agriculture Archives - AfricaBusiness.com

18Apr

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Agriculture, Kenya News

Caribou Digital Launches New Book, The Platform Livelihoods Project: Research Exploring the Workplaces of the Digital Age in Africa & Indonesia

Research reveals an urgent need for digital “accidental marketplaces” to evolve into safer and more inclusive environments. Leading research and advisory firm, Caribou Digital, proudly announces the release of its latest publication, The Platform Livelihoods Project, a pioneering collection of studies on pervasive digital marketplaces, some conducted in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and others with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The study examines the sprawling digital economy and highlights the urgent need for a safer, more inclusive environment. It advocates for policymakers, companies, and other players in the ecosystem to leverage the study to drive investment into the future of the digital workplace, essential for the millions dependent on it for...

Mobilizing Blended Finance for Climate Investments in Kenya

29Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Kenya News

Mobilizing Blended Finance for Climate Investments in Kenya

By Utsav Mulay, Climate Finance, ESG and Carbon Markets Expert at Intellecap Kenya faces the formidable challenge of aligning its climate action with its development goals. The heart of this challenge lies in the financial mobilization required to transform these ambitions into tangible outcomes. According to the insightful "Landscape of Climate Finance in Kenya" report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) in March 2021, a staggering $40 billion is required to meet Kenya's mitigation and adaptation needs by 2030 under its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement. Kenya's Climate finance needs span energy, agriculture, water, and forestry. In energy, Kenya aims to transition to renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, and geothermal, to not only reduce its ...

ThriveAgric Kicks-Off Phase Two Distribution of Agricultural Inputs, Targets 100,000 Farmers for 2023/2024 Dry Season Farming Cycle

16Jan

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Agriculture, Nigeria News

ThriveAgric Kicks-Off Phase Two Distribution of Agricultural Inputs, Targets 100,000 Farmers for 2023/2024 Dry Season Farming Cycle

Calls For Strategic Partnership To Optimise Dry Season Farming in Nigeria ThriveAgric, Nigeria’s leading agricultural technology company, has flagged off the ThriveAgric 2023/2024 dry season farming cycle with the distribution of agricultural input, targeting over 100,000 smallholder farmers in northern Nigeria to facilitate the production of over 300,000MT of grains. ThriveAgric would provide farmers with irrigation facilities, drought-resistant input, access to technology, storage, and premium markets to help optimise output in this farming cycle. The flag-off was announced at an event in Jigawa state, Nigeria. The event brought together various stakeholders including financial institutions, government officials, farmers, and representatives of the farming communities from Jigawa, Bau...

Achieving Food Security Through Private Sector Investment: The Battle of Narratives

10May

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Agriculture, Events

Achieving Food Security Through Private Sector Investment: The Battle of Narratives

Africa is well positioned to become the global breadbasket; with 60 % of the world’s unused cropland spread across the continent that can be used for farming, it has the potential to emerge as a major food supplier. African governments are prioritizing agriculture on their respective development agendas, and this shift has been supported by increased access to technological innovations and investments in the last couple of years. However, despite those positive developments, African food systems have been severely impacted by external shocks in recent times. Why are African countries in danger of facing serious food shortages, despite years of policy reforms, investments, and vast unexploited land resources? Why is the continent's food system so vulnerable to global shocks? How can Afric...

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 ...

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...

15Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Tech

Vote for Stellenbosch’s Smartest City Solutions: Finalists announced in Stellenbosch Network’s second annual #IdeasForChange Challenge

For the past few weeks, Stellenbosch’s best and brightest minds have been pitching their novel ideas to turn Stellenbosch into a 'Smarter City' as part of the second annual #IdeasForChange Challenge. After much deliberation, the judges have announced their top three finalists who will now be entered into a poll on social media and vie for the chance to win the R20,000 grand prize and be named this years’ winner. Organised by Stellenbosch Network – and sponsored by Stellenbosch University and the SU Launchlab – the competition seeks to uncover creative, innovative and scalable ideas to improve municipal decision-making and the quality of life of citizens across a range of services and sectors. Says Stellenbosch Network Operations Manager and organiser of this years’ Challenge, Hanli Brink...

8Nov

By Joseph MainaNo Comments

Agriculture, Burkina Faso News, Kenya News

GMOs have lessened pesticide poisoning and improved yields in Africa, says report

A report by a top caucus of experts in the United Kingdom shows that many countries have benefited from improved economies and healthier populations by farming genetically modified (GM) crops. Most significantly, the low pesticide use associated with GM farming is linked to fewer incidences of pesticide poisoning among farmworkers—particularly for small-scale farmers, observes the Report on Genetic Technologies released in September by the UK’s Regulatory Horizons Council. In India, for instance, the report cites a 50-70% reduction in pesticide applications on insect-resistant cotton, which has led to significant health benefits for farmers. “It has been estimated that this GM crop helps to avoid several million cases of pesticide poisoning per year,” the report noted. “There have als...