Category Archives: Agriculture

Eleven Million in Sahel Face Severe Food Insecurity

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A U.N. agency says 11 million people in Africas Sahel region still face severe food insecurity. At the same time, an emergency appeal for 113 million dollars has gone largely unmet.

De Capua report on Sahel food insecurity
The Food and Agriculture Organization says the Sahel has faced food insecurity crises in 2005, 2008 and again in 2012. Those crises, it says, have eroded the capacity of the poor to maintain or restore their livelihoods.

In Dakar, Patrick David, FAOs deputy coordinator for food security analysis for West Africa and the Sahel, said, There is still a lot of people in food insecurity. The people more and more find some difficulty to recover from the past crisis even if there is a good harvest because there have been pretty good harvests in 2012.

David said many people in the Sahel depend on a few cattle and a small piece of land for survival. So, its hard for them to stock up any reserve food or agricultural supplies in the event of drought, conflict or bad harvest.

While before it would take one or two years to recover, now its longer for those people to recover. Its difficult to restock cattle, for example. Its difficult for them to access agricultural credit to have good input[s] and to have fertilizer. And in some places in the Sahel, like in Burkina Faso and Niger, there [are] some dense populated area[s] where there is degradation of land and the loss of soil fertility. That means their agricultural
yield[s] are decreasing year by year, he said.

That compounds the problems they already face as the price for grains, such as sorghum, millet and maize, continues to rise.

David said, The poor and the very poor households, as soon as theyve exhausted their little harvest, totally depend [on] the market. So they have to buy the grain at higher and higher prices. So their purchasing power is decreasing every year.

Insecurity, such as the recent conflict in northern Mali, can also boost prices because agricultural products cannot get to market.

The FAO has appealed for $113 million for its programs in the Sahel. However, its only received less that $19.5 million so far.

The intervention of FAO strengthens the resilience of the affected households. But when the affected households cannot receive the good seeds and the good fertilizer or cannot recapitalize their livestock, they stay very vulnerable and its a problem for the next year. So we definitely need additional support for the farmers and agriculture in order to decrease the impact of the forthcoming crisis, he said.

Building resilience includes improving the storage, processing and transportation of goods as well as livestock food supplements, animal health campaigns and herd restocking. The Food and Agriculture Organization programs also include fixing irrigation systems.

The FAO said it would like these programs to be in place and making a difference during the next growing season which runs from October through April

Sustainable Agriculture – Is It In Your Future

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With the current buzz regarding sustainability, here’s the big query: Sustainable agriculture — Is it in your future?

These are tumultuous times. World warming and environmental degradation are serious threats to the long run of our world. This economic state of affairs is somewhat bleak and recovery is slow. Worry of the future is ever gift in several minds. The matter is that whether or not we have a tendency to acknowledge the environmental seriousness, the monetary concerns and therefore the reservation we have a tendency to feel hold us back from creating significant movement toward positive change. On the other hand, to try and do nothing spells bound disaster in our future.

Sustainability has many definitions depending upon who is defining it! I outline it as agricultural practices which consider, address, and improve the environmental, social, and economic aspects of the operation. It’s like a 3 legged stool. There should be three legs of the identical length and in some cheap configuration in order to possess balance and stability. To neglect one leg or to place it in the wrong place means the business is possible to collapse.

Keeping that balance has several benefits. If anyone ought to be an environmentalist, it should be the farmer. If farmers use the land and water without regard to the results of management, it means that that those resources can doubtless become degraded and/or depleted. It’s like using a car to induce to figure, however never checking the tires, changing the oil nor putting gas in it. It will not be long before you’re looking at alternative transportation. On the other hand, being proactive, considering the consequences, monitoring, and planning ahead can get you there more quickly and with reliability!

Here are ten basic steps to include sustainability into your farm operation:

1. Assess your current scenario

2. Outline specifically what it is that you’re managing

3. Confirm what resources you have offered

4. Write down what you wish to achieve — obtaining to your core principles

5. Arrange your strategy to deal with the setting, finances, and social aspects

6. Check your choices and actions

7. Monitor your progress — think about that you could are wrong

8. Retreat to not off course if you’re off course

9. Completely re-plan when necessary

10. Revisit your goal and your set up

The clock is ticking, however there is still time to form a difference. Each epic journey starts with one small step,and then another. Agriculture is the foundation of civilizations. If agriculture fails, thus does everything else. What are some steps you can take to move toward additional sustainable agriculture? Is it in your future?

India Agriculture Jobs & Opportunities

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This article hopes to give you the knowledge you need regarding India Agriculture, to feel that you have a firm grasp on the subject.

