Angola: Over One Million Angolans Affected By Drought

Lubango — Studies of the food Resilience and Nutrition Security Programme in Angola (FRESAN) conducted in 2018 indicate that over 1.1 million Angolans living in the southern provinces of Huíla, Namibe and Cunene are affected by drought as a result of the climate change phenomenon.
Such number represents 12 percent of the rural population of Huíla, 99 percent of Namibe and 97 percent of the inhabitants in the rural areas of Cunene.
Data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) indicate that the province of Huíla is inhabited by just over 2.7 million people, while Namibe has 471,613 inhabitants and Cunene about 1.023 million.
According to the coordinator of FRESAN, Matteo Tonini, who spoke during a meeting with civil society organizations, climate change has negatively affected the livelihoods of the rural population in the country, significantly increasing vulnerability levels.
Matteo Tonini said that the drought has contributed to the reduction of food production and income of affected families and have made access to food difficult and, therefore, aggravating the nutritional status and prevalence of chronic malnutrition in children under five years of age.
"The situation is particularly worrying if we take into account climate models for the coming years, which provide for seasonal changes in the precipitation regime, increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, expansion of arid and semi-arid regions and an increase in air temperature and of the sea, "he said.
In 2018, FRESAN signed a financing agreement with the European Commission, through the Camões Institute, to mitigate the drought among the populations affected by the food crisis, with a value of 65 million euros.
The funding will help to define the strategy for subvention by gathering information and opinions on the best models to be developed.
Meanwhile, the director of the provincial department of agriculture, fisheries and forest development, Mariana Soma, considered that the project in question is on the right track to address the difficulties that are visible in agro-pastoral communities, mainly due to climate changes.
She noted that the subsidies and support of the FRESAN project will be monitored by civil society organizations and includes the ways in which funding will take place, in order to implement the project in the context of resilience in the various municipalities.

Drought and crime destroying food security – Roy Jankielsohn

Drought and crime destroying food security – DA requests FS government intervention to declare disaster areas Today I wrote to FS Premier Ms Sisi Ntombela (see letter here) and MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Free State, Dr Benny Malakoane (see letter here), requesting them to declare disaster areas in the province.
All our farmers, whether subsistence, emerging or commercial, are affected by the drought and crime.
The drought has had a devastating impact on both stock and grain farmers with the following implications: – Farmers have depleted financial reserves and no longer have the ability to obtain credit required to continue farming operations (buying of feed, seed, fertilizer, fuel, etc.).
While livestock farmers are able to sell stock and often receive donations of feed, grain farmers experience huge expenses and have to service loan and bond repayments regardless of whether they can plant and harvest crops.
– Farmers are struggling, and in some unable to continue to pay salaries of employees due to the lack of income.
– Farmers are unable to sell or bond property to obtain additional income due to the fall of prices of agricultural land as a result of uncertainty over expropriation without compensation and the drought.
– Due to the drought and financial crisis affecting this economic sector’s ability to produce agricultural commodities, our province and country could face serious food insecurity Our rural local economies are dependent on the agricultural sector.
Similarly, agri-businesses in rural towns depend on farmers for income.
The DA is therefore requesting the provincial government to declare the Free State or at least parts of the province disaster areas in order to enable the province to access additional resources to assist those in need.
Issued by Roy Jankielsohn,DA Leader of the official opposition in the FS Legislature, 17 January 2019

Pinal County farmers told not to demand more in drought contingency plan

Warren Tenney, executive director of the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association said he believes the plan, delivered to lawmakers this week and awaiting legislative action, has been more than generous to the farmers.
It includes a promise of 105,000 acre feet of Colorado River water for the next three years, 70,000 acre feet of groundwater for four years after that.
The draft legislation also includes $5 million in state cash to drill wells and construct delivery systems for that water.
And they want the state to be the backstop if the federal government does not come through with additional cash for well construction for farmers to be able to get that groundwater, a figure that could approach $50 million.
It also has prepared its own report seeking to debunk — or at least minimize — a report commissioned by Pinal farmers about how not getting the water they need would have a major impact on the economy.
But the organization said this has to be put into perspective, saying that the agriculture and agribusiness in Pinal represented only about two-tenths of a percent of the state’s economy, half as much as does golf.
Dan Thelander said last year he grew 2,200 acres of alfalfa sold a local dairy for milk cows.
That, he said, is why that 105,000 acre feet of water should be guaranteed for at least three years plus the cash to build wells and pipelines for groundwater after that.
Those agreements, Tenney said, would give the farmers only about 70,000 to 80,000 acre feet of water a year,far less than the plan would provide for the next three years.
Orme said what the farmers demanded — that 105,000 acre feet annually of river water followed by 70,000 acre feet from groundwater — is based on what was available, on average, for the prior eight years, before the cities took their full allocation.

