Empowerment Development Association (KWEDA), started extracting juice and wine from fruits which they supply to various companies.

Many farmers countrywide can buy a leaf from the women group, writes Joshua Kato. When the 2009/10 national budget was read, emphasis was put on value-addition to agricultural produce and sh10b was specifically allocated for this purpose.

With value-addition, the produce is processed into more valuable forms instead of selling it in its raw form. For example, pineapples can be turned into juice, bananas into flour and coffee beans into drinking coffee. Uganda has plenty of fruits – pineapples, mangoes and oranges.

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Harare — COTTON has emerged the third largest biotechnology crop in the world, accounting for 12 percent of the total biotechnology area in 2008.

Global Bt cotton hectarage increased from 700 000 hectares in the 1996/97 season to 14,4 million hectares in 2008/9 and its share of world cotton hectarage grew relatively steadily over this period from 2 to 47 percent.

The International Cotton Advisory Committee has reported that a number of countries were now considering adopting production of Bt cotton while others were conducting trials.

Countries conducting field trials of Bt cotton include Pakistan, Egypt, Kenya and Mozambique.

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Selebi-Phikwe — Bobirwa farmers suffered yet another setback recently when their goats were killed and the carcases destroyed by local veterinary authorities at Semolale following interception of the animals in a foot-and-mouth disease red zone.

Most of the goats belonged to one person, who is now threatening to sue the police for negligence. The rest belonged to two other families.

The 84 goats were intercepted between the Botswana and Zimbabwe cordon fences along the Shashe River, which forms the natural boundary between the two countries.

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Luanda — The Angolan Government is rebuilding the country’s dairy potential that existed before the armed conflict. The information was released Wednesday in Luanda by the deputy minister of Agriculture, José Amaro Tati.

The official was speaking at the end of a visit to the Angola dairy company (Lactiangol), accompanied by the Portuguese minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, Jaime Silva. He said there are in the country milk basins, some of which in steady development, like that of Wako Kungo and those of the country’s central highlands.

In order to boost the sector, according to the deputy minister, there are bank credits and public-private partnerships that will help Angola to start large scale production of milk.

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Nairobi — Price reduction of maize will depend on Kenya enjoying a good harvest in the current crop season, millers said Wednesday.

Cereal Millers Association chairman Diamond Lalji said the prices have currently stabilised at around Sh80 per two kilogram packet of maize flour. “This is as a result of availability and adequate supplies of maize through importation.” Mr Lalji regretted that the rains were not favourable in most of the country’s grain growing areas.

In Transnzoia, the country’s grain basket, the rains are reported to be good, in Eldoret (average) while other areas were below average, Mr Lalji said.

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