A sericulture research centre has been established at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation in Thika Dr, Muo Kasina, director of the centre, said that it has been set up with the aim of stabilising the growth of the silk farming sub-sector in the Kenya, which is still under-developed at the moment. The centre is aimed at developing sericulture research in the country. The silk sector, he said, is a unique one because it is.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 10th December 2015

Kenya has been granted a one-year extension to sugar import limits from a regional trade bloc to give it time to overhaul its ailing sugar industry, a Kenyan minister said on Monday. The arrangement capping cheaper imports from Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) was scheduled to expire in February 2016 but Kenya pleaded for more time to fix its sugar industry. "This COMESA extension will give interim comfort to.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 10th December 2015

After a one year agriculture training course in Israel, a team of 17 agriculture technicians is looking to improve the country's agricultural output by introducing modern technologies.   The team has formed the 'Rwanda Agriculture Promoters Organisation (RAPO)', a non-profit organisation that aims to help farmers find solutions to the various challenges that they face in order to improve their yields.   During the visit of Impuhwe.... Read more »

Posted on : Saturday , 5th December 2015

The newly appointed administration of the National Port Authority (NPA) has said that a shipment of mill equipment valued at US$30 million has arrived at the Samuel A. Russ Port in Greenville, Sinoe County.   The multi-million dollar consignment of equipment, according to NPA, was shipped to Liberia by Golden Veroleum Liberia Limited (GVL) in anticipation of the construction of a Palm Oil processing plant in the southeastern.... Read more »

Posted on : Saturday , 5th December 2015

Action for Enterprise (AFE), the Argidius Foundation and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), have partnered for a new initiative to make it easier for Senegal’s smallholder farmers to access quality seed, complementary inputs and agricultural advice.   Through the partnership, AGRA and AFE will work directly with local seed companies and agribusinesses to develop, refine and test business strategies to help expand.... Read more »

Posted on : Saturday , 5th December 2015

Golden Sibanda Senior Business Reporter SWISS food giant, Nestle Zimbabwe, says it has invested $30 million over the past four years towards ramping up production capacity and enhancing efficiency.   Nestle South cluster manager Mr Ben Ndiaye, said the investment in capital operations was also a statement to affirm commitment to Zimbabwe.   Mr Ndiaye made the remarks in an interview after an event to hand a total of 100 dairy cows.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 2nd December 2015

By publicly announcing plans to set up a Pepsi bottling plant in the capital two weeks ago and conducting a groundbreaking ceremony, a matchstick that could ignite a competition powder keg in Zimbabwe's beverages sector could have been lit.   All along Delta Beverages had wondered who was behind the Pepsi beverages that flooded the market. Now, they know.   The months prior to the groundbreaking ceremony, consumers had seen.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 2nd December 2015

Meru county government plans to channel at least Sh1.69 billion to promote fish farming.   Among the key target areas include establishment of a hatchery for warm fish fingerlings estimated to produce at least one million fingerlings annually, construction of demonstration fish ponds and mini fish feed processing machines.   According to Governor Peter Munya, the county government has already constructed two big trout farms in.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 2nd December 2015

Kenya has received $39.55 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to support small-scale irrigation projects, expected to improve yields, incomes and nutrition in rural areas.   AfDB's agriculture and agro-industry director Chiji Ojukwu said the funding would help reduce poverty by enhancing agricultural productivity.   "The programme is aligned with Kenya's Medium Term Plan (MTP-II 2013-17) to modernise its.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 1st December 2015

Dodoma — The government is considering to end its role in deciding when and where farmers should sell their produce to enhance productivity, an official in the Prime Ministers' Office has said.   The plan, he said, was to soon get rid of an era in which the state has the say on farmers' produce.   "This has been a stakeholders' discussion that since we are advocating agribusiness it is better to leave farmers decide.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 1st December 2015

GOVERNMENT HAS EMBARKED ON THE PROCESS OF LICENSING WAREHOUSES ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF GRAINS ESPECIALLY MAIZE IN UGANDA. This is according to Silver Ojakol, the commissioner for external trade, ministry of trade. He made the remarks at the launch of a report on maize standards in Kampala. The development follows reports that Uganda’s maize is failing to penetrate the EAC market due to poor quality. He said that.... Read more »

Posted on : Saturday , 28th November 2015

East Africa is head and shoulders above the rest of Africa in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).   The Gates Foundation has released a report compiled by the Overseas Development Institute, titled: “One foot on the ground, one foot in the air” tracking Ethiopia’s development despite having the lowest human development in the 1990s.   In the wake of massive agricultural investment, a sector which.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 23rd November 2015