Displaying items by tag: Agriculture

Dozens of farmers were arrested on 31 January after breaking into the huge Rungis wholesale food market south of Paris, during their ongoing protests. Emmanuel Macron’s government had warned farmers not to approach the market, which feeds twelve million people a day. But that failed to take into account the level of anger over what farmers view as unacceptably low pay, stifling red tape, unworkable European policies, and unfair competition from foreign rivals. 91 farmers managed to enter the Rungis site and were arrested for ‘damaging goods’, though they claim they caused no harm. While progress was reported in discussions with new prime minister Gabriel Attal, the protests reflect the deep-seated grievances of farmers against policies they view as detrimental to their livelihoods. At present 4,500 tractors are blocking eighty spots along major roads.

Meteorologists predict wet weather until September see, and this has a very real impact on farmers. The Farming Forum reported, ‘In this post, we shed light on the critical issues faced by farmers and their potential implications on cereal crops. Excessive rain has caused significant losses to the wheat harvest. When grains become wet and drop to the ground, they become challenging to collect efficiently. This leads to an increase in wastage and financial strain for farmers. Wet conditions make it almost impossible to harvest, so farmers must use specialised, incredibly costly headers, making it labour-intensive and time-consuming. High moisture content in wheat and grain makes it difficult to preserve quality. Cereal with 16% moisture content risks contamination by mycotoxins, a potential health risk. Moist cereal crops blown over by wind creates mould growth. This threatens the quality of the cereals and poses health risks for both humans and livestock.’

The Northern Ireland protocol was agreed to ensure free movement of trade across the Irish land border after Brexit. The legal text is now being looked at to nail down details. However, some are concerned that there are still things to square off to ensure an agreement is sellable to EU member states: the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and some Tory MPs who continue to insist that there remains more work to do. Pray for the language surrounding the talks to be increasingly positive. Also farms risk going out of business. The UK has replaced EU’s subsidies to farmers with ‘payments for public goods’ (SFI). Each year ministers cut how much farmers get paid under the old scheme while they introduce new ones. Farmers’ subsidies were cut by 22% last year, but only 0.44% of the promised budget was spent on SFI. So where is the money going?

Turmoil in the world has resulted in volatility and unpredictability in the commodity markets. For example, the rapeseed price paid to farmers, which rose sharply at the beginning of the season, fell again by £100 per ton as Russia flooded cereal markets. While retail prices for groceries continue to escalate, the price paid for milk to farmers has just been reduced by 10p per litre, a cut of 20%. Buying and selling has become frustrating and hazardous for the farmer. It is hard to pray from the perspective of such instability, so our praying is founded on scripture telling us that in the midst of confusion and difficulty, the Lord is in control, and He will be the stability of your times (Isaiah 33:5). The countryside and farming offer many signs of 'hope after despair’. Spring’s new life swallows up winter's death. Farmers sow seed in hope of reaping a harvest (John 12:24).

Sometimes called ‘feathered locusts’, queleas are pests across eastern and southern Africa. A quelea eats 10g of grain daily. Not a huge amount, but flocks can number two million and collectively consume 20 tonnes of grain in 24 hours. The UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation estimates that £41m worth of crops are lost to the birds annually. The latest quelea invasion in Kisumu, amounting to ten million birds, has already decimated 300 acres of rice fields. Another 2,000 acres are still at risk during the harvest season. Worse hit is Narok county where the birds invaded wheat farms, destroying 40% of the harvest. The prolonged drought in the Horn of Africa has meant fewer seeds from wild grasses, a primary source of food for queleas. Kenyan scientists suggest this may be behind the invasion of cultivated land as the birds look for alternatives.

The president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development has called for global leaders to invest more in rural communities and small-scale farmers, who produce one-third of the world’s food. The representatives of 177 states were asked, ‘Think how much more rural people could contribute to global food security, peace and stability if they had the resources to improve their farms and prosper, not just survive.’ Barbados’s prime minister said, ‘It is time for the world to recognise that we need to invest right now in securing food and nutrition for citizens across the planet, especially poor people, and invest in smallholder agriculture and diversified local production. Investing in food systems transformation will end the world’s hunger and nutrition crisis.’ Climate change, conflict and global inflation are creating a food crisis of epic proportions, as progress in achieving Zero Hunger moves backwards. Over one in ten people are hungry, and over 3 billion cannot afford a healthy diet.

The UN secretary-general has warned that war in Ukraine, climate change, the pandemic and inequality have produced an ‘unprecedented global hunger crisis’ already affecting hundreds of millions of people. UK’s April inflation was the highest in forty years, food costs increased by nearly 9% and the number of foodbank users has doubled in the last year, but tonnes of produce have been ploughed back due to labour shortages. Jesus told us to pray collectively and daily for the Father to provide ‘our daily bread’ (Matthew 6:11). Pray for leaders working to combat the global food crisis, for all who are suffering drought and hunger, and for ourselves to be generous and give (Psalm 37:21). The Bible emphasises our dependence on, and gratitude to, God for our daily bread, stewardship of the earth, and respect for one another. But our priorities easily become skewed in favour of selfish gain.

This issue departs from core concerns to pray for Ukraine. Agriculture is the largest sector of Ukraine's economy (10% of GDP and 41% of total exports in 2021). Ukraine supplies 10% of the world’s wheat; Russia a further 18% . The war and sanctions will severely disrupt Ukrainian and Russian agricultural production and trade, with profound effects on national and global food supplies, especially hitting lower-income countries reliant on imports from these countries. It will also impact farming and food in the UK. Pray for Ukrainian and Russian farmers, and for all whose livelihoods rely on farming and food production in every country affected. The bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (USA) have issued this prayer: ‘We beseech Your lovingkindness and abundant blessings upon the nation - the people - of Ukraine during these days of great danger to their safety and wellbeing’.

Farmers are no strangers to challenge, but today’s pressures are many and varied. Added to concerns over Brexit are increased rural crime (animals worth over £2.5 million were stolen last year), prospects of drought, and questions about the food we eat and how it is produced - all against a backdrop of planned fundamental change in government support to the agricultural industry. Pray for farmers as they feel the stress of meeting these pressures day by day, and for those who offer support when a helping hand is needed. Village halls are the heart of many rural communities. They can provide alternative venues for church services and outreach. The Government recently announced a £3 million scheme to regenerate village halls. Give thanks for this and pray that Christian groups and churches will find ways to share in taking up this opportunity to strengthen community life and advance God’s kingdom in rural areas.

37 experts from farming, climate change and nutrition groups across the world came together as part of the EAT-Lancet commission. They took two years to come up with their findings, now published in the Lancet. The world population is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050 and will keep on climbing. Better diet will prevent about 11 million dying from heart attacks, strokes and some cancers. The use of land for farming and forestry accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions - substantially more than from all trains, planes and automobiles on the planet. The commission will take its findings to governments around the world and bodies such as the WHO, to see if it can bring changes to what we eat. The recommended ‘planetary health diet’ does not completely banish meat and dairy, but it requires an enormous shift in what we put on our plates. We will have to turn to foods that we now barely eat.