UN expert labels biofuels a "crime against humanity"

Food Week - Sydney,New South Wales,Australia
Yet, as Ziegler pointed out quoting UN Food and Agriculture Organization figures, the world already produces enough food to feed twice its current ...
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COP holds forum on agriculture

Trinidad & Tobago Express - Port-of-Spain,Trinidad and Tobago
The Congress of the People (COP) will today hold a forum on agriculture at which political leader Winston Dookeran will deliver the keynote address. ...
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Farm product futures rise

China Daily - China
According to the latest figures released by the United States Department of Agriculture, the global aggregate output of soybean in 2007 fell 6.1 percent to ...
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Northern State's Agriculture Ministre Inspects Number of ...

Sudanese Media Center - Sudan
The Minister of Agriculture in the Northern State, Dr. Ahmed Jamal, accompanied by the Commissioner of Dongola Locality, Ahmed Bashab, have inspected a ...
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Bank M to support agriculture

Daily News - TSN - Dar Es Salaam,United Republic of Tanzania
"Tanzania heavily depends on agriculture which accounts for half of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and provides 85 per cent of exports and ...
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The Numbers Behind Agriculture's Big Move

Seeking Alpha - New York,NY,USA
The svelte Powershares DB Agriculture Fund (DBA) has risen 17.8 percent in the last six months alone. Because the ETF has an equal smattering of only four ...
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Life Must Be Infused in the Agricultural Tune

Truth about Trade & Technology - Des Moines,IA,USA
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), more than 850 million people in the world still live in a state of serious and permanent ...
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Agriculture leaders says new farm bill may help when milk prices drop

Vermont Public Radio - Colchester,VT,USA
(Host) Vermont agriculture leaders say the Senate version of the national farm bill would benefit dairy farmers the next time there's a downturn in milk ...
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Agriculture Department Notifies Companies About False or ...

PA Farm News - Quarryville,PA,USA
HARRISBURG -- The Department of Agriculture has notified some dairies that sell milk in Pennsylvania that their labels are false or misleading and need to ...
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Agriculture officers hail Govt's move

GreaterKashmir.com (press release) - Srinagar,Jammu and Kashmir,India
Srinagar: The Agriculture Officers Welfare Association has hailed the state government's move to award the government officers for their meritorious and ...
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Texas agriculture commissioner tours Morriss Elementary, promotes ...

Texarkana Gazette - Texarkana,TX,USA
Staff photo by Evan Lewis Morriss Elementary kindergartner Haley Greer and other classmates work on their projects while Texas Commissioner of Agriculture ...
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Khartoum State Ministry of Agriculture Pledges to provide ...

Sudanese Media Center - Sudan
Khartoum state minister of agriculture engineer God Allah Osman reiterates his ministry's readiness to provide sufficient food for all people in the state, ...
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Agriculture Futures Slide on CBOT

Houston Chronicle - United States
2007 AP CHICAGO — Agriculture futures fell Wednesday on the Chicago Board of Trade, led by sharp declines in wheat prices. Wheat for December delivery fell ...
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Topps Tainted Beef Recall: Could it be the Tip of the Iceberg?

Lawyers and Settlements - Vancouver,BC,Canada
For its part, the US Department of Agriculture, the authority responsible for the checks and balances in the meat industry, initiated a nation-wide survey ...
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Agriculture Minister Outlines Assistance to Hurricane-Affected Farmers

Government of Jamaica, Jamaica Information Service - Jamaica
Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton on(Oct. 23) outlined the assistance being provided by Government to farmers affected by Hurricane Dean, ...
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World Food Day observed: Rs 15.8bn being spent on agriculture ...

Daily Times - Lahore,Pakistan
By Ijaz Kakakhel ISLAMABAD: The government is investing Rs 15.8 billion for development of agriculture sector through enhancing investment, agricultural ...
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Panel OKs farm bill that keeps subsidies

Chicago Tribune - United States
By Stephen J. Hedges | Washington Bureau October 26, 2007 WASHINGTON—Despite higher crop prices and farm incomes, the Senate Agriculture Committee endorsed ...
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Agriculture credit in Q1 : Banks disburse only 18.89% of full-year ...

Daily Times - Lahore,Pakistan
By Arshad Hussain KARACHI: Commercial banks of the country disbursed an amount of Rs 36.369 billion as agriculture credit in the first quarter (July-Sept) ...
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Lloyd Best Institute to host agriculture seminar

Trinidad & Tobago Express - Port-of-Spain,Trinidad and Tobago
The Lloyd Best Institute of the West Indies will look at agriculture and food security next week, when it hold its monthly "Seminar for Professionals". ...
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Federal panel urged to seek grants for drought-hit farms

Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
The two-term Democratic governor appeared before the House Agriculture Committee at the behest of US Rep. Bob Etheridge, DN.C., who last month was joined by ...
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Florida firm recalls ground beef over E.coli fear

Reuters - USA
The FSIS, an office under the US Agriculture Department, said Blue Ribbon Meats of Hialeah, Florida, voluntarily recalled the 10-pound and 20-pound boxes of ...
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La. Agriculture chief abandoning race for 8th term

KATC - Lafayette,LA,USA
Bob Odom, a Democrat who has been Louisiana's Commissioner of Agriculture since 1980, says he's dropping out of the November 17th runoff election, ...
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Govt keen to develop agriculture sector

The News - International - Pakistan
By By our correspondent ISLAMABAD: Government is striving to improve and develop the agriculture sector through enhancing investment, ensuring technology ...
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Aiming For Developments In Agriculture, Fisheries Sector

Bru Direct - Brunei Darussalam
It was a chance for all to discuss further. the opportunities for both country's developments in the agriculture and fisheries sector, as well as other ...
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Senate Panel Oks $280b Farm Bill

Guardian Unlimited - UK
The Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously approved the five-year bill, which would provide more than $280 billion for agriculture and nutrition programs ...
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Odom cedes agriculture post to Strain

The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com - New Orleans,LA,USA
By Robert Travis Scott BATON ROUGE -- Ending one of Louisiana's most enduring political dynasties, Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom on Thursday withdrew ...
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Zim govt in bid to revive agriculture

SABC News - Johannesburg,South Africa
Agriculture Minister Rugare Gumbo has revealed that farmers are planning to plant two million hectares of maize, with 400 000 hectares set aside for small ...
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Senate Agriculture Committee Brings Relief to Food Banks and ...

