From their website:
The Real IPM company (a development marketplace finalist) mass produces beneficial insects and biopesticides for use in Integrated Pest Management programmes in Kenya and beyond, providing growers with good quality, affordable biological controls...If pesticides are not used to protect crops, the grower needs to use other methods, which could be naturally occurring biological...
Governor Rick Perry of Texas, representing a major livestock-producing state hammered by rising feed costs, has petitioned the Environmental Policy Agency to suspend half of the mandated level for blending ethanol in gasoline. The EPA has the authority under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to suspend all or part of the mandate for up to a year if there is a "significant renewable feedstock disruption or other market circumstance" and the administrator is supposed to respond to Governor Perry's petition by July 24. Surely the current food price crisis, exacerbated by this spring's flooding along the Mississippi, qualifies as a significant disruption.
If the administration and Congress do not revisit the ethanol mandate, it will rise from this year's 9...
The Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations is once again at a crucial juncture. But will it deliver for developing countries? As discussed in a new ODI paper, developing countries have varying interests in a final settlement at next week’s ministerial talks....(read more)...
Henry Neondo reports from Africa Science News:
The Murangiri farm emphasises traditional green vegetables, which Helen says occupy an important role in household nutrition throughout Kenya as these are the main source of vitamins and provide variety to meals otherwise consisting of maize, beans and occasionally, meat stews.
These green vegetables also provide a secondary source of proteins. In...
Caracal/Thwane from the identification chapter of the guide
Cheetah Conservation Botswana's updated guide to predators for farmers and ranchers, The predator - safe livestock guide : an introduction to protecting livestock and deterring predators , has arrived in HOORC's Library. The booklet explains how to deter predators through use of kraals, fencing and livestock guard animals, and...
Guest blogger Karen Bennett is a Research Program Coordinator at the World Resources Institute. Her current work focuses on mainstreaming an ecosystem services approach to assure ecosystems' capacity to provide humans with needed goods and services. She also provides support to projects in the People and Ecosystems Program.In Central America, the Maya Nut is making it clear that trees are worth more standing than cut down. Trees are critical to the well being of forest inhabitants in Central America. Ironically though, many forest dependent communities find it pays more to cut trees down than to keep them standing. That's because timber can be used for firewood, building material, or sold internationally, and cleared land can generate income from agricultural products....
NaijaCar reports on the Innoson automotive initiative.
Nubia Estates offers private residence owners' Club.
Food crisis a boom for small farmers?
More on the opportunity in Africa's frontier markets.
Using oil palm crops to heal Lake Victoria
Burundian Ashura Kisesa, wins a young entrepreneur...
In
Education,
Finance,
aquaculture,
transportation,
entrepreneurship,
commodities,
property,
construction,
funds,
Agriculture,
food
From the X-prize Foundation website:
The X PRIZE Foundation is researching prizes structured around entrepreneurial solutions to global poverty. The focus is to find methods that catalyze profit-generating firms both in terms of financial as well as human development metrics that address major development challenges in agriculture, capital, education, health and water. The goal of these...
From the Science Blog
Scientists (from the Biocassava Plus project) have determined how to fortify the cassava plant, a staple root crop in many developing countries, with enough vitamins, minerals and protein to provide the poor and malnourished with a day's worth of nutrition in a single meal...[continue...
Steven J. Van Kauwenbergh of the IFDC and author of Fertilizer Raw Material Resources of Africa
Points out that six African countries control about 41.5% of the world’s currently exploitable phosphate rock reserves and 50.2% of the total global phosphate rock reserve base that may be exploitable in the future. “Ironically, Africa exports large quantities of phosphate rock, while importing...
African Investments getting hotter? See Msn video here via LadyBrille.
Market gardening takes root in Burkina Faso.
Georgetown Capital offers investment opportunities.
Adding value to the cashew trade-African Cashew...
Former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright and John Podesta, former chief of staff to President Clinton and CEO of the Center for American Progress, have urged rich world leaders assembled for the G8 summit in Japan to take action on the global food crisis, including rapid release of Japanese rice stockpiles imported mostly from the US. In an Op-Ed in today's Boston Globe they write:The food crisis must be a top priority at this week's G8 summit. Agriculture continues to experience more trade distortions than any sector in the global economy. For its part, the developed world -- particularly the United States, the European Union and Japan -- must confront the global impact of our subsidies and tariffs on agricultural products. Barriers to trade between developing countries...
Position: Director, Foundation & Corporate RelationsLocation: Cambridge, MAOrganization: Root Capital (formerly Ecologic Finance) is a nonprofit social enterprise that works at the critical nexus of international development and environmental stewardship. As a development finance institution, Root Capital provides affordable credit and financial education to environmentally, sustainable grassroots enterprises in the developing world. Description: The Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations will manage Root Capital’s investor relations programs and working closely with and reporting directly to the Managing Director for Philanthropic Investments. Root Capital's strategic plan has established an ambitious fundraising program with an emphasis on building relationships with...
Image via WikipediaMavuno Capital's Michael Swanich stated that:
Our philosophy is that Africans themselves should develop agriculture in Africa. More than 60% of all economically active people in Africa are employed in the agricultural sector and Africa will never be a successful continent unless people are empowered in agriculture.
The company's strategy is:
based on the BOT (Build, Operate...
