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Aquaponics is a new farming method that combines growing vegetables and raising fish. The word aquaponics comes from aquaculture and hydroponics. Aquaculture means fish farming. Hydroponics means growing plants in water without soil. Supporters say this is an efficient way to produce healthy food.

At Cylburn Aquaponics Farm in Baltimore, Maryland, more than two hundred fish swim in a container called a fish tank. The tank water is rich with fish waste. That water flows through a system that filters or cleans it. Then, it flows into nearby tanks where vegetables grow. All of the farm's plants are grown directly in the treated water from the fish tanks.

Farm manager Laura Genello says that the fish provide all the nutrients the vegetables need. The roots of the plants in turn clean the water for the fish. The floating farm produces about five to 10 kilograms of vegetables a week. Ms. Genello expects to raise about 250 kilograms of fish a year. Environmentalists praise aquaponics because fishing threatens many wild species. At least half of the world's food fish are produced on farms. Waste from fish farm causes pollution.

Dave Love is a researcher at Johns Hopkins University. He notes that there are fewer and fewer fish in the ocean. He says fish farming and the waste it produces will continue. Ellen Perlman operates an aquaponics farm also near Baltimore. Her fish tanks need to be heated when the temperature drops. That costs money. It is one reason Ms. Perlman has not yet made a profit. Back at Cylburn, Laura Genello notes that aquaponics is still new and still needs improvement.

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Some food experts estimate that up to 40 percent of all food in most wealthy countries is wasted every year. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization says more than a billion tons of food goes to waste each year. Food waste also takes place in developing countries. Even as so much food is wasted, experts estimate that one billion people are underfed. Hundreds of millions of people go hungry each day.

Danielle Nierenberg is president of an organization called Food Tank. Her group studies food issues. She says much of the food waste in developing countries is blamed on bad roads, which slow the transport of goods to market. Another problem is a lack of food storage centers. She adds that food waste in wealthy countries is more an effect of people who buy more than they can eat.

VOA spoke with Danielle Nierenberg at a meeting of the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition in Milan, Italy. Delegates to the meeting called on international leaders to improve food security. They called for reducing overeating and waste in both rich and poor countries.

Ms. Nierenberg says the amount of food wasted each year shows that there is enough food to feed everyone. In 2012, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon launched a campaign called the Zero Hunger Challenge. He asked farmers, businesses, governments, scientists and others to work together to put an end to hunger. The campaign calls for increased productivity and income on small farms. It seeks support for sustainable food systems -- systems that are able to last for a long time. And it calls for an end to malnutrition in pregnancy and early childhood.

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Americans love Christmas trees. The National Christmas Tree Association says more than 35 million of them were bought in the United States in 2012. In large cities, many people buy trees that have already been cut. But some people drive to a tree farm and cut their own tree.

The National Christmas Tree Association represents growers and sellers of most of the farm-grown Christmas trees in the United States. It estimates that 10.9 million artificial trees were sold in 2012, compared to 24.5 million natural trees. The group says the average cost of a natural tree was $40. The cost of an artificial one was about $70. Most Christmas trees are now grown on farms. The trees take six to 10 years to grow.

To make sure there is always a supply, farmers usually plant one to three seedlings for every tree they cut down. The Christmas tree association says real trees are better for the environment. That is because as Christmas trees grow, they collect carbon dioxide and other gases while providing fresh oxygen. The trees also help to protect water supplies. Christmas trees are grown on soil that does not support other crops. After they are used, they can be cut up and used as fertilizer. Christmas trees helped many East Coast communities after super-storm Sandy hit the area. The trees were placed near large hills of sandy soil to prevent erosion. Artificial trees come mostly from China. They can be used year after year. They are usually made from plastic. Americans use them for an average of six to nine years before throwing them away. But these trees can remain in a landfill for hundreds of years.

