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

Alligator pepper means different things to different people. It is served along with Kola-nuts to guests for entertainment, as communion and used for religious rites by diviners for invoking spirits. It is a common ingredient in pepper soup, a spicy delight in most parts of West Africa.

But since antiquity, alligator pepper has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of many diseases. The alligator pepper plant has both medicinal and nutritive values and the extracts of its seeds has been used as an antidote to dysentery and diarrhoea. What is more, it is an effective herb for the treatment of snake bite.

But alligator pepper, which is called names such as grains of paradise, Atare (in Yoruba), chitta (Hausa), or Guinea pepper, is one seed individuals with diabetes might find very good in ensuring the regulation of their blood sugar, thus protecting them from complications of the disease such as blindness and limb amputation.

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Rwanda is putting in place incentives to attract investment in the horticultural sector to revive exports. Kigali had halted exportation of horticultural products following the financial crisis that hit the western buyers reducing their expenditure on luxuries.

Even before the crisis, exporters were facing high transportation costs to the international markets because of lack of direct flights from Rwanda to those markets. As a result, the cold room at Kigali International Airport (KIA) has been idle for more than seven months.

Construction of the Rwf500 million (US$ 876,885) high-tech cold room capable of storing 30 tonnes of fresh produce was funded by the Dutch government. The Rwanda Bonded warehouses also known as Magerwa, which maintains the room, had been charging Rwf72 per kilogramme stored in the room per night.

As an incentive to the exporters, the government was contributing half the amount while the exporter meets the other half.

This time, the government is putting in place a transportation incentive where it will be contributing US$0.7 on every kilogram an investor exports. The government is prioritising flowers, fruits and vegetables for exports.

The head of Production at Rwanda Horticultural Development Authority (RHODA) Mr. Eric Kabayiza says the incentives are meant to attract investors in the sector to revive exports.

Flower farmers in Uganda are currently trying to develop indigenous rare species to reduce on the dependency on imported varieties. This innovation is intended to diversify their market on the international and local markets. Currently under their association – the Uganda Floricultural Association- they are carrying out trials for verification and collection of indigenous flowers and plant species as planting materials.

This project is part of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) that was initiated by the Dutch Embassy to identify market access issues that affect the horticulture sector.

The need to bring onboard smallholder farmers is part of the strategy to eliminate some challenges faced by the flower exporters such as high airfreight charges that are making the industry uncompetitive. If sufficient volumes are produced, it is hoped that they will attract cargo airlines and reduce airfreight rates.

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Up to R2.1 billion worth of production in the local deciduous fruit market could be at risk following the first ever outbreak of the infectious American Foul Brood (AFB) disease in the local bee population, John Moodie, the chairman of the Bee Industry Organisation, said this week.

This is a quarter of the R8.5bn worth of the top six deciduous fruits that South Africa exported last year.

South Africa has an estimated 6.6 billion bees, but the disease has so far only been found in the Western Cape.

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