PR Newswire (press release) - New York,NY,USA
CHICAGO, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee approved a Farm Bill today that would boost dwindling ...
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FP7 information day on food, agriculture and fisheries, and ...

Cordis News - Brussels,Belgium
An information day and brokerage event on transnational cooperation in food, agriculture and fisheries and biotechnology will be held in Brussels, Belgium, ...
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Senate committee approves $286 billion agriculture bill

Modesto Bee - Modesto,CA,USA
Approved on a voice vote Thursday by the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, the farm bill costs about $286 billion over five years. ...
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Husband-wife team to be inducted into Manatee County Agriculture ...

Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Sarasota,FL,USA
MANATEE COUNTY -- James P. and Phyllis R. Gilreath will be inducted into the Manatee County Agriculture Hall of Fame. The couple will be honored for their ...
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Multiple views on the Senate Agriculture Committee's farm bill

Bismarck Farm & Ranch Guide - ND, USA
Washington - Nebraska Farmers Union congratulated Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss and members of the ...
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Camarines Sur State Agricultural College

Manila Bulletin - Philippines
The Philippine Council for Agriculture Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), established through a Memorandum of Agreement in 1978, ...
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Cotton yields at five-year low, corn record high

Bizjournals.com - Charlotte,NC,USA
The USDA's National Agriculture Statistics Service said this is due mostly to sharp declines in acreage and yield. Cotton lost 200000 acres to other crops ...
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Agriculture Department Investigating Food Labeling to Better Protect Consumers

Food Ingredients First (press release) - Duiven,Netherlands
26/10/07 At the request of consumer advocates and industry representatives, the Department of Agriculture is investigating food labeling practices to better ...
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MINFAL develops NMTPF to support agriculture sector

Daily Times - Lahore,Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: To bring more external financial assistance in the field of agriculture, the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) has ...
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Vice premier urges sustainable development of agriculture

Xinhua - China
It remains an important yet arduous task," said Hui at a seminar on sustainable development of agriculture. China must continue to implement all the ...
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Canadian Firm Blamed for Burger Recall

The Associated Press -
The massive recall prompted the Agriculture Department to announce changes in how it will inspect meat plants. After being criticized for foot-dragging, ...
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UN expert calls turning food crops into fuel "a crime against ...

International Herald Tribune - France
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's latest report, 100000 people are dying from hunger or its immediate consequences every day, ...
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Views on Odom in agriculture community were mixed

The Daily Advertiser - Lafayette,LA,USA
The mention of Bob Odom's name draws cheers and admiration from some in Louisiana's agriculture community, and a "no comment" from others, depending on how ...
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Corn, Soybean Prices Rise on CBOT

The Associated Press -
CHICAGO (AP) — Agriculture futures mostly rose Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, as corn and soybean prices advanced. Wheat fell. ...
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Agriculture building plans progress

Danville Register and Bee - Danville,VA,USA
This board has been drawing agriculture to Pittsylvania County, so we felt we needed a place within the county to host meetings for a couple hundred people. ...
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US Senate panel backs local-purchase food aid

Reuters - USA
The bill, approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday, would authorize $25 million a year for the four-year pilot program. ...
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Vietnam, North Korea sign agriculture, cultural agreements

Economic Times - Gurgaon,Haryana,India
HANOI: Vietnam and North Korea Saturday signed agreements on sharing agricultural technology and cultural exchanges during a meeting between their prime ...
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Huge Shift In Mindset Needed To Spur Agriculture - Muhyiddin

Bernama - Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia
SEREMBAN, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- The Malay-dominated agriculture community needs to open their minds to a more radical and revolutionary shift to become ...
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Land Consolidation For Large-scale Agriculture

Bernama - Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia
Thus, the government will emphasise on the commercial production of agricultural produce on a large scale. Abdullah also said that there were also efforts ...
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Minister of Agriculture Receives Arab Agricultural Strategy for ...

SANA - Syrian Arab News Agency - Damascus,Syria
Damascus , ( SANA ) – Minister of Agriculture Adel Safar received on Saturday a copy of the Arab agricultural strategy for the two upcoming decades from ...
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Doctors blame Congress for obesity problem, lobby for a more ...

Kansas City Star - MO,USA
Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican, who is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. "However, blaming the cause on the crops that we grow in Kansas ...
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Drop the 'goreng pisang' mentality, says Abdullah

Malaysia Star - Malaysia
The Prime Minister said despite efforts by the Government to promote agriculture, the Malays are still sceptical about venturing into the sector. ...
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State agriculture foundation holds calendar poster contest

Cumberland Times-News - Cumberland,MD,USA
The Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation is holding its second annual Agriculture in Maryland Calendar Poster Contest. The contest is open to all ...
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QDB to extend financing to education, tourism, agriculture and ...

