The United States is home to more arable land than any other nation, but insufficient rainfall in recent years means the livelihood of farmers are in danger. Horizons presenter, Adam Shaw, visits Texas, the third largest exporter of farming commodities in the United States, to see how Texans are finding new ways to feed crops to enable the State to increase yields for its population of 24 million.

Adam also visits Bluebonnet farm, which uses a method called hydroponics that consumes a fraction of the water and space that traditional farming methods use. The system grows plants in water using mineral nutrient solutions without soil.

Every year between 20 and 50 thousand square kilometres of arable land is lost in Texas due to soil degradation – a consequence of drought. Flying over Texas, Adam demonstrates how sophisticated new methods of irrigation allow crops to grow in an arid and windy climate. These large scale cotton and wheat farmers are increasing yields with remote control pivot irrigation technology. Some fields are only kept alive through an irrigation system operated by a central pivot that rotates automatically and is controlled by a mobile phone.

This ten-part second series of Horizons travels across the globe to destinations to find out about the business ideas that could shape mankind’s future.

The Horizons series, sponsored by DuPont, airs weekly on Saturdays at 7:30, 9:30 and 23:30, and Sundays at 17:30 (Singapore Time). For programme highlights and an insight into the future of global business visit www.horizonsbusiness.com. For all the latest news, behind-the-scenes pictures/videos and updates from Adam Shaw please follow at facebook.com/horizonsTVseries and/or on twitter at @horizonsbiz.

There are four weeks remaining in which votes can be cast online at www.theworldchallenge.co.uk until voting closes at midnight on 11 November 2011. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in The Netherlands, which will air on BBC World News on 3 December 2011. The winning project will receive a US$20,000 grant from Shell, while two runners up will each receive US$10,000 to help develop their initiatives.

This years 12 finalists are being profiled in six programmes on BBC World News television and a series of six advertorials in Newsweek.

The remaining episodes are:

Programme 3 – Egypt: A New Leaf and Cambodia: In the Bag (TX 22 October)
El Nafeza was established in 2007 to revive traditional papermaking in Egypt – partly as a way of getting rid of agricultural wastes that are typically burned, resulting in choking black clouds. El Nafeza organises workshops in papermaking for disadvantaged young people (80 to 90 percent of its employees are deaf and mute).

The first plastic bag recycling facility in Cambodia, Funky Junk makes fashion accessories and home goods out of woven plastic bags, in the process earning a decent income for poor rural communities.

Programme 4 – Chile: Tech Crunch and Nepal: Herbal Remedy (TX 29 October)
Recycla is the first and only electronic waste recycling social enterprise in Latin America. The company aims to tackle the problem of the eight million mobile phones and one million computers that are discarded in Chile annually. They are dismantled and separated into recyclable materials and toxic waste that can be safely disposed of.

The protected area of Shiva Community Forest is home to endangered species including tigers, Asian elephants and the Indian rhino. Local people have to contend with crop destruction by these wild species. Now, Shiv Forestry has found a non-lethal way to keep rhinos away from farms by planting chamomile and mint. Rhinos hate the smell of these pungent plants, which are also good cash crops for rural communities, especially when marketed by Shiv Forestry as wildlife saving products.

Programme 5 – India: Trash to Gas and Paraguay: Jungle Brew (TX 5 November)
NGO Hand in Hand set up a project with local people to collect food waste from households, hotels and restaurants, which is turned into biogas and used to generate electricity via a 10kW power station. The project now consumes about a ton of food waste every day – waste that would once have found its way into landfill.

Guayaki Yerba Mate is a Fair Trade organic company producing the traditional South American Mate tea drink made from a subspecies of holly plant. Consumed across the continent the plant has a high caffeine content. Using an innovative business model that directly links customers’ purchases to farming communities, Guayaki Yerba Mate believes they have all the ingredients for their own brand of market-driven conservation.

Programme 6 – Japan: Senior Service and Mongolia: Changing Spots (TX 1 November)
Shunran-no-Sato was set up by a group of elderly people to help keep their village alive. The project offers ecotourism with guestrooms in the villagers’ own homes and an opportunity to take part in traditional agricultural activities. It now caters for nearly 5,000 visitors a year as young urbanites come back to the country to rediscover their traditional culture and reconnect with the land outside the megacities.

Mongolia’s Snow Leopard Enterprises is an income-generation project that helps people living in poverty increase their standard of living, and at the same time protect their local ecosystems. They provide women across Central Asia with the training and equipment necessary to produce hand-made felt and other wool products, which are sold internationally through the Snow Leopard Trust and other venues. This provides the herding communities with an alternative income and helps prevent the poaching of endangered snow leopards.

