Can Seed Technology Bring Africa Food Security By 2030?
April 29, 2015 Africa’s seed industry is complex and can be inefficient, with most farmers using the same seeds they have been planting for generations, unlike farmers in the West who use seeds that have been improved to resist drought or disease. Zimbabwean Edward Mabaya wants to help improve Africa’s seed industry. One of 10 children, Mabaya is the son of a mother who farmed. Their small farm was successful because she used
Can Heat-Resistant Beans Cushion Farmers Against Climate Change?
April 26, 2014 Researchers have developed 30 new types of heat-resistant beans expected to withstand effects of climate change. The CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) made the announcement in March during a development conference organised by the German government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Rising temperatures could disrupt bean production in African countries such as DRC,
Zimbabwe encourages booming Tobacco trade, but discourages smoking
April 21, 2015 Zimbabwe’s tobacco exports in 2014 was 235 percent higher than that of 2009, and the government is keen to leverage this to fuel an agricultural boom. However, the government is also engaged in an active campaign to discourage citizens from smoking. Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry is now the major propellant of the country’s agricultural
Business Opportunity: Combating Food Waste In Africa
April 12, 2015 Just outside Arusha, a women’s group is learning to make and can a variety of jams that they can sell in nearby markets: mango and guava, banana-ginger and an onion marmalade. It’s a sharp learning curve for them. To be able to sell commercially, they have to learn about health and sanitation
How Ethiopia Is Shaking Off Its Famine-Stricken Image
March 29, 2015 ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia’s planned new airport on the outskirts of the capital is still years from becoming a reality but Tewodros Dawit can already envision how grand it will look. “The airport we are planning to build is going to be huge. Very huge,” Tewodros said one recent afternoon
ActionAid: The charity spreading ‘groundless’ fears over GM
March 22, 2015 Donors to one of Britain’s largest humanitarian aid charities have been unwittingly funding an aggressive anti-GM food campaign in Africa that misleadingly warns farmers that eating the crops could give them cancer. A senior official working for ActionAid in Uganda told The Independent that the charity shows farmers pictures of rats with
Britain Gives Zimbabwe $72M To Boost Food Production
March 22, 2015 Harare – Britain has given Zimbabwe $72m to help increase food production by rural farmers over the next four years, as the southern African country faces the prospect of poorer harvests this year due to inadequate rains. Once the bread-basket of the region, Zimbabwe has since 2000 struggled to feed its people
USAID Renews Agriculture, Food Production Commitment To Nigeria
March 9, 2015 The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Friday renewed the U.S. government’s commitment to supporting Nigeria in boosting her food production for export. USAID’s Mission Director Michael Harvey said this in a statement by the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria at the end of a four-day national workshop on food
Most Elumelu Fund-Seeking Entrepreneurs Are Farmers
March 2, 2015 Based on applicants for the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme, most aspiring entrepreneurs are interested in exploring the agricultural sector. Of about 15,000 applicants, 6000 have completed the first phase of selection. “The top one is agriculture, which I think is also very interesting because if you think of where agriculture was as a sector
Inside Nigeria’s Food Revolution
February 21, 2015 Nigeria has the potential to be one of the world’s next great breadbaskets. It has over 84 million hectares of arable land – larger than the entire country of Turkey – but only 40% is currently cultivated. It has abundant and reliable rainfall in over two thirds of the country. Nigeria used