The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Agona East, Mr John Oremus Arko, at the weekend, led farmers engaged in the Youth in Agriculture Programme to harvest their produce.

The district assembly hired 150 acres of land for people interested in the programme during the minor farming season in September.

According to Mr Arko, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) provided seeds, fertilizer and agro chemicals and also paid for the tractor services, used in tilling the land.

The DCE said the Assembly would help in marketing the harvested maize and that the cost involved in the programme would be deducted from the proceeds and the rest paid to the farmers.

Read the full article HERE

About N12 billion has been approved by the Akwa Ibom Government for Accelerated Livestock and Fish Production Programme.

Prof. Etok Ekanem, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Uyo, ahead of the ministry’s second Agricultural Summit slated for Feb. 9, that the money would be spent over a three_year period.

“The state is embarking on this area of agriculture because over the years little attention has been paid to livestock and fish production sub_sectors,” he said.

He explained that about 84 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contribution from agriculture came from crop production, adding that available statistics indicated 10 per cent came from livestock, four per cent from fisheries and one per cent from forestry.

Read the full article HERE

Microinsurance is slowly but surely becoming more popular in Africa. Low-income Africans are purchasing microinsurance to manage their financial risks while mainstream insurance companies see it as a way of establishing a foothold on the continent.

Informal microinsurance has been available in Africa for decades but commercial insurers only started entering the sector in the mid-1990s, offering specialised microinsurance products.

A 2009 study by the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Microinsurance Innovation Facility and the MicroInsurance Centre, in collaboration with a number of other organisations, identified 14.7 million people in 32 African countries (about 2.6% of the population) who are living under US$2 a day and are covered by microinsurance products. It should be noted that 8.2 million (nearly 56%) of this group live in South Africa, where even the poorest have funeral insurance.

Read the full article HERE

Kigali — Rwanda’s coffee production this year will be 26 tonnes higher than last year and is expected to fetch some $60 million, a senior official said.

According to OCIR Café, the coffee authority in Rwanda, despite the shortfall in crop production, prices have been higher.

Alex Kanyankole, OCIR Café boss said that the 16 tonnes exported last year were valued at $38 million which was good given the fact that it was in the mid of the global commodities crisis.

“Coffee is considered as a necessity and that’s why it was not negatively affected by the global financial shake instead its consumption was increasing,” Kanyankole said.

Kanyankole added that coffee consumption per capita in America is at six percent while in Asia especially China, it is at 10 percent.

Read teh full article HERE

Tunis — In light of Tunisia’s interest in organic farming, the governorate of Tozeur currently counts 292 large and medium farmers, four companies of agricultural development (SMVDA), a private company, in addition to a vocational training center in the delegation of “Degache”.

Actions were taken to further boost organic farming in the region.

During the 2008-2009, the production of organic dates reached 5,000 tonnes, 3,000 tonnes of which were exported providing source of income and revenues estimated 12 million dinars.

The organic oases occupy 10% of the total area of “Chot el Djerid”. Three packaging and exporting units of biological dates are also operational in the delegations of “Hezoua” and “Degache”.

Accordingly, a farming unit was set up with a view to sensitize farmers to the potential offered by organic farming. Efforts to raise awareness among farmers are being made by encouraging farmers to use organic agriculture and exporters to build partnerships with investors.

In 2004, the governorate of Tozeur was awarded the Presidential prize for the promotion of organic farming.
FROM: Tunisia Online News