UPDATED MEASURES TO PROTECT POULTRY AGAINST AVIAN FLU.

All poultry in England are to be allowed outside from Thursday 13 April 2017 following updated evidence on the risk posed by wild birds, the UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer has announced.

The requirement to keep poultry in Higher Risk Areas of England housed or completely enclosed in netting, introduced to minimise the risk of them catching avian flu from wild birds, will be lifted.
However, all keepers in England will continue to be required to comply with strict biosecurity measures. A ban on poultry gatherings also remains in force until further notice.

The decision to lift the additional requirements in the Higher Risk Areas is based on the latest scientific evidence and veterinary advice, which concludes that the level of risk to poultry in these areas has now reduced to the same level as that across the rest of England. This is because of changes in the wild bird population: the majority of over-wintering migratory birds have now left the UK, and resident wild waterfowl are at their lowest levels and entering the breeding season when they become less likely to move long distances to forage for food.

The risk of poultry becoming infected from H5N8 remains heightened and countries across Europe continue to experience outbreaks and observe cases in wild birds. Defra is stepping up surveillance of wild birds across the UK to inform our risk assessments.

All poultry keepers must continue to take steps to reduce the risk to their birds, including minimising movement in and out of bird enclosures, cleaning footwear, keeping areas where birds live clean and tidy and feeding birds indoors.

Chief Veterinary Officer Nigel Gibbens said:

We continually review our disease control measures in light of new scientific evidence and veterinary advice. Based on the latest evidence on reduced numbers of migratory and resident aquatic wild birds we believe that kept birds in the areas we previously designated as Higher Risk are now at the same level of risk as the rest of England and may now be let outside.

However, all keepers must still observe strict disease prevention measures to reduce the risk of contamination from the environment, where the virus can survive for several weeks in bird droppings.

This does not mean business as usual: the risk from avian flu has not gone away and a Prevention Zone remains in place, requiring keepers across England to take steps to prevent disease spreading. We continue to keep measures under review and keepers should check GOV.UK for regular updates.

Lifting the housing requirement in Higher Risk Areas means free range birds across every part of England can now be allowed outside again.

H5N8 avian flu has been found in wild and farmed birds in the UK since December 2016, including chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese. Where avian flu has been confirmed, we have taken swift action to limit the spread of disease with restrictions around affected premises and full investigations to determine the source of infection.H5N8 can be spread indirectly via the contaminated environment, for example in wild bird droppings, contaminated feed or bedding, as well as being passed from wild birds to poultry directly from bird to bird. All disease control measures continue to be kept under review depending on the latest scientific advice and disease outbreak situation. NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

ETHIOPIA:ATTITUDES TOWARDS MEAT:DIARY PRODUCTS DURING EASTER.

The faithful believers in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church or the Tewahedo have been fasting for about 50 days and nights in which they do not eat any animal or dairy products.

In the last five days of this intense period of fasting that ends next Sunday, the faithful Christians are passing most of their time presenting themselves as holy and living sacrifices in prayer before God.

This week is the time of preparation for the breaking of this long fasting period. It is also a period in which the Christian community would become so busy in purchasing live sheep, goats, chicken, and cattle to celebrate and enjoy the Easter to be celebrated on the coming Sunday.

On Easter Eve, Ethiopian Christians participate in hours-long church service that ends around 3 A.M., after which they break their fast and celebrate the resurrection of Christ. It is common to prepare special traditional foods and share with neighbors and the poor. In this regard, religious leaders and fellow citizens often support the needy, while observing the Holiday.

In both urban and rural areas, the Christian community uses a great deal of meat and meat products. As the nation's economy is improving, the importance of locally sourced food is becoming more demanding. In many states, meat consumption is a sign of prosperity and wealth. Since the incomes have improved across the nation, industrial meat production as well as consumption has largely been increasing.

Large-scale industrialized livestock production coupled with the global food system should bring an opportunity to make the meat less expensive. But, currently, most of the people do not show interest to consume manufactured meat during holidays due to the moral and ethical choices.

Despite, the shift from traditional diets to those manufactured meat and dairy consumption takes long time to adapt, it throws negative effect on the development of the industry. Moreover, it has also fundamental social effects ranging from personal health to food security of households, and communities. It is important to take the need for more locally sourced food products, and protect the community from unsafe nature of food consumption.

