Full Coverage: Agriculture

29.04.2005 The appeal process of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ruled that European sugar subsidies are illegal. In rare approval from fair trade campaigners, Oxfam says this decision is a milestone in the fight against the double standards of rich countries.

28.04.2005 Will African governments have the capacity to regulate the use of GM crops in the face of US companies eager to penetrate new markets? The experience of Tanzania and nicotine-free GM tobacco is discouraging.

26.04.2005 EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson demonstrates his old mastery of presentation in telling West African cotton producers that the EU cotton trade regime "has no distorting effect on the international market". The response is not recorded.

25.04.2005 90% of global calorie intake is provided by just 30 plant species. Experts meeting in India say that the risks involved in mono-culture will undermine the Millennium Development Goal for hunger.

20.04.2005 Lindane is an old, dangerous pesticide that stays in people's bodies and builds up in the environment. Nonetheless Bayer continues to sell lindane in the U.S. and now the pesticide is a huge problem in the Arctic, where food supplies of many indigenous peoples are highly contaminated, says the Pesticide Action Network of North America, asking you to call Bayer on April 21 to ban lindane in the U.S.

19.04.2005 NEW DELHI, Apr 19 (OneWorld) - Water activists rubbished historical claims of the Indian government and engineers that one of India's most successful big dam projects - the Bhakra project constructed in 1963 - had a role in bringing economic prosperity to north India and food security to the country.

19.04.2005 Le Canada risque de perdre sa capacité de faire des tests indépendants et la capacité d’inspection dont il a besoin pour protéger la santé et la sécurité des Canadiens si le projet de loi C-27 sur l’Agence canadienne d’inspection des aliments devait être adopté, affirment d’éminents scientifiques du Canada et des États-Unis.

19.04.2005 New Delhi: Water activists have rubbished historical claims of the Indian government and engineers that one of India’s most successful big dam projects - the Bhakra project constructed in 1963 – had a role in bringing economic prosperity to north India and food security to the country. Rahul Kumar speaks to water activists at the release of the report.

19.04.2005 With the Indian parliament to discuss a number of bills relating to seeds, food processing and patents, Prof. J. George argues that the people's representatives must give a thought to people's concerns and should not compromise on the rights of farmers and other marginalised sections.

18.04.2005 A new report by Oxfam America shows that small-scale farmers are still not reaping the benefits of the recent increase of coffee prices in the world market.

14.04.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Apr 14 (OneWorld) - AIDS is having a devastating impact on farms, economies, and societies' ability to feed themselves, health and agricultural experts warned Thursday.

13.04.2005 The resource-rich state of Chhattisgarh in central India is facing severe problems related to environment and water because of heavy industrialisation and mining. Rivers are being diverted, forests are turning into mining areas and farmlands are being converted into industrial areas under the guise of `development.’ Rahul Kumar, who attended a meeting of Chhattisgarh-based development experts and journalists reports from the interiors of the state.

13.04.2005 As the U.S. Congress prepares to consider the free trade treaty with Central America known as CAFTA, Oxfam America's partners from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador sent fair trade advocates to Washington D.C. The representatives gave firsthand accounts of the adverse consequences of CAFTA on small farmers, agricultural workers, indigenous people, and the environment in Central America. Hear their stories.

12.04.2005 When the World War II ended, the major problem the world had to face was serious shortage of food. The disquieting scenario of millions dying every year of starvation the world over in general and the developing world in particular made the UN and its Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) place “making the world hunger-free” on the top of their agenda. Convinced that achievement of such a goal would be possible through technological intervention the world bodies initiated a series of research and development programmes at the global level with the aim of increasing food production.

• Editor: Anwar Dil
• Publisher: Intercultural Forum
• Price: $40

12.04.2005 Communities around the world, from Uganda to the United States to Uruguay, will conduct events to illustrate to governments how unfair trade practices keep rural communities under poverty’s thumb. Oxfam America asks you to spread the word, and join the global activities for trade justice from April 10 to 16.

12.04.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Apr 11 (OneWorld) - Rich countries' demands that poorer nations open their markets to foreign rice and other farm imports could destroy the livelihoods of millions of poor farmers, international charity Oxfam warned on Monday.

07.04.2005 New illegal waste dumps appear in the protected water resources areas around the city of Osijek. The citizens of Osijek criticize the Ministry of Environmental Protection and warn of the illegal waste dumps and the danger from the presence of agricultural chemicals that could poison the natural water source.

07.04.2005 The majority of Zambians have been eating maize meal as their staple food for centuries. But the erratic rainfall pattern which makes the population vulnerable to starvation, may force them to look more seriously at cassava.

07.04.2005 The majority of Zambians have been eating maize meal as their staple food for centuries. But the erratic rainfall pattern which makes the population vulnerable to starvation, may force them to look more seriously at cassava.

06.04.2005 West Coasters Ingrid Evjen-Elias and Katharine Jolda discover the U.S. heartland during a 500-mile bike trip through the farming states of Nebraska and Kansas. "The heartland is suffering," they report.