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Agribusiness / Food in Africa

  • Search for rice that survives drought in Cameroon

    AFRICA, 2013/11/28 Following the deadly food riots that swept across West Africa five years ago in response to the high price of rice, Cameroon and other neighboring governments have taken responsibility for rehabilitating structures and resources for rice farmers. The grain is presently one of the majority consumed staples south of the Sahara. Experts across the region say consumers and national economies will be better for it. One export says this national strategy will gradually bear fruit. "You know, we're coming a long way next the economic crises of the 80s," said Marc Samatana, the director of the Yagoua Rice Expansion and Modernization Corporation in north Cameroon.

  • Africa: More Crop Per Drop

    AFRICA, 2013/11/28 The weather is an significant factor in the success of any farming enterprise. A good farmer should always plan for possible change; "cursing the weather", as the saying goes, "is at no time good farming". In much of Africa, however, getting accurate data about the weather, in order to make decisions about activities, such as sowing, irrigation and harvesting, has always been difficult. Climate change, which has brought rapidly changing and often additional extreme weather, has exacerbated the problem. Presently though, African farmers can benefit from an imaginative scheme, involving the innovative use of technology to provide access to the best available forecasting and planning advice, helping them to beat the weather and use scarce water resources entirely.

  • Appetite for Rice Surges Beyond Capacity of Growers in Africa

    AFRICA, 2013/11/28 A few decades ago, rice was a luxury for rural Africa, a dish reserved for the large occasions like Christmas. The grain is presently one of the majority consumed staples south of the Sahara and experts predict surging urbanization will drive additional request for the cereal as consumer tastes increasingly tilt towards easy-to-cook convenience foods. Across Africa, rice currently knows no social or class boundaries. Increasingly, the grain ranks high on the menus of both rural and urban households. One consumer on the streets of Douala said, "I often buy a bag of rice for the family that will last about a month." An extra added, "Three days out of seven, we eat rice at home. Sometimes, it's up to four times a week."

  • The governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG)

    GAMBIA, 2013/11/27 The governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) has told members of the Public Accounts and Public Enterprises Committees (PAC/PEC) of the National Assembly that agriculture, the second biggest contributor to the country\\\'s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) next services sector, \\\"continues to be the least recipient of credit from commercial banks.\\\" Presenting the activity statement and audited financial statements of the CBG, Governor Amadou Colley informed the members that the sector attracted 5.2 % of in general credit in 2012 compared to 5.7 % in 2011. Total credit to the sector, mainly for production and marketing, he told the members, contracted to D284.3 million or by 8. 6 % in 2012 compared to 7.3 % in 2011. He was quick to point out that agricultural production had declined substantially in 2011 due to poor rains.

  • Cassava Investment Forum in Abuja on November 7.

    NIGERIA, 2013/11/05 NEPAD Business Group Nigeria (NBGN) is set to hold its initial Cassava Investment Forum in Abuja on November 7. The event which will take place at the ECOWAS Conference Hall, Asokoro, Abuja aims to attract substantial private sector investments to develop and promote the necessary cassava price chains in Nigeria and in the West African region. The areas of interventions will equally include developments of the processing capacity that will produce high quality products; identification of potential markets particularly the food, livestock feed, starch and ethanol industries. The roles of different stakeholders (producers, traders, processors, researchers, financiers, policy makers and consumers) in the cassava industry will as well be identified.

  • Agrifood: Blue Sea Land trade fair in Sicily a success

    ITALY, 2013/10/15 The three-day Blue Sea Land trade equitable that ended yesterday in Sicily logged an average of 100 business meetings a day totaling 300 business-to-business contacts between 50 producers and 30 foreign buyers from Algeria, China, Libya, Jordan, the Maldives, Russia, Sweden, Tunisia, the UK and Yemen, organizers said Monday. Foreign buyers at the equitable taking place in the town of Mazara del Vallo perused Italian specialties such as pasta, oil, wine, distilled liquors, and preserves.

  • Madagascar food insecure

    MADAGASCAR, 2013/10/14 Some four million people in rural Madagascar are food insecure next rice and maize production took a bad hit this year due to weather conditions and a locust invasion, according to UN agencies. A UN statement on Friday on a statement by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said the food shortages had been caused by a combination of factors. They include erratic weather conditions last year and cyclones early this year which caused flooding followed by a period of poor rains. It quoted Mr. David Orr, WFP spokesperson in Johannesburg, South Africa, as saying that the agencies conducted a crop and food security assessment in Madagascar in June and July.

  • Rice production in Ghana has come under scrutiny

    GHANA, 2013/10/11 Rice production in Ghana has come under scrutiny in recent years, as the government works to reduce its agricultural imports by boosting domestic production. A number of national-led initiatives are aimed at improving output, while the private sector is playing an increasingly significant role. Increase plans Under the 2009 National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS), the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) wants to double rice production by 2018. Part other goals, the NRDS seeks to improve land and water management practices, improve access to government services and establish partnerships with the private sector.

  • Agricultural development and Food Security

    AFRICA, 2013/10/04 The second Afro-Arab Ministerial Conference on Agricultural development and Food Security opened Wednesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with participants agreeing to strengthen Afro-Arab cooperation towards promoting \'sustainable and sensible investment in agriculture and food security\'. This was disclosed in a statement issued by the African Union (AU) and made available to PANA here. Addressing the opening session, Mrs. Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, the AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, underscored the importance of the cooperation.

  • Cameroon Pastoralists Fight for their Way of Life

    CAMEROON, 2013/10/02 Pulaaku, the code of behaviour governing Mbororo-Fulani pastoralists, may be proving useful for Musa Usman Ndamba: one of its core tenants, munyal, stresses fortitude in adversity. As the Vice-President of the Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association (MBOSCUDA), Ndamba advocates for the rights of Mbororo pastoralists in Cameroon. For decades, this has placed him in opposition to one of Cameroon\\\'s wealthiest men, Baba Ahmadou Danpullo. A businessman with political connections, Danpullo has been at odds with the Mbororo pastoralist community since the mid-1980s, at the same time as he established a ranch in northwest Cameroon. The massive farm, which journalist Guibaï Gatama described to Jeune Afrique as a city where a thousand cattle graze and Danpullo reigns supreme, is allegedly encroaching on communal grazing land relied on by Mbororo pastoralists. Mbororo activists have alleged a litany of other complaints as well.
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