While livestock sector is considered as a source of food, income and wealth accumulation, it contributes 15 percent of GDP and about 18 percent of foreign earnings.

Evidently, Ethiopia is leading in livestock resources in Africa with a total population of 55 million heads of cattle, 2.5 million camels, 26 million sheep, 25 million goats, and 50 million poultry. In this case, about 94 million dollar revenue was obtained from meat exports with a volume of 19 million tonnes of meat during the previous fiscal years. In the year 2015, the meat exports showed a 29 and 24 percent increase in volume and revenue respectively. This increasing export revenue appears to drive the livestock sector towards the market-led industrial development. BY ZELALEM GIRMA.

ZAMBIA: GOVT PLEDGE EARLY DISTRIBUTION OF FARMING INPUTS.

GOVERNMENT will start distributing inputs for the 2017-2018 farming season under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) from June this year.

Speaking to Lusaka Times Ministry of Agriculture permanent secretary Julius Shawa said in an interview yesterday that Government has already started initial preparations for tendering and procurement process of the farming inputs.

Shawa said farmers are likely to start receiving farm inputs as early as June immediately after the procurement process is completed.

"We have been tasked to ensure that we distribute farm inputs to the farmers as early as June, so we have started the preparations," he said.

Shawa said the early distribution of farm inputs will greatly enhance productivity in the agriculture sector as farmers will be able to plant their seed immediately the rainy season starts.

He also said Government is putting in place modalities which will enable farmers using the electronic voucher system (e-voucher) to have their cards activated quickly.

Last year, many farmers faced challenges in accessing farm inputs from agro-dealers due to the delay in activating the e-voucher cards.

Shawa also appealed to farmers to start preparing for the 2017-2018 farming season by saving adequate funds for procurement of farm inputs.

He said with the crop marketing exercise kicking off next month, farmers should be able to sell their produce to the Food Reserve Agency and start planning for this year's farming season.

"Farmers should not only depend on Government for the supply of inputs, they should also start preparing for this year's farming season. They can do this by saving their earnings to buy inputs for the coming farming season," Shawa said. BY PETER ADAMU.

EAST AFRICA:REGION FIGHTS FALL ARMY WORM INVASION MAIZE, SUGARCANE FARMS UNDER ATTACK.

kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have allocated more than $7.85 million for the purchase of specialised chemicals to fight the fall army worm, which is now threatening to wipe out the maize and sugarcane crop.

The destructive pest has wreaked havoc in Southern Africa in the past four months.

On April 5, Kenya said some of its maize fields had been attacked by the army worm, a threat to the country's already thin grain reserves as it seeks to avert $117 million in crop losses.

The same day, Uganda allocated $6.85 million towards the purchase of the chemicals, to save its farmers from a loss of 450,000 tonnes of grain valued at $200 million.

Uganda's Agriculture Minister Christopher Kibazanga said they were developing short- and long-term plans to contain the army worm.

"As an emergency measure, we have already set aside $6.85 million for the purchase of appropriate pesticides known to have worked successfully elsewhere in the control of army worms. So far, we have confirmed damages to both the maize and sugarcane crops," Mr Kibazanga said.Two weeks ago, Uganda said the army worm had infested its maize fields, leaving this year's harvest in doubt and heightening concerns that Kenya would also be affected.

2 MILLION FACE HUNGER IN BORNO

Maiduguri — The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has warned that about 60 percent, amounting to over two million o f the 3.6 million population of Borno State, face acute food shortage in 2017.

A nutrition specialist with the world body, Walton Beckley, issued the warning Wednesday at the commencement of a training for health workers in the three states of the Northeast on nutrition management aimed at saving 450,000 malnourished children in the IDP camps from dying of malnutrition in 2017.

Beckley announced that the training which would be taken to both Adamawa and Yobe states in due course, was aimed at curbing the rate of malnutrition sequel to the Boko Haram crisis in the Northeast.

"It is expected that 450,000 children under the age of five may suffer from severe malnutrition across the three Northeast states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe in 2017," Beckley said.UNICEF which raised an alarm that one in five children suffering from acute malnutrition was likely to die without proper treatment, said over the last 12 months, it had treated nearly 170,000 children in the three Boko Haram-ravaged states. BY UTHMAN ABUBAKAR.

