INITIATIVES REDEFINING FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST...
Dear İsmail,
Greetings from Mexico City!
This week, Food Tank is celebrating initiatives redefining food and agriculture around the world. While new challenges from population density, urbanization, conflict, and climate change transform food systems, we’re scanning the globe for stories of hope and perseverance.
In the Middle East, the region once rich in agriculture now depends on international food systems. Home to the Fertile Crescent, the Middle East introduced domesticated agriculture nearly 12,000 years ago and fed not only itself, but nearby areas. But today, discrepancies between the demand for and the availability of locally produced food impact conflict-ridden countries like Yemen and Iraq, where over 27 percent of the population is undernourished, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. And with refugees from conflict-ridden countries fleeing to other countries and putting new strains on their resources, the Middle East has transformed into the world’s largest importer of food.
Organizations and initiatives across the Middle East are confronting food insecurity and agricultural instability fueled by conflicts, climate change effects, urbanization, and natural resource scarcity. With environmentally and economically sustainable missions, these organizations are redefining how the Middle East grows, distributes, eats, and disposes of food.
Greetings from Mexico City!
This week, Food Tank is celebrating initiatives redefining food and agriculture around the world. While new challenges from population density, urbanization, conflict, and climate change transform food systems, we’re scanning the globe for stories of hope and perseverance.
In the Middle East, the region once rich in agriculture now depends on international food systems. Home to the Fertile Crescent, the Middle East introduced domesticated agriculture nearly 12,000 years ago and fed not only itself, but nearby areas. But today, discrepancies between the demand for and the availability of locally produced food impact conflict-ridden countries like Yemen and Iraq, where over 27 percent of the population is undernourished, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. And with refugees from conflict-ridden countries fleeing to other countries and putting new strains on their resources, the Middle East has transformed into the world’s largest importer of food.
Organizations and initiatives across the Middle East are confronting food insecurity and agricultural instability fueled by conflicts, climate change effects, urbanization, and natural resource scarcity. With environmentally and economically sustainable missions, these organizations are redefining how the Middle East grows, distributes, eats, and disposes of food.
Food Tank is highlighting 16 initiatives improving regional diets, food accessibility, biodiversity, farmer livelihoods, food waste management, and more: Ark of Taste, al Hima, Be’ah, Caesar Cider, CEWAS Middle East, Food Heritage Foundation, Food Not Bombs, La Vie Cafe and Mashjar Juthour, My Arabian Almanakh, Ramadan Sharing Fridges Campaign, Re:Food, SEKEM, The Arab Group for the Protection of Nature, The Iraqi Seed Project, The Palestinian Heirloom Seed Library, and The Urinal Project.
Read more about these organizations and share the article on Food Tank by CLICKING HERE.
Which organizations are reclaiming agricultural and nutritional autonomy in your community? Please email me at danielle@foodtank.com to share with us!
Read more about these organizations and share the article on Food Tank by CLICKING HERE.
Which organizations are reclaiming agricultural and nutritional autonomy in your community? Please email me at danielle@foodtank.com to share with us!
Sincerely,
Danielle Nierenberg
India's agriculture is composed of many crops, with the foremost food staples being rice and wheat. Indian farmers also grow pulses, potatoes, sugarcane, oilseeds, and such non-food items as cotton, tea, coffee, rubber, and jute (a glossy fiber used to make burlap and twine). India is a fisheries giant as well. A total catch of about 3 million metric tons annually ranks India among the world's top 10 fishing nations. Despite the overwhelming size of the agricultural sector, however, yields per hectare of crops in India are generally low compared to international standards. Improper water management is another problem affecting India's agriculture. At a time of increasing water shortages and environmental crises, for example, the rice crop in India is allocated disproportionately high amounts of water. One result of the inefficient use of water is that water tables in regions of rice cultivation, such as Punjab, are on the rise, while soil fertility is on the decline. Aggravating the agricultural situation is an ongoing Asian drought and inclement weather. Although during 2000-01 a monsoon with average rainfall had been expected, prospects of agricultural production during that period were not considered bright. This has partially been due to relatively unfavorable distribution of rainfall, leading to floods in certain parts of the country and droughts in some others.
ReplyDeleteIndian Agriculture all information.
Despite the fact that agriculture accounts for as much as a quarter of the Indian economy and employs an estimated 60 percent of the labor force, it is considered highly inefficient, wasteful, and incapable of solving the hunger and malnutrition problems. Despite progress in this area, these problems have continued to frustrate India for decades. It is estimated that as much as one-fifth of the total agricultural output is lost due to inefficiencies in harvesting, transport, and storage of government-subsidized crops.