African Agriculture

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2012-05-31T03:47:00.002Z

1. Why are African farmers poor even when their products are in big demand? 2. Uganda's declining soil fertility 3. Antipathy to GM crops still strong in Zambia, but is resistance ultimately futile? 4. Rust-resistant Zimbabwean soya bean varieties raise interest in Brazil, US 5. Is South Africa on the brink of a 15 year cyclical drought period? 6. Is the GM cotton touted for

Is the G8's 'worthy proposal to lift millions out of poverty' really about African agricultural development, or is it about other agendas?

2012-05-31T03:36:00.002Z

by Chido Makunike The 'G8' nations recently met in Chicago, USA with much fanfare. One of the outcomes of their meeting, announced by U.S. president Barack Obama, was what the Washington Post, in an approving, even gushing commentary by that influential newspaper's editorial board, called 'a worthy G-8 proposal (that) aims to lift millions out of poverty.' The Post does a good job of

If you have an agro-investment in southern Africa, are you automatically equipped to operate in western Africa?

2012-05-31T03:35:00.000Z

by Chido Makunike From the Business Day Online (Nigeria) of 6 April 2012, under the heading 'Nigerian agriculture to benefit from equity deal: ' ''Zeder Investments Limited, a South African listed agricultural investment company, is committing $46.7-million to acquire and expand an agricultural business, Chayton Africa, which is focused on primary production.'' So far so good. We are then told

Is the GM cotton touted for Burkina Faso and West Africa really the new 'white gold?'

2012-05-31T03:34:00.001Z

Cotton is Burkina Faso's most important export crop. As in many other African countries, cotton cultivation and the industry in general have for many years been severely challenged by various factors, including: increasingly unpredictable climate; declining soil fertility; expensive and hard to access inputs like fertilizer; and low competitiveness versus mechanized, subdized farmers in the US,

Is South Africa on the brink of a 15 year cyclical drought period?

2012-05-31T03:34:00.000Z

The vice president of South Africa's most prominent farmers' union says the country has traditionally had a cycle of alternating 15 year periods of drought and abundant rain. He cautions that a dry period is about to begin, and worries that a government grappling with many other pressures is unprepared for this possibility and its consequences. Theo de Jager is vice president of AgriSA,

Rust-resistant Zimbabwean soya bean varieties raise interest in Brazil, US

2012-05-31T03:33:00.002Z

The dominant narrative in many media about Zimbabwe and farming is that it is the country that went from 'regional breadbasket to basket case.' This is attributed to a controversial land reform exercise that dispossessed the country's once-dominant white farmers and parcelled out the land to (take your pick depending on your point of view) (a) hundreds of thousands of established and aspiring

Antipathy to GM crops still strong in Zambia, but is resistance ultimately futile?

2012-05-31T03:33:00.001Z

Zambia has one of the strongest records of official opposition to GM crops in Africa. An official of the recently elected-into-power ruling party has re-iterated the country's opposition to GM technology and foods, but will Zambia be able to resist the seemingly increasing momentum of the GM tide? Happily, Zambia has for several years enjoyed surpluses of its staple crop, maize. But during a

Uganda's declining soil fertility

2012-05-31T03:33:00.000Z

Uganda is famed for its fertile volcanic soils and its generally agriculture-friendly climate. A pattern of colonization quite different from neighboring Kenya's meant that Uganda did not significantly have large scale intensive farming and its associated significant, accelerated soil fertility loss, nor the accompanying heavy fertilizer use to compensate. Depending on one's perspective, the

Why are African farmers poor even when their products are in big demand?

2012-05-31T03:32:00.000Z

Blogger Opiyo Oloya asks this very relevant question in a post featured in Uganda's New Vision newspaper, titled Grandma is still poor even as the rich sip her coffee in high places. Oloya just scratches the surface of this vast, important topic but does well for doing so, as it is one that should be closer to the formulation of many agricultural interventions than it is. Oloya gives the

International potato diseases detection workshop; Harbin, China; July 2012

2012-03-19T15:57:00.003Z

What: 2012 International training workshop on potato diseases detection techniques. About: Sharing China's know-how/techniques of the detection of the diseases of seed potatoes. Where: Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China. Organizer: Ministry of Agriculture of China (Harbin); Supervision & Testing Center for Virus-free Seed Potatoes. Working Language: English Expenses: Accepted participants

Zambia, Zimbabwe drastically revise maize harvest forecasts downwards

2012-03-19T15:57:00.002Z

Zambia's production of maize from commercial farmers is this year expected to be as much as 80% less than that of the 2011 harvest, while neighboring Zimbabwe has 'written off' a third of its current maize crop. Maize is the staple crop of both countries, and its cultivation in both mainly depends on rainfall. The current cropping season's (October-May) rains began late and have been

Uganda: trials of nematode-resistant GM banana to begin in 2012

2012-03-19T15:57:00.001Z

Trials of the cultivation of gene-modified nematode-resistant bananas are to begin in Uganda later this year, Fresh Fruit Portal reports. The nemotodes feed on the banana roots, weakening the plant which then tips over easily and produces smaller fruit. Nematodes are said to affect up to 30% of African bananas. The nematode-fighting GM strategy is two fold: The first line of defense against

