The six challenges are low productivity growth due to scarcity of pure seeds; limited agricultural irrigation techniques and technology; lack of investment in processing which causes high domestic production costs, especially the cost of electricity and logistics as well as the stable supply of raw materials.
Category: Article
Thailand’s festival honoring rivers also pollutes them
Thais flocked to rivers and lakes on Friday evening to release small floats adorned with flowers and candles in an annual festival honoring the goddess of water, with thousands of the tiny boats ending up clogging and polluting the country’s waterways.
The grave human cost of teak wood – and alternatives
John Sifton of the organisation Human Rights Watch explains: “Under civilian government, from 2016-2020, the Myanmar authorities actually made some progress on decreasing unsustainable logging and increasing transparency on revenues. After the coup, however, the situation is going back to how it was, with massive and destructive logging, and all the profits going into the pockets of the military, not the people or the country.”
Rock that could help feed the world at work in Vietnam
Mekong rice uses 2500 litres of water per kilogram; Orlar food uses just 30 litres – and with four times the revenue per kilogram. Also, being vertical farming, with 20 plants grown in each two-metre-high stack or “pod”, it is extremely space-efficient.
Mekong Delta flooded, residents make hay while the sun shines
“The delta has been deprived of its annual blessing by upstream dams and climate change impacts that have altered and weakened the regular regime.
Explain palm oil policy
For over a decade, the government required that palm oil be blended with diesel, and ethanol with benzene. This policy helped boost the price of these energy plants while also lowering imports of fossil fuels and cutting down air pollution.
$180 million ADB loan to improve urban services in Cambodia
The Livable Cities Investment Project will help more than 140,000 residents in Bavet, Kampot, and Poipet access better wastewater and solid waste management services. It will help the cities reduce flooding by upgrading their urban stormwater and drainage systems.
The Greater Mekong region: A hotspot of wildlife and crime
In 2020 alone, the Greater Mekong countries, excluding China, lost 1.1 million hectares (2.7 million acres) of forest. That’s an area about seven times the size of Bangkok, Thailand’s capital city.
Laos, Germany extend cooperation on biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of forests
This joint project will support good forest governance, effective protected area management, environmental education, and curb illegal wildlife trade during the next three years.
Germany provides additional EUR 1.45 million to Mekong River Commission
“This additional funding will help the MRC establish its Core River Monitoring Network in the Mekong Region, an essential step towards getting more timely data and information about impacts of water infrastructure projects not only on the Mekong mainstream but also tributaries. We hope the fund will contribute to informed decisions over the development and responsible management of water resources as well as boosting the MRC’s ability to manage flood and drought risks more effectively.”