$14m grant to adapt West African rice production to climate
The Climate Resilient Farming Systems program at Cornell is playing a key role in an initiative to make rice more resilient to climate change and increase production of the staple crop for smallholder rice farmers across 13 West African countries, thanks to a four-year, $14 million grant from the Adaptation Fund.
The Scaling up Climate Resilient Rice Production in West Africa (RICOWAS) project’s goal is to apply principles of the novel Climate-Resilient Rice Production (CRRP) approach, in order to increase rice productivity, create rice self-sufficiency, and adapt to climate change in West Africa.
The Sahara and Sahel Observatory will oversee the overall project, while the Rice Regional Center of Specialization, hosted by the Institute of Rural Economy in Mali, will manage it on a regional level. Working in partnership with the rice center, the Cornell program will provide technical assistance, scientific insights and support.
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Higher milk production, lower carbon footprint
The subject of methane emissions from dairy cattle has received increasing attention from environmental activists concerned about climate change.
This has spilled over to consumers, many of whom are seeking milk alternatives to reduce their carbon footprints.
To maintain market share and increase their sustainability, farmers will thus have to focus on reducing methane emissions to reduce their carbon footprints.
Dr Saheed Salami, research fellow in the solutions deployment team at animal feed and nutrition manufacturer Alltech, notes that the dairy industry is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the livestock chain.
“It’s very clear that going forward it won’t be business as usual, and stricter environmental regulations will come from governments to reduce emissions. The dairy industry will have to adapt to these changes, while also battling limited resources in terms of land and inputs that we use in milk production.”
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Domestic oil production hits 2021 high for second straight week
U.S. oil output climbed to a new 2021 peak for a second consecutive week as Lower 48 producers continued to gradually ramp up to meet increased demand, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday.
Production for the week ended Dec. 3 rose to 11.7 million b/d, up 100,000 b/d week/week, EIA said in its latest Weekly Petroleum Status Report. Output climbed by the same amount a week earlier.
Production was 600,000 b/d ahead of where it was during the first week of December last year, when the industry was in early recovery mode from pandemic-imposed disruption.
Rystad Energy analyst Louise Dickson said producers are responding at a measured pace to higher crude prices and increasing demand as more people are inoculated against the coronavirus.
“Overall, oil products demand sentiment in the U.S. is positive as vaccinations allow the economy to remain open and transport is returning closer to pre-pandemic norms, which has helped refineries increase runs and utilization,” Dickson said.
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North Dakota’s natural gas producers meet the state’s natural gas capture target
n North Dakota, the rate of natural gas flaring (which is natural gas burned at the wellhead of the production site rather than being captured) declined to an average of 7.5 percent this year through September. This decline in natural gas flaring resulted in producers capturing 92.5 percent of produced natural gas, which meets the state’s goal to capture 91 percent of the natural gas produced in the state. In early 2020, natural gas production fell rapidly as a result of COVID-19-related impacts, from 3.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in March to 1.9 Bcf/d in May, but returned to pre-pandemic levels almost as rapidly, reaching 2.9 Bcf/d by October of the same year. From April 2020 to September 2021, producers met the state capture target for every month except July 2021. In July 2014, the North Dakota Industrial Commission adopted natural gas capture targets in response to increased natural gas flaring in the state’s Bakken and Three Forks formations.
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State coal production improving after dismal 2020
After a big dip in 2020, Colorado coal production volumes are improving somewhat this year, boosted by higher demand for thermal coal used in power production as the United States and world recover economically from the worst impacts of the pandemic.
Arch Resources’ West Elk Mine is leading mines statewide in production, at about 2.12 million tons through the first nine months of the year, according to Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety data. That puts it on a pace to exceed this year the 2.4 million tons it mined in all of 2020.
Combined, seven mines in the state produced 8.68 million tons for the first three-quarters of the year. Statewide production for the year as a whole looks like it will easily eclipse the 10.3 million tons mined in 2020, which was down from more than 13.6 million tons in 2019 and was the lowest amount of production in the state since at least the late 1970s.
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Industries, production ministry told to control edible oil price hike
The National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) on Wednesday asked the Ministry of Industries & Production (MoIP) to take measures to control prices of edible oil in local market by exploring alternative options for import of palm and soya bean oil at lower rates.
The NPMC meeting chaired by Adviser on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin observed that the increase in prices of edible oil in the global market — especially imports from Malaysia and Indonesia — had affected local prices.
Mr Tarin asked MoIP to explore alternative options for the import of palm and soya bean oil at lower prices in the international markets to reduce the pressure on prices in domestic market.
On the consistently high price of wheat flour in Sindh, the finance adviser suggested for the formation of an effective mechanism to check the prices of wheat and ensure availability at government rate.