News brief

Trade talks in crisis	Godzilla crabs
The secret of nitrogen fixation revealed	Fertilisers for increased productivity in Africa
Calls to ban meat from Brazil	Butterfly farming to help save rainforest
Break-through Rainforest Alliance certification in Africa	Land reform in Zimbabwe
Ancient fig linked to origins of agriculture	Revival of Kenyan Meat Commission

Trade talks in crisis

The most recent talks by member countries of the World Trade Organisation have ended in disappointment. Despite a reminder from Director General, Pascal Lamy of the urgent need to address agriculture and NAMA (non-agricultural market access), the talks ended without any progress. Disagreement urged Pascal Lamy to comment: "We are in a crisis because, on some issues, distances remain too large between major players." The three-day conference ending on July 1 st, aimed to outline member commitments to reduce tariffs and cut farm subsidies. But, there was some debate with developing countries maintaining that it is up to the 'big six', Australia, Brazil, the EU, India, Japan and the US, to make the first move. Members stated that they remain committed to completing the negotiations by the end of the year but Lamy warned that failure to reach decisions will mean losing work that has potential to reform current trade regulations.

A report of agricultural trends published by the OECD and FAO has warned that subsidies in Europe and America distort the market by forcing prices down, which makes it difficult for developing countries to compete. The report OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2006-2015 says that more investment is needed to improve education, training and infrastructure in developing countries to improve productivity. However, the report also warns that "poor countries will be increasingly dependant on world markets for their food security and therefore more vulnerable to international price fluctuations and growing exposure to world markets could leave countries struggling to meet their food needs."

The secret of nitrogen fixation revealed

Scientists have discovered how plants create their own nitrogen - the fuel plants use for growth. Leguminous crops, like peas and beans, capture nitrogen from the air through root hairs. Reporting in the journal Nature, the scientists have revealed that the root hairs are able to detect microscopic soil-borne bacteria. A chemical signal is sent from the root hair to the bacteria to trigger nitrogen root nodule production. The nitrogen nodules, which are only formed when the plant detects the bacteria, are essential for nitrogen fixation. The research team, led by Dr Giles Oldroyd at the John Innes Centre near Norwich in England, working with a team from Washington State University, now have a good understanding of the process which activates nodule development, a prospect which has the potential to reduce the amount of fertilisers needed.

By triggering nodulation in legume crops such as peas and beans using a key gene, the team believe that their discovery could allow nitrogen fixation in crops, such as wheat and barley. If the crop can form nitrogen nodules without the presence of soil bacteria, that is the first step to transferring the process to other non-legume crops. "If we could get crops like barley or rice to fix their own nitrogen, it would revolutionise food production throughout the world" says Dr Oldroyd. He said that the process, which does not involve genetic modification, "could help to feed the world because every plant could grow its own nitrogen. You could say it has been the Holy Grail of plant science." Natural plant nitrogen fixation would also reduce the need for inorganic nitrogen fertilizers.
See John Innes Centre

Calls to ban meat from Brazil

Brazil's poor animal drug controls have sparked calls for the EU Commission to impose a total ban on the country's meat imports. A report by the EU Food and Veterinary Office found that many veterinary medicines unauthorised by the EU were freely available in Brazil. There was also an absence of requirements to maintain records, and a lack of testing for residues. At one farm, the mission team also found a large stock of hormones and antibiotics. The report concluded, "many of the deficiencies found in 2003 have still not been rectified."

The USA has already banned fresh beef imports from Brazil. Livestock Chairman of the Irish Farmers Association, John Bryan, said that if there were similar findings in Europe, the animals would be destroyed and those responsible would be likely to face jail. "The standards in Brazil are not acceptable to the Food and Drugs Administration in the USA", he said. The report also found that despite the fact that there are no EU approved pig production plants in the country, Brazilian pig meat continues to be exported to the EU.

Break-through Rainforest Alliance certification in Africa

credit: Rainforest Alliance

Farmers in the Djimmah region of Ethiopia are the first in Africa to win Rainforest Alliance certification. The Rainforest Alliance already works with over 3,400 farmers in Latin America, but this is the first partnership awarded in Africa. The farmers are certified as a group under the administration of ASK International Trading and its partners. ASK International Trading, a private Ethiopian coffee exporter, is supplied by 678 family farms in the region. They cultivate the coffee on 4,500 acres of land, alongside subsistence crops such as beans and bananas. Ethiopia is an important producer of high quality coffee, and roughly 95 per cent of Ethiopian coffee production is produced by small farmers.

The Forest Alliance offers better prices for producers, and works with farmers to conserve indigenous plants and fight deforestation. The Belgian EFICO funded the improvements needed for certification, and has provided a market for the certified coffee. The managing director of EFICO, Patrick F. Installe, said that Rainforest Alliance Certification was a big step in addressing environmental degradation which is one of the most important challenges in Ethiopia, and that the award had empowered the local community. According to managing director of ASK International, Suffian Mahadi, the support will help the company to remain competitive.
See www.rainforest-alliance.org

Ancient fig linked to origins of agriculture

The discovery of ancient carbonised figs may reveal the world's earliest form of agriculture. Nine small figs were unearthed by American and Israeli archeologists at a site called Gilgal I, an early Neolithic village located close to Jericho in the Jordan Valley. The ancient fruits were dated between 11,200 and 11,400 years old, more than 5,000 years older than the previous record for cultivated fruits, thought to be olives and grapes found in the eastern Mediterranean.

