For those who might not know, following a week after the Russia-Ukraine wheat embargo, there are even bigger and ominous signs hinting at global food insecurity and the catastrophic agricultural crises coming our way.
India last week banned export on all non-basmati rice varieties.
I repeat: EXPORT BAN ON ALL non-basmati RICE varieties.
[Aside: export of basmati variety will continue, the demand for which is relatively small in India when compared to the nearly 15 major varieties of rice (it's home to at least a 1000 varieties) consumed by very large populations everyday(these are the ones which are now banned). Basmati is a "festive" and only occasionally consumed variety in India. It is largely exported to the richer nations, many of whom think it is the only variety of rice from India.]
Why is India banning rice now?
Answer: global warming.
What’s happening in India (and South Asia at large) should both terrify you and wake you up
Here’s more (facts? trivia? bothersome news? how the world actually works?).
Activists across #SouthAsia had been loudly warning back-to-back climate disasters can permanently end harvests:
“The agricultural economy in all districts..is now three short crops in succession. Matured rice crops were swept away when the fields flooded in July, but over the next three months (i.e. Jul-Sep), we used to sow and harvest maize. Hopes for both crops are now gone.”
Bangladesh is battling its worst dengue outbreak on record, with more than 600 people killed and 135,000 cases reported since April, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, as one of its experts blamed the climate crisis and El Nino weather pattern for driving the surge....
On #ClimateChange and the #UrbanHeatIsland effect in developing countries blindly following the American style of "development", personal stories from people trying to cope with these both climate and architecturally magnified heatwaves.
Brilliant article on the challenges facing transition to renewables, and why its unlikely
"while the cost of renewable power is now lower than that of fossil fuels, renewables are not a profitable business. The particularities of the .. market structure are the causal factors here... Making sure that capital gets its pound of flesh has crippled the country."
Hello Mastadon, the @mahsa_project finally have an account!
At MAHSA, we are detecting, documenting and monitoring #heritage and #archaeology in the #Indus Basin region. We are using a combination of #historic maps, #satelliteimagery, and past data to locate sites that are under threat but also those that have already been lost.
All of this data will go into free to use, open access and searchable #databases to be used by researchers internationally but especially in #SouthAsia.
" #Pakistan's climate emergency is unfolding like a horror movie where each scene is more frightening than the last. We are constantly lurching from one climate disaster to another, with no time to step back"
The government set a minimum export price (MEP) of $1,200 a tonne on basmati rice shipments in a move aimed at reining in domestic prices ahead of elections in key states. The move came a day after it imposed a 20% duty on non-basmati parboiled rice exports, effective immediately....
We got married in our home town of #Lahore last Sunday & decided to use the opportunity of our friends & family gathered under one smog-filled sky to raise awareness about the #ClimateCrisis & platform local climate activists.
Its going to take time to get our own snaps sorted, but heres a thread of the highlights with links to sites/socials:
We also had a wedding newspaper printed called “The JibRish Tribune”, explaining our motives for the #ClimateWedding, profiles of our celebrity cutouts, and most importantly, sharing the work and contact details for our local climate activists who so graciously agreed to be a part of our wedding.
Guests loved it so much, we have had to order a second print for them to keep!
We invited local #ClimateChange activists, who have worked themselves on projects locally with minimal recognition and support, to our #ClimateWedding. We shared their work in our wedding newspaper, and in an exhibit at the venue. We are immensely thankful to them. Link’s to their social media posts below.
We know this is not a solution anymore but it is still the most basic action most of us can undertake ourselves, so at the wedding, we gifted citrus tree saplings (and rose plants) to our guests to take home and grow. We weren’t sure if any would take up the offer so ordered just enough for each family and…
Somali pirates has released hijacked Bangladeshi cargo vessel MV Abdullah and all 23 crew members after keeping hostage for 32 days, an official of the owner company of this ship said....
The Chinese fishing fleet is responsible for systemic illegal fishing and human rights abuses in countries bordering the Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO), undercutting China’s claims of supporting sustainable development and thriving blue economies in the region, according to a new report published today by the Environmental...
