National energy companies in those countries, assisted by ExxonMobil, Total, BP, and Shell, sped the construction of the plants to satisfy the increasing demand for energy around the world.

“We had many years of ever-increasing demand, so the world geared up for that,” said Darcel L. Hulse, President and CEO of Sempra LNG, a division of Sempra Energy that operates an import terminal in Mexico.

“But what the world did not prepare for was an economic recession that is global in scope and impact. That is what has exacerbated the imbalance of supply and demand to such an excess.”

Energy experts believe that much of the surplus from natural gas plants in Qatar, Nigeria, and Algeria will be shipped in supertankers to the United States, the Times reported. That gas would normally be going to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Spain

New Natural Gas Discoveries in the United States

The U.S. energy situation has been bolstered by the discovery of large natural gas resources in northern Louisiana, according to a May 1 report in Daily Markets.

Conservative estimates are that the discovery could yield about 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That’s the equivalent of 33 billion barrels of oil, or 18 years’ worth of current U.S. oil production, according to the report. Some industry experts think the field could hold several times that amount of natural gas.

In addition to the Louisiana discoveries, large new natural gas fields have been found in Texas, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania. One industry-backed study estimates that the U.S. has more than 2 trillion cubic feet of gas waiting to be pumped—enough to satisfy nearly 100 years of current U.S. natural gas demand.

The discoveries have spurred energy officials and policymakers to look more substantially at natural gas in their pursuit of initiatives to ease the impact of spikes in the price of energy, lowering “greenhouse gas” emissions, and speeding the transfer to renewable fuels, according to the report.

New technologies and a drilling boom have helped increase current gas production—up 11% in the past 2 years, according to the report. That has increased supply and has driven prices down—good news for consumers and industries such as fertilizer production.

Put Farming First Initiative to Improve African Agriculture

Several African organizations are working to “Put Farming First”—an initiative to promote development work with small farmers, the Guardian reported on April 27 after the G8 Agricultural Ministers Agricultural Summit in Italy.

Rural development and improvements in agricultural productivity are becoming higher priorities on national governmental agendas, according to the report.

The Guardian reported that the following organizations are encouraging African governments to increase agricultural development investments from the current 5% of national budgets to 10%:

• The Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program (CAADP).
   

• Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
   

• Research into Use (RIU).
   

• Alliance for Commodity Trade in East and Southern Africa (ACTESA).

“It is important for Africa to develop sustainable food policies and partnerships,” said Dr. Lindiwe Maleje Sibanda, CEO of the Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Policy Network.

“Put Farming First calls on world leaders to develop a locally sustainable value chain for global agriculture…It emphasizes the need for knowledge networks and it proposes six initiatives for sustainable agriculture—safeguarding natural resources, sharing knowledge, building local access, protecting harvests, enabling access to markets, and prioritizing research imperatives,” Sibanda said.

“The time is right to bring about much-needed policy reform to address the stubborn problems that have crippled African agriculture and rural economies.”

U.S. Global Food Security Act Introduced in Senate

U.S. Senators Richard Lugar and Robert Casey have introduced the Global Food Security Act of 2009, according to the U.S. Senate Web site on Feb. 2.

The proposed legislation would increase spending levels for agricultural development and nutrition to $750 million/year in 2010, reaching $2.5 billion in 2014.

Focus would be on assistance to populations living in extreme poverty. The bill also calls for increased research on biotechnical advances appropriate to local ecological conditions—including genetically modified technology.

The bill would also create an Emergency Food Assistance Fund to be administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). As much as $500 million would be for emergency responses. The fund could be used for local and regional purchases.         

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