Malawi is one of the world’s top producers of macademia nuts, but the crop does not make it into the top five of the country’s exports in terms of revenue generated. Topping the bill currently are tobacco, sugar, tea and cotton.

The country faces a currency shortage at present and is putting into place plans to take advantage of its position as a producer of macademias, ranking alongside Australia and South Africa.

Industry and Trade Minister, John Bande said that the government wants to capitalise on macademia production to turn the country’s economic fortunes. “This is in view of the contribution the crop can make to import-substitution as well as generation of foreign exchange.

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Funds worth $2 million, in the shape of two $1 million grants, have been provided by the US Agency for International Development to the Horticulture Collaborative Research Support Programme. The funds are intended to provide support for small farm operators in Africa and parts of Asia.

The first grant is anticipated to aid seed related research of indigenous African vegetables. Amongst the goals of the project is the improvement of seed quality for farmers with limited resources with the development of affordable preservation methods for seeds in the face of high temperature and humidity, such as the use of desiccant drying beads.

The second grant was awarded to a team of researchers led by Stephen Weller of Purdue University. That project is focused on improving African indigenous vegetable systems in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. The plan is to improve the health and wealth of smallholder farmers by improving production, marketing, supply and customer demand of produce.

Source: www.news.ucdavis.edu

The Ethiopian Horticultural Agency says it has begun exporting bananas produced in Arbaminch and its environs in South Ethiopia Peoples’ State for the first time. The organic banana project co-ordinator with the agency, Geremew Kenna, told ENA here over the weekend that 200 tonnes of the organic bananas were supplied every week under an agreement reached with a Saudi Arabian company.

Geremew said the agency was working in collaboration with the regional marketing and co-operatives union and the Agriculture Department of Gamogofa Zone to upgrade the quality of the bananas. According to documents obtained from the zone’s agriculture department, nearly 2.5 million quintals (250,000 tonnes) of the bananas were estimated to be harvested annually from an area of 7,912 hectares of land in banana-growing woredas (districts) of Gamogofa Zone.

Source: bernama.com

Ugandan greenhouse tomato farmers have vowed to ‘chase’ foreign tomatoes out of supermarkets in the country soon. At the moment, leading supermarket chains like Uchumi, Nakumatt and Shoprite sell tomatoes from Kenya and South Africa.

Charles Byanyima, who currently produces at least 250kg of tomatoes every week, says if all greenhouse tomato growers united, they would have the potential to take over the local market. A survey across major supermarkets shows that most of them are selling imported tomatoes and other vegetables.

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The Rome-based Global Crop Diversity Trust and the International Potato Center (CIP) in Peru are finalizing a US$1 million five-year renewable grant to support, maintain, conserve and make available sweet potato varieties. CIP describes the sweet potato as a crop that grows in marginal conditions, requiring little labor and chemical fertilizers. It is a cheap, nutritious solution for developing countries needing to grow more food on less area for rapidly multiplying populations. It also provides inexpensive, high-protein fodder for animals.

Sweet potatoes, particularly varieties with purple-fleshed roots are a rich source of compounds called Anthocyanins, which have medicinal value as Anti-oxidants and Cancer Preventing agents. More research is being done about it. But even if it is a major food security crop and can be a commercial crop, it has had little funding for research and development compared to other major staples. However, its contribution to food and nutrition security in the developing world is increasingly being recognized.

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