Reading Time: < 1 minute China's agriculture ministry outlined measures on Thursday for provincial governments to boost farmers' income by developing the rural economy, including efforts to spur employment of migrant workers.
China moves to develop rural economy with plan to boost farmers’ income
North Korea’s Kim demands more farmland to boost food production
Reading Time: 2 minutes Seoul | Reuters — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered improvements to infrastructure and expansion of farmland to ramp up food production, state media said on Thursday, amid warnings of an impending food crisis. Kim gave instructions to revamp irrigation systems, build modern farming machines and create more arable land as he wrapped up […] Read more
Development partners commit US$30 billion to food production in Africa
Continent facing record-level hunger
Reading Time: 2 minutes Dakar | Reuters — Development partners have committed US$30 billion to boost food production in Africa over the next five years, the president of the African Development Bank said on Friday at the close of a summit on food security on the continent. The continent is facing its worst food crisis ever, with more than […] Read more
Ontario trims minimum memberships for ag, hort societies
Eligibility thresholds for provincial operating grants lowered
Reading Time: 2 minutes Rules taking effect with the new year are expected to make it easier for Ontario agricultural and horticultural societies to qualify for provincial grants in the face of a membership crunch. The province on Friday confirmed amendments to regulation 16, attached to its Agricultural and Horticultural Organizations Act, kick in effective Sunday (Jan. 1, 2023). […] Read more
CRTC asks big telcos to share network with smaller rural players
Big firms also told to negotiate wholesale access rates
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canada’s top wireless firms will now be required to accept requests for access to their networks from smaller companies, particularly those serving rural areas, and also to negotiate on wholesale prices, the country’s telecom regulator said Wednesday. The ruling comes as the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) looks to lower the cost […] Read more
One-third of China’s land protected under ecological ‘red line’ scheme
Authorities crack down on farm encroachment
Reading Time: 2 minutes Shanghai | Reuters — Nearly a third of China’s land is now off-limits to development under a scheme known as the “ecological protection red line,” a senior official said at a news briefing on Monday, bringing the country in accord with global biodiversity targets. China first proposed its “red line” scheme in 2011 to put […] Read more
EU countries approve deal to overhaul farming subsidies
Subsidies to focus on sustainability, 'eco-schemes'
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — European Union countries on Monday gave the green light to reforms of the bloc’s huge farming subsidy program, after a three-year battle over rules to make it greener and support smaller farms. Negotiators representing the EU’s 27 countries and European Parliament struck the deal on Friday to reform the Common Agricultural […] Read more
Pandemic may strain rural community resources, panel warns
Enthusiasm for telecommuting could later benefit rural areas, if 'digital divide' can be bridged
Reading Time: 3 minutes The COVID-19 pandemic, and Canada’s response to it, have highlighted how rural communities need different strategies than their urban counterparts to provide social services on which the public relies. The Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph hosted a virtual panel in May to discuss COVID-19’s social impacts, in which researchers from a variety […] Read more
Rural development strategy sought in federal shuffle
Reading Time: 2 minutes Rural economic development has been given a promotion at the federal level in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s latest cabinet shuffle. In the shuffle, following the departure of Treasury Board president Scott Brison from cabinet, Trudeau on Monday called up Bernadette Jordan, MP for the southern Nova Scotia riding of South Shore-St.Margaret’s, to head a newly […] Read more
U.S. House clears farm bill, with major food stamps changes
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a massive Republican farm bill with changes to the government food stamps program that make it unlikely to become law in this form. The Senate is considering its own farm bill with no major changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) used […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
