Nazareth Appalsamy, the SPCA’s farm unit inspector, said the desperate chickens had started cannibalising each other, and it was the “worst example of cannibalism and cruelty” he had seen in his career.

Appalsamy and three colleagues worked from Wednesday last week until Saturday to put the creatures out of their misery, Beeld newspaper reported.

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Receiving the donation Agricultural State Minister Wondirad Mandefiro said coordinated control and protection of the agriculture sector from chemicals is essential.

He said the ministry is enhancing the laboratory with relevant technologies and human power.

He said the ministry attached due attention to make agricultural items to be chemical free and competitive at global market. The State Minister said FAO’s support, therefore, would mean a lot in this regard.

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The two wells will improve the quality of their farming activities and general living conditions. Farmers in these areas are often required to travel long distances ranging from seven to 12 kilometres to reach water points, and although the Northern Communal Area offers vast grazing land for animals, these areas lie untouched due to the lack of surface water.

The boreholes are fitted with solar pumps, providing cost effective and sustainable pumping of water on a daily basis. During a site inspection on 27 March, the first borehole was approved for the first group of farmers to use.

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ZAMACE executive director Brian Tembo said they were expected to resume trading in May and have asked lawmakers to pass a bill to regulate and boost trading.

Mr Tembo said the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU was among those that might invest on the exchange once it had distributed stock to members through demutualisation.

“The Lusaka Stock Exchange (LuSE) last year expressed interest in a majority stake, while the nation’s newly-licensed Bond and Derivatives Exchange based in Lusaka, is “keen on operating the derivatives side of our market,” he said.

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The findings, published in the academic journal “Experimental Agriculture”, show that although the yield of each crop does fall, the overall productivity of the land increases by thirteen per cent.

Researchers from Mozambique and Denmark, led by Paulino Munisse of the Agriculture Research Institute of Mozambique, point out that intercropping is common practice in tropical developing countries, but state that most research has gone into intercropping with legumes, due to their ability to fix nitrogen into the soil.

Intercropping has the advantage of increasing canopy coverage, which reduces water loss and weeds. In addition, it provides a safety net in case of complete crop failure due to pests or disease affecting the main harvest.

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From March – May, the rains are expected to total only 60 to 85 percentage of the average rainfall in this region. This is a significant deterioration compared to earlier forecasts.

Lower rain amounts would have significant impacts on crop production, rangeland regeneration for livestock, and replenishment of water resources.

This would put greater stress on the region, particularly Somalia which is still recovering from a famine declared last year, as well as Kenya and Ethiopia which also experienced a severe food crisis. An increase in food insecurity and in the size of the food insecure population is likely.

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The Prime Minister, Mr Mizengo Pinda, told the National Assembly on Thursday that the government’s efforts have come to rescue the situation in cashew nut producing areas in Southern Tanzania.”The BoT has agreed to release a 29bn/- loan for purchasing of cashew nut now packed in the stores and the government has given a 100 per cent guarantee on the loan,” he said.

The Premier noted that the 29bn/- would be released between on Thursday and on Friday and that the outcry among farmers would come to an end.Mr Pinda said this while responding to Ms Mariam Kasembe (Masasi-CCM) during routine Thursday’s question and answer session to PM.

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The country requires 450 000 tonnes of wheat every year with Government targeting to produce 75 000 tonnes from the US$20 million leaving a deficit of 375 000 tonnes.

Using the current wheat producer price of US$466 per tonne, the country will therefore require more than US$174,7 million to import wheat to cover the deficit.
A number of farmers yesterday expressed concern over the continuous late allocation of insufficient funds for winter wheat production.

Many farmers feel Government is not being genuine by providing less money for local production when the bulk of the money is being used to import the same commodity.

Sometimes, the lands lost to these mining activities are farm lands on which most of the communities earn their living. It is estimated that about 90 percent of the resettled households rely on farming – principally subsistence crops and cocoa – for their livelihoods.

The ability, however, to earn a decent living after resettlement have been the primary concern expressed by locals involved in resettlements.

The development and expansion works on Newmont’s mine in the Brong Ahafo Region had necessitated the resettlement of about 500 families, many of whom had relied solely on farming for their livelihood.

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The situation has been ongoing since early March, when speculators began obstructing cross border trade by seizing trucks hired by importers. The desired result was an increase in prices.

The group behind this are believed to have taken up positions across the South African border to avoid being captured.

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