AGCO Africa drives further growth in sustainable agriculture

Bimini1002015-04-04T16:24:39-05:00

Agricultural equipment manufacturer, AGCO, held its fourth annual AGCO Africa Summit in Berlin, Germany Tractors-AGCOAGCO Africa discussed the private sector's involvement in the growth of Africa's agriculture sector at a summit held in Berlin, Germany (Image source: AGCO) The summit, which discussed Africa’s agricultural development driven by the private sector, is a joint initiative of AGCO Bayer CropScience, DEG-Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft and Rabobank. “Ensuring food security is the top priority for many African Governments who struggle to afford imported food [...]

March 30, 2015 Uncategorized Comments OffRead more...

Kenyan dairy farmers receive US$25.14mn funding

Bimini1002015-04-04T16:25:12-05:00

Non-profit group Family Group Foundation and Heifer International Kenya have signed an agreement to provide financial support worth US$25.14mn to small-scale dairy farmers in Kenya The EADD programme will focus on building social capital and will actively pursue partnerships. (Image source: USAID/Flickr) The project will be partly funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and will target around 136,000 farmers in Kenya, Family Group Foundation said. According to the foundation, the East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) programme has been designed to boost [...]

March 25, 2015 Uncategorized Comments OffRead more...

Tanzanian farmers to benefit from weather station technology

Bimini1002015-04-04T16:25:33-05:00

The Tea Research Institute of Tanzania (TRIT) in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will install automatic weather stations in all tea growing regions of Tanzania. Benjamin Mtaki, crop water management programme leader at TRIT, said, “The automatic weather stations are able to give different information like weather forecasting, outbreak of pest and diseases as well as soil water deficit for the purpose of irrigation.” Mtaki added that the automatic weather stations can also determine the planting season and [...]

March 23, 2015 Uncategorized Comments OffRead more...

Brazil’s corn and soybean crops flattening out influenced by climate conditions

Bimini1002015-04-04T16:25:51-05:00

Brazilian growers will sow 8.98m hectares with safrinha, or second crop, corn this year, a decline of 230,000 hectares on the 2014 figure, Conab said in its first evidence-based estimate for plantings. Previously, it had estimated farmers sowing the same area with safrinha corn as last year – a record 9.21m hectare. The decline in safrinha sowings will also result in the first drop in Brazil's second-crop corn production in seven years – albeit of a modest 126,000 tons, to [...]

March 18, 2015 Uncategorized Comments OffRead more...

Nigerian agri sector receives US$136.5mn for 2015 farming season

Bimini1002015-04-04T16:26:10-05:00

Nigeria has released US$136.5mn to boost its agricultural sector and improve food security for 2015 Around six million Nigerian rice farmers have received improved rice seed varieties in 2015. (Image source: World Bank/Flickr) Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria, said, “As crude oil prices decline, we must create new wealth from the richness of our soils, the vastness of our rivers and the abundance of our cheap labour. We will produce more, and industrialise the agricultural sector.” According to Jonathan, the US$136.5mn fund [...]

March 16, 2015 Uncategorized Comments OffRead more...

Case IH supports agricultural growth in East Africa

Bimini1002015-03-11T13:56:25-05:00

Agricultural equipment manufacturer Case IH, supply-chain specialist Toyota Tsusho East Africa and Toyota Tanzania sponsored an agricultural event in Tanzania to support the agribusiness sector in East Africa Case IH’s tractor line-up includes units that are suited for small to medium-sized farms. (Image source: Case IH) The Agribusiness Congress East Africa that took place on 28-29 January 2015 in Dar es Salaam was hosted by the Agricultural Council of Tanzania. The congress brought together the main participants of the agricultural sector [...]

March 11, 2015 Uncategorized Comments OffRead more...

Web tool tracks agricultural investments in Africa

Bimini1002015-03-11T13:57:55-05:00

The Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System - Eastern and Central Africa (ReSAKSS-ECA) has launched a new web tool to track investments made for African agriculture The tool will also track agricultural projects and programmes by African governments, development partners and other stakeholders. (Image source: CCAFS/Flickr) The new web tool, AgInvest Africa, was developed by ReSAKSS-ECA and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Joseph Karugia, coordinator of ReSAKSS-ECA, added, “The web portal facilitates partnerships, informs discussions on [...]

March 9, 2015 Uncategorized Comments OffRead more...

Nigeria Targets U.S.$2 Billion in Cashew Nut Export

Bimini1002015-03-11T13:58:44-05:00

Abuja — Executive Director of Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Olusegun Awolowo, has said Nigeria is targeting the export of cashew nuts worth $2billion in the two years as part of the measures to diversify the economy and move it away from over-dependence on oil. Addressing newsmen in Abuja, Awolowo said already that Nigeria had exported cashew worth $106 million to Vietnam in 2014, adding that a four-year master plan was being developed by the agency to promote export of [...]

March 4, 2015 Uncategorized Comments OffRead more...

Zambia: Mumbwa Farmers Embrace Conservation Farming

Bimini1002015-03-03T09:52:01-05:00

Conservation Farming Unit manager Alex Nakachinda, who is in charge of the western region, said small-scale farmers in Mumbwa hoped to increase their crop yields because of conservation farming. In conservation farming techniques, plant residue from the previous crop are left on the land to minimise erosion and provide organic material. This considerably reduces the need for expensive chemical fertilisers. The basins are, meanwhile, dug carefully to avoid turning up the earth which keeps the nutrients in the soil alive and [...]

March 2, 2015 Uncategorized Comments OffRead more...

Athens Plow Model 52: La Grada de Disco que deben tener todos los agricultores.

Bimini1002015-02-27T18:23:42-05:00

Escoger un arado para un tractor no es algo fácil. La mayoría de los agricultores ya tienen su accesorio preferido que utilizan para limpiar, plantar, airear y cosechar sus campos. De hecho Jim y Mark Koenings eran los mismos pero eso fue hasta que comenzaron a cultivar soja y fila estrecha de maíz. Se dieron cuenta que estos cultivos dejaban una gran cantidad de residuos en la forma de tallos de maíz y de soja. El cultivador de campo [...]

February 27, 2015 Uncategorized Comments OffRead more...