Two quick notes: First, the Growing Inclusive Markets Initiative at the UN Development Program formally launched their report called Creating Value for All. In it, you'll find some policy prescriptions, case studies, a strategy matrix and - perhaps most interesting - heat maps. Hat tip to PSD Blog's Ryan Hahn for finding and posting one of these heat maps (in this case, of cell phone penetration in South Africa.) Of course, the data on this particular heat map are from 2000, which means they are likely from surveys conducted in 1998 or 1999. When looking at cell phone penetration - which has grown at breakneck rates over the past 10 years in developing countries like South Africa - the heat map is basically useless because it's so out of date. Not so with other basic...
A report in the Financial Times by John Thornhill leads with a remarkable quote from French President Nicolas Sarkozy warning the EU that he would block a proposed World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on agriculture that would reduce European production incentives:
In a world where there are 800m poor people who cannot satisfy their hunger and where a kid dies every 30 seconds from hunger, I will never accept a reduction in agricultural production on the altar of global liberalism.President Sarkozy is happy to have French farmers feed poor, hungry people in developing countries, but not happy to have those people improve their livelihoods by competing with French farmers on a level playing field. According to the OECD, between a quarter and a third of European Union...
Ft gives an overview on the"rapid growth of private equity" in Africa. via Africaincorp
Ladybrille covers Nollywood and more in their latest issue.
Nubian Cheetah takes a look at ExZeed a BPO provider
African Architecture & Design highlights the bamboo construction...
Founded by Oumou Diallo Sissoko Mam Cocktail produces in its HACCP certified processing facility:
-Natural Fruit Juices
-Thiakry
-Milk and...
Zena Exotic Fruits manufactures annually, 700 tons of jams, jellies, and marmalades these include:
Fruit SpreadsFruit SyrupsPepper SaucesHand Crafted NougatSesame...
ELDIS has alerted us to Animal husbandry in Africa: climate change impacts and adaptations, a new study published by the African Association of Agricultural Economists. This study investigates the effects of climate change on animal husbandry in Africa. Cross-sectional methods were used to estimate the sensitivity of African livestock to climate, based on surveys of almost 5000 livestock farmers...
East and Southern Africa Dairy Association reports:
Shambani Graduate Dairy has been a blessing to the farmers in Morogoro municipality. Shambani graduates started off with one milk supplier, processing capacity of 30 litres. Today the plant receives milk from over 200 suppliers and has a capacity to process 750 litres of milk dairy and produces up to three different products. Pasteurized...
Meridian Medical Services fashions itself as the "One stop" medical centre.
Kahindo Mateene a fashion designer "sews together tradition and trend"
SMS based Livestock Marketing Information System launched for farmers and traders.
Combination Industries serves up cheese snacks.
African minerals strengthens its social...
BetumiBlog reports on Culinary Entrepreneurship in Ghana:
What delights me and my senses is some of the emerging “made in Ghana” foods featuring Ghanaian products. A sampling is included here. There's Takai, a liqueur “made from natural cocoa and coffee blended with other natural aromas” produced and bottled in Ghana by Gihoc Distilleries. The name “Takai” comes from a traditional dance and...
A Sierra Eye video outlines the various agro-allied opportunities in Sierra Leone:
via Cheetah...
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) actively promotes the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity for food and agriculture, providing intergovernmental fora where biodiversity-related policy is discussed and relevant agreements negotiated and adopted by member countries. The FAO's web pages about agricultural biodiversity describe the organization's work...
A few weeks ago, our CGD Note, Unwanted Rice in Japan Can Solve the Rice Crisis -- If Washington and Tokyo Act, created quite a stir. Policy makers and the public could not believe that Japan was feeding rice to animals at a time when millions of poor people were going hungry because food prices were unaffordable. Sadly, Tokyo's Ministry of Agriculture still does not get it. Today's press quotes the head of the ministry's livestock department as saying that Japan plans to increase its subsidized sales of rice to its livestock sector by 50% to more than 600,0000 tons. At a time when millions of people are facing starvation, Japan is choosing to turn its rice stocks into cattle feed.
There is still time to act, especially in the run up to the Japan-hosted G8 Summit next month....
"...Bioman Energy manufactures a range of innovative biodiesel processing units which enable the self production of Biodiesel..." John Pistorius of Bioman in a related subject emphasised the concurrent potential of bioplastics,Green Flavour writes:
In South Africa, the bioplastics industry could potentially revitalize a struggling agricultural industry as more and more farmers are finding it...
CTA recently announced a new service for development practitioners. NewsforDev employs RSS and e-mail news technology to bring together knowledge and information for development practitioners. It cleverly tracks 600 plus newsfeed to create a number of thematic dossiers on topics like:ACP-EU relations;Agriculture;Biodiversity;Biofuels;CTA;Climate change;Development;ICTs;Science and technology;TradeEach dossier presents recent content from a number of sources; A nice featire is that you can also subscribe to feeds and updates on each dossier or feed.A very nice example of the way that information specialists can 'mash' together existing information services in an accessible...
"...The Kisangani Smith Group has developed two types of efficient biomass stove which can be hand-made by local smiths. One stove replaces the widespread use of charcoal in towns: it burns sawdust (readily available as a waste in the Njombe region of Tanzania) or agricultural residues. The other stove is an improved wood-burner, targeted at rural areas..."-Ashden Awards
via African...
"...Burkinakarité is a union of women associations dedicated to shea butter production and commercialization.The union is made up of 4 villages association. Our local head office is in Bobo Dioulasso in Burkina Faso .Burkinakarité sells raw shea butter produced traditionally by the women of the...