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By Alfred Tembo Building on past experience and passion could also offer a lifetime vacation in anyone’s self gifted retirement package says prominent Gweru-based commercial farmer, Matilda Manhambo. Over the years, she realised that growing up in a rural setup, life choices would be influenced by nature and decided by opportunities at every stage and…
Among many daunting challenges currently facing the grain industry and food ingredient buyers and sellers, logistics remain at the top of the list for many, and it’s been going on for more than two years. Just as it seemed the impact from COVID was winding down in most countries, Russia invaded Ukraine and another round…
By Charles Dhewa Information about producing any food commodity is now abundant on the internet and in diverse manuals. For anyone who wants to know about how to bake bread or process fruits into drinks or jams, a quick search on the internet can produce tons of documents with step-by-step information on who to add…
On Equatorial Guinea’s capital island of Malabo, agriculture ministers from across Africa are meeting this week to discuss solutions to the growing hunger crisis, at a conference convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The 32nd Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa (ARC32) opened with a call from the FAO Assistant…
By Charles Dhewa The past few years have seen development agencies working in African agriculture and food systems coming together to work as consortiums or consortia. The word consortium is a Latin word meaning partnership. Wikipedia defines a consortium as an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments with the objective of participating…
Case studies across Africa demonstrate the positive impact that access to even the most basic mobile technology can offer smallholder farmers. This underscores the importance of driving inclusive access to digital technology, especially mobile-based, to help the continent’s farmers mitigate the impact of climate change. This assertion is championed by Vodacom, Vodafone, Safaricom, and the…
By Elvis Dumba Banket – It looked coincidental that on the day the country joined the rest of the world in commemorating World Health Day running under the theme ‘Our planet, our health ” which focuses on climate change, farmers in Mapinga and Banket were counting losses following heavy rains that fell on the day…
Many female farmers here are champions of sustainable farming, but their global counterparts have long been feeding the world using these management practices. “From my work as a writer, I’d argue that women farmers were already prioritizing sustainable agriculture practices long before this recent shift towards ‘regenerative agriculture,’” said Trina Moyles, author of Women Who Dig,…
Small farms and agricultural firms in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia are facing a billion-dollar cash black hole for climate change adaptation, a report says. Overall there is a gap of US$106 billion in available investment in agricultural small- and medium-sized enterprises (agri-SME) ranging from farms to rice millers and agricultural data firms, according to…
By Baboloki Semele Extending over 624 million hectares, forests in Africa covering 20.6 percent of the continent’s land area and 15.6 percent of the world’s forest cover underpin key sectors of many African countries, including energy, forestry, agriculture, tourism, and water, and support the livelihoods of millions of people. Forests are crucial at a continental…
By Ms. Fatouma Seid (FAO Representative in Ethiopia) Agriculture is a source of livelihood for over 80 percent of the population in Ethiopia. However, the sector has faced complex and overlapping threats over the past decade. Since 2019, the country has been responding to the worst desert locust invasion in over 25 years. Although the…
By Baboloki Semele Today, in the white and blue city in Kenya, Mombasa, African Forest Forum stakeholders are meeting via hybrid, a regional workshop to share information and experiences on challenges and opportunities in forest management for sustainable development in Africa in the context of climate change. Addressing the delegates, during the official opening, the…
Food and nutrition security in Africa is off track: In 2020, more than one in five people in Africa faced hunger—more than double the proportion of hungry people in any other region. In fact, the continent remains a net food importer at an annual cost of $43 billion. Food security in Africa demands urgent and serious…
Tilapia fish farming is getting increasingly widespread in Zimbabwe. However, many operations are struggling to grow beyond subsistence production and access reliable markets that pay competitively. Production is highly polarised, with one large-scale company accounting for 94 percent of output. The Zimbabwe Fish Producers Association (ZFPA) estimates there are 600 small-scale tilapia farmers that produce…
Mutorashanga – Beneficiaries of the land reform program have been urged to productively utilize the land or risk losing rights to it as government moves to ensure food security with unproductive farm owners facing a two week ultimatum. Deputy Minister of Local Government and Public Works Marian Chombo made the call during a Pfumvudza field…
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is playing a key role in the management of forests in line with its mandate as a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. This was revealed during the 2022 commemoration of International Day of Forests yesterday by Dr…