Analysis revealed that the figs lacked embryonic seeds indicating that a mutation had occurred to allow the fruit to develop from an unfertilized female flower (parthenocarpy). The mutation, however, does not survive beyond one generation in nature indicating that the figs found at Gilgal could not have been reproducing naturally. Ofer Bar-Yosef, an archaeologist based at Harvard University, suggests that "in this intentional act of planting a specific variant of fig tree, we can see the beginnings of agriculture". The early cultivation of these figs indicate the period where hunting and gathering was replaced by food cultivation, reflecting a changing relationship between humans and nature - a shift from consumers to producers.

Godzilla crabs

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has launched a $200,000 pest management project in Tuvalu, the world's smallest nation, to protect a rare and vanishing species found only in the Pacific Islands. Coconut crabs, also known as Godzilla crabs, are the world's largest land invertebrates, can grow to 80 centimeters in size, and are described by the FAO as "one of the wonders of the animal world."

In Tuvalu, their existence is being threatened because black rats are destroying coconuts - the country's main export and the crabs preferred food. The project will place "absolute priority" on controlling rat populations, by training coconut farmers how to dispose of the rats in an environmentally friendly manner. For example, recycled aluminium cans containing rodenticide will be hung from wires to be out of the reach of the crabs but not the more agile rats. FAO reports that results from the project will be fed to other rat management programmes in the region.
See FAO news

Fertilisers for increased productivity in Africa

Policymakers and agricultural researchers meeting in Abuja, Nigeria for the Africa Fertiliser Summit in June have called for improved access to fertilisers to combat the continent's food shortages. Delegates highlighted the incorrect use of fertilizer by many African nations leading to poor soil conditions, as nutrients in the ground are not naturally replenished. This in turn has led to the decline in crop productivity, the spread of water shortages and desertification.

In Africa, use of fertiliser averages only 8 kgs per hectare, compared to 350 kgs used in China. Agricultural ministers attending the meeting discussed ways to improve access to fertiliser and to make it more affordable to African farmers. One proposal calls on the African Development Bank to provide loans to improve the transport of fertiliser to farmers. Promotion of micro-dosing - using a bottle cap of fertiliser close to the plant - is known to improve crop yields in dry areas, such as the Sahel and this was accompanied by calls to make fertiliser available to farmers in smaller packets. The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) however, has criticised the call for greater use of inorganic fertilisers arguing that it leads to chemical dependence and a breakdown in natural soil cycles.
See www.africafertilizersummit.org

Butterfly farming to help save rainforest

credit: University of Warwick

A butterfly farming industry which aims to benefit both the local communities and the environment is being developed in the rainforests of Guyana. The low-tech scheme, a joint venture between researchers at the University of Warwick in the UK and the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation in Guyana, aims to support 5000 people in 16 rainforest communities. The region is a home to a substantial number of exotic butterflies which are in high demand from western butterfly farms that are willing to pay between US$4-10 for each individual butterfly pupa. Developing a sustainable business for the local population potentially provides an alternative to activities involving forest clearance while inherently encouraging them to preserve the rainforest in order to maintain the butterflies' habitat. The research, funded by the Darwin Initiative, will be led by scientists at Warwick who already have experience in butterfly farming through the University company, Warwick Insect Technologies Ltd.

Land reform in Zimbabwe

Ninety-nine year land leases have been offered by the government of Zimbabwe to white commercial farmers displaced by often-violent land reform exercises six years ago. To date, the government has paid out roughly US$ 7,009 per farmer. However, the government has neither decided to give affected farmers their original farms, nor committed to full value compensation. Contrary to earlier pledges of full compensation, the government will now pay between 5 and 10 per cent of the total value of infrastructural developments on acquired farms. The payments have been decried by many farmers as worthless given the free falling Zimbabwean dollar.

The Minister of State Security responsible for land reform, Didymus Mutasa, has told the state media that the government is accepting applications for land from displaced white farmers. But farmers' organisations say that of roughly 900 farmers who have applied, none have yet been allocated land. Since 1999, more than 20 million acres of productive farm-land has been seized from some 4000 white commercial farmers and Zimbabwe's land reform programme has been blamed for contributing to the economic crisis that has seen inflation soaring to more than 1000 per cent.

Revival of Kenyan Meat Commission

The Kenyan Meat Commission (KMC) was recently re-opened after 15 years of closure. The Commission helps to facilitate the trading of meat products both domestically and to international markets and is expected to sell 40 per cent of its products locally and export the other 60 per cent, with further opportunity of acquiring business from the decline of exports from Zimbabwe. The KMC will also provide opportunities to the pastoralists, based in the arid and semi-arid North and Eastern provinces, to sell their livestock even in times of drought. It is hoped this will have a stabilising effect on the market and hence increase financial security. William Kirwa, Agricultural Development Corporation managing director, states that the "revival of the factory is a milestone for the pastoral community as it will have a great impact on their lives".

The meat processing factory, based just outside Nairobi at Athi River, has a capacity to slaughter 1,200 goats and 1,000 cattle per day; providing employment as well benefiting the local leather industry and button manufacturers. The livestock sub-sector currently provides 10% of Kenya's GDP and the Government has assured the KMC of adequate financial aid to secure its long term future. However in the context of its previous turbulent history of mismanagement and subsequent 15 year closure doubts over KMC's sustainability remain.