Market News Page No. 555| Africa Business News

Govt support can boost contract farming in cotton

The Tanzania Cotton Board (TCB) has sought Government support for boosting contract farming in the East African country. TCB acting director general Gabriel Mwalo recently said that contract farming is the best way through which cotton farmers can reap maximum output. Cotton farming in Tanzania suffers mainly due to constraints like use of uncertified cotton seeds, lack of farming machinery as well as little or no.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 31st July 2014

Africa to provide significant steel opportunities

Steel plant processing technology, equipment and services specialist SMS Siemag, a division of SMS group, supplier of processing technology, equipment and services for the ferrous, ferroalloy and nonferrous metals industries, says there is potential to establish new steel plants in Africa in the next five years and hopes to capitalise on these developments. SMS Siemag South Africa MD Pieter Bezuidenhout believes that, through its office.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 31st July 2014

Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda Use Science and Technology to Boost Agricultural Productivity

Highlights: Across Sub-Saharan Africa, the agriculture sector is under-performing Four east African countries – Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda – are collaborating to marshal the power of science and tackle common problems facing farmers A new video documents the East Africa Agricultural Productivity Program and its sub-regional approach to boosting the quantity and quality of food produced by.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 31st July 2014

South Africa: Boost for XDR-TB Patients As Cheaper Pills Allowed

The Medicines Control Council (MCC) has granted humanitarian group Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF) access to a cheaper drug to treat extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). The MCC's decision is the conclusion of a three-year battle for MSF and comes a few weeks after the MSF lodged a high court case against the MCC. This followed the regulatory body's failure to convene a statutory committee to allow MSF to appeal the.... Read more »

Posted on : Saturday , 6th September 2014

Tanzanian coffee industry shows promising potential

A recent report released by Rabobank has suggested that governmental effects will be required to allow Tanzanian farmers to enhance the quality of their beans in order to encourage further growth in the East African country's coffee sector Coffee-beans-advencapThe Tanzanian government's influence on improving coffee production was highlighed in a recent report from Rabobank. (Image source: advencap) According to the report, Climbing.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 31st July 2014

Kenya launches health for all campaign

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Health has Monday launched the universal health for all campaign in Nairobi and noted challenges to realize the vision. According to James Macharia, it is a daunting task to achieve universal health coverage in developing countries such as Kenya due to financial constraints and the over-reliance on direct payments at the time people need care. “Kenyan people do not have the.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 31st July 2014

European Union injects US$13.6mn into food research in Kenya

The European Union (EU) will spend US$13.6mn into developing research on the indigenous crops and livestock in the arid and semi-arid areas of Baringo county to boost food production in Kenya Kenya-farmer-K. TrautmannThe European Union will provide farmers in Baringo county with funding to improve food production in Baringo, Kenya. (Image source: K. Trautmann.) According to the African EU coordinator responsible for agriculture, Dominic.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 31st July 2014

Zambian government signs US$26 million loan agreement

The Zambian government has signed a US$26 million loan agreement with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in a bid to provide rural financial services to small-holder farmers Zambia-farmers-wateringcrops Small-holder farmers in Zambia will benefit from a loan deal entered by the Zambian government and IFAD. (Image source: Bread for the World) The Zambia rural finance expansion scheme will receive support from IFAD.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 31st July 2014

ILRI conference discusses accessing finance for livestock and dairy farming

A guarantee fund needs to be set up to allow financial service providers to hedge their risks in the multi-stakeholder livestock value chains, according to speakers at a recent conference in Nairobi on livestock and dairy farming in Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACT) countries Cattle-Africa-ILRIAccording to speakers at a conference hosted by the ILRI, developing livestock-relevant financial products and services should be a key priority for.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 31st July 2014

Africa: Test Could Ease Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Children

A new genetic test for tuberculosis (TB) could dramatically improve the accuracy of diagnoses of infected children in developing countries, although a simple diagnostic kit could be some way off. The research, published last month (1 May) in the New England Journal of Medicine, examined the DNA of more than 2,800 children admitted to hospitals in Kenya, Malawi and South Africa with TB symptoms. It identified specific gene sequences that.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 30th July 2014

Africa: On Trial - Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa

Increasing agricultural productivity and adapting farming to climate change are central to Africa's development prospects. There are important opportunities to enhance yields and increase resilience through the adoption of improved crop varieties. In some cases, biotechnology, and in particular genetic modification (GM), offers advantages over conventional plant-breeding approaches. Accordingly there are a various.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 30th July 2014

Kenya to adopt e-agriculture services

Kenya's ministry of Agriculture is pushing for the implementation of e-agriculture extension services to enable farmers in rural areas access information on modern production methods and improve productivity as Agriculture remains the most important economic activity in Kenya. The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Romano Kiome said yesterday that plans were underway to establish information desks in all districts across the country as a.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 30th July 2014