Swaziland farmers have increased production to the extent that they have managed to provide the entire country’s supply of butternut squash, tomato and green pepper.

Swaziland still imports large quantities of other types of fresh produce however, mainly from South Africa. This is despite the fact that there is plenty of fertile soil in the country.

The National Agricultural Marketing Board (NAMBoard) has issued a public notice stating that it is currently prohibited to import such produce until further notice.

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Agricultural science service provider Farmsecure Agri Science (FAS) has strengthened its position in South Africa’s deciduous and table grape industries.

Through the merging of the well-respected soil science consulting firm, Agricultural Consultors International (ACI), into the services of FAS, as well as the acquisition of the research and development company ExperiCo, Farmsecure Agri Science now offers an extensive, comprehensive and reliable suite of agricultural scientific services.

Farmsecure Agri Science is part of the Farmsecure Group and an integral role player in realising the Group’s vision of making a meaningful contribution to securing the world’s food supply by “Creating Sustainability and Profitability in Agriculture”.

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Cape Town — When a food crisis hits the continent, African countries tend to look to the international donor community to mobilise aid. But a fast-growing, drought- resistant tree with extremely nutritious leaves could help poor, arid nations to fight food insecurity and malnutrition on their own.

A 15-hectare plantation of the “miracle tree” with the botanical name Moringa oleifera has already started to make a positive change in the rural village of Tooseng, which is located in one of South Africa’s poorest provinces, Limpopo.

Moringa leaves are dubbed a “super food” because scientists found that they contain the calcium equivalent of four glasses of milk, the vitamin C content of seven oranges, the potassium of three bananas, three times the amount of iron found in spinach, four times the amount of vitamin A found in a carrot and twice the amount of protein in milk. It is like a supermarket on a tree.

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Machakos — For a couple that has weathered the dual tests of early retirement and repeated crop failures, it might have seemed an impossible dream to former primary-school teacher Philip Ngolania and his farmer wife that their three quarters of an acre farm could one day yield enough staple food to last an entire season.

But a visit to the local office of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) early this year ushered in a fresh beginning for the 62-year-old father of four grown sons, whose land barely produced enough food for the family’s daily meals in this drought-parched area east of the capital, Nairobi. Since that visit, he says, the family’s prospects have improved dramatically.

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Kagera — KAGERA Regional Commissioner, Fabian Massawe, has urged residents in the region to grow fast maturing crops including maize and millet, to avert food shortages.

He has also advised residents in Chato District and other areas expected to have bumper harvest, to avoid selling all the food to middlemen. Mr Massawe made the appeal while opening a Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) meeting held in Bukoba Municipality on Thursday.

He said the Tanzania Meteorological department had forecast that long rains would start in March, this year and would probably rain above normal standards.

He said there was a possibility that the rains would stimulate floods, urging the leaders to sensitize people living in flood prone areas to vacate them before disaster hits them. He also urged residents in the region to participate fully in environmental conservation and control tree felling and bush fires.

Source:Tanzania Daily News