tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73008009701706054012012-02-25T16:25:36.361ZAfrican Agriculturenews * views * opinion * analysis * tradeSite Managernoreply@blogger.comBlogger4241125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-36127113217857698702012-02-23T21:28:00.001Z2012-02-23T21:28:26.842Z2012-02-23T21:28:26.842Z
1. The potential of neglected ancient African rice varieties
2. Land reform clash between South African president, minister mirrors stark racial differences on the issue
3. Burundi coffee revenues up 9 percent in January 2012
4. Beer brewer provides bigger market for Uganda’s sorghum, barley farmers
5. West African cotton production up
6. Cocoa crop pesticide runs out in NigeriaSite Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/1.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-12521690550627401992012-02-23T21:13:00.002Z2012-02-23T21:13:18.482Z2012-02-23T21:13:18.482ZThe potential of neglected ancient African rice varieties
In Africa the rice cultivars used in the experimental and smallholder farming initiatives are imported, commercial and, in some cases, specially adapted commercial cultivars.
This is obviously to the advantage of the providers of the
seeds and makes farmers ever dependent on their supplies and their prices. It leaves
both the smallholder farmers and the rural commercial farmers with little
Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/potential-of-neglected-ancient-african.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-35891060729135011232012-02-23T21:13:00.001Z2012-02-23T21:13:08.739Z2012-02-23T21:13:08.739ZLand reform clash between South African president, minister mirrors stark racial differences on the issueSouth Africa’s long-festering land reform issue received a jolt when the president and one of his deputy ministers publicly expressed their very different perspectives on the origins of the land imbalance and the way to resolve it.
The commonly stated figures are that black South Africans who constitute 87% of the population hold 13% of the land, while whites who are less than 10% hold 87%. Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/land-reform-clash-between-south-african.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-65898602427058100162012-02-23T21:11:00.000Z2012-02-23T21:11:18.524Z2012-02-23T21:11:18.524ZBurundi coffee revenues up 9 percent in January 2012
Burundi's coffee earnings rose 9 percent in January 2012 from the previous month, helped by high volumes of sales, the industry regulator said on February 21.
The coffee producer nation earned $2.4 million after selling 663,000 kg, up from $2.2 million earned in December from the sale of 546,161 kg, said regulator ARFIC.
The average price per kg fell to $3.6 in January, from $4.09 in Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/burundi-coffee-revenues-up-9-percent-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-19888573767899840352012-02-23T21:10:00.002Z2012-02-23T21:10:22.621Z2012-02-23T21:10:22.621ZBeer brewer provides bigger market for Uganda’s sorghum, barley farmersUganda Breweries Limited (UBL) has launched a recruitment programme for large scale sorghum farmers in Kapchorwa. This follows successful large scale sorghum growing trials carried out in Uganda’s Sebei region in 2011 as part of UBL's local raw material sourcing programme.
The recruitment drive coincided with the commissioning of the Kapchorwa Commercial Farmers (KACOFA), storage and processingSite Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/beer-brewer-provides-bigger-market-for.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-1329507617476562772012-02-23T21:10:00.001Z2012-02-23T21:10:15.455Z2012-02-23T21:10:15.455ZWest African cotton production up, despite varying national trendsUSDA analysis of the West African cotton sector suggests that while weather events have affected the area planted and cotton yields, this season’s cotton production ‘could be as much as a third greater than last year’s production level.’
There is a new (2011/20) region-level cotton strategy to improve the competitiveness of the cotton/textile sector.
The cotton companies raised the prices Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/west-african-cotton-production-up.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-38700656514468001702012-02-23T21:10:00.000Z2012-02-23T21:10:08.012Z2012-02-23T21:10:08.012ZCocoa crop pesticide runs out in Nigeria, threatening harvestby Vincent Nwanma
Cocoa output from Nigeria, the fourth-biggest producer, is threatened by the shortage of an insecticide to fight mirids, the country’s cocoa association said.
Wet weather has brought on an onslaught of mirids, insects that attack cocoa leaves, Robo Adhuze, spokesman for the association, said on February 16. They could damage up to 40 percent of the crop, “if not treated Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/cocoa-crop-pesticide-runs-out-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-49024780427680943962012-02-23T21:09:00.005Z2012-02-23T21:09:59.875Z2012-02-23T21:09:59.875ZKenya horticulture exports rise 18% in 2011Kenya's earnings from horticulture exports rose 18% in 2011, despite a marginal dip in volumes, buoyed by a favorable exchange rate and strong prices for vegetables and fruits.
Horticulture is the country's leading source of foreign exchange, alongside tourism, remittances from Kenyans living abroad and tea exports.
