Agriculture Archives - Page 2 of 5

18Apr

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

How Two Women Are Bridging the Gap in South Africa’s Food System with Hydroponic Tunnels

Nestled along the rolling hills of Albert Falls in KwaZulu-Natal lies a powerhouse of innovation and hope. Led by two dedicated agricultural warriors, Nkanyiso Ngubane and Ntokozo Biyela, the rise of Dukathole Farm is something to behold. It’s an impactful and life-changing project that is bringing hope and nourishment to neighbouring communities. Using cutting-edge hydroponic tunnels, the pair are revolutionizing South Africa's agriculture sector, one cherry tomato at a time. Covering an impressive 50-hectares, this farm is not just redefining what is possible in the farming industry – it is reshaping opportunities, especially for disadvantaged women and youth. Albert Falls is a poor community, surrounded by rising unemployment. With every vegetable being grown, Ngubane and Biyela are so...

30Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Agriculture, Business

Fairtrade Increases Coffee Minimum Price As Farmers Face Mounting Economic and Climate Pressures

Fairtrade will raise its Minimum Price for coffee in an effort to strengthen protections for coffee farmers around the world amid the intensifying impacts of climate change and growing global economic volatility, the social justice organization today confirmed. The new Fairtrade prices, which come into effect for contracts signed as of 1 August 2023, will increase the baseline price by 19 percent and 29 percent for Fairtrade certified Robusta and Arabica coffee, respectively. This will provide farmers with significant price risk management support in times of wild market fluctuation, and adapt to their needs as they face inflation in their home countries and substantial additional costs due to climate change adaption. The new Fairtrade Minimum Price for washed Arabica beans – which repres...

18Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Agriculture

A new study has found that Fairtrade farmers are more resilient in times of crisis

A new report published today by Fairtrade International has confirmed that access to better prices, credit, and financial stability significantly increased the resilience of Fairtrade-certified organizations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling them to better withstand the global crisis and reduce its impact on their farmer members and workers. The study, titled Fairtrade certification and producer resilience in times of crises and conducted by Scio Network and Athena Infonomics, examined the experiences of Fairtrade and non-Fairtrade coffee, banana, and flower producers in Indonesia, Peru, and Kenya, finding that households belonging to Fairtrade-certified producer organizations were 12 percentage points less likely to report “a high or very high impact” from COVID-19, as compared to non...

5Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Agriculture, Kenya News, Tech

Cross-sector innovation presents solutions to combat Kenya’s long-standing False Codling Moth challenge

False Codling Moth (FCM), also known as Thaumatotibia leucotreta is currently causing havoc in various chilli farms in Kenya, eating into the farmers’ profits [1]. It has also emerged as a major constraint to the production of horticultural crops in the country and is currently the leading cause of interceptions of Capsicum and cut flowers exported to the European Union [2]. This has a huge knock-on effect on the country’s economy as it is highly dependent on the agricultural sector. In an effort to remedy the FCM challenge faced by thousands of Kenyan farmers the Innovation Exchange (iX) challenge competition, delivered by Innovate UK KTN Global Alliance Africa supported Flamingo Horticulture International, which grows chillies within the several regions in Kenya, to identify innovative ...

Collaboration, Not Competition: The Role of Peer-Learning in a Circular Economy

16Jun

By Ebenezer AmadiNo Comments

Agriculture, Kenya News

Collaboration, Not Competition: The Role of Peer-Learning in a Circular Economy

A group of smallholder farmers from Kericho paid a visit to their counterparts in Meru at the instigation of their local farmers’ association. That was some five years ago. While the trip was fun and adventurous, some of them wondered why so much money and time was being ‘wasted’ yet they could be taught the things they were going to learn right at home. Hearing the murmurs as the bus meandered towards Nakuru, a young woman spoke up. “My parents, as a community, we have our own ways and we have our comfort zones. Some of our ways have worked, others need to be improved so that we and our children after us can prosper and not become beggars.” She continued, “some of the ways of the people we are going to visit, might be what we need to infuse into our ways to achieve this objective. Besid...

