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By Sue Edmonds For most of the 18 years I’ve been writing about farming issues the buzzword has been ‘sustainability’. Of late it seems to have morphed into ‘regenerative farming’, which aims to do a lot more than sustain, including rebuilding eroded soil and reintroducing the necessary soil life to create the nutritive food the…
Platform important tool for learning lessons from each other and to help move Africa to a more dynamic agriculture The African Development Bank (AfDB.org), the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have relaunched a platform to assist African agriculture ministers and other key stakeholders to promote strong growth in agricultural production and…
Abigail Mzimbawakhe (Midlands Correspondent) GreenWorks Company, which was founded by Sebastian Sibanda is aiming to provide the whole of Zimbabwe with organic fodder for livestock. The company provides organic fodder for all species of grazing animals that include cattle, goats, sheep, pigs as well as all poultry. The founder, Sibanda said that he is aiming…
By Byron Mutingwende The Green enterPRIZE Innovation Challenge has been hailed for creating employment for the youths and supporting sustainable enterprise development. The Acting Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Mr. Ziyambi Ziyambiat made the remarks at the official launch of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) 2019 Northern Region Green enterPRIZE…
By Charles Dhewa Unlike formal markets that tend to promote a narrow selection of commodities easy for commercialisation, African mass markets are a true expression of a country’s food diversity. To the extent they are more associated with social class, middle class in particular, formal markets like supermarkets do not often stock indigenous food which…
By Joyce Mukucha The African Development Bank (AFDB) in partnership with the World Bank launched a Zimbabwe Idai Recovery Project (ZIRP) and the Idai Emergency Recovery and Resilience Project (IERRP) in an effort to bring profound relief in the affected areas. The World Bank provided a $72 million grant for the ZIRP which will provide…
By Byron Mutingwende Farmers attending the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) workshop in the Hatfield area of Harare have been capacitated on the importance of on-farm feed formulation. In his presentation to the farmers, Emmanuel Nyahangare, the Animal Nutritionist Lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe said it is important for farmers to utilise…
Adequate maize supplies for 2018/19 marketing season • Positive for food inflation • Could impact positively on interest rate outcomes By Paul Makube, Senior Agricultural Economist at FNB Agri-Business The latest production estimate showed a further upward adjustment to the crop estimates with maize, South Africa’s major staple food, now just above 11 million tons….
By Joyce Mukucha The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) in partnership with Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Business Council (CBC) is taking strides in trying to promote intra-trade for Small Market Enterprises (SMEs) within the COMESA region. The two organisations are also supporting and promoting competitive and interconnected industries to actively participate…
Econet Wireless, the leading telecoms and technology company in Zimbabwe, is once again showcasing a wide array of innovative and technology-driven applications at their Zimbabwe Agriculture Show (ZAS) stand this week. The company’s exhibition this year features activations and demonstrations from Econet products which include BidBuddie, BuddieBeatz, Elevate, Connected Lifestyle and many more. The company’s…
In line with the 2019 Zimbabwe Agricultural Society (ZA) theme of “Bringing Innovation, Technology and Modernisation”, Econet continues on the path of innovation by bringing in new technologies and new products. Below are some of the innovations at ZAS 2019: Elevate Youth is running an e-sports tournament for FIFA19. The first tournament is…
By Colin Todhunter Many lobbyists talk a lot about critics of genetic engineering technology denying choice to farmers. They say that farmers should have access to a range of tools and technologies to maximise choice and options. At the same time, somewhat ironically, they decry organic agriculture and proven agro-ecological approaches, presumably because these practices…
By Tatenda Mujeyi Zimbabwe is an agriculture-based economy and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) should venture into agro processing so as to increase their markets, a senior government official said in Harare today. “17 % of the GDP of Zimbabwe according to FAO is agro based. As such, there is need to complement this with…
Seed Co Limited, the leading certified seed company authorised to market seed varieties developed by itself, government and other associated seed breeders in over fifteen (15) African countries has provided an overview of winter cereals for this season. Seed Co Group Chief Executive Mr. Morgan Nzwere revealed at the recent Annual General Meeting that the…
By Staff Reporter The Pan-African Parliamentary (PAP) Committee on Rural Economy, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources recently came up with this draft model law on food security and nutrition in Africa whose main objective is to strengthen and consolidate positions on food security and nutrition, as well as the right to adequate food. The model…
