are furious about the import of wheat in the second half of last year and the first three months of this year, resulting in an excess of wheat in the market and reducing prices. Agriculture is one of the most significant income sectors in Pakistan, making up nearly 23 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country. Wheat makes up 2 percent of the whole. Following …

How to grow food with less water? Learn from desert farmers

How to grow food with less water? Learn from desert farmers

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If you’re a Southern California gardener planning to grow food this summer, it’s time to pay attention to how they grow veggies in the desert, because July, August and September will likely be HOT. Yes, I know, it’s been and continues to be a record-setting wet and chilly spring, but starting in June, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Assn’s National Weather Service expects most of the country to have higher-than-average temperatures for the rest of the year. In Los Angeles, the average high in August is 85 degrees. If we’re going to have lots of days above that, with the promise of more expensive water rates coming this year and next, you’d better start thinking now about how you’re going to keep your tomatoes and other veggies from perishing in the heat. There’s a questionnaire about the etiquette of taking someone else’s fruit down below, along with lots of plant-related activities for May, but first I want to share what I learned from two desert gardeners/farmers, horticulturist and author Maureen Gilmer, who lives in the …