Courtesy of The Guardian, a report on how water drawn from rivers, dams or underground to irrigate new farms in Africa may severely affect users downstream: An employee at a rice farm in Gambella, Ethiopia. Many irrigation schemes are too reliant on ‘blue’ water, drawn from rivers, dams or underground sources. The rush of foreign […]
Read more »Courtesy of GRAIN.org, a look at the scramble for water in Africa: Food cannot be grown without water. In Africa, one in three people endure water scarcity and climate change will make things worse. Building on Africa’s highly sophisticated indigenous water management systems could help resolve this growing crisis, but these very systems are being […]
Read more »Via the Terra Project, a look at the global fight for land control: Since the food crisis in 2008, food security and sovereignty had become a key target for many countries. A global growing demand for food, especially meat, and fuel, drives government and companies to invest in land, leasing or purchasing vast agricultural areas […]
Read more »Via The Daily Mail, an interesting article on British imperialists snapping up large swathes of Africa: It is an odd retirement hobby. Britain’s top soldier, the former commander of British Land Forces and the man who capped his military career by presiding over the funeral of the Queen Mother, has been planting crops in the […]
Read more »Via The Financial Times, some commentary on the impact of drought and markets on food production & availability: The worst US drought in half a century is further evidence that we are in the midst of a global food crisis. In 2007-08, there were riots in more than 20 countries, as the cost of commodities […]
Read more »Via Mother Jones, an interesting article on how the drought and rising food costs may lead to global social unrest: The Great Drought of 2012 has yet to come to an end, but we already know that its consequences will be severe. With more than one-half of America’s counties designated as drought disaster areas, the […]
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