Maharashtra to Give Compensation to Drought-hit Farmers from Own Kitty

The state government has asked for a relief package from the central government which is yet to be released.
Hence the BJP government in the state ahead of the general elections has decided to start offering compensation from its own fund to the affected farmers rather than waiting for Centre relief package.
The procedure for the same may take another one month to complete.
The state government on Tuesday had directed all the district collectors to prepare detailed list of affected cultivators within 15 days to start the process.
The decision was taken in the cabinet subcommittee on drought headed by Relief and Rehabilitation Minister, Chandrakant Patil, informed the officials from relief and rehabilitation department.
It has also asked for financial assistance worth Rs.
7962 crore from the Centre, of which, Rs.
7103 crore is for crop damage, Rs.
But following uproar by farmer organisations and opposition parties over leaving out affected villages from the list, Maharashtra decided to include another 318 revenue circles as drought affected.
As per NDRF norms, growers who sow crop on non-irrigated land are entitled to get compensation of Rs.

Rabbi Agrees With Iranian General: Drought in Iran Due to Israel

A tree planted before Tu B’Shevat is considered one year old and a year is added to the tree’s age every year on Tu B’Shevat.
The basis of rain, of course, is spiritual; God’s connection to the world.” Rabbi Schwartz referred to an incident over the summer in which an Iranian general accused Israel of stealing rain clouds.
“Since God gives rain to the world via Israel, anyone who threatens Israel will not be blessed with rain,” Rabbi Schwartz said.
“In this act, Prime Minister Netanyahu was acting on the aspect of Israel being the source of water for the entire world,” Rabbi Schwartz said.
“Tu B’Shevat needs to be a global day for planting trees,” he said.
“In addition, every time a tree is cut down, whether it is a fruit tree or not, it should be replaced and another tree should be planted in its place.” “Just as prayer and repentance on Rosh Hashanah lead to a blessed year, planting a tree on Tu B’Shevat will bring a blessed year and hasten the Messiah,” Rabbi Schwartz said.
As part of the global tree initiative, the Sanhedrin established a blessing that can be said when planting a tree.
May this year be blessed with good and giving rains.
And may it be a year of life and satisfaction and peace.Because you are a good God whose blessings are good and who blesses the years.
Blessed are you, God, who blesses the years.

Arizona House Democrats want drought plan to mandate water conservation

PHOENIX — House Democrats are balking at ratifying a proposed drought contingency plan over what they see as a key missing element.
Minority Leader Charlene Fernandez said Thursday many of her members question why there’s nothing in the proposal to require more water conservation.
Instead, it is more focused on finding ways to move water around, particularly to meet the needs of Pinal County farmers.
“But I do think it’s doable.
Conservation is something that’s important.” She also pointed out that the package lawmakers are being asked to approve involves more than changing state water laws.
There’s also money involved, with the state coming up with cash both to buy water from the Colorado River Indian Tribes as well as to help Pinal County farmers drill new wells to replace some river water they’ll lose.
“If we’re going to put money into this, and we’re talking about millions … and we could be on the hook for more, we need to get exactly what we want,” Fernandez said.
The last time Arizona and other states made projections was in 2007.
Using data for the past 100 years they figured the chance of Lake Mead hitting critical shortage by 2026 was less than 10 percent.
But here’s the thing: Once you look at more recent data only — specifically the last 30 years when the Southwest has been in an historic drought — continuing to withdraw water at this rate increases the chance of the lake falling to critical levels to more than 40 percent.

