Costa Rican scientists trial aquatic agriculture to boost food security

[CARTAGO, COSTA RICA] Costa Rican researchers are pioneering 'aquatic agriculture'— the method of growing crops on freshwater lakes and reservoirs — to boost food security in the developing world.

The technique involves creating floating rafts on which vegetables, grains and flowers can be grown. Terrestrial crops such as grains and vegetables have their roots directly in the water or can be potted, with water being drawn up into their soil from the lake by capillary wicks, Ricardo Radulovich, a professor at the University of Costa Rica's Department of Agricultural Engineering, explains. Aquatic crops are grown directly on the water.
The idea was developed by Radulovich and colleagues over several years. Last November, theyreceived a CAD$100,000 (around US$100,000) grant from Grand Challenges Canada, a global health innovation agency funded by the Canadian government, to further their work.

Radulovich and his colleagues are currently carrying out prototype projects on Lake Arenal in Costa Rica and in Nicaragua.

"Seventy per cent of the world's available water is used for irrigation," Radulovich tells SciDev.Net. He says there are fears that water supplies will run out because of rising demand. In addition, climate change is increasing uncertainty over rainy seasons and higher temperatures mean that crops need more water, he says.

Using lake water can avoid the wastage that results from traditional irrigation, Radulovich says.

Sustainable use of all the world's freshwater resources could double the current capacity of food production without requiring more irrigation water, he says.

Radulovich says the technique could be effective in many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Bangladesh, Bolivia, the Philippines and other nations with large lakes, whether they are natural or artificial ones that form behind hydroelectric dams.

Researchers in Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda have shown interest in developing aquatic agriculture projects in their countries, Radulovich says.

Lakes could also be used for animal aquaculture, especially to farm herbivorous fish and shrimps, further increasing their role in food production, he adds.

Mario Zúñiga Chaves from the School of Agricultural Engineering at the Costa Rica Institute of Technology (TEC), says that aquatic farming could solve many families' economic problems in regions with a dry tropical climate.

One option, he says, is to build reservoirs to capture water in the rainy season and then use them to farm fish. "Similarly, these reservoirs can be used in the dry season to supply the water needs of crops and animals,"Zúñiga says.
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Agriculture exports could cross $42 billion this year: CACP

New Delhi: Though government constantly focuses on increasing exports of manufactured goods and services, according to a paper written by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) chief Ashok Gulati along with Surbhi Jain and Anwarul Hoda, its off-on policy on agricultural exports is preventing the country for achieving its potential.

“If the government is proactive, FY’12 exports can cross $42– 43 billion”, Gulati says.

In 2011-12, according to Gulati, agricultural exports by India were more than $37 billion against an import of commodities worth around $17 billion.

India has emerged as the world’s largest exporter of rice, replacing Thailand and Vietnam and the country has also the biggest exporter of buffalo meat beating traditionally strong countries such as Brazil, Australia and the US.

CACP discussion paper titled ‘Farm trade: Tapping the hidden potential’ has stated that agricultural exports have increased more than 10 fold from $3.5 billion in 1990-91 to $37.1 billion in 2011-12.

“This share is more than the share that India has in global mechandise exports,” the paper has noted.

As an example of the on-off policy, Gulati points out when the non-Basmati rice exports ban was removed in 2004, India became the second largest exporter of rice. Then India again imposed the ban in 2008 for curbing rising domestic prices. When the ban was removed in September 2011, India once again emerged as the biggest rice exporter in the world.

“Indian agriculture seems to have a greater comparative trade advantage than manufactured goods. This has been possible as the sector has responded

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Students get a look at SIU Agriculture

CARBONDALE — SIU Carbondale played host to 513 high school Future Farmers of America members Wednesday as part of the annual FFA/Farm Bureau Acquaintance Day.

Students from 32 schools in the southern half of the state spent the morning in SIU’s Student Center meeting college students in agriculture, local farm bureau representatives and others working in the ag industry.

Lindsay McQueen, manager of the Jackson County Farm Bureau and event organizer, said the purpose of the event is to get students excited about agriculture and aware of the opportunities in the industry they can pursue later in life.

“We want to get them familiar with the farm bureau,” McQueen said. “We talk to them about college, talk to them about careers in agriculture, and let them hear from some of the students studying the ag sciences in the college here.”

One of those students, John Edgar, an ag business major from the Ava area, was a presenter at Wednesday’s event. He saw it as an opportunity to get high school students thinking the possibilities of working in the agriculture industry.