Peninsula On-line - Qatar
Sheikh Hamad said QDB was set to expand the scope of its financing to include new areas such as health care, fisheries, education, tourism and agriculture. ...
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UN expert labels biofuels a "crime against humanity"

Food Week - Sydney,New South Wales,Australia
Yet, as Ziegler pointed out quoting UN Food and Agriculture Organization figures, the world already produces enough food to feed twice its current ...
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Sakhalin Authorities Start Supporting Agriculture

Vladivostok Times - Vladivostok,Primorye,Russia
Vice-Governor Sergey KAREPKIN the Chief of the Sakhalin Area Administration Department of agriculture Yevgeniy LAPIN have held a press conference on this ...
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NEWS IN AGRICULTURE

Pittsburg Morning Sun - Pittsburg,KS,USA
The bigger question in agriculture is how this change in climate will affect agricultural production. Will we see increased production or decreased ...
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Navarro County Agriculture Update

Corsicana Daily Sun - Corsicana,TX,USA
The Texas A&M University System, US Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating. ...
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Developed Nations Gradually Withdraw from the Village

Kommersant - Moscow,Russia
The reduction in the state subsidies for agricultural producers has turned into a global trend already. The state support for agriculture in the OECD states ...
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Agriculture secretary to visit S. Jersey

Cherry Hill Courier Post - Cherry Hill,NJ,USA
By CAROL COMEGNO The state agriculture secretary will visit South Jersey today and Thursday to tout land preservation and wine growing as voters prepare to ...
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A Bid to Overhaul a Farm Bill Yields Subtle Changes

New York Times - United States
But as the Agriculture Committee prepares to put the final touches on the farm bill on Wednesday, Mr. Harkin has come up mostly empty-handed. ...
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China ready to learn agricultural experiences from Netherlands

Xinhua - China
At a meeting with Dutch Minister of Agriculture Gerda Verburg, Hui spoke highly of Sino-Dutch relations and bilateral agricultural cooperation. ...
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Food safety rules tightened after E. coli recall

Reuters - USA
The US Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a briefing the number of E. coli recalls climbed to 15 so far in 2007 compared to ...
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Compromise reached on interstate meat shipments

USA Today - USA
That provision was backed by House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo. Carly Tucker Foreman, of the ...
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Manure protest at Agriculture Ministry HQ in Bucharest

HotNews.co - Bucharest|,Romania
Romanian Farmers organized a protest in from of the Agriculture Ministry in Bucharest on Tuesday. Armed with a coffin, burial bells and lots of manure, ...
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MSU to host state agriculture commissioner debate

The Reflector online - MS,USA
The Stennis-Montgomery Association is sponsoring a debate between the three candidates running for state Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner tonight at 7 ...
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OECD says agricultural subsidies fell slightly in 2006

Forbes - NY,USA
But it has been dogged by long-standing disputes between wealthy and developing nations, especially on protective barriers for agriculture, as well as ...
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Africa: Agriculture for Development

AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
The latest World Development Report calls for greater investment in agriculture in Africa and warns that the sector must be placed at the center of the ...
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Energy, metals and agriculture futures slump as dollar bounces ...

International Herald Tribune - France
With speculative investment in many commodities near record levels, the linkages between Wall Street and the oil, agriculture and metals markets have grown ...
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Focus on the farm

Sify - Chennai,Tamil Nadu,India
Nearly a quarter century after it last published a similar report, the World Bank has come up with the World Development Report 2008 “Agriculture for ...
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European Commissioner for Agriculture: Finland has enjoyed 13 ...

Helsingin Sanomat - Helsinki,Uusimaa,Finland
European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Mariann Fischer Boel does not understand Finland’s demands that the national 141-Support paid ...
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DuPont Lifts Earnings View On International, Agriculture ...

CNNMoney.com - USA
"We increased sales outside the United States 11% and grew worldwide Agriculture & Nutrition segment sales 21%. Our performance reflects the concentrated ...
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Agriculture secretary to visit Waterford

Cherry Hill Courier Post - Cherry Hill,NJ,USA
The growing interest in South Jersey wineries has prompted a visit from New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Charles Kuperus, set for Thursday, ...
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Doug Loudenslager Planting seeds for food of the future

Indianapolis Star - United States
These students will test their skills, explore lucrative careers and determine their place in agriculture, our nation's largest industry. ...
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Agriculture ministry blamed for camel deaths

ArabianBusiness.com - Dubai,Umm al Qaiwain,United Arab Emirates
(Getty Images) Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Agriculture is being held responsible for the deaths of over 2000 camels in the kingdom over the past few months, ...
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State must lead in mitigating agriculture's dangerous ...

San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA
It's a problem in every part of California with an agricultural past - but Santa Clara County has more cleanup sites involving old orchard pesticides than ...
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Uganda: Agriculture Ministry, Exporters Delay DDT Spraying

AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
INDOOR residual spraying of DDT to combat malaria is being delayed by the agriculture ministry and exporters, the Ministry of Health officials, have said. ...
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Agriculture needs new vision, approach - PM

Jamaica Gleaner - Kingston,Jamaica
He told the JAS representatives that this entity is required because agriculture cannot be developed on the basis of our domestic market, because so much of ...
See all stories on this topic Uganda: Agriculture Ministry, Exp

Scholarship honors agriculture leader

Jefferson Post - West Jefferson,NC,USA
Scholarships will be awarded to Ashe County students planning to study agriculture and natural resources toward a career in those fields. ...
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Missouri director of agriculture to speak Tuesday

Moberly Monitor Index - Moberly,MO,USA
Katie Smith, the director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, will be the keynote speaker at a public affairs dinner meeting in Moberly Tuesday night ...
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Uganda: Dealing With Agricultural Financing Among Women

AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
Excepts: Agriculture financing is one area financial institutions have neglected for long time. What is the main problem? Agriculture financing faces ...
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Agriculture Futures Finish Mixed on CBOT

The Associated Press -
CHICAGO (AP) — Corn and soybean prices fell Monday on the Chicago Board of Trade, while wheat prices rallied. Wheat for December delivery rose 15.5 cents to ...
See all stories on this topic Uganda: Dealing With Agricult

Farm-led growth strongest weapon against poverty

Indian Express - New Delhi,India
New Delhi, October 22: GDP growth originating in agriculture is at least twice as effective in reducing poverty as GDP growth originating outside ...
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National Agriculture Convention Resolutions For Najib

Bernama - Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 (Bernama) -- The resolutions to be adopted at the National Agriculture Convention 2007 scheduled for Oct 27 and 28 will be handed over ...
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Noble Foundation, ODAFF host upcoming conference to highlight ...

