farming - Page 3

Experts: Elite-Led ‘Green Revolution’ Impoverishing Africa

Elite donors have forced a “Green Revolution” upon Africa in recent years that has failed to improve local agriculture sectors as promised and instead “increased farm input costs, farmer indebtedness, and inequalities among farmers,” environmental experts writing for the non-profit media outlet The Conversation reported on Monday.

Martha, who has been displaced with her husband and five children for six months, plants s

Can Trump Deliver More Water to California’s Farmers?

President-elect Donald Trump has stated his commitment to helping California’s farmers attain more water, as the Golden State prepares to enter its historic sixth year of a crippling drought, with a federal water policy in place that favors fish over agriculture.

California Drought Lake McClure (Justin Sullivan / Getty)

When Water Policy Kills Farming, Consumers Will Pay the Price

When you open your pantry or refrigerator, what do you see? Tomatoes, oranges, lettuce; grains and nuts; chicken and beef; butter, milk, cheese and other dairy products, and yes … almonds – it’s very likely you are looking at products from the Central Valley, most likely grown in the Westlands Water District.

Central Valley aqueducts (Joel Pollak / Breitbart News)

The Big Ratchet: How to Feed a Hungry Planet

In her book The Big Ratchet, Ruth DeFries explains how humanity went from hunger to plenty by making more efficient use of Earth’s resources. Even with more people than ever before, “Our current problems are more about abundance than about lack of food. Our species has never had to grapple with such surplus,” she writes.

Dairy farmers, Anthony Paudoie and his father Jean-Louis, harvest wheat in a field with th

FAA Moves Toward Approving Commercial Drone Use

Californians could soon see drones irrigating or dusting crops. Amazon and Google told the Wall Street Journal they have recently seen a major shift in the attitude of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding critical issues to accelerate commercial drone test flights that extend beyond the sight of the operator.

The Associated Press

How California Went Dry

Gov. Jerry Brown of California is fired up about nailing his citizens to the wall, should they dare to use more than their allotted amount of water. On Sunday, Brown said that those who did not take shorter showers would be punished with fines of up to $500, in order to cut urban water use 25 percent; now, according to CBS News, water authorities will use “smart meters” to monitor water use and update them for purposes of fines.

Drought farm (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

Cal Fruits and Crops Rotting at West Coast Ports in Union Fight

The increasingly bitter labor strife at West Coast ports between employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), whose members command average wages and benefits of about $1,200 a day, is causing California’s agricultural sector to watch its labors rot away.

California Oranges (Pat Roque / Associated Press)