"#Pakistan could face up to 30-35 per cent water shortages during the upcoming kharif cropping season starting April 1. This could negatively affect some of the key cash crops like #cotton and revive inter-provincial controversy over water allocations."
Most of the article deals with water sharing and canal and power generation, but does devote one or two paragraphs to the actual culprit - low precipitation
The Cameroonian Ministry of Commerce announced yesterday a significant reduction in rice prices effective Friday. This price adjustment follows the arrival of a portion of the 190,000 metric tons of rice negotiated with India. The minister, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, detailed that the price for a 50 kg bag of Indian broken...
Hello Southeast Asians and South Asians! I'm forming a collective for millennials and Gen Z who are interested in neuroscience, and information studies. Let's work together and offer opportunities to each other. Let's help each other in the Global South.
"The ‘rooftop #solar conundrum’ is another issue, where increased tariffs have spurred demand for rooftop panels, leading to a decline in demand from the national grid.
...contribute to the ‘capacity payment conundrum’, ..purchasing agreements obligate the gov to make payments even when plants are not generating electricity."
"n K-P, the consequences of #GlobalWarming and #ClimateChange are evident in the changing of the #monsoon season, which now falls at a time when the #strawberry cash crop, a speciality of Charsadda, is to be cultivated."
".. unusual rains .. destroyed approximately 80 per cent of the fruit’s crop, leaving farmers in a deplorable state... "
As Pakistan prepares for the upcoming Eid al Fitr, peaceful dissent can be noticed in Balochistan against the regular occurrences of enforced disappearances and other atrocities inflicted by Pakistan on the Baloch community. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), an organisation involved in Baloch rights advocacy, recently...
Bangladesh's worst ever dengue outbreak a 'canary in the coal mine' for climate crisis, WHO expert warns (edition.cnn.com)
Bangladesh is battling its worst dengue outbreak on record, with more than 600 people killed and 135,000 cases reported since April, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, as one of its experts blamed the climate crisis and El Nino weather pattern for driving the surge....
Kerala headed for a drought-like situation after 4 continuous years of heavy rain, landslides, floods (thesouthfirst.com)
The lack of rain and increasing heat has severely affected power generation and agricultural activities in the state.
Indian Government puts Basmati rice under minimum export price, following curbs to non-Basmati (www.livemint.com)
The government set a minimum export price (MEP) of $1,200 a tonne on basmati rice shipments in a move aimed at reining in domestic prices ahead of elections in key states. The move came a day after it imposed a 20% duty on non-basmati parboiled rice exports, effective immediately....
Somali pirates release hijacked Bangladeshi ship (www.bssnews.net)
Somali pirates has released hijacked Bangladeshi cargo vessel MV Abdullah and all 23 crew members after keeping hostage for 32 days, an official of the owner company of this ship said....
Report: Chinese fishing fleet is responsible for systemic human rights abuses and illegal fishing across the Southwest Indian Ocean. (ejfoundation.org)
The Chinese fishing fleet is responsible for systemic illegal fishing and human rights abuses in countries bordering the Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO), undercutting China’s claims of supporting sustainable development and thriving blue economies in the region, according to a new report published today by the Environmental...
Cameroon cuts rice prices following import deal with India (www.businessincameroon.com)
The Cameroonian Ministry of Commerce announced yesterday a significant reduction in rice prices effective Friday. This price adjustment follows the arrival of a portion of the 190,000 metric tons of rice negotiated with India. The minister, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, detailed that the price for a 50 kg bag of Indian broken...
Baloch Yakjehti Committee to protest against genocide in over 20 cities of Balochistan (www.malaysiasun.com)
As Pakistan prepares for the upcoming Eid al Fitr, peaceful dissent can be noticed in Balochistan against the regular occurrences of enforced disappearances and other atrocities inflicted by Pakistan on the Baloch community. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), an organisation involved in Baloch rights advocacy, recently...