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Poinsettias are the best-selling potted flowering plant in the United States and, they are a traditional part of Christmas celebrations, which is why almost all of them are sold in the winter. The Department of Agriculture estimates that Americans bought $250 million worth of poinsettias last year.

The poinsettia is native to Central America and needs warmth to grow. Bright red poinsettias are the best known. But there are about 100 different kinds, in colors including white, pink, yellow and purple. The flowers of the poinsettia are very small. Around the flowers are colorful leaves called bracts. These bracts are what give the plants their beauty. The poinsettia is named for Joel Roberts Poinsett from South Carolina.

In 1825 President John Quincy Adams appointed him as the United States' first minister to Mexico. Mr. Poinsett had an interest in plants. He saw the colorful plants growing in the wild and sent some cuttings back to the United States.

In the 1920s, Albert Ecke and his son Paul became interested in the poinsettia's ability to flower in winter. Paul Ecke thought it would be a good plant to display at Christmastime. They started a farm near Encinitas, California. At first, Paul Ecke and later his son grew large plants in fields. Then they sent them to growers by train. Growers would divide the large plants into cuttings, to raise smaller ones in greenhouses until the holidays. Today Ecke Ranch remains a major supplier to the United States and the world. In 2012, Paul Ecke's grandson announced that the company was joining the Dutch-based Agribio Group.

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The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization expects harvests in the Sahel area of Africa to be smaller in 2013 than they were in 2012. The UN agency says a short rainy season reduced grain and cereal production in several countries in the Sahel.

The agency described the conditions in its Crop Prospects and Food Situations report. The report says Chad could experience the biggest drop in cereal production. It also says refugees entering the country have in creased pressure on the local food supply. Chad is now home to over 300,000 refugees from Sudan and Central African Republic .

Senegal, Niger and Mali were also expected to have poor harvests in 2013. Jean Senahoun is en economist at the UN food agency's Trade and Market Division. He says the Sahel area has experienced a series of food crises since 2005. He says this has weakened the ability of those countries to deal with another crisis. He says the world needs to pay attention to the more than 300,000 people who have been displaced in Mali. They fled their homes during the country's conflict in 2012.

An additional 250,000 Malians are still living as refugees in nearby countries. Jean Sanahoun says experts are not yet predicting a major food crisis in 2014. But he say it is necessary to intervene in each area that was affected the uneven rainfall. Such interventions could include selling cereals at below market prices and food-for-work programs. The economist adds that the news about African agriculture is not all bad. He says harvest along the coast of West Africa are likely to be above average. 

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Farmers in the United States are concerned about a possible decrease in the use of ethanol. Ethanol is a liquid fuel made from plants, such as corn. Last November, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed lowering the required amount of ethanol in the nation's gasoline supply. The requirement began in 2007 as part of a law meant to make the US energy independent.

The law required fuel manufacturers to mix ethanol into their gasoline to reduce the use of non-renewable fuels. The amount of ethanol in the fuel mixture was to increase over time. That was good news for corn growers like Brian Duncan of Polo, Illinois. He thinks the proposed changes in ethanol requirements will hurt corn sales. Farmers enjoyed some of their best corn harvests in 2013. The price of corn fell from a high of more than seven dollars a bushel. Corn prices rose in 2012. That year, a lack of rain reduced the corn crop. Yet the demand for corn in ethanol production continued.

Craig Turner works for a website called GrainAnalyst.com. He says the United States is using about 9% less gasoline than it used in 2008. Mr. Turner says the reduced use of gasoline means the market does not need any more ethanol. He says less ethanol is needed as more energy-saving automobiles are being manufactured and sold. These vehicles, such as hybrid or electric cars, use less fuel. But farmers like Brian Duncan depended on selling their corn to ethanol producers. He says farmers had been planing on the EPA continuing to require an increase in the use of "green" fuels.

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Federal officials in the US are asking drup companies to discontinue the use of some antibiotics meant for farm animals. Antibiotics are medicines used to fight infections caused by bacteria. Farmers around the world often use the drugs to make healthy animals grow faster and eat less feed.

