Latest Newsletter: No.57 (12/2021)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11)
I would like to use this opportunity to thank you all our partners, friends and clients for your trust and valued support during the past year and wish you all a blessed and prosperous 2022! We look forward to a year of favour and the opportunity to contribute actively to the development of the people of Africa to benefit from the multitude of opportunities in the farming and agribusiness sector on the continent.
Let’s commit to take joint responsibility and action to break the yoke of poverty by unlocking the wealth of our people and the rich agricultural resources we have been endowed with in Africa.
Please share our newsletter & the good news about Agribusiness in Africa with your colleagues, family & friends.
Hennie van der Merwe – Publisher
IFAD Launches US$77.4m Project to Boost Productivity and Build
Resilience of Small-Scale Farmers
The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have inked a US$77.4 million project aimed to help rural households facing the impacts of climate change..Read More
Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Set to
Transform Agriculture
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) embarked on a journey to transform the agriculture sector in line with H.E President Bio’s vision for a sector that attracts private commercial investment, is driven by innovation and mechanisation, creates jobs and.. Read More
Launch of the 2021 Lychee Campaign from Madagascar
The 2021 Madagascan lychee campaign officially began on November 17 with the start of the first harvests. Announced under the same auspices as 2020, the campaign promises to be qualitative with beautifully crafted fruit and expected volumes..Read More
Farming of Biofortified Crops Empowers Young Female Farmers in Uganda
Ruth Tugabirwe is one of fifteen young women farmers from the Rwemirokora village in Uganda who received training from HarvestPlus in early 2020. This training focused on methods of farming biofortified crops such as vitamin A-biofortified orange sweet potato (OSP) as well as the multiple benefits they can bring to farmers. Read More
Smartphone App Tracks African Indigenous Vegetables for Improved
Food Safety in Western Kenya
A recent smartphone app being used in Kenya is addressing how that journey might impact the safety — as well as the consumption and demand — of African indigenous vegetables (AIV). Read More
VALUE4HER Initiative Influencing a Gender-Friendly Business Environment
for Women in Agribusiness
One year after incorporating her fish processing company, Zaveda Fisheries, founder and CEO Eva Ndamono Shitaala was contemplating closing it. The Namibia-based business was doing well and had gained numerous clients of their fish and shellfish products across Africa, but things changed once the COVID-19 pandemic reached the continent in early 2020. Read More
Promoting Sustainable Beekeeping in Mozambique
Beekeeping is a regional tradition. Local beekeeping using bark hives and logs has long been a part of the subsistence economy of people who inhabit all the forests in the park’s buffer zone. Read More
Nigeria’s Largest Egg Producer Powers its Facility with Renewable Energy
Premium Poultry Farms, Nigeria’s largest egg producer has entered into an agreement with renewable energy supplier, Rensource Energy and Empower New Energy, an impact investment company based in Norway to install a solar photovoltaic system at its facility. Read More
Broiler Producer Uses Her Position to Uplift Others
Jo-andra Cloete, who farms in Joostenberg Vlakte near Cape Town, started producing broilers only a few years ago. She is now mentoring over a hundred farmers, whom she supplies with day-old chicks..Read More
Successful South African Herb Farmer Knows No Boundaries
Nestled between the slopes of the Simonsberg mountain in Stellenbosch and the Haweqwa Nature Reserve next to Groenberg, you’ll find the ever busy agripreneur Basil Williams tending to his crop. When speaking to the CEO and founder of Herbal View Hydroponics, you’d think that you’re in conversation with an energetic 25-year-old, but Williams -a passionate herb grower- turned 44 this year..Read More
From a Hawker to an Award-Winning Agro-Processing Farmer
Entrepreneur Gugu Mlipha went from being a hawker to an award-winning agro-processing farmer with a turnover of R2,4 million/year. Despite her success, she remains firmly hands-on, even driving her company’s delivery truck. Read More
An Entrepreneur On A Mission To Help Americans Discover Superfood Moringa
Apart from market trends and consumer demands, scientific findings highlights the health benefits of some food types commonly grouped as “superfood “. An example of such is Moringa (moringa oleifera), which is native to western and northern parts of India and is currently grown in different cities around the world..Read More
Cherry Irrigation: Specialists in Agricultural Irrigation Systems
“Every irrigation or fertigation system needs to be designed for a set of specific circumstances – there is no such thing as an ‘off-the-shelf’ solution” says Cherry Irrigation director Charles Cherry. “More and more we are seeing that in order to achieve sustainable, long-term success in the agricultural and horticultural sectors respectively, you need customized systems.” Read More
In a Water-Challenged World, Crop Breeders Must Do More Than Go with the Flow
With water sources dwindling and harsher climate conditions on the rise, farmers in the developing world need both better crop varieties and improved water management practices. This World Water Day, Gustavo Teixeira, CGIAR Excellence in Breeding (EiB) Module lead for Breeding Operations and Phenotyping, explores how crop breeding success is bound to water use..Read More
How Connecting Innovators and Implementers Can Catalyze Solar Irrigation
Scaling in Ghana
