World in brief

JAPAN

Japan’s farms have turned to foreign workers to mitigate a labour shortage stemming from the country’s ageing rural population. News agency Nikkei reported that PERSOL Global Workforce, one of Japan’s largest temporary staffing firms, launched a service in March to send foreign workers from Indonesia and other Southeast Asian nations to farms for seasonal jobs such as harvesting.

Workers entered Japan on “specified skilled worker” visas, with PERSOL offering them the chance to “refine their skills” on a variety of farms around Japan.

UK

New data suggests that Northern Ireland’s farming sector is emerging from the worst of the cost-of-living crisis as farmers look for ways to mitigate the impact of soaring production costs, according to the BBC.

The BBC said that farm incomes rose by 11,3% in 2022, citing data from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). To offset the effects of soaring input costs, farmers reduced their spending on fertiliser and feed in 2022, and farm profits were expected to rise by 10% in 2022/23.

DAERA stated that the increase was particularly marked for dairy farms due to the higher raw milk price offsetting increased input costs.

PANAMA

Drought has lowered the level of an artificial lake supplying the Panama Canal, forcing the canal authority to limit the size of the ships passing through. This is the fifth time a limit has been applied this drought season, according to AFP.

A total of 200 million litres of water must flow down tiered locks into the sea to enable each ship to pass through.