Farmers put antibiotics in the food and water they give cows, pigs and birds such as chickens. Critics say feeding antibiotics to farm animals lets bacteria develop resistance to such drugs. They say this makes the drugs less effective when they are used to fight diseases in humans.

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration asked the drug companies to voluntarily change the directions for antibiotics sold for use in farm animals. Farmers will be required to stop using the drugs to make animals bigger.

The FDA also wants to require medical supervision when antibiotics are used in farm animals for health needs. Some activists dispute the agency's decision to request, rather than order, the manufacturers to cooperate. Some large drug companies have already agreed to make the changes.

Dimitri Drekonja is a doctor with the Infectious Diseases Society of America. He supports the FDA's decision to ask for voluntary changes, but he is not sure that all drug companies will cooperate. The National Pork Producers Council says hog farmers plan to change their use of antibiotics. The group says its members will limit the use of antibiotics to when they are medically necessary. But it says the changes mean farmers will have more sick animals.

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Some weeds are strong enough to resist weed-killing products called herbicides. But researchers are finding natural ways to deal with unwanted plants. Steven Mirsky is a scientist with the US Department of Agriculture. In January, he went looking for weeds at the USDA's research stations, just north of Washington, DC. He found evidence of pigweed in a field of dry corn. One pigweed plant was more than two meters tall. The scientist says pigweed takes water nutrients and light from nearby crops. The weeds can quickly get out of control. Each plant can produce up to 500 thousand seeds.

Many farmers control pigweed and other problem plants by growing genetically modified crops. Such crops are not harmed by the weed-killing product called Roundup. Steven Mirsky, however, notes that some crops may be resisting the treatment. He says the repeated use of herbicide has caused weeds to grow resistant to it. He and others are studying another possibility, controlling weeds with other plants instead of chemical products.

In the fall, they cover the ground with a "cover crop", like rye. When it reaches a height of nearly two meters, they roll it falt. The rye crop keeps the ground cool and builds up the soil. The cover crop stops some weeds from reproducing. Later, a machine cuts through the protective mat to plat the crop which grows through the summer. Steven Mirsky says this could greatly increase production of organic crops without using herbicides. He says the method will not work everywhere. But where it succeeds, it offers farmers a new tool.

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The western United States is not getting enough rain orsnowfall. The dry area includes the state of California. Many of the fruits and vegetables eaten in the US are grown there. Andy Domenigoni is a farmer in the California community of Riverside. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather all farmed in the same area. 

Andy Domenigoni says farmers have good and bad years, and this is one of the bad years. He recently took a VOA reporter to a field where seeds were planted a month earlier. There were no sign of plants growing. Riverside is not the only area waiting for rain. Bill Patzert is a climatologist at NASA, the US space agency. He says drought conditions in western and southwestern states have been getting worse for the past 10 years. He says many farmers are selling their cattle and other animals because of the lack of water. He adds that Southern California is dealing with the worst drought since officials began keeping records more than 130 years ago. 

Milt McGiffen is a field crop expert at the University of California. He says the drought in California will affect many people for years to come. He says food prices will be higher and less food will be produced. He says that as the population increases, the amount of water for each person is decreasing. Mr. McGiffen says that cannot continue. And he says a technology solution is urgently needed. A United Nations report says world food prices in 2013 were among the highest ever. Experts agree that there is no easy answer to the problem of making sure farmers have enough water to grow their crops

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President Barack Obama signed a new Farm Bill into law on February 7th. The law ends guaranteed government payments to farmers. Critics say the legislation replaces the old system with farm aid that may violate international trade rules. The law also changes how the United States provides food aid around the world. 

The new Farm Bill ended $5 billion a year in automatic payments to farmers. It also expands programs that protect farmers from bad weather or low crop prices. And it offers an insurance program to protect farmers. The program guarantees that their earnings do not drop much from year to year. 

