UN agency: investment in agriculture must increase more than 5-fold to feed the world in 2050

October 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Climate change poses fundamental threats to Asia's food and energy security which, if left unchecked, will result in an upsurge of migration into already overburdened mega cities, according to three major new studies funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). "The food and energy security of every Asian is threatened by climate change, but it's the poor -- and especially poor women -- who are most vulnerable and most likely to migrate as a consequence," said ADB Vice-President Ursula Schaefer-Preuss as the studies were released Friday.

October 2nd, 2009 TORONTO - Canada's Alberta province is on red alert against rats. Rat patrols have been set up to check intrusion of the rodents from neighbouring Saskatchewan province.

October 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - A strict global carbon budget between now and 2050 based on a fair distribution between rich and poor nations has the potential to prevent dangerous climate change and keep temperature rise well below two degrees Celsius, a new WWF report shows. The report, called 'Sharing the effort under a global carbon budget' and released worldwide Friday, is based on research, calculations and analysis by the consultancy Ecofys and shows different ways to cut global emissions by at least 80 percent by 2050 and by 30 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

September 30th, 2009 UN: climate change impact on agriculture direROME — A U.N. agency warns that the climate change will badly affect agriculture and hit developing nations hardest, leading to unreliable food production and higher prices.

September 18th, 2009 Report: Climate bill costs could be modestWASHINGTON — The long-term economic costs of a climate bill being considered in Congress would be "comparatively modest" in light of expected overall economic growth over the next 40 years, according to a congressional report released Friday. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill, which would impose a "cap and trade" system to reduce greenhouse gases, would cause the economy, or GDP, to be a quarter to three-quarters of 1 percent lower in 2020 than it otherwise would be.

September 2nd, 2009 Study: 1.6 billion face water, food threat in AsiaKATMANDU, Nepal — Effects of climate change including the melting of Himalayan glaciers threaten water and food security for more than 1.6 billion people living in South Asia, according to a study released Wednesday. India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal will be most vulnerable to falling crop yields caused by glacier retreat, floods, droughts and erratic rainfall, said the study financed by the Asian Development Bank.

August 18th, 2009 STOCKHOLM - Asia needs to improve irrigation and introduce water reform to feed growing populations in the coming decades, a new study said Tuesday. The population in Asia is projected to increase by 1.5 billion people by 2050.

July 15th, 2009 US urges China to set 2050 emissions targetsBEIJING — China and other developing countries should join the United States in setting mid-century targets to cut carbon emissions in the battle against global warming, the U.S. energy secretary said Wednesday.

July 8th, 2009 G8 calls for increased food securityL'AQUILA, Rome — World leaders at the Group of Eight summit say they want to promote investment in agriculture as a way of combating hunger in the face of the economic crisis. The G-8 is expected to expand talks on food security when they meet with countries with emerging economies and with African countries over the next two days.

July 1st, 2009 WFP says funding shortfall for NKorea food aidBEIJING — The U.N.'s food agency cannot feed millions of hungry women and children in impoverished North Korea because international donations have dried up and the communist regime has restricted its operations, an official said Wednesday. The World Food Program has received only 15 percent of the $504 million it needs to feed 6.2 million vulnerable North Koreans as the food situation worsens during a lean growing season before the November harvest, according to Torben Due, the WFP's representative for North Korea.

June 19th, 2009 UN: World hunger reaches the 1 billion people markROME — A U.N. food agency says a record 1.02 billion people are hungry across the world, or one-sixth of humanity.

June 19th, 2009 World hunger reaches the 1 billion people markROME — More than a billion people — a sixth of the world's population — are now hungry, a historic high due largely to the global economic crisis and stubbornly high food prices, a U.N. agency said Friday.

June 12th, 2009 $50M in stimulus will help fish farmers buy feedOSAGE BEACH, Mo. — The United States is about to spend $50 million in stimulus money on fish food to help fish farmers who have been struggling since feed prices jumped 50 percent last year.

May 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The level of carbon emissions into the Earth's atmosphere will surge nearly 40 percent by 2030 if the governments can't force more limits on pollutants blamed for global warming, a US report said Wednesday. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected that energy consumption will increase 44 percent between 2006 and 2030, mainly because of higher demands from the developing world.

January 29th, 2009 ROME - The recent conflict in the Gaza Strip has badly damaged the territory's agriculture sector exacerbating food shortages, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Friday. 'Almost all of Gaza's 13,000 families who depend on farming, herding and fishing have suffered damage to their assets during the recent conflict and many farms have been completely destroyed,' the Rome-based FAO said in a statement.