By Owami Sithole The Government is supporting the scaling up of the fight against hidden hunger by promoting bio-fortified crops, a promising, cost-effective and sustainable technique of delivering micronutrients to a population that has limited access to diverse diets and other micronutrient interventions. Agriculture is one of the sustainable key sectors towards achieving the nation‘s…
By Charles Dhewa Farmers and traders who do not frequent the booming African mass market will never know their depth. New market entrants use commodities like leafy vegetables that are easy to produce. Once they are in the market, farmers are exposed to different kinds of leafy vegetables ranging from ordinary Viscose to ever green…
By Joyce Mukucha Following a United Nations appeal concerning Zimbabwe which is facing a chronic food crisis, the International Development Secretary Alok Sharma has announced a £49 million UKAID Fund which is meant to support and help malnourished children, families and communities. Without support more than 5, 5 million people will not have access to…
New research: From elites to subsistence farmers, policies must be inclusive New research reveals the significant diversity of palm oil smallholders in Indonesia and provides essential information to help better target policies around producer compliance to sustainability standards. The study: Certification, good agricultural practice and smallholder heterogeneity: Differentiated pathways for resolving compliance gaps in the Indonesian…
By Ron Sterk ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S. — U.S. farmers have seen a return on assets of less than 2% annually for the past five years, creating uncertainty and raising the need to manage risk, a panel of speakers said Aug. 5 at the International Sweetener Symposium, sponsored by the American Sugar Alliance. The average…
The EU has announced that it is providing an additional €10 million in funding (about USD 11.15 million) to help address growing humanitarian needs in Zimbabwe A combination of climatic shocks, exacerbated by the economic crisis, led to critical food shortages. The situation is not expected to improve until April 2020, when the next harvest…
By Charles Dhewa At a time communities in developing countries are diversifying their food systems in order to cope with climate change, isn’t a narrow approach like bio-fortification counter-productive? Could this be yet another example of interventions that are influenced by funders and their collaborators? In several African countries including Zimbabwe, both urban and rural…
THE World Food Programme (WFP)—the biggest buyer of relief food in the country for its operations in the East African region has urged agri-preneurs to step up production of sorghum as there is waiting market. The WFP Country Representative Michael Dunford said here on Tuesday that there huge opportunity for farmers and agri-businesses in the…
The second phase of the Future farm will also include upgrades to the existing road and farm infrastructure and digitizing the mechanisation and agronomy training material AGCO, Your Agriculture Company (NYSE:AGCO) (www.AGCOCorp.com), has revealed plans for further development of the Future Farm project in Zambia. This was announced on 31 July, 2019, at the 150ha…
By Joyce Mukucha The Ministry of Tourism, Hospitality and Industry in conjunction with the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and other stakeholders urged Hurungwe residents to desist from causing veld fires. It has been observed that in Zimbabwe, the Hurungwe area has the highest rate of triggering veld fires. According to statistics, 122 people in this…
By Charles Dhewa Between key informants and literature reviews, which are the most reliable sources of knowledge in developing countries? There is an unfortunate tendency to under-value information and knowledge from key informants like farmers who are coping with climate change. Traders who have seen the informal market surviving several droughts and food processors who…
By Francis Kokutse Interventions such as supplementary irrigation could make the growing of a mixture of crops in soils left behind by floods improve smallholders’ incomes, food security and livelihoods, a study says. According to researchers, several African communities in areas prone to floods grow crops in soils left behind by floods – a practice called flood…
Hamid Ayodeji with agency report Stakeholders in the agriculture sector have said the recent signing of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) by President Muhammadu Buhari calls for urgent and massive investment in the sector. They emphasised that massive and unprecedented investment in the sector would boost domestic consumption, rural infrastructural development and export…
By Susan Reidy BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — E.U. agri-food exports are maintaining their forward momentum, breaking records in May with a total of €12.8 billion, 13% higher than the same time period a year earlier. Imports also increased to €10.7 billion, up 6% from May 2018, according to the latest monthly trade report from the European…
By Jeff Gelski WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — The global food system needs to change to make sure people have enough food to eat in 2050 without destroying the planet, according to “Creating a Sustainable Food Future,” a World Resources Report released July 17. Reducing food waste, eating more plant-based food instead of animal-based food, and…