Dan Sumner is an economist with the University of California, Davis. He told VOA that the Farm Bill could cause problems. He says farmers in other parts of the world do not get the same guarantees from their governments. US government payments to farmers pushed down cotton prices in the early 2000s. The United States lost an international trade dispute over those payments. Dan Sumner says the new law could re-open that dispute. 

Dale Moore is the chief of policy at the American Farm Bureau Federation. His group represents growers. He does not believe the law will violate the international limits on farm aid. The legislation should help food aid reach more people around the world. Earlier rules forced aid groups to buy food from American farmers. Aid workers say buying food locally is much quicker than buying food from the United States and shipping it to those who need it. Aid workers say with the same amount of money, help can now reach more hungry people.

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Things may be changing soon for some crops in Africa. A group called the African Orphan Crops Consortium says these plants are not getting enough attention. And it thinks they could help ease hunger and improve diet on the continent.

The group opened the African Plant Breeding Academy last year in Nairobi, Kenya. The academy is the product of cooperation among international organizations. They are hoping to use genetic information from 100 African plants and trees that researchers say have been ignored. But food scientists say these crops have many possibilities.

Howard Yana-Shapiro is a Senior Fellow at the University of California, Davis. He is also the Chief Agricultural Officer and Global Director of Plant Science and ExternalResearch for Mars candy company. Mr Shapiro says he began thinking about ways to improve diet at the local level after seeing how poor nutrition affects children in Africa and India. He says the health of babies is affectied when women have a poor dietduring pregnancy. These problems, he says, can not be corrected.

Mr. Shapiro says hundreds of African plants have been ignored because they are not economically important in international trade. But food scientists say the plants still have value to people living in Africa. The African Orphan Crops Consortium plans to train plant researchers about the genetics of these crops. The group hopes that farmers will use this information to produce more food with higher nutrition levels. Mr Shapiro says anything researchers learn will be shared with the world, without cost.

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The United Nations has declared 2014 the International Year of Family Farming. The UN says farm families are important producers of food for growing populations. But many family farms cannot provide retirement plans, health care or child care.

So the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has been working to get familyfarming included in national farm policies. The FAO wants policies that help both family farmers and large agricultural businesses. Weather problems, price drops and weak economies can hurt family farmers. For many, just one poor crop can mean failure. Family farms operate in different ways around the world. Generally, men own or pay to use the land. They also decide which crops to grow and supervise crop sales. Women are likely to work in the fields, planting and harvesting. It is difficult for family farmers to get enough of the land, water and other resources they need to succeed.

The UN has set up more than fifty national committees to deal with these issues. The committees are made up of representatives of family farm communities. Together, they decided on 5 goals to reach by 2014. One goal is to establish policies to create equal rights of men and women farmers. Another is to guarantee that nations have the right to develop their own food industry. The committees want governments to follow safety rules and provide financial aid to farmers. The committees also agreed to support young people in farming. Experts say family farms need support to compete in a time of new technology and increased international trade.

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Some farmers in the central Philippines are preparing for their first rice harvest since a powerful typhoon hit the country. Typhoon Haiyan caused major damage over a wide area killing more than 6,000 people. Florencio de la Cruz remembers Typhoon Haiyan. He says he harvested six tons of rice less than two weeks before the storm hit. Strong winds blew off the top of the storehouse where he kept his rice. Heavy rain nearly destroyed his harvest. However, the sun helped dry some of the crop and he was able to recover a little. 

Late last year, Florencio de la Cruz received rice seeds from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. The FAO helped start the planting season in the central Philippines. More than two thirds of the local population lives in poverty. Mr. de la Cruz says nothing would have happened without the seed program. He has been farming rice on a one-hectare piece of land for more than 50 years. His family is one of 44,000 families that the Food and Agriculture Organization says has been helped by its seed program. Last year, officials said 63,000 hectares of rice had to be replanted after Typhoon Haiyan struck. 