Southwest Farm Press - Overland Park,KS,USA
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) will host a two-day conference in November to ...
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Government Repositioning Agriculture to Expand Market Horizons ...

Government of Jamaica, Jamaica Information Service - Jamaica
He said agriculture must be seen as an economic activity that provides the opportunity for its stakeholders to offer a good life for their families and if ...
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More agriculture investments in poor countries - WB

Philippine Star - Manila,Philippines
The World Bank is calling for more investments in agriculture in developing countries, saying the sector must be placed at the center of the development ...
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RPT-Russian food retailers agree price freeze

Reuters - USA
She said the agreement had been reached at a meeting between retailers and agricultural commodities producers chaired by Agriculture Minister Alexei ...
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‘Economic success’ of GM technology in US agriculture

Farmers Guardian - Preston,England,UK
... scientists from the United States and Canada were able to offer a practical insight into the effects of GM technology on their agriculture. ...
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Subsidies sown in full in Bulgaria

Sofia Echo - Bulgaria
On issue of the report October 10, however, Agriculture and Rural Region EU Commissioner Mariann Fischer-Boel recognised Bulgaria had made huge strides in ...
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I will keep an eye on each Euro for agriculture

New Europe - Brussels,Belgium
As a representative of the Agricultural Union in the EP, for me it is very important that our country has developed and modern agriculture and that the ...
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Romanian cattle farmers protest outside Agriculture Ministry to ...

International Herald Tribune - France
The country's agriculture minister, meanwhile, traveled to Brussels to try to persuade European Union officials that Romania would strengthen its oversight ...
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World Bank puts agriculture front and center in anti-poverty fight

Servihoo - Mauritius
The World Bank opened a new chapter Sunday under president Robert Zoellick who wants to place agriculture at the heart of the anti-poverty fight while ...
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Agriculture, fishery and forestry sector Region I's top ...

Philippine Information Agency - Philippines
By Renee F. De Guzman San Fernando City, La Union (22 October) -- Despite its slowed growth, the agriculture, fishery and forestry sector still emerged as ...
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Cole: Mississippi agriculture has untapped potential

Meridian Star - Meridian,MS,USA
Cole said that type of marketing is what is needed for Mississippi’s agriculture. “That sort of approach is what’s needed for many of the farmers around the ...
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Governor orders resumption of apple moth eradication efforts

San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA
... meant to kill a crop-eating moth after the governor directed the California Department of Food and Agriculture to restart its eradication efforts. Gov. ...
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IMF endorses internal reforms; World Bank backs agriculture

Inquirer.net - Philippines
At the World Bank, president Robert Zoellick on Sunday launched a major shift in the development lender's strategy, anchoring agriculture at the center of ...
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Apple Moth Spraying Continues

Dog Flu Diet and Diseases - Brantford,Ontario,Canada
"These are exactly the kind of reassurances the community needs," said Jay Van Rein, a spokesman for the Food and Agriculture Department. ...
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EDITORIAL: Mississippi agriculture

Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal - Tupelo,MS,USA
The longer term issue is about agriculture policy, marketing and production. We have editorially supported abolition of the elective agriculture commission ...
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Agriculture briefs

Dubuque Telegraph Herald - Dubuque,IA,USA
CALMAR, Iowa -- The Northeast Iowa Community-based Dairy Foundation has announced that Brian Hanson is the new manager of the Grazing Center. ...
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Six new agriculture universities to be set up in UP

Zee News - Noida,Uttar Pradesh,India
Muzaffarnagar, Oct 21: In order to give a boost to agricultural education in UP the Mayawati government has decided to set up six new agriculture ...
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Don't compromise on agri subsidy

Economic Times - Gurgaon,Haryana,India
He emphasised that the NAMA-11 (Non-Agriculture Market Access) bloc, a grouping of developing countries of which India is a member, ...
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Unity, improved agriculture needed to eradicate hunger and reduce ...

Viet Nam News - Hanoi,Vietnam
The agriculture value was 82 per cent higher than planned . Economic structure continues to change for the better. This progress is the result of efforts by ...
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Agriculture, housing don't mix, second-generation farmer says

Statesman Journal - Salem,OR,USA
Last year, Chapin's son did the same after graduating from Oregon State with a major in agriculture and minors in horticulture and Spanish. ...
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The President calls on the agriculture industry to attach a higher ...

MaldivesInfo - Male,Maldives
The President has called on the agriculture industry in the Maldives to attach a higher priority to increasing the volume of locally-grown varieties and ...
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Sri Lanka could tap new World Bank agriculture aid, new strategy ...