East Africa's largest economy earned 91.6 billion shillings ($1.10 billion) Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/kenya-horticulture-exports-rise-18-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-26425727830336642542012-02-23T21:09:00.004Z2012-02-23T21:09:52.895Z2012-02-23T21:09:52.895ZUganda coffee target for 2015 to be achieved despite challengesby William Davison
Uganda, Africa’s biggest coffee exporter, is maintaining its target to boost production to 4.5 million bags by 2015 even as it faces challenges from rising temperatures and coffee-wilt disease, an industry body said.
The East African nation plans to begin planting seven strains of Robusta-variety trees that are resistant to coffee wilt, while climate change will partly be Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/uganda-coffee-target-for-2015-to-be.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-43435904029556704962012-02-23T21:09:00.003Z2012-02-23T21:09:43.219Z2012-02-23T21:09:43.219Zby Sanjeeb Mukherjee
Bt cotton has doubled the seed industry and
boosted the fortunes of Indian seed firms. For the boom to continue,
yields need to improve and regulation mechanisms strengthened.
In
the last 10 years, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton and its impact on
farmers has perhaps been the most talked about topic in Indian
agriculture since the ‘Green Revolution’ of the 1960s Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/by-sanjeeb-mukherjee-bt-cotton-has.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-89395905486724303872012-02-21T21:17:00.005Z2012-02-21T21:17:48.529Z2012-02-21T21:17:48.529ZUS agric group to partner Nigerian government in ‘Africa’s biggest rice farm’by Maram Mazen Dominion Farms Ltd., an Oklahoma- based farming company that produces rice in Kenya, agreed to start a rice farm with the government in Nigeria that would be Africa’s biggest with production at 300,000 tonnes a year. The $40 million rice farm will reduce Nigeria’s rice imports by 15 percent and cut rice costs by 54 billion naira ($342 million) a year, Agriculture Minister Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/us-agric-group-to-partner-nigerian.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-31564683895610608932012-02-21T21:15:00.001Z2012-02-21T21:15:05.829Z2012-02-21T21:15:05.829ZSouth Africa debates pros and cons of privatizing communal landby Teigue Payne Land reform will become an even hotter topic this year as the debate revolves around whether or not to privatise communal land and what this would mean for current social and economic systems linked to the land use. The Democratic Alliance has a private member's motion in Parliament that proposes the privatisation of all communal land in South Africa. But a recent research Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/south-africa-debates-pros-and-cons-of.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-18957329918283548352012-02-21T21:11:00.002Z2012-02-21T21:11:41.518Z2012-02-21T21:11:41.518ZResearch grant to fund vegetable pests’ research in three African countriesThe German government has granted €1.2 million (about US$1.6 million) for research into pest management of tomato and pepper in Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar and Thailand. The project will also introduce interventions that will significantly lessen reliance on chemical pesticides in vegetable farms, consequently reducing hazards to farmers’ health and the environment. The initiative will be led by Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/research-grant-to-fund-vegetable-pests.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-5611932546270246222012-02-21T21:09:00.003Z2012-02-21T21:09:56.248Z2012-02-21T21:09:56.248ZLand conflicts cause South African sugar investor to abandon Tanzania for MaliA subsidiary of South African sugar concern Illovo has given up a ten year effort to set up a plantation in Tanzania over long running land squabbles with locals. The Tanzania Daily News reported in January that the company is now seeking to establish the operation in Mali. Kilombero Sugar Company had initially planned to invest in about 8,000 hectares out of a potential 23,000 hectares for cane Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/land-conflicts-cause-south-african.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-45354723150132239032012-02-21T21:08:00.001Z2012-02-21T21:08:07.842Z2012-02-21T21:08:07.842ZFarmer dispossessed in Zimbabwe’s land reform gives his viewsChristopher Jarrett had his farm in southern Zimbabwe taken from him in 2002 as part of the ‘fast track’ land reform programme of President Robert Mugabe’s government. The efforts of him and others in his position to find remedy in Zimbabwean and regional courts over the years have not succeeded. Jarrett gave his views on the controversies surrounding the whole exercise to a delegation of the Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/farmer-dispossessed-in-zimbabwes-land.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-52026178129788803692012-02-21T21:02:00.000Z2012-02-21T21:02:13.915Z2012-02-21T21:02:13.915ZEthiopia resumes banana exports to Saudi Arabia after 50 yearsAfter a 50 year suspension for undisclosed reasons, Ethiopia has resumed banana exports to Saudi Arabia. Exports initially targeted at 200 tonnes a week began with a shipment from Gamo Gofa, a banana growing region of southern Ethiopia. The Africa Report said the Ethiopian Horticulture Development Agency announced that 3100 hectares of land is to be devoted to the growing of bananas. EthiopiaSite Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/ethiopia-resumes-banana-exports-to.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-56080742042736384092012-02-21T21:00:00.001Z2012-02-21T21:00:35.661Z2012-02-21T21:00:35.661ZCameroon halfway to 500,000 tons per year banana export targetCameroon’s banana sector currently exports 247,210 tons of bananas to the Europe per year, but aims to double that quantity ‘by 2013.’ The president of the banana producers’ union listed some of the challenges to achieving the ambitious target: liberalization of the European banana market that has increased competition from South American producers and reduced some of the protections for Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/cameroon-halfway-to-500000-tons-per.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-4267880296512770172012-02-21T20:58:00.004Z2012-02-21T20:58:42.436Z2012-02-21T20:58:42.436ZMorocco, EU trade deal will reduce tariffs on agricultural productsA new deal between Morocco and the European Union will make trade in a variety of agricultural and food products between the two duty-free. In the next ten years, 70 percent of EU agricultural exports will be allowed duty-free entry into Morocco. Wheat is one of the commodities named in Press reports as an exception to which Morocco will be allowed to impose approved import duties. The Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/morocco-eu-trade-deal-will-reduce.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-69209334736195403412012-02-21T20:56:00.000Z2012-02-21T20:56:28.349Z2012-02-21T20:56:28.349ZRwanda irrigation project to make maize farming more secureIn 2010, farmers in Rwanda’s Nyagatare District lost over 4,000 hectares of maize due to a serious drought during the rain/cropping season. In an at least sectors of the district, a new government irrigation system will reduce the climate risks of rain-dependent farming. Irrigation canals are currently being constructed in the Matimba and Musheri sectors of the district, with the scheme expected Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/rwanda-irrigation-project-to-make-maize.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-51452663265492395032012-02-21T20:53:00.001Z2012-02-21T20:53:21.272Z2012-02-21T20:53:21.272ZCTA Brussels Briefing on pastoralism: February 22 2012New challenges and opportunities for pastoralism in ACP countries will be at the core of the next CTA Brussels Briefing.
To be discussed will be the main challenges affecting pastoralists, especially in the ACP countries, and the opportunities provided by existing continental and regional policy frameworks and processes. It will then focus on sharing good practices and experiences from the fieldSite Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/cta-brussels-briefing-on-pastoralism.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-2796504109488306992012-02-19T21:22:00.002Z2012-02-19T22:13:56.847Z2012-02-19T22:13:56.847ZGhana’s cocoa production tops 1 million tonnes in 2011Ghana has achieved the long-cherished goal of surpassing one million tonnes of cocoa in a season. The historic figure was realized in 2011, a significant increase from the comparative figure of 680,000 tonnes in 2008.
President John Evans Atta Mills said on February 16 that as of January 2012, Ghanaian farmers were being paid about 80% of the average international cocoa market price of $2,450 Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/ghanas-cocoa-production-tops-1-million.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-19964164133081475112012-02-19T21:20:00.002Z2012-02-19T21:20:40.732Z2012-02-19T21:20:40.732ZEU anti-GMOs stance will reduce competitiveness of its farmers
While the latest ISAAA (International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications) study on global trends in regards to gene-modified crops shows more acceptance and higher adoption, the opposition to them remains stiff in Europe. Whereas in many parts of the world the public attitude outside the agriculture sector is generally indifference or ‘I don’t know’ to GM crops, in much of Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/eu-anti-gmos-stance-will-reduce.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-68029513399583562722012-02-19T21:19:00.000Z2012-02-19T21:19:53.912Z2012-02-19T21:19:53.912ZGood weather, more growers to see Uganda sugar production up 26% in 2012Good weather and increased cultivation by small scale farmers is expected to increase sugar production in Uganda from 259,413 in 2011 to 327,075 tonnes this year. just over the country’s annual requirement of 320,000 tonnes. Strong rains have been experienced in areas that saw drought in 2011, according to a sugar sector official quoted by Reuters. The expected 2012 would represent a reversal of Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/good-weather-more-growers-to-see-uganda.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-76990871058400591602012-02-19T21:12:00.000Z2012-02-19T21:12:25.089Z2012-02-19T21:12:25.089ZGenetically engineered green beans ‘show promise for Africa’by Amanda Garris Slender green beans air-freighted from Kenya to markets in Western Europe are a profitable crop for high-altitude farms across sub-Saharan Africa. Breeding efforts at Cornell University in New York State, USA, could help their lower altitude neighbors also harness the crop's economic potential. Green beans are Kenya's most important horticultural export, earning farmers five to Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/genetically-engineered-green-beans-show.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300800970170605401.post-83271075670146380862012-02-19T21:07:00.002Z2012-02-19T21:07:11.629Z2012-02-19T21:07:11.629ZTanzania: regional official encourages more millet, sorghum farming; less maizeIn any given year, there is going to be a serious shortage in several of the many countries for which maize is the main staple crop. The maize deficit merely seems to shift around from country to country or region to region depending on climate, environmental, political and economic factors. Many coping strategies are being tried all across the continent. Research into varieties it is hoped will Site Managernoreply@blogger.comhttp://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2012/02/tanzania-regional-official-encourages.html