BAMBOO PRODUCTION TO BOOST ECOSYSTEM.

The Federal Ministry of Environment has said as part of the diversification process, it will partner with the private sector and other organisations in the development and utilisation of bamboo for the growth of the nation's economy.

The Permanent Secretary, Dr Shehu Ahmed, said bamboo production and management had enhanced the economic growth of many nations and thus, would contribute immensely to Nigeria's ecosystem and help in creation of employment.

Dr Ahmed, represented by the acting Director of Forestry, Mr. Osakuade Tolu Michael, stated this in Abuja at a workshop with International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) on implementation of institutional agreement between Nigeria and INBAR.

He said the workshop was expected to develop a national roadmap that would lead to strong coordinated multi-sector action to guide ministries, the private sector, research institutes and civil society organisations in bamboo production and utilisation.

It would also address current gaps in local policy development, knowledge and skills required to develop industrial value chains, he added.

The acting director noted that Nigeria became a member of INBAR in 2004, adding that the National Council on Environment approved the constitution and inauguration of the Nigeria Bamboo and Rattan Development Programme (NBARDEP).

The permanent secretary, however, identified some of the constraints in the development of bamboo and rattan in the country as lack of government policy and legislation, coordination of local and national administrative levels as well as poor funding. BY CHIDIMMA C OKEKE.

ANTS MASTERED AGRICULTURE 30MILLION YEARS BEFORE WE DID.

Ants cultivated designer crops in controlled environments millions of years before humans figured out how to push seeds into the ground to grow food, scientists reported in a study Wednesday.


It has long been known that dozens of ants species tend and harvest fungi in sub-terranean farms, mostly to feed a colony’s larvae.

A few species have taken that process to the next level, modifying fungi so thoroughly they can no longer survive in the wild, much in the way some genetically altered crops consumed by humans are not viable without pesticides or other inputs.

“Over the course of millions of years, the fungus has become domesticated,” said lead author Michael Branstetter, an ant specialist at the US National Museum of Natural History.


The new research shows for the first time that some ants transitioned to this more sophisticated level of farming about 30 million years ago, probably in response to a cooling and drying climate.
“We discovered that domestication likely occurred in dry habitats in South America,” Branstetter told AFP.

“These habitats would have prevented the ant’s fungi from escaping the nest and interbreeding with other free-living fungi.”

Moisture-loving fungi evolved in wet forests, and would have been poorly equipped to survive on their own in this changing environment.

The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, are the fruit of intense genetic sleuthing.

Using powerful new tools, scientists compared some 1,500 stretches of DNA in 119 modern ant species, two-thirds of them farming ants.

By identifying the non-farming ant most closely related to the fungi-cultivating species, they were able to construct an evolutionary tree going back in time.

“Higher agricultural-ant societies have been practising sustainable, industrial-scale agriculture for millions of years,” said lead researcher Ted Schultz, the museum’s curator of ants.

There may be lessons there for our own species, he added.

“They provide all the nourishment needed for their societies using a single crop that is resistant to disease, pests and droughts at a scale and level of efficiency that rivals human agriculture,” he said in a statement.

Just as humans living in a dry or temperate climate might raise tropical plants in a greenhouse, agricultural ants carefully maintain the humidity within their climate-controlled fungal gardens.
“If things are getting a little too dry, the ants go out and get water and they add it,” Shultz explained. “If they’re too wet, they do the opposite.”

Fungi, which include yeasts and moulds, are neither plants nor animals, but form a “kingdom” of their own. BY AFP.

AGRICULTURE IS AN ALTERNATIVE TO OIL SAYS OSHOFFA.

• Oyedepo Tasks Nigerians On Agric Innovations
The Pastor and Spiritual Head, Celestial Church of Christ, worldwide, Rev. Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa, has assured Nigerians that the nation will certainly overcome the current economic recession so long they get connected to God.

Oshoffa, who spoke at the unveiling of the logo for the 70th Anniversary of the Church, which held at Makoko, said God loves the nation and if only Nigerians could trust in Him and believe in His sovereign power, the nation would certainly come out of the woods.

The Cleric also advised leaders to seriously consider an option to oil, which has been generally acknowledged to be agriculture. Speaking on spiritual matters and the state of the church, Oshoffa said: “Every member of the Church is called to follow the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ on love and oneness. This Church is to be one throughout the world. It is set up to cleanse the world, as well as cleanse the spirit and the body.

