Water | IATP

UN food agency and rights envoy at odds over GM

SWITZERLAND: November 14, 2002 GENEVA - The World Food Programme (WFP) sharply criticised a U.N. human rights investigator this week who has repeatedly questioned the safety of genetically modified (GM) food donated to starving Africans.

Monsanto posts wider loss as Roundup sales slump

USA: November 1, 2002 KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Agrochemical giant Monsanto Co. this week posted a wider quarterly loss because of slumping sales of its Roundup herbicide and economic woes in South America.

Changing Rain Patterns Could Ruin Crops

WASHINGTON, DC, October 31, 2002 (ENS) - Increased flooding, an expected outcome of climate change, may cause a doubling in losses of agricultural production over the next 30 years, a new report warns. An increased frequency of extreme precipitation events has been observed over the last 100 years in the United States.

Impacts of Agriculture on Water Quantity in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin

Growing water uses in the basin, combined with climate change, population growth, land use and other changes, will lead to a combination of decreasing water availability and placing an ever increasing value on fresh water. This report outlines a research agenda for agriculture, trade and water quantity management in the Great Lakes-St.

Muddied Waters on Mississippi River Project

Ol Man River just keeps rollin along, but around this magnificent resource swirls much controversy. The waters of the Mississippi River may be muddy, but the politics are just as murky.

Oceans Commission Hears About Reducing Nitrogen Levels - September 23, 2002

Dr. Dennis Keeney, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, will testify before the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy at a hearing held in Chicago on September 24, 2002.

Iowa Farmers Struggle To Make Ends Meet With Low Dairy Prices

The Associated Press | October 14, 2002 Mike Mahoney worked for 20 years at jobs he really didn't like to save money for a down payment on a 70-acre dairy farm just north of Nashua in northeast Iowa.

Economists Cite Adverse Effects Of Rice Floor Price

BusinessWorld | By Leilani M. Gallardo | October 14, 2002 Major rice-importing countries such as the Philippines are expected to incur additional costs in procuring their rice requirements once top rice-producing countries start implementing a floor price on their exports.

Virginia""s Farmland is Disappearing Faster

CULPEPER, Virginia, October 4, 2002 (ENS) - The rate of loss of prime agricultural land in Virginia has increased by 76 percent in the last five years, finds a new study by the American Farmland Trust (AFT). The study, "Farming on the Edge," finds that Virginia developed 105,000 acres of its highest quality farmland between 1992 and 1997, ranking among the top 20 states in prime acres lost.

Missouri River Conservationists Consider Legal Remedies

WASHINGTON, DC, October 3, 2002 (ENS) - A coalition of environmental groups concerned with the Missouri River is considering legal action that would force the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to release water down the river next spring to build sandbars and provide a reproductive trigger for fish and habitat for endangered birds.