Lanka Business Online - Sri Lanka
WASHINGTON, Oct 21, 2007 (LBO) – The World Bank is putting up new money for agriculture development in rural areas but is promising not to repeat past ...
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Nigeria: World Bank Calls for Leap in SSA Agricultural Renewal

AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
The World Bank has called for greater investment in agriculture in Africa and warns that the sector must be placed in the centre of the region's development ...
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Leaders plough into SA’s land showdown

The Times - Johannesburg,Gauteng,South Africa
A: Organised agriculture has admitted there are instances where it has happened, but not on the scale the minister says. If there are illegal evictions, ...
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Community-supported agriculture

Appeal-Democrat - Marysville,CA,USA
After two years selling his vegetables at farmers’ markets, he made the leap to community-supported agriculture, commonly called CSA. ...
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Investment, inequality growing globally

Jamaica Gleaner - Kingston,Jamaica
The other two are the World Bank's World Development Report which this year has the theme 'Agriculture for Development' and the International Monetary ...
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Strain forces Odom into runoff in La. agriculture race

The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com - New Orleans,LA,USA
AP NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom was forced into a runoff election with state Rep. Mike Strain on Saturday, the first time Odom ...
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WB calls for agri renewal to reduce rural poverty in S Asia

Daily Times - Lahore,Pakistan
WASHINGTON: Greater investment in agriculture is vital to the welfare of 600 million rural poor people living in transforming countries that include ...
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Poverty pushes kids to toil on farms

The Times - Johannesburg,Gauteng,South Africa
“The negative impact on school and health was reported by large numbers of children working in subsistence and commercial agriculture. ...
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Agriculture key to meeting UN anti-poverty goals: World Bank

AFP -
While 75 percent of the world's poor live in rural areas "a mere 4.0 percent of official development assistance goes to agriculture in developing countries ...
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Agriculture: Sugar imports up slightly in 1st 7 months

China Daily - China
China imported 691000 tons of sugar in the first seven months of this year, a growth of 5.3 percent year-on-year, according to General Administration of ...
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Key agriculture issues stall WTO accord

Gulf Daily News - Manama,Bahrain
GENEVA: World Trade Organisation (WTO) members are still far apart on key agricultural issues after talks meant to advance a global deal, diplomats said ...
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Last Chance for Farm Reform

New York Times - United States
Tom Harkin, the independent-minded Iowa Democrat who runs the Senate Agriculture Committee, had proposed to slash these subsidies and reinvest as much as $6 ...
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Giuliani talks of NY; Romney of agriculture

Boston Globe - United States
Romney, a multimillionaire investor, used the corn-farming story to introduce himself and show some comfort with agricultural techniques. ...
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Monterey judge lifts ban on spraying for moth

Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
At a hearing Thursday, an analysis by a chemist for the state Department of Food and Agriculture showed that the Checkmate compound contains no ...
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World Bank Report Puts Agriculture at Core of Antipoverty Effort

New York Times - United States
By CELIA W. DUGGER For the first time in a quarter century, the World Bank’s flagship annual report on development puts agriculture and the productivity of ...
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Agriculture key to meeting UN anti-poverty goals: World Bank

Raw Story - Cambridge,MA,USA
The World Bank warned Friday that the UN goal of halving the incidence of poverty and hunger in the poorest countries would go unmet unless agriculture took ...
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REMARKS BY ACTING SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE CHUCK CONNER AT THE ...

USDA.gov (press release) - Washington,DC,USA
Ladies and gentlemen, we have seen remarkable progress in agriculture and food science over the last 60 years. Perhaps the best measure of how far we have ...
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Next Plan to have agriculture as focus area: Montek

Economic Times - Gurgaon,Haryana,India
19 Oct, 2007, 2355 hrs IST, PTI INDORE: A major thrust would be given to agriculture sector in the next Five Year Plan which will focus on integrated ...
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World Bank says agriculture must take center stage in development

AFP -
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The World Bank called Friday for agriculture to take center stage in development policies and pledged to boost its lending to the sector ...
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World Development Report must galvanise greater international ...

Oxfam Ireland News (press release) - Dublin,Ireland
Oxfam welcomes the World Bank’s report in highlighting the vital contribution that agriculture can make to reduce global poverty. ...
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Agriculture minister visits farms for World Food Day

Sun St.Kitts/Nevis - St. Kitts and Nevis
CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – Minister of Agriculture in Nevis Robelto Hector applauded a pig farmer who utilised the Low Ground Pig Development Centre provided by ...
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Rural Iowans Cope With Smell of Hogs

The Associated Press -
David Johnson, the ranking Republican on the agriculture committee. "Without that livestock they run the risk of withering on the vine. ...
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Agriculture foundation needs strengthening

China Daily - China
By Han Jun (China Daily) The country has given much attention to issues concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers since the 16th National Congress of ...
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Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization FAO: It ...

Drinks Media Wire (Communiqués de presse) - Bordeaux,France
Dr. Diouf also stressed the importance of the potato to the world’s agriculture, economy and food security. The potato is a staple food that has been ...
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Scorpions investigate KZN Agriculture department

The Times - Johannesburg,Gauteng,South Africa
KwaZulu-Natal’s agriculture department is being investigated by the Scorpions, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed. NPA spokesman Tlali Tlali ...
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Agriculture key to development, World Bank says

MarketWatch - USA
"We need to give agriculture more prominence across the board," said World Bank President Robert Zoellick on Thursday, as the bank released its annual World ...
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Agriculture Subsidies Threaten Smallholder Farmers

The Herald (Harare) via allafrica.com

10 October 2007, Harare
TRADE-DISTORTING subsidies in agriculture are threatening the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers in the region and other developing countries throughout the globe.

Deputy Minister of Industry and International Trade Mr Phineas Chihota said yesterday trade liberalisation at the multilateral level continued to erode preferential margins of developing countries through loss of revenue.

The deputy minister was speaking at a three-day workshop on the effects of Economic Partnership Agreements on farmers' rights and their livelihoods in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern African in Harare yesterday.

Mr Chihota said he was disappointed by heavy subsidies extended to farmers in the US and the European that made trade with African farmers very unfair.