“Anybody who accepts that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is a true child of God, who will experience joy and peace with no darkness in his life.

In his comment, the Chairman, Central Planning Committee for the anniversary, Prophet Emmanuel Soyemi said: “We are aiming at one Church, and one leader under the leadership of Rev. Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa and time has come to return to the foundation, laid by the founder, Pastor S.B.J. Oshoffa with the goal of bringing the Church back to the basics, so that the glory of God will return to it.

In the same vein, the Chancellor, Landmark University, Dr. David Oyedepo, has called for innovative thinking in product development and agricultural enterprise towards addressing food deficit in the country.

He made the call, Thursday, at the 6th Founder’s Day Anniversary of the university.  Oyedepo, who was represented by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Aize Obayan, said there was neither substitute for food nor known software for addressing food challenges, except breakthroughs in the information technology development. BY ISAAC TAIWO

NO CONFLICT OF INTERESTS ON PESTICIDE ADVICE.

The assertion by Professor Dave Goulson (Farmers could slash pesticide use without losses, research reveals, 6 April) cannot go unchallenged. He says that pesticides are massively over-used because farmers are advised by agronomists working on commission to sell products.


The Agricultural Industries Confederation represents the majority of businesses that supply both agronomy advice and crop protection products to UK farmers. Farmers can elect to pay separately for agronomy advice and crop protection products. Farmers also have access to information from agrochemical manufacturers as well as independent agronomy research organisations – much of it free online. In many instances, those delivering advice do not receive commission.


The UK crop protection industry is focused on ensuring optimum, rather than maximum, use of crop protection products to ensure the farming industry delivers safe, wholesome and affordable food. It is a legal requirement that agronomists selling crop protection products are highly trained and kept up to date with agronomic developments to deliver advice to ensure efficient production and environmental protection. NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

YOUNG MIDWESTERN FARMERS WANT TO GROW SUSTAINABLE FOOD BUT THEY NEED HELP.

On a recent chilly afternoon, Natasha Hegmann, 28, and her husband, Pete Kerns, 27, tended the fire of a giant copper boiler holding some 250 gallons of maple sap. The sap had flowed into the boiler overnight through a series of pipes from nearby trees. Turning the gooey sap into syrup will take days.

A native Iowan, Hegmann worked at a number of local community farms before her and Kerns set up their own, Turkey River Farms, in 2015 to grow vegetables in warmer months and harvest maple sap during the winter. The couple thought about farming in other states but ultimately decided to stay in Iowa because of the support given by Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI), a 32-year-old nonprofit that aims to attract new and young farmers to the field and teach them to grow food organically. The group offers workshops and a program that gives funds to match the money saved by new farmers over a period of time.

“PFI has been huge for us,” Hegmann says. “It’s actually part of the reason that we chose to settle and start our farm in Iowa.”

For decades, the midwest  has boasted the highest concentration of farms in the US, and is also a crucial agricultural region, both for local food production and food that is exported. Today, midwestern states, particularly Iowa, are the second leading producers of crops and livestock behind California, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) census. This says a lot about the midwest’s potential for being the next sustainable food production hub in the US.

But here’s the trouble: statistically, young people just aren’t that into farming. In the most recent USDA agricultural census, new farmer numbers dropped by around 20% between 2007-2012, with the majority of farmers falling somewhere between the ages of 55-64, consistent with a 30-year trend. The culprits of this trend: a diminishing ability to subsist on farming income, an increase in debt needed to farm and general rural poverty.

Young people are leaving the midwest faster than anywhere else. “Farming is also not on the typical list of ‘hot’ careers for twenty-somethings, and the barriers to entry can seem daunting,” says Gary Adamkiewicz, assistant professor of Environmental Health and Exposure Disparities at Harvard University.

One of the biggest roadblocks for beginning farmers is land access. Land costs continue to climb and, despite the enormous land transference to come as older farmers retire – 70% of the nation’s farmland over the next two decades – most of it may not end up in the hands of willing young farmers but in the hands of property developers.For farmers just cutting into the market, starting small, and wanting to grow sustainably, the odds are not great. Large farms have the scale, money and freedom to use synthetic pesticides and fertilizers to maximize yields. Organic farming, on the other hand, can be more profitable but takes more land to grow the same amount of food as conventional farming. Farmers are limited in the types of chemicals they can use to get rid of pests and nurture crops, and organic certification is long and expensive. The USDA requires farmers to demonstrate organic practices for three years before they can be certified – but farmers are not allowed to increase the prices of their products during this time to be on par with other organic produce.