Brace yourselves: Snow is coming

Fire up your generator or “find a friend who has one” because tomorrow night’s winter wallop could morph into a limb-snapping ice storm that has the potential to cut off power and force Patriots fans to miss Sunday’s AFC Championship tilt on TV, the nation’s top storm chaser warns.
He said there’s going to be “epic skiing up north,” but a lot of ice could coat southern New England.
And that includes Greater Boston where come 6:40 p.m. Sunday all eyes will be on Tom Brady and the Patriots as they take on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs with a Super Bowl bid on the line.
And that could be right in the city.
“This storm will start Saturday night with really intense snowfall for all of this region,” he said.
“But there is potential for power outages if we get freezing rain Sunday rather than sleet.
Cantore said there’s a “fine line” for southern New England to be hit with the worst-case scenario — or have 4 to 8 inches of snow and then some sleet that will stick to the ground but nowhere else.
“People are going to have to prepare,” said Paul Walker, a meteorologist at AccuWeather.
“Gas up the car.” Already, people are rushing to their local hardware stores to grab snow shovels and ice melt.
Merchants have placed special orders to prepare for the winter storm rush.

Rain returns to region, yet Oregon’s drought continues

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 100 percent of the state is in some category of drought.
Copyright 2019 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved.
After a dry span of days over the recent weekend, the northwest has moved back into a stormy pattern.
So far this January, PDX has seen well-below normal totals with a current rain deficit of 1.74 inches this far into the month.
The current status of snow pack is low for the western portion of the Cascade Mountains with snow water equivalent levels at 58 percent of normal.
It’s our frozen reservoir of water that people and wildlife depend on to sustain streams throughout the spring and summer,” said NRCS snow hydrologist Julie Koeberle.
“If it had not been for mid-February return of winter, the state would have been approaching 2015 snow levels.” said Koeberle.
The effects of drought after two years of below normal snowpack and consistent statewide drought could be mean trouble heading into the year.
It’s very likely that the month of January will finish off with above normal highs and below normal rain totals – a grim forecast for the current state of drought in Oregon.
Winter is still in motion with plenty of snow pack producing months ahead.

With 15 Days to Go, Draft Legislation for Arizona Drought Plan Emerges

They addressed nearly all elements on a list of legislation that drought negotiation leaders said early in January would be necessary for Arizona to implement its plan.
That list included limited changes to how water users receive credit for storing water underground.
It also called for funding to build pumps and other infrastructure to draw groundwater in Pinal County.
The package of drafts was sent Wednesday afternoon to members of the steering committee, a group of 40 or so stakeholders who, over many months, bargained and negotiated to develop Arizona’s plan.
Matt Specht, a spokesperson for the House Republican caucus, confirmed Wednesday that House leadership had received copies of the draft package, but he could not say whether all legislators had.
Drought negotiators in Arizona, which holds the lowest-priority rights to this water, fear that federally imposed cuts would be far worse than those spelled out in the Drought Contingency Plan.
Lawmakers must authorize the director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources to sign a multistate plan on behalf of Arizona, and they must also approve of Arizona’s internal plan, which spells out how its own cities, tribes, industries, and farmers will share cuts to their supply of Colorado River water.
Part of the draft package sent out Wednesday appropriated $30 million, which Governor Doug Ducey promised in November, from the state general fund to create a fund for system conservation.
This unusually poetic acronym stands for "Water that cannot reasonably Be Used Directly," and it is a statutory definition that dictates how water users can receive or exchange credits for storing water underground.
Irrigation districts have previously said they would contribute $5 million, as has the Central Arizona Water Conservation District.

GIVIT helping drought affected kids, communities in rural NSW

GIVIT NSW drought manager Scott Barrett said rural people right throughout regional NSW, are tough.
“But they’ve had some pretty crook seasons and as a result people are doing without,” he said.
Mr Barrett said this campaign is about is trying to limit the things kids have to go without when going to school.
“It’s hard enough starting high school or starting a new school as it is without having a pair of shoes with holes in them, or the wrong textbook, or not having a jumper through winter,” he said.
Mr Barrett said the drought is affecting rural communities, not just farmers, and they are all feeling the financial strain.
“The regular sources of charity funding and income has dried up.. where the P&C might have had a barbecue to raise money for kids to get uniforms, well that’s really tough for them to do now,” he said.
Mr Barrett urges those who are thinking of donating to jump online, because through the website GIVIT are able to find out exactly what people need.
He also encouraged local community groups to register and request items.
GIVIT has a commitment to buying locally wherever possible to support local businesses as well as individuals in need and do not means test people.
To find out more information please visit www.givit.org.au