Monthly Archives: October 2010

Developing orchid flower buds (Willem Van Cotthem)

Posted on October 28, 2010 by

Having these beautiful Phalaenopsis orchids flowering on my windowsill, I can’t resist studying the development of their flower buds. See also my former postings with Phalaenopsis flowers on this blog.                     … Continue reading →

Posted in Pictures

FAO: agriculture in developing countries must become ‘climate-smart’ to cope with the twin challenges of climate change and population growth (UN News Centre)

Posted on October 28, 2010 by

Read at : UN News AGRICULTURE MUST BECOME ‘CLIMATE-SMART,’ SAYS UN AGENCY New York, Oct 28 2010 10:05AM A new United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (<”http://www.fao.org/”>FAO) <”http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/newsroom/docs/the-hague-conference-fao-paper.pdf”> report calls for agriculture in developing countries to become ‘climate-smart’ to cope … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Climate / climate change, FAO

Belgian scientist uses hydrogels to turn dirt into gardens (Google / Ecofriend / Popular Science)

Posted on October 28, 2010 by

Read at : Google Alert http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/belgian-scientist-uses-hydrogels-to-turn-dirt-into-gardens/ Belgian scientist uses hydrogels to turn dirt into gardens Anupam | Jul 10 2010 Eco Factor: Water saving technique allows plants to grow everywhere. Belgian scientist Willem van Cotthem is aiming to grow tropical … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Gardening / Horticulture, soil conditioning, TerraCottem

Rich vs. poor: A quarter of deaths among children under five are attributable to malnutrition in Congo (IRIN News)

Posted on October 28, 2010 by

Read at : http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?Reportid=90903 CONGO: Malnutrition causing a quarter of under-five deaths Brazzaville, 28 October 2010 (IRIN) – “Malnutrition is an area that requires further progress: in Congo, more than a quarter of deaths among children under five are attributable … Continue reading →

Posted in food / food security, malnutrition, public health

Africa has a real opportunity to achieve food and nutrition security through agricultural development (Kaiser Foundation)

Posted on October 28, 2010 by

Read at : http://globalhealth.kff.org/Daily-Reports/2010/October/27/GH-102710-Food-Security.aspx?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kff%2Fkdghpr+%28Kaiser+Daily+Global+Health+Policy+Report%29 Report Notes Potential For African Agriculture, European Partnerships A new report (.pdf) highlights concerns about donors, especially from Europe, following through on funding pledges for the G8′s $22 billion global food security fund, Business Daily reports … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, food / food security, malnutrition

Land grabbing: damaging large scale acquisitions by private investors with negative impact for the local population (Food Crisis / APA)

Posted on October 28, 2010 by

Read at : http://farmlandgrab.org/16731 Land grabbing – a killing blow to the fight against poverty in Africa APA | 27 October 2010 Land grabbing is expected to be discussed ahead of a meeting this week of African Union agriculture ministers … Continue reading →

Posted in land grab, poverty

Increasing number of foreign governments leasing or buying vast tracts of land in Africa for their own use (Food Crisis / BBC)

Posted on October 28, 2010 by

Read at : http://farmlandgrab.org/16736 Africa’s great land grab BBC | 27 October 2010 Recent years have seen an increasing number of foreign governments leasing or buying vast tracts of land in Africa for their own use – some say with … Continue reading →

Posted in land grab

To empower residents to actively and effectively participate in brownfield site redevelopment (City Farmer News /

Posted on October 28, 2010 by

Read at : http://www.cityfarmer.info/2010/10/27/creating-community-based-brownfield-redevelopment-strategies/ Creating Community-Based Brownfield Redevelopment Strategies Linked by Michael Levenston Includes Agriculture on Remediated Brownfields and Case Study, Urban Oaks Organic Farm By the American Planning Association http://www.planning.org/research/brownfields/ It is estimated that there are more than 450,000 … Continue reading →

Posted in urban agriculture/farming

Arable land is attracting wealthy investors all over the world (Google / PPJG)

Posted on October 28, 2010 by

Read at : Google Alert – desertification http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/the-new-land-rush-the-selling-out-of-americas-farmers/ The New Land Rush: The selling out of America’s farmers If the Chinese acquire large tracts of land here in the United States, food grown will be for import.  This will threaten not … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, land grab

As the demands for water increase, the fight over water rights will increase (Google / Digital Journal)

Posted on October 28, 2010 by

Read at : Google Alert – desertification http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/299489 Canada’s Water Resources In Question Privatization of water and Albert’s water allocation were hot topics at a recent talk in Edmonton. Will Alberta’s water be for sale? Canadian activist and National Chairperson … Continue reading →

Posted in water conservation / harvesting, water management