Tag - agriculture

 
 

AGRICULTURE

A sheep suffering from Bluetongue virus is injected with an anti-inflammatory medicine on a farm in Saint-Felix-de-Rieutord, south of Toulouse, France.
WORLD
Sep 6, 2024
European farmers grapple with bluetongue virus surge
Explosion of cases of the insect-borne viral disease that affects sheep and cows impacts thousands of farms in Europe.
DJI has said that it has no ties to the Chinese military, saying "the unfounded accusations against our agricultural drone technology are putting U.S. farmers at risk by potentially depriving them of the tremendous benefits that DJI spray drones offer."
WORLD / Politics
Sep 7, 2024
Lawmakers want U.S. to address risks posed by Chinese agriculture drones
The lawmakers asked for a briefing by Sept. 30, citing the large number of drones produced by Chinese drone manufacturer DJI as a security concern.
Shuzo Fukushi, who heads Rice Meister Kojimachi in Tokyo, shows a bag of Calrose mixed with domestic rice at his store on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 6, 2024
Demand for Calrose rice rises amid Japanese rice shortage
The California rice is a medium-grain variety cheaper than the Japanese short-grain cultivar, but with a similar taste.
Empty shelves of rice are pictured in a supermarket in Tokyo on Aug. 27 with a notice asking customers to buy one brand a day for a family.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024
Agricultural Ministry holds meeting on rice shortage in stores
As of the end of June, private-sector rice inventories in the country stood at 1.56 million metric tons, the lowest since comparable data became available in 1999.
Lee Ha-yeon, a recognized kimchi grand master and her apprentices prepare kimchi at the Kimchi Culture Institute in Namyangju, South Korea, on Aug 21.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 4, 2024
Kimchi no more? Climate change puts South Korea's beloved cabbage dish at risk
Data from the government statistics agency shows the area of highland cabbage farmed last year was less than half of what it was 20 years ago.
Jonah Ndeuludila (right) is studying at Tochigi Prefecture's Asian Rural Institute in order to bring skills back to his job at Namibia's Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Sep 2, 2024
Over half a century, seeds of change grow at a Tochigi farm
Founded by Toshihiro Takami in 1973, ARI promotes organic, subsistence farming methods and the practice of servant leadership.
Naoto Ooka inspects a new heat-resistant rice breed called Emihokoro that has been planted at the government-run Saitama Agricultural Technology Center in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, on Aug. 7.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2024
As sweltering summers ravage crops, Japan bets on heat-resistant rice
Supermarkets have struggled to keep rice shelves stocked in recent months.
Yasuyuki Kurosawa at his paddy fields in Meiwa, Gunma Prefecture. Tending the crops "is something that we cannot avoid, so we must do what we must do even if it's hot," the 77-year-old farmer said.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2024
Heatstroke risk won't stop Japan's aging farmers as temperatures soar
Agriculture accounts for about 1% of Japan's economy and almost 70% of its 1.4 million farmers are age 65 and above.
A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
BUSINESS / Economy / Longform
Aug 26, 2024
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?
Intense heat and an increase in storms, by-products of a changing climate, are altering consumer behavior.
Daiwa Securities' renewed push in Australia comes as Chief Executive Officer Akihiko Ogino seeks to increase income from outside Japan by about 40% in the next few years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 26, 2024
Daiwa plans foray into Australian farm loans and real estate
The firm wants to continue its focus on lending and advisory in the clean energy space, leveraging its five staff in Sydney and Melbourne.
Cho Seong-hoan tends to bees at a farm near the Demilitarized Zone, in Paju, South Korea, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 25, 2024
The DMZ is an unhealed wound for South Korea. It’s also a source of great honey.
The area is home to a biodiverse landscape and is a place of deep meaning for nearby farmers whose bees can fly freely through it.
A supermarket worker puts up a sign asking purchasers to buy only one bag per person, in Tokyo on July 25.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024
Why it's hard to find rice at Japan's supermarkets right now
In recent weeks, store shelves have often been barren, with many shops displaying signs asking purchasers to stick to one bag per person.
In an image provided by federal agencies, a colorized electron microscope image shows avian influenza grown in cultured cells. The virus is poised to become a permanent presence in cattle, raising the odds of an eventual outbreak among people.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 22, 2024
How U.S. farms could start a bird flu pandemic
The longer the virus circulates in cattle, the more chances it has to acquire the mutations necessary to set off an influenza pandemic.
New gene-edited crops could address climate change and agricultural challenges; however, high regulatory barriers and safety concerns limit innovation.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 18, 2024
It’s time to embrace a new era of gene-edited food
New crops may improve our health or help us mitigate and adapt to climate change.
A meeting of the Lao-Lao liquor cooperative held in the village of Xai in Attapeu Province in June.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 19, 2024
Co-op Okinawa nurtures Laos farmers' cooperatives to encourage growth
By setting up cooperatives, farmers can prevent unfavorable price negotiations by sharing information with one another.
Forest in the town of Kamishihoro, Hokkaido, which was designated as an advanced area for decarbonization in fiscal 2022.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 12, 2024
Japan looks to farms in 'advanced decarbonization areas'
Example projects include "agrivoltaics" initiatives and those using livestock manure as a source of biogas.
Japan's food self-sufficiency rate has declined on the back of the country's changing food culture as demand for rice declines.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2024
Japan's food self-sufficiency rate remained stable at 38% in fiscal 2023
The rate has remained stagnant even though the government aims to raise it to 45% by fiscal 2030.
Avocados hang off a tree at an orchard in Tancitaro, Michoacan state, Mexico
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 7, 2024
Avocado goldrush links U.S. companies with Mexico's deforestation disaster
The U.S. demand for avocados divides communities in Mexico, where it is both a driver of economic growth and a catalyst for environmental crises.
A worker at a supermarket in Tokyo's Nerima Ward puts up a sign on July 25 saying rice purchases are restricted to one bag per customer.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2024
Japan's rice stocks shrink to record low amid high demand and heat woes
An 18 percentage point decline in the share of 2023's crop rated first-grade led to a decrease in rice on the market, while demand saw the first rise in a decade.
Run from a two-hectare plot of land in the island's north, LivFresh has been supplying major supermarkets with spinach, lettuce and other green vegetables since 2022.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jul 24, 2024
Singapore’s homegrown farming dream is beginning to fade
Since the start of 2023, at least half a dozen large farms in Singapore have shut down or scaled back operations.

Longform

A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?