The EU and US offer domestic support and export subsidies and largely dump their excess products in developing countries at very low prices.

"It remains a reality that trade-distorting subsidies in agriculture have threatened the livelihoods of many smallholder farmers in the region," said Mr Chihota.

"Concerning negotiations in agriculture, reduction in EU domestic support, elimination of export subsidies, commodity protocols and preference erosion still exist as areas of divergence."

Zimbabwe is currently negotiating EPAs with the EU under the Eastern and Southern Africa configuration.

The region is working towards the finalisation of its offer that is based on a regional sensitive list of 30 percent of the volume of trade between ESA and the EU.

Mr Chihota said: "Trade liberalisation's likely consequences such as loss of revenue and the need to address the supply side constraints require that developmental issues be addressed first to enable the signing of EPA.

"The rationale is that it would be meaningless for ESA countries to have duty-free and quota-free market access to the EU market if they are unable to use them."

Zimbabwe's economy is largely based on agriculture, which contributes nearly 30 percent to GDP.

The ESA region was concerned about the unfair impact of domestic support on trade competition and is proposing that it should be able to adopt appropriate corrective measures such as countervailing duties.

Mr Chihota underscored the need for unity in formulating a vision and objectives that take into consideration developing countries' peculiar economic needs and requirements.

"As a region, we should enhance our production capacity, create new trade and support regional integration under one cause and translate these objectives into tangible benefits as farmers for the development of our economies."

In September this year, Kenyan farmers and activists protested in the streets of Nairobi against what they called unfair trade partnerships pushed by the EU. The EPAs has been put forth as successor to the Cotonou Agreement, which expires at the end of December.

The Cotonou Agreement gives 77 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries preferential access to European Union markets.

Various stakeholders, including civil society organisations, Members of Parliament and farmers from across the country are attending the workshop.

U.S. says Doha round trade talks at risk

Jonathan Lynn (9th Oct 2007, 19:56 GMT)

GENEVA - The United States said on Tuesday that the long-running Doha round of global trade talks was at risk after a group of developing countries insisted they get favorable treatment in the negotiations.

Washington has been expressing frustration for several weeks at the progress of the talks, launched six years ago to boost the world economy by opening up trade.

"We are very concerned about this proposal that came out today," Sean Spicer, a spokesman for U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, said in a statement. "In fact, this proposal could signal the end of the Doha Round."

The U.S. statement amounts to a challenge to India, Brazil and South Africa to affirm their support for the talks when they hold a summit in Pretoria on Oct. 17.

For a deal to be politically viable, every WTO member needs to be able to point to some gains to compensate for any sacrifices it makes. Thus, Washington wants access to developing country markets for manufactured goods and services in return for cutting its trade-distorting farm support.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday the United States had repeatedly shown its willingness to cut farm subsidies as part of a world trade deal but it could not "unilaterally disarm."

"This is a matter of will.... The major developing countries need to come together to find a way to offer a realistic prospect of market access" to U.S. farmers and other exporters, Rice told reporters after a speech on U.S. trade relations with Latin America.

The much-stalled talks, launched nearly six years ago, picked up momentum last month on the basis of papers on agriculture and industry issued by WTO mediators in July.

Trade diplomats say that these papers could be revised at the end of this month or in early November, paving the way for a broader deal including services and other areas of trade.

Both the United States and the European Union want to continue working on the basis of those texts.

NO ALTERNATIVE NEEDED

"Alternative papers are not needed and we await others at the table to undertake the necessary negotiations," Peter Power, a spokesman for EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, told Reuters.

While most of the WTO's 151 members say that the agriculture text has the potential for a deal, many developing countries are unhappy with the industry paper.

Some reject it outright, while others such as India say it needs serious revision.

For instance the industry text would cap developed country tariffs at 8-9 percent, below the 19-23 percent for developing countries. But because developing countries have higher tariffs to start with, they have to make steeper cuts.

They say this runs counter to the principle of "less than full reciprocity" that is part of the original negotiating mandate for the Doha round.

"Less than full reciprocity" means that developing countries have to make fewer concessions than rich ones in the Doha round, which aims specifically to help developing countries.

Earlier South Africa, on behalf of a group of major developing countries known as the NAMA-11 that includes Brazil, India and Argentina, made a statement to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) general council underlining their position on the trade talks, WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell told a briefing.

The head of South Africa's WTO delegation, Faizel Ismail, told the council agriculture was central to the talks and the deal on industry had to reflect "less than full reciprocity." He also discussed other special treatment for developing countries.

Ismail was backed by several other developing countries and won support from EU ambassador Eckart Guth for a degree of "less than full reciprocity."

But U.S. ambassador Peter Allgeier expressed disappointment at the South African statement. He said Washington accepts that there must be special treatment for developing countries, but WTO members had to take both the texts as the basis for talks.

Washington has agreed to cap its farm subsidies in line with the agriculture text, provided other members accept the ranges for tariffs and subsidies in both papers.

That has prompted a letter from U.S. farm lobbyists to President Bush warning him against accepting a deal that would slash subsidies without unlocking new markets. (Additional reporting by Doug Palmer in Washington)

Risk-taking in agriculture

Tuesday, October 10, 2007

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has announced the plan to initiate a program for a third cropping season
for rice production, a venture that has not been tried before and is therefore innovative.

The aim is to increase the country’s rice production and avert a shortage in cereal supply.

A steadily increasing populace is obviously the impelling force behind the move.

Planning
But while anticipatory planning on the part of our top agriculture department officials is commendable, it is at the same time fraught with threats of failure and risks of losses for participating farmers.

A third cropping for rice, for example, needs careful planning, special technical inputs, as well as capital investments, to implement.

The plan is to insert the third cropping season in-between the traditional two—the dry season from May to October and the wet season from November to April.