Trends Toward A Circular Agriculture In Kenya

7May

By Karin BoomsmaNo Comments

African News, Agriculture, Kenya News, Main

Trends Toward A Circular Agriculture In Kenya

Circular agriculture is termed a food system that is in harmony with nature and meets social needs simultaneously. With the growing population in Kenya, the food supply has been in high demand and this has come at the expense of the environment. Farmers have shifted to using more intensive farm chemicals causing land erosion and poor quality of the soil. The question now is, are we ready to adopt circular agriculture as a country? Are there conversations driving the country towards Circular agriculture? Noticeable trends show that the country is ready or is already shifting to a circular economy. This article highlights 11 trends being adopted, which have been showcased in the recently published report on ‘The Netherlands and Kenya Moving Toward Circular Agriculture in Kenya’. The report...

22Dec

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Agriculture

ICTforAg Announces its Virtual 2022 Conference towards Advancing Resilience, Nutrition & Agriculture led Growth in a Digital World

The ICTforAg 2022 Conference will take place virtually from March 9 to 10, 2022, and convene the leading stakeholders from the agri-tech and agri-Food space across Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). Sponsored by Feed the Future and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, ICTforAg 2022 is implemented by DAI and Intellecap. This interactive virtual experience is focused on technical dialogue and fostering collaboration across the digital agriculture ecosystem to build resilient communities. Given the growing emphasis on digital interventions in agriculture, ICTforAg 2022 will provide the ideal platform for the community at large to share valuable insights and catalyze par...

17Dec

By Joseph MainaNo Comments

Agriculture

GMOs in Sub-Saharan Africa – What you need to know

Several African countries have adopted Genetically Modified (GM) crop farming and the number is expected to grow in the future. But just how much are genetically modified organisms (GMOs) expected to shape the future of Sub-Saharan Africa’s agriculture? Joseph Maina explains. Many of us have heard of genetically modified (GM) crops and how they are transforming agricultural production across the world. Here in Africa, several countries have adopted GM crop farming and the number is expected to grow in the future. But just what are genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and how much are they expected to shape the future of Sub-Saharan Africa’s agriculture? Where does SSA stand in GMO farming, and how has the region benefited? Below is a catalog of points to help us better understand the ...

3Dec

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Agriculture, Nigeria News

AFEX launches $100m Food Security Fund

Financing will strengthen Africa's food security and optimise climate smart innovations across seven countries AFEX, Nigeria’s leading commodities market player, has today announced a new $100m 10-year bond called The Food Security Fund (FSF). The financing will strengthen Africa's food security and produce three million MT of food annually on the continent. AFEX’s fund will support the financing of 250,000 hectares of land for commercial and smallholder farming, initially consisting of 30,000 hectares in the Nigerian states of Kano, Kaduna, Oyo, Ogun, Cross River & the FCT, before covering markets across East and West Africa. The focus of the The Food Security Fund will be to explore and optimize climate smart innovations and high yield agronomy protocols to ensure more food is pro...

8Nov

By Charles BwanikaNo Comments

Agriculture, Startups, Uganda News

Creating a borderless agribusiness space in Uganda and across East Africa

Startup testimony Charles Bwanika, a new generation social entrepreneur Charles Bwanika is a new generation social entrepreneur, passionate about undertaking positive challenges to bring about positive impact people’s lives he’s a seasoned child rights activist, experienced and qualified Community development expert with aBA in Development Studies (BDS) and a Diploma in Community Psychology from Ndejje University and Kyambogo University in Uganda respectively. He also has numerous post graduate professional trainings in different fields including Research Methodologies, Child Protection, Civil Leadership, Project Planning and Management, Business and Entrepreneurship among others. Charles is the Founder & CEO of an agritech social enterprise - Farm Kiosk which is on a mission of ...