AsiaDHRRA Online

FarmFriday, shares this thought-provoking article from the The Economist about Brazil’s success in developing its vast savannah into one of the world’s great breadbasket. Make sure to read the article comments for some interesting viewpoints.
The increase in Brazil’s farm production has been stunning. Between 1996 and 2006 the total value of the country’s crops rose [...]

FarmFriday shares this interesting article by Elizabeth Pennisi in ScienceMag about the scientific community’s efforts in creating “the ideal crop” and “developing new technologies for a better farming future”
Substantial improvements are needed in current crops to achieve higher yields and sustainable farming. To achieve those gains, agricultural companies have turned to robotics and other measures [...]

Here’s an interesting read from the http://www.soilassociation.org asserting that those saying we need to double global food production by 2050 are basically using the wrong figures and interpretations.
‘Telling porkies: The big fat lie about doubling food production’, reveals that all those claiming we need to double global food production by 2050, or 50% by 2030, [...]

Our friends at WRF  is sharing the results of the IYFF Asia Continental Meeting held in New Delhi, India on 23-25 March, 2010. The booklet contains the speeches, country and regional presentations and pictures of the event.
We’re a bit proud to say that we had a little hand in the production as WRF entrusted us [...]

Here’s an interesting article we picked up over at IPS.

Franz Chávez interviews Bolivian expert in natural resource management WILFREDO QUIROZ
Wilfredo Quiroz / Credit:Franz Chávez/IPS
LA PAZ, Apr 3 , 2010 (IPS) – The gradual loss of traditional farming practices that preserve the land has pushed into extreme poverty small farmers in Bolivia who 20 years [...]

Sad scenes like this are being played out all over China as the demands of modernization and opportunists clash with the lives of poor chinese farmers like brave Yang Youde.
Yang Youde is a farmer who had contracted to rent 25 mu of land.  The lease was set to continue until 2019.  Over the years, [...]

Latest press release from ASEAN on the ATIGA
ASEAN Secretariat, 17 May 2010
The cost of doing business in ASEAN will be lower and trade-related transactions simpler as the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), one of the region’s landmark economic agreements, entered into force today.
The ATIGA, which is comprehensive in its scope and brings transparency to [...]

From Rice Today we got this rice genebank map that “maps out the geographical source of rice genetic diversity preserved in selected rice genebanks—one of the first steps towards producing a global picture of rice biodiversity. This will help identify any gaps around the world where rice biodiversity has not been collected yet for conservation.”

So phosphorus is running out right? well, sort of, coz it turns out phosphorus can also be found in urban sewage. Will the phosphorus crisis spur urban mining?
They sift the powder through their fingers, smell it and admire its soft, brownish shimmer. The members of the delegation from Japan, dressed in black suits and yellow [...]

You’ve probably never heard of this crisis. After Peak Oil comes this news about Peak Phosphorus. Supposedly, this element, a key component of the global food chain is to run out in 30 years and a lot of people are concerned because “Our dwindling supply of phosphorus, a primary component (mainly as fertilizer) underlying the [...]

FarmFriday shares this interesting newsbit from IPS. This highlights again the need to support agriculture in general and smallholder farmers in particular.
IPS|By Stephen Leahy
How’s this for short-sighted: A billion people go hungry every day, food prices have climbed 30 to 40 percent, climate change is reducing agricultural production – and for the past two decades, [...]

Got this from our friend Diderik. HungerWednesday shares this informative book published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars about the worrisome trend of international landgrabbing for food production.
The world is experiencing a grain rush. With increasing frequency, food-importing countries and private investors are acquiring farmland across the developing world. This new [...]

The WRF, together with AFA, AsiaDHRRA, and CIFA as the host partner, are organizing an IYFF Asia Continental strategy meeting, to be held in New Delhi, March 23-24, 2010. The participants will be Asian Farmers’ organisations supporting the IYFF Campaign as well as representatives of national and international policy makers.
The aim of the Continental meeting [...]

We’ve been clicking stuff  ”round the FAO Database and its been an interesting time  so far. Good for FarmFriday. The coolest feature was the ability to choose and create 3 types of report in a kind of mix and match way.
Give it a try! pay a visit to the FAO Gender and Land Rights Database [...]

HungerWednesday shares this interesting article from Resurgence about how  the globalization of the food market has made food cheap but ironically has also caused hunger. Chanced upon this in our Facebook as shared by FB friend Imam Cahyono.

Cheap food causes hunger.
On its face, the statement makes no sense. If food is cheaper it’s more affordable [...]