In 2012, another storm reduced the government's supply of seed. Philippine officials say the FAO donated 52 percent of the required seeds. The international community donated another 28 percent. The rest came from the Philippine government. Jose Graziano da Silva is the director of the FAO. He says the reaction of the international community and agencies in the Philippines was one of the fastest he has seen.

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A period of severe dry weather -- called a drought -- is damaging crops in the American state of California. This could cause a rise in food prices for Americans and peoplearound the world. In the Central Valley of California, farmers are reducing crop size because they do not have enough water. 

Last year, California had the least amount of rain since officials began keeping records. And it may be just as bad this year. Water is collected and stored in reservoirs for later use. In California, some reservoirs are empty. The amount of snow in the Sierra Mountains is 75 percent below normal. This snow melts in the spring and fills rivers. The water is used for crops. But now farmers are warning of the possibility of another "Dust Bowl," like the one of the 1930s. That was when severe droughts and dust storms covered farmlands and few crops grew. 

Today California farmers produce almost half of all fruits and vegetables in the United States. Much of it comes from the Central Valley. Dan Errotabere is a third generation California farmer. He grows tomatoes, walnuts and other crops in Fresno County. He says the federal agency that controls the water released from dams and rivers has stopped giving him water. He and other farmers say officials are not correctly overseeing the water system. Farmers may not be able to plant crops on more than 200,000 hectares of farmland in the Central Valley this spring. Dan Errotabere will plant crops on just 80 percent of his farmland. He has enough work for only 15 of his 25 workers. Long-term solutions include conservation, recycling wastewater and use of "desalinization centers" that remove salt from seawater.

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China has rejected more than one million metric tons of United States corn since last November. The Chinese government says it is not accepting shipments that include Agrisure Viptera, made by the seed company Syngenta. China says it has not approved importing this genetically modified, or GMO, kind of corn seed. 

A GMO food has had genes from other plants or animals added to its natural genetic content. America's National Grain and Feed Association says the Chinese decision is responsible for almost three billion dollars in losses to the U.S. agriculture industry. Wendell Shauman is a farmer in the central state of Illinois. He also is a past leader of the U.S. Grains Council. He has traveled to China to represent American farmers. 

Mr. Shauman says demand for American corn used to feed animals is up throughout the world -- except in China. He says that country has a very large market for it. But, American sales there have dropped to almost nothing. He says GMOs increase the size and quality of harvests at lower cost to farmers. And he says some help the environment because they limit the kinds of pest control needed. 
Craig Turner is a contributing editor for the online publication Grainanalyst.com. He says corn prices dropped when news first spread of the Chinese rejection. He says corn was trading at about four dollars 20 cents a bushel at that time. Chinese restrictions have continued. But corn prices have since gone up again. Still, Wendell Shauman says the situation caused mistrust of GMO farmers and grain companies that accept GMO crops.

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The town of Bouar is about 450 kilometers west of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. Thousands of people displaced by the violence in the country have come to the town, seeking safety. 

VOA reporter Bagassi Koura recently spent two weeks in the Central African Republic. She reports that Christians displaced by the fighting are struggling to get enough to eat. But, the country's food crisis affects more than just the people who have fled the violence. Many other people in Bouar are hungry too, and need food aid. 
Once a month, the United Nations World Food Program gives food to people in Bouar. People line up to wait for the food. Tensions grow as the hours pass. African Union soldiers are on guard near the line.

Madeleine Kim-Mboussa was recently among those waiting for food. She and her six children fled their village a few weeks ago after Seleka rebels attacked. She said the Seleka killed all the rest of her family. She said that is why she came to Bouar. 

A man in the line, Michel Sourou Baye, has eight children. He has no money, no job and no way to feed his family. After some time, Madeleine Kim-Mboussa's wait has ended. A worker calls her name, and she gets her food. She is given 50 kilograms of rice, 10 kilograms of beans and two liters of cooking oil. 

