New Agriculturist
Focus on
- Water in agriculture
- In this edition, we highlight some of the approaches and initiatives from Bolivia, China, Nicaragua, Tanzania and Pakistan that are helping to conserve water, improve agricultural productivity and provide greater benefits to farming communities.
- More for less in irrigated rice
- Thirsty crops: drinking Pakistan dry
- Reviving an ancient irrigation system in Bolivia
- Securing rights to water in China
- Managing rivers through role play
- Ancient lesson in agroforestry - slash but don't burn
Points of view
- Role of the media in agricultural development
- The role of the media as an effective player in agricultural and rural development is undervalued. So what are the challenges and opportunities for the media to promote more effective agricultural development? We ask experts for their views.
My perspective... a personal viewpoint
- John Kamanga
- In the midst of Kenya's worst drought for 20 years, John Kamanga, coordinator of a land owners' association based in the South Rift valley, reflects on how livestock rearing can be sustained, both in the short and long term.
Country profile
- Sierra Leone
- After an 11 year civil war, which crippled economic, political and social structures, Sierra Leone remains one of the poorest countries in the world. But, with vast natural resources and a government keen to support agriculture, the country has enormous potential.
News brief
- Intense El Niņo rains expected for drought-stricken East Africa
- With heavy rain already beginning to flood parts of East Africa, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that further El Niño rains could compound the humanitarian crisis caused by drought.
- South Asia and South Pacific devastated by natural disasters
- Hundreds of people have died and over a million have been displaced by typhoons in South Asia and a tsunami in the South Pacific.
Editorial
- Despite concerns over the forthcoming Copenhagen climate summit and whether a global treaty will be achieved, positive work continues to be done to address the challenges at a local level, which should inspire and encourage us. In this issue, we highlight some of the policies and agricultural approaches that are bringing benefits to rural communities.
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In pictures
- Participatory bean breeding in the Andes
- Small farmers are helping CIAT develop improved varieties of bush and climbing beans. This picture story, from the town of Darién in Colombia's Western Andes, documents this participatory process and sheds light on CIAT's research, the lives of bean farmers and the techniques used in traditional bean production.
Developments
- Kenya's horticulture business in wilt
- Horticulture, Kenya's leading foreign exchange earner, is faced with two serious challenges: prolonged dry weather and low export demand. In response, growers are adopting new technology, including hydroponics, and improving the efficiency of water and nutrient usage.
- Taming China's Yellow Dragon
- In China, afforestation could be turning the tide against rampant desertification. A tree-planting project in the Kubuqi desert has been described as a flagship project by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
Book reviews
- Feeding the planet
- Feeding the planet is one of 12 books that comprise "The Sustainability Project", covering the challenges posed by globalization and offering practical solutions for the 21st century. For informing, educating and stimulating debate and action, the project will provide a lasting and valuable resource.
- Globesity: A planet out of control?
- Why is the world getting fatter and who is to blame? Is it down to individuals suffering an epidemic of gluttony, or is it more complicated? It's much more complicated, say the authors of this highly readable analysis of global obesity.
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The New Agriculturist is a WRENmedia production.