A former Kenyan government official remarks on Rwanda’s progress in leveraging technology to improve agricultural productivity. The introduction of the East African Commodities Exchange (EAX) allows farmers access to trade and financing through use of electronic warehousing receipts. Farmers have greater access to markets, and postharvest losses are reported to have decreased by 5%. http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Opinion+and+Analysis/Agriculture+needs+technological+solutions/-/539548/1971484/-/a7ohef/-/index.html
Tag Archives | Africa
Focus On: Building Infrastructure in Africa
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This Farming First blog post highlights the urgent need to improve infrastructure in Africa, where less than 50% of the rural population live close to adequate roads. Authors point to better infrastructure as a key means to reducing postharvest losses. http://www.farmingfirst.org/2013/08/focus-on-building-infrastructure-in-africa/
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Innovations for Agricultural Value Chains in Africa
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The Meridian Institute received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a project that seeks to identify out-of-the box postharvest management and processing technologies. The project will focus on African maize, cassava, and dairy chains, and will involve organized meetings between innovators and key value chain players. http://www.merid.org/Content/Projects/Innovations_for_Agricultural_Value_Chains_in_Africa.aspx
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The Mud on Their Legs – Farmer to Farmer Videos in Uganda
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Paul Van Mele and colleagues created eleven farmer-to-farmer learning videos in Bangladesh and West Africa about growing rice from seed to postharvest beginning in 2003. The USAID funded project, Modernizing Extension and Advisory Systems (MEAS), funded this case study analysis in Uganda describing what researchers observed during a return visit in November 2012. http://agrilinks.org/sites/default/files/resource/files/MEAS%20CS%20Uganda%20-%20Farmer%20to%20Farmer%20Videos%20in%20Uganda%20-%20Bentley,%20J%20and%20P%20Van%20Mele%20-%20July%202013%20-%202.pdf
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Guinness and ABL to Set up Processing Plants in Rural Areas
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Guinness Ghana Ltd. and Accra Breweries Ltd. will soon start establishing processing plants in rural areas which have farms with huge production of cassava. Efforts to engage breweries and organize cassava farmers are part of the government’s overall initiative to significantly reduce high rates of postharvest losses in Ghana. http://www.citifmonline.com/index.php?id=1.1497933
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Harnessing Postharvest Handling Gains
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A trade specialist says the lack of observation of modern postharvest handling practices in Uganda is a serious challenge for the grain industry, which must ensure quality to remain competitive. Experts call for an enforceable grain policy to mitigate the physical and revenue losses incurred by poor practices such as ground drying and improper pest […]
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Blumberg Grain Executes Letter of Intent to Expand Its Agricultural Investments to Nigeria with $250 Million Commitment
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Blumberg Grain will invest $250 million in Nigeria’s agricultural sector with regard to the country’s efforts with the G8’s New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition program. The investment includes a large scale production and distribution facility for the company’s food security storage warehouses, processing and packaging facilities, and investments in land and technology. http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/07/18/5033651/blumberg-grain-executes-letter.html
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Statement by IFAD President at the 6th Africa Agriculture Science Week and FARA general assembly
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President Kwanze of the International Fund for Agricultural Development listed reducing postharvest losses as a current challenge to achieving continent-wide food security in his remarks on Africa’s opportunities in agriculture. Kwanze cited the decline of research funding as a faltering moment in Africa’s history of agricultural prosperity, and called for altering the lens of research […]
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East Africa: COMESA Advised on Postharvest Processing
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An ag engineer from the University of Nairobi urges the member states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to adopt a strategy for postharvest management as a means to mitigate risks of loss involved with surplus production. He points to Brazil’s postharvest strategy as a model, citing it as the foundation […]
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Tonnes of Maize Rotting in Northern Region
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Improved farming methods in Ghana have led to an increase in productivity of maize, which should be cause for celebration. Instead farmers and warehouse operators are witnessing both physical and economic losses. Farmers face low prices with the lack of a market price support system, and warehouses are unable to maintain a sufficient rate of […]
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