“A lot of these kids may not be thinking about a career in agriculture, because they have a very narrow view. They see the farmer and perhaps the seed salesman and think that is all there is,” Edgar said.

The industry today is more robust, he said, encompassing genetics, environmental sciences, animal sciences, even law. Edgar praised local farm bureaus for the outreach they do in events like this, which ultimately help change some minds of young people.

“I think the farm bureau is doing an excellent job in helping change perceptions (about farming) from the old man in overalls to the scientist in the lab,” he said.

caleb.hale@thesouthern.com

618-351-5090

On Twitter: @bycalebhale

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Agriculture, energy fuel strong growth in Great Plains cities

While city governments in certain regions of the country muddle through the fallout from the Great Recession, many cities in the Great Plains are pondering what to buy instead of what to cut.

Buoyed by strong agriculture and energy sectors, combined with unemployment well below the national average, cities in the Great Plains region from the Dakotas to Texas are dreaming big on ambitious projects that leaders hope will add to quality of life and help sustain population growth.

In contrast, cities in other regions continue to struggle with high unemployment, housing prices that haven't recovered and depressed tax bases, says Gregory Minchak, spokesman for the National League of Cities.

They've had to make layoffs and cuts to public safety, social services and other areas.

"There are definitely differences regionally," Minchak said. "The Great Plains areas are doing really well."

So well, says Joel Kotkin, a fellow at Chapman University, that smaller and midsize cities in the Great Plains are luring young families from "megacities" on the coasts because commutes are shorter and the cost of living is lower.

The appeal for young families, he says, is: "I can move to this place and I can live much better than I can live in those places."

Kotkin wrote a 118-page report entitled "The Rise of the Great Plains: Regional Opportunity in the 21st Century."

After decades of outward migration from the Great Plains, many areas in the region are now growing, thanks to energy, agriculture, manufacturing and the Internet. The small and midsize cities seeing that growth have money to spend.

"I tend to think historically: First, you have to have the money, then you have the culture," Kotkin said. "That goes back all the way to Athens. This is what cities do when they have money."

In Sioux Falls, S.D., where the population has grown from about 125,000 to 160,000 since 2000, construction started late last year on a $115 million arena to replace a 50-year-old facility.

Mayor Mike Huether says the project was possible because of a diversified economy, confidence in residents and a frugal political culture that prioritizes its needs.

"That's really a big deal here," he said. "It seems like there are parts of the country that don't get that."

The city of Lincoln, Neb., and the University of Nebraska have partnered to refurbish the city's Haymarket district.

The project's centerpiece is a $168 million arena that will serve as the home arena for the University of Nebraska's men's and women's basketball teams.

Neighboring Omaha opened a $128 million baseball stadium, home to the College World Series, two years ago.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is building a downtown convention center complex and refurbishing an existing arena with $32 million in city funds, combined with $50 million in federal and state grants.

The city is also spending $41.4 million to renovate a hotel at the site, and $15 million for parking.

"It's a pretty big bite for our community," Mayor Ron Corbett said. "To say we don't have our neck out on this wouldn't be true. We do."

But, Corbett adds, the city's agriculture-based economy, which processes 1.1 million bushels of corn a day and includes a Quaker Oats processing facility, is on a sound footing.

In Bismarck, N.D., where the city commission recently approved the specifications and design plans to expand the city's exhibit hall — a potential $25 million project — agriculture is one bright spot in the city's economy.

The city also has manufacturing, health care and energy to lean on. Unemployment is below 3%.

"All of those are factors in our success story," said Gloria David, Bismarck's public information officer.

Energy manufacturing is driving redevelopment efforts in downtown Tulsa, where museums have been expanded and new parks have opened, said Lloyd Wright, the spokesman for Mayor Dewey Bartlett.

The city has added 14,000 jobs since 2009, and its efforts to redevelop downtown have resulted in $709 million in building projects.

"You can go down a residential street, go to the end of the street, and there's a little manufacturing outfit making widgets that manufacturers in Saudi Arabia can't do without," Wright said.

Ellis also reports for the Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, S.D.

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Agriculture Ministry to ensure sufficient supply of CNY foodstuff

chinThe government has prepared sufficient supply of essential goods for the Chinese New Year celebrations which starts on Feb 10.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Mohd Johari Baharom said the ministry was cooperating with the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry to ensure enough supply without no price increases.

"Agencies under the ministry such as the Veterinary Department, Fisheries Department and Fama are ready to face any possibility, which includes importing goods should the stock be insufficient.

"Our past experiences have taught us a lot. We will not allow prices to be hoarded or manipulated," he told reporters after presenting 'ang pow' and food contributions from the Kubang Pasu MCA to 172 poor individuals.