However, before she leaves people steal some of her aid. With the help of other women, Ms. Kim-Mboussa finds the thieves and gets back her food. She returned home with all the aid she was given. And she said she hopes she would be able to feed her family for another month.

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Most kinds of rose plants come from Asia. But roses are also native to other areas, including northwest Africa, Europe and the United States. In 1986, the U.S. Congress chose the rose as America's national flower. Technically, Congress and President Ronald Reagan declared it the "national floral emblem."

Whatever the name, the decision did not smell sweet to lovers of other flowers. Some people say roses are difficult to grow. But you have a good chance of success if you start with a few suggestions from experts. You should plant your roses where they can get sunshine for about six hours on bright days. You can buy roses from a garden center or by mail order. You can buy potted roses, also known as container roses, or bare-root plants. Each kind has its fans. Some gardeners say potted roses are easier to plant. They say the roots develop better. 

The University of Illinois Extension advises getting bare-root roses as close to planting time as you can. If they arrive before you are ready to plant them, make sure the packing material is moist. Keep the plants in a cool, dark place. You plant the roses while they are dormant. The resting plants have no leaves but still need water. When growing roses, the soil should feel moist deep down. Watering should be done in the morning. That can prevent problems called black spot and mildew. But do not water too much. In normal conditions, placing mulch around rose plants is a good idea. Mulch suppresses weeds and holds moisture in the soil. You can use mulch made from bark, pine needles, cottonseed or oak leaves.

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The United Nations says the world's population will increase by 34 percent by the year 2050. Scientists and others know it will be difficult to meet the food needs of so many people. A recent study shows that soybean crops and computers may help deal with the problem. The UN predicts food production must increase by 70 percent to meet the needs of a richer population. The UN expects more people will live in cities than in rural areas. But today, there is little to no increase in the productivity of major crops. 

Kenneth Quinn is the president of The World Food Prize Foundation. He says the need to increase food production is the greatest difficulty humanity has ever faced. Darren Drewry is a scientist at the American space agency NASA. He led a study of soybeans, which NASA calls "the world's most important protein crop." Researchers used a computer to help create a more productive soybean plant that uses less water. The scientists recorded a seven percent increase in soybean productivity. The computer helped researchers do work that would have taken many years in the field. The next step is to test the computer's design. 

Steven Long is a professor at the University of Illinois and one of the writers of the report on the soybean study. He told us that researchers used a computer program to study what would happen if they changed the way the plant grows. Professor Long says it is important to find solutions to the predicted global food shortage before it happens. He says it will be 20 years before farmers can begin growing a more-productive soybean once it has been developed.

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Alpacas are large animals with long, thick hair. They are related to camels and lamas. Most of them live in the Andean mountains of South America. But a growing number of them are being raised in the US. VOA recently visited an alpaca farm near Washington to find out why. Workers shear the alpacas on Sugarloaf Farm to keep the animal cool during the summer. 

Shearing is the process of removing the animal's thick hairy covering, or fleece. Some alpacas quietly accept the shearing but others protest loudly. The shearing is also profitable for farm owner Kevin Brandt. He says demand is growing for alpaca wool. Mr. Brandt and his workers use equipment at the farm to change the fleece into yarn. 

Mr. Brandt sells natural and colored yarn and other alpaca products in his store at the farm. He says more people are interested in alpaca yarn because it is considered hypoallergenic and is very soft. But that is not the only way he makes money from his animals. He also sells some as pets and offers a breeding service. Mr. Brandt says he entered the alpaca farming business because he and his family love the animals. 
Experts estimate there are about 300,000 alpacas in the United States. Mr. Brandt says few alpacas live in places other than South America. The farm's website says 99 percent of the 3 million alpacas in the world live in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. Kevin Brandt believes, as more people learn about the enjoyment and money alpacas can bring, there will be more farms like this.

For VOA Learning English, I'm Carolyn Presutti.

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