Agriculture is really a field of live activities and there are numerous opportunities are associated with it. Now the amount of jobs in agricultural field is more. There are numerous classifications are contained in it. It is perfectly in line with the availability of jobs in a variety of ideas.

A number of them are completely predicated on new views and there are numerous ideas are arriving an agricultural job. Gardening is a good example of the and for the reason that complete garden management is going on here. Increasingly more views and cultivation processes are contained in it. International businesses of agricultural some ideas are completely pointing various some ideas about such ideas. Jobs in agricultural ideas are actually increasing the touch with environment and related some ideas.

Cultivation may be the main purpose of all jobs in agricultural. They’re mainly pointing on top end cultivation with new schemes. Excellent application and related inventions are associated with such ideas. Perfect views of some ideas and new medicines will also be using to improve the growth of plants in an entire way. Various ideas are actually using to improve the productivity of plants in an excellent manner.

More international companies find new generation drugs to improve all kinds of growth. By utilizing these medicines production of plants are increasing in an ideal manner. Increasing numbers of people are coming with such ideas and different experts and scientists will also be related with one of these ideas. Experts are actually thinking to locate various some ideas and medicines to improve the whole production of plants. Plant cultivation atmosphere creation is essential.

Jobs agriculture schemes are completely coping with this atmosphere creation also. Here various views of plant growing conditions are arranging. Quantity of water, gases and cultivation agents are utilizing here to improve the growth. New generation concepts of plant some ideas are increasing the amount of all some ideas in an ideal manner.

Helpful Tip: Are you trying to search for more tips and tricks about alesco projects? Do may know that you can find a lot of information regarding this topic area if you can copy and paste the keyword food processing into the search box of this article directory?

International businesses are providing various assistances to any or all these kinds of agricultural inventions and studies. Various researches and studies are increasing the worthiness of this in an excellent manner. Jobs in agricultural some ideas are completely coming now in a variety of job web sites.

Various Government organizations will also be connected with this particular in an excellent manner and many of them are giving good salary and to all peoples. Various private organizations will also be applying such ideas in an ideal manner.

Jobs agriculture schemes are completely coping with this atmosphere creation also. Here various views of plant growing conditions are arranging. Quantity of water, gases and cultivation agents are utilizing here to improve the growth. New generation concepts of plant some ideas are increasing the amount of all some ideas in an ideal manner.

No matter which way you look at it, having a firm understanding of this topic area regarding India Agriculture will benefit you, even if it is just slightly.

Why Portable Air Conditioning Hire for Agriculture is Essential

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Portable air conditioning for hire is not only an essential option for hotels, pubs and clubs, leisure centres and gyms, but also in the agriculture industry. Read on to find out why portable air conditioning is essential for the agriculture industry.

Article body: Portable air conditioning for hire is not only an essential option for hotels, pubs and clubs, leisure centres and gyms, but also in the agriculture industry. Why? Because without the option of hiring portable air conditioning units and chilling units (-chillers’), many arable farmers and dairy producers would simply go out of business.

What consumers expect Customers can be demanding at the best of times, but never more so than when it comes to food. They want fresh, good quality produce that not only tastes good, but is also reasonably priced and always available when they desire it (seasonal factors notwithstanding, of course).

So what does all this mean for people working in farming and agriculture? And how does hired portable air conditioning play a crucial role in keeping arable farmers and dairy producers in business, and their customers satisfied?

The potato storage process The British are renowned for loving their potatoes (mashed, boiled, roasted, baked, fried-), but there is much more to successfully growing, picking and taking to market a healthy potato crop than one would think (be that a small crop, or one that is grown in fields consisting of hundreds or even thousands of acres, and is managed by a major arable farming company).

The potato storage process must be managed expertly, or the potato crop will be ruined, meaning the arable farmer may well also be. Unless potatoes are stored in a temperature-controlled, well-ventilated environment, then the lot could fall victim to fungal disease, as well as viral and bacterial agents. Storing potatoes at temperatures near 4C / 39F is usually best.

Hiring portable air conditioners is the -perfect insurance’ By hiring the right cooling equipment (portable air conditioners and chillers) and placing the units in the right locations in a potato storage facility (or indeed, a facility used for the storage of other -cornerstone’ vegetables grown on arable farms) the terrifying prospect of losing an entire crop to the aforementioned threats can be removed.

Protecting dairy produce Portable air conditioning and chiller units for hire are no less effective when it comes to protecting dairy produce. Fully cured Cheddar, for example, is a hard, natural cheese that is hugely popular not only across the UK, but also worldwide. The export market is a multimillion pound one, in fact; so imagine how catastrophic it would be for a dairy farmer to lose most or even all of his stock, simply because the existing cooling system failed overnight, or, by some oversight, the system was set at the wrong temperature – a mistake that was only discovered when it was too late.