Solar power has the potential to revolutionize water use in agriculture, providing an attractive means for farmers to irrigate their crops. This is especially the case in sub-Saharan Africa, which has among the lowest electrification access in the world and irrigation potential in dry-land regions of an additional 6-14 million hectares, 84 percent of which is small-scale irrigation..Read More
Mitigating Water Quality Challenges in Farming and Agricultural Practices
Aquamat provides project/application specific water solutions aimed at serving the agricultural markets. By implementing a holistic water management approach that takes into account the entire water cycle: from source to distribution, economic use, treatment, reuse and return to the environment. All criteria are taken into consideration to facilitate the best solution to the challenge at hand..Read More
Compo Expert’s Duratec® and Basacote® fertilizers: The Most Efficient Fertilizers in the World
COMPO EXPERT has proven once again that using their enhanced efficiency fertilizers, are not only good for the environment (with less leaching and resulting pollution), but also increases yield and assist farmers to be more sustainable. Following is some results obtained using their Novatec® and Novatec® Solub range (stabilized Nitrogen; i.e. slow release) and NutriTrace foliar micro nutrient products..Read More
Hydroponic Strawberries where Sugarcane used to Grow
In KwaZulu-Natal, Vegtech constructed a 4,500m2 hydroponic greenhouse for strawberries where a sugarcane field used to be. In the Mt Elias greenhouse there are 65,120 plants at a spacing of 17 plants per square metre..Read More
Young Farmer of the Year uses Farm Costing Solutions to Manage Labour Expenses
Alexander Gibson of Doornkraal Agri – an apple and pear grower in the Witzenberg Valley – was named Agri Western Cape and Santam Agriculture’s Young Farmer of the Year in May. The judges commended Gibson’s strong focus on technology and innovation over the past decade..Read More
Farm Costing Solutions Simplifies Management of Farm Expenses with
New Products and Features
Farm Costing Solutions (FCS), a leader in hardware and software solutions for managing farm expenses, recently introduced various upgrades to its platform. The new FCS system eliminates the need for manual paperwork by electronically recording all labour-related farm activities, including time and attendance, piecework, and job costing..Read More
“Now we can Breathe” – Designing Mechanization to Benefit Women Smallholder Farmers
The access and use of agricultural mechanization can play a critical role in increasing farm productivity while reducing the time, labor and drudgery of agricultural production. However, agricultural mechanization (like most technologies) is not always easily adopted, and women farmers are far more likely to face barriers in using mechanized tools..Read More
Award Winning Backsaver offers smart tools for Progressive African Farmers
Michris Janse van Rensburg is one of the very few people who are trying to make life easier for the farmers, predominantly women, who undertake this backbreaking task. Michris’ Company, appropriately named ‘Backsaver Farming Equipment’, is based in Bultfontein in the Free State Province of South Africa..Read More
Winning Fruit Dryer Projects in Africa by Dynamic Dryers International
Dynamic Dryers International (DDI) saw that there was a substantial gap in the market of fruit drying and has been innovating since in this sector. With completed projects throughout Africa, multiple ongoing and even more planned, Dynamic Dryers International has been expanding in the industry and..Read More
Ribbon Blenders for Industrial Mixing – Facet Engineering
Ribbon blenders, also referred to as ribbon mixers are industrial mixing machines that are commonly used across various industries for the purpose of blending and mixing free-flowing products such as dry powders, granules, flakes, and pellets. A ribbon blender consists of a single powered continuous paddle that has been designed to rotate either in one direction or two directions..Read More
Bagtech International: Fertilizer Blending Equipment with a Difference!
It is this background that has led to Bagtech International being a leader in Fertiliser equipment in Africa. Bagtech International considers itself an African company and strives to provide customer-specific equipment for Africa..Read More
SBS Agri: Turnkey Solutions for Your Grain Farm
Specialists in grain silos, dryers, and handling equipment, SBS Agri takes care of the entire design process, from concept to installation, and maintenance too. Working with you to create and implement an agricultural solution that meets your needs, and exceeds your expectations, the SBS Agri team is on hand to help your farm grow and succeed. Read More
Power Plastics Thermal Asphalt Covers
A thermal asphalt cover is used to keep asphalt warm whilst transporting and storing temporarily so that it doesn’t solidify and become difficult to work with. It is aimed at civil engineering and construction companies that build and maintain roads, driveways, parking lots, etc. and bitumen suppliers..Read More
Electrification Of a Village In Tanzania – AJ POWER
AJ Power recently completed the commissioning of an AJ110 synchronising generating set to work in tandem with a hybrid PV/Battery system in rural Tanzania. Read More
ADC: Partnership for Commercial Agri Projects in Africa on Offer
ADC is a Cape Town-based firm specializing in agribusiness project identification, development, facilitation and management across the African continent. Hennie van der Merwe, the CEO, has the following to say on the company and its ventures..Read More
Fabrinox Supports Local Agricultural Innovation
Paarl-based Fabrinox is ideally placed to support agricultural equipment manufacturers with innovative solutions for stainless steel, mild steel and aluminum. This support includes batch manufacturing, bespoke project management and technical and manufacturing insights from professionals in the field, as well as a delivery service to its local customers. Read More
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Agri4Africa Newsletter #57
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