South Africa and Kenya to host Finland/Nokia African regional mobile application labs

African Regional Mobile Application Laboratories will be launched as part of the Government of Finland and Nokia programme, Creating Sustainable Businesses in the Knowledge Economy. The labs will be run and used by Africans to increase the competitiveness of innovative enterprises working in mobile content and applications. There will be one lab each in East [...]

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Is seed recuperation possible?

Citizens in the village of Kathulumbi in Kenya are building a seed bank to help strengthen biodiversity and access to uncontaminated seed varieties. Traditional staples like cassava and millet have been largely replaced by more cheaply available genetically modified varieties of maize. By preserving traditional seed varieties, the villagers want to make seeds affordable, sustainable [...]

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Commentary: A less visible solution to hunger

As leaders and different stakeholders gather for the World Food Prize Symposium to discuss international hunger, the usual responses will be about beefing up agricultural production by focusing almost exclusively on expanding markets and developing technologies, such as improved seed varieties. However, this is insufficient to make a significant dent in chronic hunger. The global [...]

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Agriculture trade, rural livelihoods and trade facilitation

Malawi FEATS National Dialogue, which was held in Lilongwe in collaboration with Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN), was attended by representatives of government ministries, farmer’s organisations, the private sector, CSOs and the media. The presentation made by Dr Lawrence Mapemba focused on the linkage between agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods on the one hand, and [...]

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Agricultural productivity, rural livelihood and trade in agriculture

Similar to Malawi’s National Dialogue, Zambia’s FEATS National Dialogue was held in Lusaka on 4 October 2010. The presentation by NRG FEATS Project recommended ways for government to provide complementary services, reduce policy confusion, provide trade facilitation infrastructure and regional & MT negotiations, promote emergence of farmer organisation to encourage a coordinated approach to export [...]

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GM maize trials to begin in East Africa

Confined field trials of genetically modified maize will begin in Kenya and Uganda this year, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) has said. Scientists from Kenyan and Ugandan government research bodies, Monsanto and research body International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) developed the 12 varieties of Water Efficient Maize for Africa. But critics and consumers, [...]

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Farmers urged to embrace technology

African farmers have been urged to use technology to boost food production on the continent. At a seminar on ‘Development and poverty reduction’ organised by the Germany-based capacity-building institution, experts said research in many African countries had shown that the soil lacks nitrogen which could be replenished through prudent use of fertilizers. As a solution, [...]

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Ending Africa’s hunger means listening to farmers

Instead of new hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, farmers in West Africa said they want to use local seeds, avoid spending precious cash on chemicals and most importantly to direct public agricultural research, according to a multi-media publication released on World Food Day (Oct. 16). There is a concern about the direction of Africa’s [...]

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Without investment in agriculture, Africans stay hungry

Inadequate access to water, recurring floods and droughts as well as a lack of political will to invest in small-scale agriculture perpetuate hunger across Africa, the continent’s food security experts say. The 2010 Global Hunger Index (GHI), published in mid-October, shows that 29 countries in the world have hunger levels that are considered alarming or [...]

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Shift in agriculture techniques needed to ensure food security

Farming techniques must adapt to mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure global food security, Olivier De Schutter, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, said in a statement to mark World Food Day. Current farming methods focus on the provision of chemical fertilizers and a greater mechanisation of production. Such efforts [...]

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