The episodes to have already broadcast are:

Programme 1 – UK: Bangers and Cash and USA: Vertigo Farming (TX 8 October)
Giveacar is a social enterprise that raises money for charity by scrapping or selling unwanted cars. The company picks up the vehicles for free and uses eco-friendly recycling facilities to break them down into raw materials. Cars worth more than their scrap value are sold at auction. The car owner then chooses which charity the money should go to.

Brooklyn Grange Garden is at the forefront of urban agriculture in the United States. Set up by four friends on an half hectare of rooftop in Brooklyn, New York, the garden grows organic produce that is sold to local restaurants and delis foodies across Manhattan.

Programme 2 – Kenya: Cafe Society and Uganda: A Burning Concern (TX 15 October)
Vava Coffee produces coffee in a way that is both ethical and environmentally friendly. The company works with small farmers in Kenya to boost yield and income. It also employs street kids and people suffering from AIDS in the slums of Nairobi to make packaging from recycled waste.

Designed by a Ugandan entrepreneur, UgaStoves have a layer of clay insulation that greatly improves fuel efficiency. By mass-producing the stoves for domestic and commercial use, the company is reducing both deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions, with a claimed annual saving of one ton of carbon emissions for every stove.

Business is growing quickly, with a new space already under construction and a booming demand for rooftop vegetables, honey and eggs.

The programmes broadcast on BBC World News at the following times (Singapore Time):

Saturday: 22 October – 5 November at 0930hrs and 1630hrs

Sunday: 23 October – 6 November at 2230hrs

Fans can comment and find exclusive content on the Facebook page via http://www.facebook.com/bbcworldchallenge and the You Tube channel www.youtube.com/bbcworldchallenge and/or follow the latest competition news on Twitter via @WorldChallenge.

Crafts Bazaar 2011 organized by Kala Tarang, is an exhibition and sale of handicrafts made by rural and tribal communities from various parts of India. Items ranging from pottery, figurines, wall hangings and rugs to shawls, stoles and folk paintings will be handmade in one or more of these crafts. The products are made with natural raw materials extracted using sustainable processes, with a range of colours created with simple things like leaves, bark, fruits and mud will boggle your mind.

So Go Green without going drab!! See Kala Tarang Facebook page for more details.

Details are as below:

PR Contact:

Hong Yuelin, Kim

Watermelon PR
Singapore
Phone: + 65- 622 62754

Email: kim@watermelonme.sg

When: March 27, Sunday

Time: 7pm-11pm

Where: Xtreme Skate Park, East Coast Parkway

This Sunday, “Singapore’s most famous magician” (The Straits Times), J C Sum, will be attempting a mega escape as part of the 3D TV Special commissioned by the Media Development Authority,

Reminiscent of ‘Magic Babe’ Ning’s “Inversion” stunt from 2009, J C will attempt an upside down straight jacket escape with suspended line on fire and with NO safety lines. Simultaneously, skateboarders and inline skaters will be moving at fast…… speeds under and around him as he attempts the dangerous escape.

J C has never ever attempted this escape stunt before.

The mega escape will be attempted live with a live audience and will be filmed for the 3D TV Special.

Everyone is invited down to be part of history!

More details on this event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=197404220282718#!/event.php?eid=197404220282718

See the following link for a map and directions to the skate park. http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/index.php?option=com_visitorsguide&task=attractions&id=83&Itemid=73

Show your groovy moves at the Dance Fiesta 2011!

Co-organised by SAFRA and presented by Youth Network, this event will bring together passionate dancers of all genres to battle it out for the coveted $10,000 worth of cash and attractive prizes.

With the support of Singapore’s largest dance schools such as Danz People, jitterbugs Singapore, O School and Studio Wu, you can expect tough competitors at this event. Dance categories include Celebrity Dance Impersonation (Solo/Team) and Street/Open category (Solo/Team). Teams are to gather a maximum of 8 members.

Registration opens on 8 Jan 2011. Sign up by 21 Jan to enjoy 25% off! Log on to www.in2it.sg/dancefiesta or come on down to our Dance Fiesta 2011 launch happening at Orchard Cineleisure on 8 Jan 2011 to sign up.

You can expect a host of hip dance performances and join in the Burlesque Lip Synch Video Competition at the launch too!

Competition Details
Venue: Marina Square, Central Atrium (Preliminaries) & St James Power Station, Powerhouse (Semis and Finals)
Date: 19 & 20 Feb (Preliminaries), 5 Mar (Semi-Finals) & 19 Mar (Grand Finals)
Registration Fees: $60 (Team), $20 (Individual)

Log on to www.in2it.sg/dancefiesta for details!