It will now take a shorter time for fresh produce from Kenya to be audited for export following the launch of a software that fast-tracks the quality testing process.

Farmforce, a product developed by the Sygenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA), phases out manual farm record keeping, replacing it with an online version that can be accessed by farmers for free via an Android mobile phone.

“It hastens the process of tracking genuine fresh produce from the one that has not met the export regulations,” says Fritz Brugger, the head of agriculture services at the SFSA.

The European Union in December 2012 imposed strict testing guidelines for Kenyan fresh produce after previous shipments were found to be laced with pesticide residues above the legal limit, also known as the Maximum Residual Levels (MRL).

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IT is estimated that the world population had been projected to reach 9.1 billion by 2050.

This projection requires a 70 per cent increase in food production world-wide. Almost all of the growth would occur in less-developed countries including the African Continent.

However, it is estimated that Africa is suffering from 20 to 30 per cent post-harvest losses valued at US$ 4 billion annually.

With the loss of 20 to 30 per cent of maize harvest valued due to poor post-harvest handling, the loss of more than US$ 4 billion was equivalent to the food aid Africa received over the last one decade or equivalent to an annual caloric value requirement of 48 million people.

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WHEN Dr Joseph Ndunguru of Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute speaks about cutting edge science, he does so with passion. He believes that such science is possible in Tanzania – and that agricultural biotechnology remains the best option to improving food production among resource-poor farmers, says the country’s presidential science laureate Joseph Ndunguru.

“Modern biotechnology holds considerable promise to meet challenges in agricultural production,” Dr Ndunguru said at a public lecture on the theme, “Agricultural Biotechnology: Translating ‘science’ into food and cash for the poor” held at Nkrumah Hall, University of Dar es Salaam last Thursday.

An experienced and internationally acclaimed molecular plant virologist, Dr Ndunguru also encouraged young graduates and aspiring researchers to embrace agricultural biotech, a brave new world for those ready to probe the country’s rich plant kingdom. Tanzania stands to gain a great deal from scientific research.

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Biotechnology and genetic engineering have the potential to do for agriculture what mobile technology has done for the communications sector in Africa, a renowned Harvard University scholar, Prof. Calestous Juma, has said.

Prof. Juma, who was in the country for a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni, advocated for the adoption of Genetically Modified Orginisms (GMOs) saying they would boost food and income security.

He however, cautioned that it would be detrimental to adopt GMOs without clear flexible and supportive biotechnology regulations, asking Parliament to pass the Biotechnology Bill.

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WHEN Dr Joseph Ndunguru of Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute speaks about cutting edge science, he does so with passion. He believes that such science is possible in Tanzania – and that agricultural biotechnology remains the best option to improving food production among resource-poor farmers, says the country’s presidential science laureate Joseph Ndunguru.

“Modern biotechnology holds considerable promise to meet challenges in agricultural production,” Dr Ndunguru said at a public lecture on the theme, “Agricultural Biotechnology: Translating ‘science’ into food and cash for the poor” held at Nkrumah Hall, University of Dar es Salaam last Thursday.

An experienced and internationally acclaimed molecular plant virologist, Dr Ndunguru also encouraged young graduates and aspiring researchers to embrace agricultural biotech, a brave new world for those ready to probe the country’s rich plant kingdom. Tanzania stands to gain a great deal from scientific research.

Read the full article HERE