High quality Stilton is also -not just a cheese’. It is a very valuable commodity, as are most speciality cheeses. A large dairy company can produce tonnes of it (and other dairy foods/products) annually; however some of the biggest producers fail to place enough importance upon having a contingency plan in place, should their built-in cooling system let them down, and all their dairy produce is rendered inedible before it even makes it to the maturing room.

Being prepared is the key Of course, the vast majority of arable farmers and dairy producers take steps to protect their produce from harm, but the smartest ones also have a contingency plan in place, should the unthinkable happen: a cool storage system failure suddenly occurs, and before the crop(s) can be saved, the -rot’ has already set in, and thousands of pounds’ worth of produce is inedible and worthless (sometimes in just as a few hours). The hiring of portable air conditioning units and chillers provides the best solution, a genuine safeguard against every arable farmer and dairy producer’s worst nightmare becoming a reality.

As well as being the ideal emergency back-up option, portable air conditioning units for hire for agriculture applications can be:

– Used immediately; – Easily stored; – Hired on a short contract basis, and then returned. (This is ideal when it comes to getting extra air conditioning and cooling systems in place in, say, the run up to Christmas, when food production is significantly increased to meet massive consumer demand) – The perfect -stop gap’ between the removal of an existing (fixed) air conditioning system, and the installation of a new one at an arable farm or a dairy farm; – Added to an existing air conditioning solution when extra air conditioning is required.

Food for thought indeed. Article submitted by Steve Reeve, Sales Director at Andrews Sykes. Andrews Sykes is the UK’s largest specialist air conditioning hire company, with over 25 years’ experience. The company serves virtually all industry sectors including agriculture and farming using machinery sourced from the world’s top manufacturers.

Safety Measures For Sulfuric Acid Accidents

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One day I was given the task to make a report on a certain chemical called H2SO4. I was totally dumbfounded as I had no idea what it is and what I should research about it. In fact, I did not even have an idea how to buy sulfuric acid since I do not use it in my everyday life. Or so I thought.

For starters, I tried to find what this H2SO4 really is. Well, a simple researching in the internet told me that the chemical is commonly known as sulfuric acid. And, as my research grew more intensive, I found out a lot about the acid that made me realize its benefits to some industries.

It is actually used in some industries that help produce some of the basic necessities that we use in our everyday lives. For one, the chemical is used in agriculture to produce fertilizers that can be used in crop production. An example of these fertilizers is phosphate fertilizers. The chemical is also an important ingredient in making detergents and other household cleaning products. It is also used in other industries that make steel, industrial explosives, iron, lead acid batteries and dyes.

However, amidst all of these uses, sulphuric acid is feared for its hazardous effects. At first I also felt worried because of the fact that it is widely produced. However, I found out that the chemical can only become dangerous if proper precautions are not met in its handling, storage and disposal. Yet, sometimes, accidents do happen. So what should be done in case such emergencies occur? To ease my apprehensions, I decided to include in my research the measures that can be done when emergencies involving sulfuric acid occur.

The chemical has three entry points in the body: the eyes, the skin and the respiratory system. Depending on which entry point is affected, the safety mechanisms also vary.

If the chemical gets to the eyes, the patient should flush the eyes with water right away. This should be done continuously within thirty minutes, alternately lifting the lower eyelid and the upper eyelid. Then, after this is done, one should go to a medical professional for the necessary medications.

If the chemical gets in contact with the skin, the most appropriate thing to do would be to immediately take off the clothing that also came into contact with H2SO4. Make sure that while removing the piece of clothing, the patient does not affect other areas to avoid more damage. Then, wash the affected area with mild soap and water continuously for twenty minutes. Afterwards, get medical attention for further treatment.

If the chemical gets inside the body through the respiratory system, get the patient out of the place where he or she has inhaled the acid. Make the patient stay in a place where there is plenty of fresh air. If the patient has stopped breathing, give the patient rescue breathing. A CPR would also be needed if the patient’s heart stops beating. In giving these first aid measures, make sure that you know what you are doing to avoid further complications. If you are successful with your first aid measures, bring the patient to the medical clinic or hospital where he or she could be given professional care. Once the chemical affects the respiratory system, there is possibility for pulmonary edema. However, the symptoms usually become evident hours later. That is why the patient should be monitored for forty-eight hours.

Such measures mentioned above will only be necessary if there have been lapses during the use of sulphuric acid. This should be avoided at all times in order to prevent accidents that may cause the lives of a lot of people.

Overall, H2S04 is a very useful chemical. This I found out in my short encounter with sulfuric acid. However, because of some people’s carelessness in handling the product, it becomes highly dangerous. Let us not make our faults become the reason why the acid becomes notorious than it already is.