The Secretary General of the Cotton Growers Association, Mr. Omar Sompo Ceesay, has revealed that his association is expecting to harvest over thirty five tons of cotton produced by the farmers in both Central River and Upper River Regions.

According to him, the thirty hectare worth of cotton inputs put on pilot basis in selected communities in the two regions has registered remarkable success. This, he said, is a clear manifestation that farmers are willing and ready to revitalise cotton production in the Gambia. He said villagers that are part of the pilot such as Sare Sori, Jareng and Sare Ellemala have done extremely well. He however expressed concern over the dormancy in the only cotton company (GAMCOT).

Read the full article HERE

A government ban on cashew nut exports has left farmers burdened with low prices following reduced interest in the crop by processors. The growers have petitioned Agriculture minister William Ruto to rescind the ban, saying they would incur huge losses if they sold their yield at the current market price of Sh30 per kilogramme compared to Sh55 before the ban.

A group of farmers from Mpeketoni in Lamu District, a region known for its high quality nuts, wants Mr Ruto to lift the ban to cushion them against the huge losses they are set to incur.

“Over 200 tonnes of nuts are rotting on the farms with the situation expected to get worse as the peak season sets in. Farmers cannot sell their nuts at a throw away price,” Lake Kenyatta Farmers’ Co-operative Society chairman,Mr David Gikaru, said.

When the government effected the ban last year, exporters of raw cashew nuts moved to Mozambique and Tanzania, leaving only a handful of local processors in the market.

The development of four fresh produce business hubs is underway in Windhoek, Rundu, Ongwediva and Oshikango.

The planned cold storage facilities are part of the agriculture supportive infrastructure that the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry is facilitating to promote the production of fresh produce.

According to the ministry, the intention is to complement irrigation development envisaged under the green scheme programme with investment in infrastructure for horticultural marketing.

Although people have been encouraged to produce fruit and vegetables over the years, lack of marketing infrastructure has seen many produce go unsold.

Read the full article HERE

Kigali — Rwanda has recorded a sharp improvement in food security following the government’s measures to boost agricultural production in 2009, officials said.

The government implemented a new agricultural strategy, which included timely distribution of seed and fertilizer, adoption of market-oriented farming methods and encouraging farmers to consolidate land.

“Timely distribution of farming inputs like fertilizers as well as improved seeds and a land consolidation programme boosted the sector in 2009,” according to a report by the government-run Rwanda Agriculture Development Authority on the Crop Intensification Programme.

Read the full article HERE

Eight hundred million Naira is to be injected into the Fadama III agricultural project by the World Bank, States and Local Governments in the country over the next five years.

The Kwara State Project Coordinator of Fadama Development Office, Ilorin, Malam Usman Akanbi disclosed this while answering questions on a Radio Kwara personality interview programme, “Playing Host”.

Malam Akanbi explained that local governments in the country would also participate in the programme and pay a counterpart fund of two million naira on yearly basis for the period of the project.

He said the benefiting communities would equally pay ten percent of the entire sum of the project to be sited in their various domains.

Read the full article HERE