The DA expects the third cropping period “to increase the rice yield to 20 percent.”

Input
In Central Visayas where the third cropping season or pang-agpas has already been implemented starting last month, DA 7 Regional Director Eduardo Lecciones said that “they aim to plant rice and corn on 2,500 hectares of land.”

The DA believes that the program will encourage our hardworking and industrious farmers to devote more time and work extra-hard to improve their family income as well as contribute to the assurance of food supply for our people.

But the DA did not talk of safety nets.

Risk
Unless government supports the farmers with material inputs, the risk of losses on their part would be rather high.

With the country’s weather condition not fixed and predictable, anything can happen during the cropping period.

The investment will become a matter of luck.

This is what the whole three-cropping period is actually all about.

In a social environment that has suddenly become gravely conducive to birth without control, one needs to anticipate future events with fool-proof plans from our leaders.

Thus, the risk is high in the program, too.

It is, to say the least, a condition that generally needs the intervention of the all-powerful hand of the Lord.(LINK)

In China, a Plan to Turn Rice Into Carbon Credits

Biotech Firm Pushes Using Less Fertilizer; Ban on Altered Seeds, By LAUREN ETTER, October 9, 2007

YINCHUAN, China -- Agriculture contributes more to total global greenhouse-gas emissions than the entire world transportation sector, according to a United Nations-sponsored panel.
To Eric Rey, that sounds like the makings of a business plan.

On a recent day, Mr. Rey pulled on a pair of rubber boots and waded into a muddy rice paddy -- the place where he hopes to battle global warming and earn a fortune for his budding biotech
company.

Lauren Etter

In rural northern China, a rice paddy is dotted with yellow metal boxes. Plastic tubes trap emissions of nitrous oxide for measurements.

Mr. Rey, president and chief executive of Arcadia
Biosciences of Davis, Calif., has ventured to this remote corner of northern China -- a patchwork of flower fields and emerald rice paddies punctuated by ornamented mosques -- to sell farmers a genetically engineered rice seed. He says the seed, still in development, will cut their need for nitrogen fertilizer, which is among their biggest costs - and a huge source of greenhouse gases. He then aims to sell the resulting carbon credits on a growing global exchange.

"Here's an opportunity for farmers to make more money, for us to be more profitable and for the environment to benefit," said Mr. Rey, a lanky 51-year old, beaming as he brushed his hand across the tips of the rice grains. "It's a triple win."

Entrepreneurs around the globe are racing to feed a $30 billion market for carbon credits, which offer companies a way to comply with emissions-reduction requirements without actually cutting their own output of greenhouse gases. The market arose in the wake of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, in which most industrial countries except the U.S. agreed to a collective 5% reduction in their greenhouse-gas emissions by 2012.

Tapping Agriculture
In a typical transaction, an industrial company that is having trouble reducing emissions can buy credits from another company that has figured out a cost-efficient way to cut its own carbon
output beyond what is required. Many early carbon-credit projects focused on curbing emissions at industrial facilities, including reducing methane emissions at landfills. But entrepreneurs like Mr. Rey see huge potential in tapping into agriculture -- the No. 4 producer of global-warming gas.

GROWING CONCERN

• The Situation: Eric Rey
has a plan to profit from the vast amount of global-warming gases
created by the fertilizer used in growing rice in China.

• The Background: He is
trying to sell a gene his company owns that he says allows rice plants
to use less fertilizer. He plans to sell the reduced emissions on the
growing global market for carbon credits.

• What's Next: He is
testing Chinese rice fields to get a base line for how much gas is
emitted and is working with Chinese researchers on developing local
rice that contains his company's gene.

Agriculture contributes about 14% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the U.N.-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. That is smaller than emissions from energy use, forestry and industry, but larger than transportation.

By focusing on rice in China, Mr. Rey may be tapping
into a treasure trove. Much of the greenhouse-gas emissions from agriculture come from nitrogen fertilizer. China is the biggest user of fertilizer and the world's largest rice producer.

But his quest to turn Chinese rice into carbon credits
faces big hurdles. His company needs to do field tests in China to prove that its genetically modified seeds can thrive there. China's intellectual-property laws are weak and its farmers are set in their ways, leaving biotech firms stumped over how to make money from its
vast agriculture sector. Monsanto Co., a pioneer in the Chinese market, has retreated in frustration.

Most daunting, he must persuade the Chinese government to allow companies to sell staple food crops, like rice, that have been bioengineered. Though genetically modified seeds are common in the U.S., European and Asian countries have been more cautious about their use.

Mr. Rey, a biotech veteran who enjoys adventures such as flying aerobatic planes or tracking baboons in Tanzania, isn't deterred by the odds. "A set of rules is something that somebody made up in their mind," he says.

He spent 15 years at Calgene, developer of the "Flavr Savr" tomato, the first genetically modified whole food approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Calgene was acquired by Monsanto in 1997 and that year, Mr. Rey set up his own consulting firm.

READ MORE

• World Bank report on the carbon trading market

One day in 2000, he got a call from John Sperling, a
billionaire who made a fortune creating University of Phoenix, an online college. Mr. Sperling, an investor in biotech projects including cloning and human longevity, was seeking help on a project in Eritrea trying to raise plants that could grow in salt water to aid poor farmers. The project wasn't successful, but the two found a common interest in using biotechnology to solve hunger and help farmers.

"The grand design is someday to create plants that are salt-tolerant, nitrogen-efficient and drought-resistant," says Mr. Sperling. "That is the nirvana of agricultural engineering."