By Charles Dhewa That most African economies have two different economies – formal and informal- is no longer debatable. Besides supporting the formal economy, during shocks like COVID19, the informal economy has become a source of resilience for the majority of farmers, vendors, traders, and low-income consumers. The same applies during drought periods when formal…
By Elvis Dumba Raffingora – Rural women from three provinces are set to benefit from the government sweet potato export initiative with Zvimba women undergoing sweet potato farming training. The government through the Ministry of Agriculture signed an agreement with a local company, Fuchs, which will see the company train rural women from Mashonaland West,…
Regardless of your business, South Africa sits at the very end of very long global supply lines. Even before Covid-19 and the July 2021 civil unrest bought home the importance of shortening and diversifying supply chains, South Africa’s balance of trade and ZAR volatility and weakness were already prompting a re-think as businesses pivoted to local – or…
By Elvis Dumba Zvimba – Maria Madheu of Noro Village in Zvimba has shown that disability is not inability as she has been farming her thriving maize and groundnuts fields near Mutorashanga. Madheu, who crawls to her fields, had her two legs amputated due to diabetes nine years ago. Madheu’s exploits caught the attention of…
By Elvis Dumba Mutorashanga – Zvimba North Constituency Member of the House of Assembly Marian Chombo has urged tobacco farmers to be wary of losing their hard-earned investments through unscrupulous tobacco buyers. “We have been receiving reports from tobacco contractors losing business due to side-marketing and this is not only peculiar to tobacco but even…
Zimbabwe yesterday launched the Tick and Tick-borne Disease Control Strategy (2022-2030) in order to fight against a myriad of livestock diseases that pose a threat to the livestock industry. Speaking during the launch, the Guest of Honour who is the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement, Dr. John…
Dr. Patrice Talla Takoukam, the Sub Regional Coordinator for Southern Africa and FAO Representative for Zimbabwe and Eswatini said his organisation, in partnership with the Government of Zimbabwe, is implementing Voluntary Guidelines meant to improve governance of tenure of land, fisheries, and forests. He made the remarks during the National Comprehensive and Gender-Sensitive Land Policy…
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) are holding review meetings of the draft land policy framework with traditional leaders and Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs in Zimbabwe. The National Comprehensive and Gender-Sensitive Land Policy Framework review meetings will take place in Bulawayo from 3-…
By Charles Dhewa Following the success of politics in liberating African countries from colonial injustice, a mindset that has been planted in Africa is that politics has a monopoly on all solutions. Unfortunately, this has overridden people’s capacity to explore solutions outside politics. For resource-rich countries like Zimbabwe, politics has been allowed to dominate the…
A study released Feb. 14 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences claims that ethanol is likely a bigger contributor to global warming than gasoline, Reuters reported. The study contradicts previous findings by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) showing that ethanol and other biofuels are green. “Corn ethanol is not a climate-friendly fuel,” said…
Emerging in the last 120 years, science-based plant breeding begins by creating novel diversity from which useful new varieties can be identified or formed. The most common approach is making targeted crosses between parents with complementary, desirable traits. This is followed by selection among the resulting plants to obtain improved types that combine desired traits…
By Charles Dhewa As farmers continue to plunder their soils, water, and other natural resources in order to send their children to school, academic degrees are not being translated into tangible skills that can make a difference to the lives of farmers and ordinary people across Africa. As if that is not enough, university graduates…
By Calvin Manika A Zimbabwean international organisation, Africa Grain and Seed (AGS) with investments in food security worldwide is seeking to grow the Zimbabwean economy by bringing agricultural investors into the country. Working through collaborations and international partnerships can turn around the economy of Zimbabwe. This was said by the President and Founder of Africa…
Dr. John Basera, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development has won the 2021 President’s Award for Performance Excellence in the Permanent Secretaries category. In an unprecedented feat, the Agriculture Sector grew by over 36% from USD5.8bn in 2020 to over USD8bn in the 2021 financial year, a…
In a Monetary Policy Statement issued by government on Monday, the tourism industry is among sectors identified to retain their foreign currency earnings to allow for recapitalisation. Export Retention for Tourism and Hospitality Industry “In order to respond to the adverse effects of COVID-19 on the tourism sector, which was hard-hit by the pandemic not…
Due to severe drought, Turkey’s 2021-22 wheat production is down 2 million tonnes, to 16.25 million tonnes, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Looking ahead to next year, rainfall levels from October to December were better compared to the same period a year ago. However,…
The Tanganda Tea Company Limited, a part of Chipinge’s history, continues to show how it has managed to not only last so long but grow to be Zimbabwe’s largest producer, packer, and distributor of Tea. As a people-centred business, Tanganda has been actively improving the lives of its employees and the community of Chipinge….