Hannah Breckbill has faced these challenges. The 29-year-old owner of Humble Hands Harvest near Decorah, Iowa, runs a two-woman operation growing organic vegetable produce. “Access to capital is a lot harder with unconventional agriculture, but the capital needs are not a lot less,” she says. Her biggest challenge? Land. “I’ve been able to manage that through creative means, renting and borrowing from landowners who had a few acres to spare. Now I’m finally buying my own land, and that had to happen by creative means too: lots of people in my community gifting me with substantial amounts of money and capital.”

Breckbill says that she’s spent almost $100,000 on Humble Hands Harvest since starting the operation in 2013. Her first year required around $12,000 to run the farm on land she didn’t have to buy at the time. Later, the eight acres she is on now cost $40,000 – some was gifted, some was through a $20,000 loan from her uncle. Electricity cost a further $10,000 and the greenhouse a little over $8,000. Operating costs are roughly around $10,000 per year, not counting labor costs.
Fortunately for Breckbill and other young farmers in the midwest, organizations like PFI help relieve the burden. The Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (Moses) is a nonprofit formed in 1999 that aims to help out farmers in the upper midwest with resources, workshops, and education on all sorts of farming-related subjects, from fieldwork to financial.

The nonprofit’s biggest contribution: an annual educational farming conference, held in Wisconsin. This year’s event, held in February, drew 3,100 attendants hailing from 49 different states and six foreign countries; 44% of them designated themselves as new or beginning farmers (in other words, farming less than ten years) – a rise from the 42% since 2016. Moses designates specific workshops for new farmers as part of its New Organic Stewards program, including education on topics from practical sustainable farming skills to financial tools.There’s also the Land Stewardship Project (LSP), a Minnesota nonprofit that provides training workshops and courses throughout the state for new farmers, designed to help equip new farmers with business planning skills so they can then run their own profitable agricultural businesses.

According to LSP, farm startup costs tend to average around $60,000 (whether for livestock, a diversified crop of vegetables, or fruits) and may include greenhouses, electricity, coolers for food storage, tractors, equipment, fencing and more. Planting orchards or a mix of vegetables tends to have much higher startup costs, even when on smaller acreage; livestock is relatively lower, even on land close to 50 acres. However, this number does not include the price of land, which varies widely depending on location.

More than 600 farmers completed a beginner’s farming course in the first 16 years of the nonprofit’s initiative, according to LSP. There’s also a two-year mentorship program that pairs new farmers with established and profitable farms in the area. Breckbill happened to benefit from LSP’s programs. “I did my first business planning through LSP, and I continue to work with them,” she says.The beginner’s farming course has even formed its own nationwide collaborative, spawning its own website and splinter programs that model the original program piece-for-piece in South Dakota, North Carolina, Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri

To address the problem of land, an Iowa organization called Sustainable Iowa Land Trust, or Silt, was established 2014. Modeled closely after other land trusts around the country, the nonprofit protects land purchased or donated to the trust with conservation easements, which are legal agreements that prohibit the land from being developed for business use other than farming.

As a result of placing the land in conservation easement, its value is depreciated – due to it no longer being on the market for development – making it an affordable lease option for new farmers. Silt also helps with organic certification and doesn’t allow farmers to grow high cash conventional crops, such as corn for ethanol – just food. “We set a higher bar in our easements than almost any land trust,” says Suzan Erem, president of Silt.

Erem feels a sense of urgency about carrying out Silt’s mission. “We have a window of opportunity, but if young people don’t keep stepping up to do this labor intensive, somewhat risky form of farming, none of us will have any choices left.”

Adamkiewicz at Harvard agrees. “Last year, the USDA announced a series of initiatives aimed at cultivating the next generation of farmers, including mentoring and loan programs. We need more investments like these.

“We need to train this next generation who are trying to make a difference while dealing with some of the stresses already put on farmland by conventional agriculture.” BY ADRAIN WHITE.