In 2002, Mr. Rey, with funding from Mr. Sperling, formed Arcadia. Today, the company's staff of 75 scouts research institutions for new technologies, hoping to develop and eventually
license them. So far, it has nine technologies in the pipeline, including salt-tolerant plants, safflower oil enhanced with omega-6 fatty acids and tomatoes with a longer shelf life. The company expects to commercialize its first product in 2008.

Forgot to Fertilize
The year Arcadia was formed, its researchers came across work at the University of Alberta in the field of nitrogen-use efficiency. The Canadian researchers had been trying to create a plant
that could thrive in salty soils. Instead they stumbled upon a plant that thrived without fertilizer after a lab director forgot to fertilize one of the trial seeds. Arcadia licensed the technology in
2002 for an undisclosed amount.

To date, Mr. Rey says Arcadia has invested "tens of millions of dollars" into the nitrogen technology -- to develop genetically modified seeds or plants than can grow with half the amount
of fertilizer normally required. The amount hasn't exceeded $40
million, he says, but "the ongoing investment rate is pretty
aggressive."

In 2005, Mr. Rey's company signed an agreement giving
Monsanto rights to develop and commercialize the nitrogen-efficient technology for canola. Terms weren't disclosed.

Others are also trying to develop such seeds. "Essentially all of the biotech companies have some program involving nitrogen use," says Fred Below, professor of crop physiology at the University of Illinois. He says developing countries will be beneficiaries of this technology because they have a hard time affording fertilizer.

Rice's Role
Mr. Rey first came across the idea that rice was a big contributor to air pollution in China in a conversation with researchers from the International Fertilizer Industry Association in
January 2006.

A few weeks later, he was reading an article about carbon credits at power plants as he worked out on an elliptical trainer at a gym near his garden-surrounded home in Berkeley. If power
plants could generate carbon credits, he thought, why couldn't rice fields?

He began doing more research on sources of greenhouse-gas emissions. He learned that the biggest source of agriculture-related greenhouse gases is nitrogen fertilizer. That's because only about half the fertilizer applied to fields is typically consumed by the plants. The rest seeps into the ground, becoming a primary contributor to water pollution, or is emitted into the air as
nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas nearly 300 times as potent as carbon dioxide.

In October 2006, Mr. Rey met with agricultural researchers visiting the U.S. from Ningxia, a tiny mountainous province in China near Mongolia. The researchers explained that China, the
world's biggest user of fertilizer, had a huge problem with runoff that was leaving lakes and rivers devoid of life. Rising fertilizer prices are hurting poor farmers.

Harsh Land
In Ningxia, the land is harsh and water is limited. To help crops grow, farmers dump heaps of fertilizer on the land, making the province one of China's biggest per-acre fertilizer users. The
researchers invited Mr. Rey to visit Ningxia to see if his nitrogen fertilizer technology could help.

Mr. Rey was intrigued, but was confronted with a problem other biotechnology companies face: How to make money in China?

Chinese farmers tend to save seed from harvest to replant the following year. Others save seeds and repackage them
illegally to sell on the black market. Both practices deny biotech
companies their main source of revenue -- a fresh supply of seeds that must be bought or licensed each year.

Biotech firms also struggle to keep track of China's myriad farms. The average size of a Chinese farm is less than one acre, compared with 440 acres in the U.S.

That problem is familiar to veterans like Monsanto, which became one of the first foreign companies to introduce a
genetically modified cotton seed in China in the late 1990s. The
company has since scaled back investments there and refrained from introducing its latest seed technology in part because of "the inability to effectively control the spread of the technology
illegally," according to Brett Begemann, executive vice president.

For Mr. Rey, the threads of a solution began to come together with what he calls the "carbon wrinkle." Rather than charging farmers a premium for genetically modified seeds -- the traditional business model -- farmers would pay for the price of regular seed, plus about half of the carbon credits generated by their reduced fertilizer use.

That would give farmers an incentive not to cheat: The more of his rice seed they plant, the less fertilizer they use and the more carbon credits everyone gets to cash in.

In January, Mr. Rey arrived in Ningxia, a place he says he never could have located on a map a year ago, to meet with local officials. Decreasing fertilizer use is a potential "big savings
for farmers and the regional economy," says Liu Rong Guang, president of the government-run Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences.

But one of the first questions locals had was how poor farmers would pay for genetically modified seeds. Mr. Rey explained the carbon-wrinkle idea and interest increased, he says. It helped, he says, that Ningxia is already home to other carbon-credit projects, mostly generated by large wind farms.

His idea is still at least five years away from being fully implemented, in part because the carbon credit methodology needs to be accepted by a U.N. body.

To help make the case to the U.N., Mr. Rey recently journeyed about 100 miles outside Yinchuan to join Chinese researchers from the Ningxia Academy in an experimental rice paddy growing conventional rice. He plunged in with the researchers, to tend to a series of yellow metal boxes equipped with plastic tubes. The boxes were trapping nitrous oxide being emitted from the fields. Syringes sucked out the air into malleable metal bags.

Measuring Emissions
The measurements will show how much nitrous oxide is emitted from conventional rice using different amounts of fertilizer.

That information will be the basis for research submitted to the U.N. seeking approval for the carbon-credit methodology.

So far, China has allowed the commercialization of genetically modified versions of cotton and some minor food crops, including tomatoes and sweet peppers. Commercializing bioengineered
seeds for major food crops -- such as corn, soybeans and rice -- remains forbidden.

Some government agencies in China still harbor reservations about the safety of such crops, says Jikun Huang, director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. But he thinks that will eventually change as China's population grows. "China considers biotechnology as a major importance to promoting agricultural productivity in the future," he says.

By some estimates, China is expected to soon surpass the U.S. as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Mr. Rey thinks that by the time his technology is ready in a few years, China
will have warmed up to the idea of using biotechnology to benefit the environment.

"It's a no-brainer," he says.(LINK)