Tag - agriculture

 
 

AGRICULTURE

Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 23, 2018
China's growing hunger for wheat pushes global reserves to crisis levels, as heat waves and droughts hit harvests
A scorching hot, dry summer has ended five years of plenty in many wheat producing countries and drawn down the reserves of major exporters to their lowest level since 2007-08, when low grain stocks contributed to food riots across Africa and Asia.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Aug 19, 2018
Fukushima's recovering farmers scramble to deal with scorching weather
Amid scorching temperatures that have gripped the entire nation, farmers in Fukushima Prefecture are beginning to see the high temperatures and scarce rain take a toll on their carefully tended produce.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2018
In race to contain deadly swine fever, China shuts slaughterhouse of world's top pork firm
China has ordered the world's top pork producer, WH Group Ltd., to shut a major slaughterhouse as authorities race to stop the spread of deadly African swine fever (ASF) after a second outbreak in the planet's biggest hog herd in two weeks.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 16, 2018
Bumblebees' decline linked to inbreeding and disease
Researchers in Canada playing detective with the yellow-banded bumblebee's genome have found evidence that inbreeding and disease are the likely reasons for the decline of the species, York University associate professor Amro Zayed says.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 10, 2018
'Potentially catastrophic effects': Red Cross warns of North Korea food crisis as crops fail in heat
A heat wave in North Korea has led to rice, maize and other crops withering in the fields, "with potentially catastrophic effects," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on Friday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 4, 2018
Trump administration lifts Obama-era GMO crop ban on U.S. wildlife refuges
The Trump administration has rescinded an Obama-era ban on the use of pesticides linked to declining bee populations and the cultivation of genetically modified crops in dozens of national wildlife refuges where farming is permitted.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2018
Heat wave ravages European fields, sending wheat prices soaring
Searing heat has devastated wheat fields across northern Europe and a combination of dry conditions and extreme rain in the Black Sea have hit output estimates, with prices soaring on fears of further crop damage.
BUSINESS
Jul 22, 2018
Liberia's biggest palm oil project quits eco-certification body
Liberia's largest palm oil company, Golden Veroleum, has quit a global eco-certification body in response to accusations from a global watchdog that it failed to get consent from communities before expanding onto their lands, the firm said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2018
'Hi, I'm a soybean': In trade war, China deploys cartoon legume to reach U.S. farmers
In the tense trade war with the United States, China's government has turned to an unlikely weapon: a cartoon bean.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2018
Farm damage from Japan's rain disaster put at ¥48.1 billion
Damage on the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors from the recent torrential rain that hit mainly western Japan has been estimated at ¥48.05 billion, the agriculture ministry said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jul 15, 2018
Fukushima has high hopes for certified farm produce ahead of 2020 Games
The Fukushima Prefectural Government has set its sights on promoting local farm products certified under Global Good Agricultural Practices (Global GAP), with an eye toward having them served to Olympic athletes in 2020.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Jun 25, 2018
Aichi team develops self-driving robots to tackle labor shortage in farming
Amid a severe shortage of manpower, a team comprised of researchers from private companies and a university in Aichi Prefecture is working on developing a self-driving robot that uses cutting-edge technology to support flower-growing farmers.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 15, 2018
Experts question wisdom that more food production means less hunger
Increasing food production through intensive farming will not necessarily end world hunger, experts said Thursday — a finding that flies in the face of established policy.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 1, 2018
'Smart crops' replacing rice as Asian wealth and health grow
Lunchtime in Taipei's Ximending district is a test of wills and patience as tourists and locals jostle at restaurants and street stalls to choose from steamed and fried dumplings, flat and thin noodles, stuffed pancakes, grilled foods and desserts.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 18, 2018
China's multi-story hog hotels elevate industrial farms to new levels
On Mount Yaji in southern China, they are checking in the sows a thousand head per floor in high-rise "hog hotels."

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.