agriculture Archives - Page 3 of 5

13May

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Agriculture, Ethiopia News

European Union (EU) contribution of EUR8 million will strengthen gains in Desert Locust fight

The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, has welcomed an €8 million contribution from the European Union (EU) that will enable countries in the Horn of Africa to maintain a state of readiness in the face of a possible resurgence of Desert Locusts. The European Commission announced the funding - from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) - as another example of the EU's sustained commitment to control this upsurge since its early days in 2020. "I want to thank the European Union and all other supporters for their generous contribution and ongoing assistance in the battle to control the Desert Locust upsurge, enabling critical livelihood-safeguarding activities" the Director-General noted, a...

Agriculture sector can boost drive-train reliability with NSK bearings

30Apr

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Agriculture

Agriculture sector can boost drive-train reliability with NSK bearings

Drive-train solutions for vehicles and machines in the agriculture industry must meet a variety of performance demands that typically centre on high torque and high loads. Bearings for transmissions, differentials and prop shafts must therefore offer the highest levels of reliability and service life. NSK, based on decades of experience in supplying bearings for automotive drive trains, has successfully transferred its knowledge and experience to applications in the agriculture industry, bringing a number of distinct advantages to OEMs and end users alike. There are numerous emerging trends in the agriculture sector, which is now starting to follow the lead set by automotive. By way of example, there are growing calls for increased levels of downsizing to improve fuel economy, while ...

World Poultry Foundation upskill emerging farmers on bird health and better business practices

23Apr

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Agriculture

World Poultry Foundation upskill emerging farmers on bird health and better business practices

Emerging poultry farmers in KwaZulu Natal have benefited from hands-on training at advanced new facilities at the KwaZulu Natal Poultry Institute (KZNPI), with the support of the U.S.-based World Poultry Foundation (WPF). The training, the first in-person course at KZNPI since the start of the pandemic and lockdown, took place at the KZNPI poultry management training centre near Pietermaritzburg in February this year. Thirteen small scale poultry farmers experienced conditions in an advanced new chicken house financed by the World Poultry Foundation (WPF) last year. Lindelihle Nxumalo, KZNPI Farm Manager, says the training exposed farmers to the differences between the enclosed and open-sided chicken houses, underlined key factors in poultry mortality, and improved farm management and bus...

3Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Agriculture, South Africa News

South Africa’s Pork Industry is Set for a Revolution

Pork producers in South Africa are forging ahead with innovation and optimism in uncertain times. The industry has changed drastically over the last few decades – with dietary concerns, disease outbreaks, climate change and other factors all playing a role. Brent Fairlie, CEO at one of South Africa’s largest pork producers, Lynca Meats, lets us in on why, in a country where chicken has always been a firm favourite, pork is poised to make a strong comeback. 1South Africa’s pork industry is relatively large, contributing around 2.15% to the local agricultural sector as a whole but accounting for only 7% of the country’s total meat consumption. However, recent trends indicate that there is plenty of room for expansion, and South African producers are leading the way. “The pork industry has ha...

Focus on agriculture at WEF’s virtual Davos event reflects growing criticality of food security, says sustainability champion Dake Rechsand

3Feb

By Neha KaulNo Comments

Agriculture

Focus on agriculture at WEF’s virtual Davos event reflects growing criticality of food security, says sustainability champion Dake Rechsand

The great reset, following the unprecedented crisis of a global pandemic, lends a window of opportunity to accelerate the response to climate change and hunger. Dake Rechsand lauds the shift in global agenda, towards sustainable growth. The World Economic Forum's Davos event - the annual meeting of global political leaders and business elite, which shapes policies and partnerships for a more inclusive, cohesive and sustainable future - was held virtually this year, due to the continuing global pandemic. In a departure from previous editions, Davos 2021 featured an increased focus on agriculture and food production, along with their knock-on effects on climate change, water scarcity and deforestation. "These developments reflect how the pandemic has reset our attention, on to pressing issue...