Mohd Johari added that consumers need not worry as chicken production has reached 120 per cent, 20 per cent more than needed, while eggs, beef and fish are also sufficient. - Bernama

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First-hand Look at Brazilian Agriculture: Part One

Farm Futures tour examining Brazil's booming industry

Bryce Knorr 

We are more than 6,000 miles from home in the United States, beginning our Farm Futures tour of Brazil. But it doesn't take long to discover, if there was any doubt, that people are people, just about everywhere.

After a flight of more than 10 hours, our first full day is spent in Rio, decompressing and getting used to a four-hour time difference (when it's 6 a.m. here, the central time zone is still sound asleep at 2 a.m.), language barriers (signs are in Portuguese, Spanish and English), and the fact that it's summer in the southern hemisphere.

Though we're here to find out first-hand about Brazilian agriculture in Parana, the number one corn and number two soybean producing state, to start we're seeing the sights in the country's number two city. We're staying across from the famed Copacabana Beach, watching workers build soundstages for one of the many concerts that will soon blare music from the annual Carnival next week.

"We have to make young people realize agriculture is a good business," Henrique de Salles Goncalves told our group of U.S. farmers.Our first journey is to take the cog railroad up to the Cristo -- the statute of Christ overlooking the city and its panorama of beaches and harbor. At the base of the statue, tourists from around the world have their picture taken with arms outstretched. Tourists are tourists, no matter where they're from.

Similar problems

Rio is a big, exotic city, but we're ready to hit the real reason for our trip. And on our first stops in Parana, it's clear that farmers here, though our competitors, have the same problems that U.S. producers face.

Tourists are tourists, no matter where they're from. Our group visited the famous Cristo, the Statue of Christ overlooking the city of Rio.Agriculture is a boom business here, of course. But convincing young people to farm is an uphill battle against the lure of the city -- the same problem faced by several families on our tour.

"We have to make young people realize agriculture is a good business," says Henrique de Salles Goncalves, of SENAR, an organization similar to the Extension service back in the U.S.

U.S. farmers often are frustrated about how their businesses are portrayed in the media. Here the producers come under fire from the media in Europe, who believe they're cutting down the Amazon rain forest to grow sugar cane to produce ethanol -- a variant of the food vs. fuel debate.

"It is not true," says Pedro Loyola, an economist with FAEP, the organization lobbying for farmers and their interests in Parana. "We can produce enough sugar cane for ethanol and sugar here in this region. It is not necessary to cut down the rain forest."

And don't get these farmers started talking about the government. The latest mandate: new rules limiting drivers to four hours on the road, when they must take a break, at rest stops that don't exist.

"We will have huge production this year because weather is good, but not enough storage and we have no drivers," says Daniel Rosenthal, a Brazilian farmer and our guide through the region. Myriad other rules make farming a challenge here.

But life is good for Brazilian farmers, due to high prices, just like it's been in the U.S.

"I'm not complaining," says Rosenthal, to the laugh of the U.S. growers. "We all have problems, but I'm a happy farmer." –Read more about Brazil in our Feb. 2013 issue cover story

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Agriculture ministry rejects Delhi CM's plea to stop onion export even as its price soars

As the humble onion has started making common man cry over its rising retail price , the issue has also led to a confrontation between allies Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

A day after Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit sought Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's urgent intervention to curtail export of onion to bring down its price, which has been selling between Rs.30 and 40 per kg in the city, the ministry headed by the NCP chief turned down her plea on Friday.

Pawar raised fingers at the Delhi government pointing out that local factors were responsible for price rise of onion in the national capital.

The minister called a meeting of his department officials on onion price issue. He has also asked NAFED to monitor onion supply.

According to sources, Delhi might get cheaper onions as National Consumer Cooperative Federation (NCCF) would distribute cheaper onions through Kendriya Bhandar mobile vans.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Agriculture Tariq Anwar turned down Delhi chief minister's request, saying there was "no need to stop export of onion".

Anwar said onion was a joint responsibility of the Cabinet, not only agriculture ministry's. He said agriculture ministry's responsibility was production and not distribution.

"It is not totally my responsibility, but it is decided with the consent of everyone in the Cabinet. I am sure Sheilaji will take care of this issue," Anwar said.

BJP chief Rajnath Singh also criticised the UPA government over the issue, saying not only onion but price of everything was increasing alarmingly.

"The inflation is increasing alarmingly. Prices of everything are increasing except for the common man's life," Rajnath said attacking the government.

- With inputs from Headlines Today

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