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Agriculture in Africa

  • Liberia: Former NEC Executive Director Invests in Agriculture

    LIBERIA, 2015/02/13 In an effort to boost rice production in the country, the former Executive Director of the National Elections Commission (NEC), Mr. John K. Langley, has milled thousands of bags of Liberia's staple food, rice in Todee District, Montserrado and Margibi Counties to enable citizens get additional food. Speaking to this paper in an exclusive interview, Mr. Langley explained that he has milled additional rice on his two farms and that the rice is presently on the Liberian Market and that each bag of rice costs L$1,700. He said besides the milling of the rice, he has as well produced cassava and other crops that are good for human consumption.

  • Africa: Unique Global Gathering Highlights Indigenous Peoples' Role in Fighting Poverty and Hunger

    WORLD, 2015/02/13 Fifty representatives of indigenous peoples' organizations from all over the world gather tomorrow at the International Fund for Agriculture Improvment(IFAD) headquarters in Rome to discuss the importance of traditional knowledge in eradicating poverty and hunger and transforming rural communities. The participants in the forum represent additional than 370 million self-identified indigenous peoples who live in some 70 nations around the world, a lot of of them in rural areas. "Indigenous peoples are long-valued partners for IFAD," said Kanayo F. Nwanze, the President of the United Nations (UN) agency specialized in rural development. "From the local biodiversity they have protected and enhanced over generations, to their incomparable knowledge about the ecosystems that they manage - indigenous peoples' traditional knowledge is a source of inspiration to everyone who works for sustainable rural transformation."

  • Rwanda' Farmers Should Seize Opportunity for Available Soya Marke

    RWANDA, 2015/02/12 This newspaper reported last week that Mount Meru Soyco Limited, the country's only edible oil producing plant, is not operating at full capacity because of inadequate supply of soya beans, the major raw material for their end products. Nick Barigye, the MMSL chief executive, spoke to Kenneth Agutamba on Wednesday to elucidate additional on the plant's current and medium term plans to mitigate the prevalent challenge. Excerpts;- As the chief executive of Rwanda's only edible oil processing plant, could you tell us additional about the factory's history? Established in 2012, Mount Meru Soyco Limited (MMSL) is a public-private partnership business venture for the manufacture of edible oil and animal feeds from soya beans and any other oil seeds.

  • Thousands of small farmers in northeastern Nigeria are facing eviction

    NIGERIA, 2015/01/30 Thousands of small farmers in northeastern Nigeria are facing eviction from their ancestral lands without consultation or compensation to make way for a U.S.-owned rice plantation, according to a statement released on Wednesday. A new 30,000 hectare rice plantation, owned by Oklahoma-based Dominion Farms, will displace up to 40,000 people in Taraba national, said Mariann Bassey Orovwuje, a spokeswoman for the NGO Friends of the Earth Nigeria, one of the environmental and activist groups behind the statement.

  • FAO calls for urgent attention to farmers in southern Malawi after intense flooding

    MALAWI, 2015/01/30 The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said Wednesday it is working closely with Malawi’s government on a US$16 million response plan aimed at protecting farmers from severe flooding that has destroyed fields and homes, washed away animals and crops, and threatens local food security in the southern Africa country. “Failure to respond promptly will have lasting consequences,” said Florence Rolle, FAO Representative to Malawi. “Flood-hit families risk harvesting nothing or very little this year, leaving them food insecure at the very outset of the agricultural season and undermining much of the evolution being made in reducing food insecurity in Malawi.” she said.

  • Algeria: Cereal Imports Increase By Nearly U.S.$3.3 Billion in First 11 Months of 2014

    ALGERIA, 2015/01/16 imports of cereals (wheat, barley and maize) reached $3.29 billion during the initial 11 months of 2014 against $2.92 billion in the same period of 2013, down 12.52%, Algerian Customs told Tuesday APS. The quantities of imported cereals recorded an upward trend to reach 24.4% with 11.35 million tonnes of the cereals purchased between January and November 2014, against 9.13 million tonnes during the same period of 2013. The import bill of cereals in the initial 11 months of 2014 has by presently exceeded that of all the year 2013, during which Algeria imported $3.16 billion of these foodstuffs.

  • Mauritius and India to Sign MoU in the Field of Cooperatives

    INDIA, 2015/01/16 A Memorandum of Considerate (MoU) will be signed by the Ministry of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of India to enhance collaboration in the field of cooperatives. The MoU will provide for cooperation in areas pertaining to the regulatory framework for cooperatives inclunding cooperative development policies and strategies.

  • What is the possibility of Sudan one day becoming the breadbasket of the Arab world?

    SUDAN, 2015/01/08 There are an estimated 200 million acres of land in Sudan, 70% of which is not being utilized. This is why the Government has identified the agriculture and livestock sector as being one of the majority significant sectors, and it is playing a vital role in food security and employment opportunities and is making a direct contribution to poverty and social development. It by presently employs 80% of the Sudanese workforce, and accounts for almost 40% of GDP. One of the biggest players in the agriculture in Sudan is Kenana Sugar Company. Managing Director Mohamed Elmardi Eltigani speaks to AFA Press about the agriculture industry, Kenana and its entry into the bionenergy field, and the company’s admirable CSR work

  • Rollout Post-Harvest Training for Food Security, Higher Incomes in Rwanda

    RWANDA, 2015/01/04 A group of farmers have undergone training in post-harvest management; meaning they have been equipped with basic knowledge on how to safeguard fruits of their labour from wasting away. It is estimated that 30 % of farm produce is lost during the period between harvesting and the time it is either consumed or sold for gain by a farmer. That, for example, means that for each 100kgs of maize, beans or rice harvested, at least 30kgs are lost either at the same time as being transported from the farm to the stores or during storage. This is certainly a huge loss, by any standards. Simply put, such a loss reduces the all of food available for consumption and for sale by a similar %-hence food insecurity and gain poverty part rural farmers.

  • SAGCOT Ambitious Plan to Generate U.S$2 Billion Annually in Tanzania

    TANZANIA, 2015/01/04 SOUTHERN Agricultural Increase Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) plans to create 420,000 new jobs and lift two million people out of poverty in the next 15 years, while generating two billion US dollars in annual farming revenues. SAGCOT as well seeks to turn 350,000 hectares of land into profitable farmland and transform 100,000 smallholder farmers into commercial farmers. This was revealed by SAGCOT Chief Executive Officer, Mr Geoffrey Kirenga during the initial forum held in Dar es Salaam recently. "We have strategies to make the plans successful by 2030, the plan involves various stakeholders from the private sector in partnership with the government," he said.
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