By Charles Dhewa When the free inputs queue gets longer every year, it is a sign that farmers are not earning enough to be able to buy their own inputs. These are some of the challenges of depending too much on imported inputs and external knowledge. Is it not ironic that as more attention and…
By Sowell Chikwari Civil society organisations have raised concerns over the decimation of wetlands in urban peripheries owing to housing construction and agricultural activities as it negatively impacts the environmental ecosystem. The City of Harare is among the most affected cities in terms of the depletion of wetlands, a situation that has grossly affected the…
Tanganda, one of Zimbabwe’s oldest companies, is set to list on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) in the next few days. The company, the largest producer, packer, and distributor of tea in the country has a history of success and forward-looking leadership. Tanganda has transformed itself over the years from a tea business to a…
Nestlé (www.Nestle.com) announced a new plan to tackle child labor risks in cocoa production. At the center is an innovative income accelerator program, which aims to improve the livelihoods of cocoa farming families, while also advancing regenerative agriculture practices and gender equality. A cash incentive will be paid directly to cocoa-farming households for certain activities…
By Charles Dhewa Contrary to the formal definition of a market as a meeting place for buyers and sellers, an African market is more than a physical meeting place for farmers and traders. Some of its most important roles include food distribution, supporting rural development, and ensuring nutrition get to low-income populations who would otherwise…
By Desire Tshuma Pakistani investors have shown interest in the agriculture and mining sectors in Zimbabwe and have already been working in partnership with local companies in the country. The Pakistan investors are specializing in supplying and repairing agriculture and mining machinery. The machinery includes gold milling machinery, cranes, blasting equipment, and tractors for agricultural…
Developing agriculture remains Zimbabwe’s most direct route to reducing poverty, hunger, and malnutrition given that 67% of the population resides in rural areas and relies on smallholder farming as a source of livelihood. The transformation of agriculture entails developing a robust sector that has mainstreamed mechanisms of reducing the vulnerability of and maintaining and increasing…
Working with European farmers Farmers, who are the stewards of the land, must be an integral part of the solutions for the European food systems of the future. They possess intimate knowledge of the land from years of experience and cross-generational information and are well-positioned to disseminate this knowledge. For this and many other reasons,…
By Tendai Guvamombe Communities in Goromonzi South have embraced rabbit farming with a view of addressing poverty. This follows the launch of the initiative by James Samhembere, the ZANU PF Secretary for Indigenous and Economic Empowerment in the area. Goromonzi South is located in the periphery of the capital city Harare and is under the…
By Charles Dhewa African agricultural policymakers have for decades preferred basing their decisions on prices of inputs like fertilizer, fuel, and seed as well as processed food products like bread, sugar, cooking oil, margarine, and others that are considered part of a family’s food basket. This tendency has ignored prices of fresh commodities like leafy…
Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) comes as a farming model for a sustainable agricultural production system aimed at food security even during climatic calamities in eight countries, including Bangladesh. Officials said the D-8 grouping adopted a proposal on the introduction of the CSA model in the developing eight economies. Bangladesh had proposed the system in the D-8…
By Joyce Mukucha The United Nations (UN)’s benchmark food and commodity prices index rose sharply on average through 2021, compared with the previous year, the new data by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has revealed last week. The FAO’s Food Price Index(FFPI) which tracks monthly changes in international prices averaged 125.7 points – a 28.1…