PAN-African telecommunications, media and technology group, Econet and global crop nutrition leader, Yara International ASA have launched “Generation Africa”, a partnership initiative to inspire young African entrepreneurs to join the agri-food sector for its viable business opportunities. Generation Africa will reach thousands of young people through its “GoGettaz” competition, which will award US$100,000 in prize…
By Byron Mutingwende The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) Chief Executive Officer Dr Andrew Matibiri has provided statistics that paint a gloomy future for the crop that has sustained most farmers in the past. Dr Matibiri revealed the information while giving oral evidence to the Parliamentary Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Climate, Water…
By Anna Wiber To increase the quality of corn used in foods such as tortillas and chips, scientists from University of Minnesota, PepsiCo and Corteva Agriscience are calling for more research on the ingredient’s production. In the Crop Science journal article “Food-Grade Maize Composition, Evaluation, and Genetics for Masa-Based Products,” authors state that an insufficient understanding of…
Two farmers Allan Markham and Clever Rambanapasi aggrieved by the banning of private maize sales by the government have approached the High Court to contest the move. Markham is a philanthropist who buys and sells maize in communities to support many charities. “One of the works I do is to buy maize from farmers particularly…
By Charles Dhewa Like many practices that are seriously misunderstood in developing countries, mass markets are full of distortions, faulty assumptions and wrong thinking. To assist policy makers, investors and ordinary people in getting past a number of lies and discover the real truth about mass markets, eMKambo has taken time to identify and expose…
United Nations Environment Programme Half of the world’s population is directly engaged in agriculture and nearly 40 per cent of land is devoted to agriculture and livestock. Food production sustains us all, but it also comes at a cost: water sources are being depleted and contaminated by food production, and unhealthy diets are burdening our…
SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA — The International Wheat Conference will gather July 21-26 in Saskatoon, Canada, with a goal to strategise on ways to meet projected nutritional needs of 60% more people by 2050. More than 800 delegates, including researchers from the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat, CIMMYT, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry…
By Jonny Bairstow Researchers predict hotter temperatures and the presence of more greenhouse gases in the air will diminish agricultural productivity Over the next three decades, climate change and increasing carbon dioxide concentrations could significantly reduce the availability of vital nutrients in food crops. That’s the forecast made in new research published by the Lancet Planetary Health…
By GERALD ANDAE – Business Daily All has not been with Africa’s trade fabric amid standoffs over market access. For example, Kenya’s milk has had difficulties over time in accessing the Zambian market, while the actual sell-by date of the Kenyan tea has been a subject of controversy in Sudan because of different standards. And…
By Susan Reidy NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S. — For the third year in a row, the number of people going hungry has increased, according to the latest The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report. An estimated 820 million people did not have enough to eat in 2018, up from 811 million…
By Susan Reidy ROME, ITALY — While global demand for agricultural products is expected to grow 15% in the next decade, productivity growth is expected to increase slightly faster, according to an annual report by the Organization for Economic Cooperative and Development and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). As a result, inflation-adjusted prices of…
By Charles Dhewa Besides focusing on pleasing foreign investors, the easy of doing business hype https://tradingeconomics.com/zimbabwe/ease-of-doing-business gives an impression that business is easy. If doing business was easy everybody would be a business person. Farmers and entrepreneurs who wait for conditions to become favourable in order to get into business will stop forever. Most organisations…
According to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) 2019 Synthesis Report on the State of Food and Nutrition Security and Vulnerability in Southern Africa, 41.2 million people in 13 countries are estimated to be food insecure in the 2019/20 year. Comparing the 11 Member States that provided data last year, food insecurity has increased by 28 percent and…
By Byron Mutingwende United Nations agencies of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme are implementing projects to ensure food security in communities in the drought-prone Masvingo Province. WFP Food Assistance for Assets (FFA) Project Courtesy of a United Nations in Zimbabwe organised media tour, this publication visited the Chebvute…
The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) has bemoaned discrimination prevalent in the distribution of food assistance as the inputs and food aid are channelled through local and traditional structures. ZPP said it has over the years documented numerous cases of destitute and marginalised citizens of Zimbabwe being unlawfully denied social welfare assistance, solely on the basis…