New criticisms of AGRA and of Bill Gates' support for GM crops in Africa

2012-03-19T15:57:00.000Z

by Chido Makunike The deep pockets of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have in a few years made the organization a powerful, impossible-to-ignore voice in thinking about agricultural development in Africa. Knowing the strong feelings against GM crops in many parts of Africa and the suspicions that the organization was in collusion with GM seed companies like Monsanto to dominate Africa's

Jatropha boom produces more losers than winners

2012-03-19T15:56:00.002Z

Jatropha was supposed to be the great new 'green gold,' but over the last few years many projects based on its cultivation for oil have gone bust. In Africa, much publicized projects that have failed for one reason or another include those by British, Dutch and Swedish investors in Mozambique and Tanzania. Plans for expansion of cultivation projects in China and India have been scaled back. A

Some Ivorian farmers abandon cocoa to cultivate rubber trees

2012-03-19T15:56:00.001Z

An increasing number of farmers in Ivory Coast are leaving the perceived difficulties of cultivating cocoa, the country's main cash crop, to instead grow rubber trees, which are considered to be a more secure source, less troublesome source of income. This is according to a news report by Reuters, which says the cocoa industry hopes that reforms currently underway assure better prices for the

Poor 2011 rains result in disastrous Gambia food harvests

2012-03-19T15:56:00.000Z

The poor 2011 experienced in much of the Sahel region of West African extended further down south to fertile and normally wet country of Gambia. The country's ministry of agriculture has declared the 2011/12 farming season a 'failure,' resulting a reduction in harvests of as much as 70% over the previous season. National food security will be seriously compromised for all key crops. Rice,

Morocco: 2012 cereal harvest to be less than 50% that of 2011

2012-03-19T15:43:00.000Z

Poor rains in Morocco may mean that the country's cereal harvest for 2012 may be less than half the previous harvest, forcing greater reliance on imports. Mohamed Badraoui, head of the National Institute for Agricultural Research, told Reuters that less than 4 million tonnes of cereals were expected to be harvested this year, compared to 8.4 million tonnes in 2011. "This year will be very

Cassava's climate change benefits provide an opportunity to reduce African maize dependence

2012-03-19T15:42:00.001Z

by Chido Makunike The predictions of the likely effects of climate change on agriculture in Africa have been negative, with already yearly increasing evidence that maize cultivation is becoming more difficult. Given the importance of maize as the maize staple food of many Africans, the implications for an already precarious food security may be dire. But now comes the news that another

Fears that DRCongo law favoring nationals in farm ownership may scare off foreign investorsn

2012-03-19T15:42:00.000Z

A new law requiring nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo to be majority shareholders in farms has caused concern about its effects on the country's image as an emerging agricultural investment destination. The new law, passed in December 2011, provides tax breaks and other incentives designed to kick start investment in agriculture in the DRC, which imports much of its food requirements

Swaziland farmers increase sugar cane planting, use of irrigation

2012-03-19T15:41:00.003Z

Swaziland, Afriac's fourth largest producer of sugar (after South Africa, Egypt and Sudan), is set to increase production as more small scale farmers take up sugar cane cultivation, and access to irrigation increases. A replanting programme with higher-yielding varieties is also underway. In an interview with Bloomberg, Mike Matsebula, chief executive officer of the Swaziland Sugar Association

South Africans to invest in Mozambique's sugar sector

2012-03-19T15:41:00.002Z

A group of South Africans is expected to invest in sugar growing on a 10,000 hectare area in Mozambique's Zambézia province. A district official is reported to have told news agencies that work on the sugar plant was expected to begin in the second half of 2012. 400 direct jobs and up to 3000 more downstream are hoped for from the investment. The sugar plant would be Mozambique's fifth.

Sudan to increase sugar production, cut imports, begin exports by 2014

2012-03-19T15:41:00.001Z

Sudan plans to inaugurate a sugar plant in April, to help reduce the country's import bill and with the aim to achieve self-sufficiency and surplus for export by 2014. The White Nile Sugar Company will start with an initial annual white sugar output of 150,000 tons, which is projected to reach the plant's full capacity of 450,000 tons in three years, according to a report by Reuters news agency.

Activist group disputes claimed GM crop benefits for South Africa

2012-03-19T15:41:00.000Z

South Africa is the continent's leading cultivator of gene-modified crops, but not everyone thinks that is a good thing. In a statement, the African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) said it, "vehemently disputes that GM crops have benefited farmers and consumers in South Africa." The ACB cites figures showing that the price of maize meal, South Africa's staple food and made from the country's main

Zambia to subsidize inputs for 'all cash crops?'

2012-03-19T15:40:00.001Z

The newly elected Zambian government of President Michael Sata plans to broaden the country's current maize inputs subsidy to other crops. The Zambia Daily Mail attributed the policy intention to a statement to that effect by Vice President Guy Scott. In March 2011, the agriculture minister of the previous government of President Rupiah Banda said a total of 180,000 tonnes of various

Ghanaian cocoa farmers to undergo training

2012-03-19T15:40:00.000Z

Cargill, multinational company and major purchaser of cocoa, is to partner with the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to train 15,000 farmers in better cultivation methods. 15,000 farmers in the cocoa farming communities of Ashanti and Western regions will participate in the programme designed to help them 'adopt better farming practices so they can improve the quality and size of their yields,'