Five Tech Megatrends that can Transform African economies in 2021 and beyond

15Jan

By Richard LiNo Comments

African News, Agriculture, Fintech, Main, Medicine

Five Tech Megatrends that can Transform African economies in 2021 and beyond

The world has been experiencing massive digital disruption with the relentless rollout and adoption of disruptive and innovative technologies. Embracing digital disruption is daunting, since it is extremely unsettling with the rapid change brought about within societies and the severe impact on unskilled labor. Even if the African continent will not be spared by digital disruption, Africa cannot afford to be left out of these global technology (Tech) trends. If technology is wisely implemented, developing African countries are able to hop on the digital bandwagon to rapidly undergo a digital revolution that can boost their respective economies. While disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing, augmented and virtual reality, and others are becoming more and...

Africa needs the space industry to go forward

18Jul

By Anthony PenderisNo Comments

Science, South Africa News, Tech

Africa needs the space industry to go forward

The African continent is bound to become increasingly more dependent on the space industry for job creation, poverty alleviation and sustainable resource management. These were some of the findings in a paper recently published by an expert in the field of Earth Observation and Geo-Information Sciences. The paper titled “The status of Earth Observation (EO) & Geo-Information Sciences in Africa – trends and challenges” was published in the journal of Geospatial Information Science, by Prof Tsehaie Woldai* in February this year. Woldai is a Visiting Professor at the School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. In his research, he found that up to end of last year 28 of the 54 African countries were already engaged in the Earth Observation and Geo-In...

Tapping into Digital Technology Platforms to Increase Agriculture Productivity in Africa

15Apr

By Johan BurgerNo Comments

Agriculture, Main, Mali News, Nigeria News, Senegal News, Zambia News

Tapping into Digital Technology Platforms to Increase Agriculture Productivity in Africa

by Johan Burger Introduction Africa is a bit of an anomaly as far as agriculture is concerned. On the one hand, it has 65% of the world’s available uncultivated arable land, and it has the potential to feed the world. However, a country such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has the potential to feed Africa’s 1.2 billion people, struggles to feed its own population of about 70 million. On the other hand, the continent is a net importer of food to the tune of US$41 billion annually. This figure is set to grow to US$110 billion by 2025 should nothing change. We also find that the average age of farmers in Africa is about 63 years, and 85% of farming activity takes place on smallholder plots of 2 - 3 hectares each. At the same time, the youth of Africa are fed-up with the p...

Friday@Noon on Agriculture in Africa – 2018

10Apr

By Johan BurgerNo Comments

Agriculture, Angola News, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia News, Ghana News, Kenya News, Mozambique News, Nigeria News, Rwanda News, South Africa News, South Sudan, Tanzania News, Uganda News, Zimbabwe News

Friday@Noon on Agriculture in Africa – 2018

by Johan Burger This paper addresses events and trends in the agriculture sector in Africa for 2018. It is based on the media articles addressed in the Friday@Noon weekly newsletters of the NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies in Singapore. These are by no means meant to constitute an exhaustive list of developments. General Agriculture in Africa has been identified as a sector with the capacity to stimulate economic growth on the continent. What is necessary, is the industrialization of the sector, with a strong focus on improving the inputs, e.g. better quality seeds, fertiliser, irrigation and modern farming techniques. Transforming the sector into a lucrative one, is an important step to convince various stakeholders to see farming as a good business opportunity. The industrialisation of...

9Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Main

Farming module provides locally produced food all year round

A new, unique solution enables profitable ecological cultivation in urban environments Exsilio, a Finnish enterprise, has developed a high-tech solution for cultivating salad and herbs, among others, in urban environments. The solution comprises a redesigned container, where ecological local food can be cultivated efficiently. “Our solution is ideal for example for restaurants and institutional kitchens wanting to produce their own fresh ingredients. The modules also serve as an excellent complementary solution for farmers to expand their traditional greenhouses with”, explains Thomas Tapio, CEO of Exsilio. The 13-metre long farming module, known as EkoFARMER, is a unique market novelty. The unit forms a closed system that is delivered as a turn-key solutions that only require...