Alongside container farms in South Africa cultivating soldier flies for animal feed, solar-powered fish and crop dryers in Tanzania and machine-learning pest detectors in Kenya, Africans are coming up with innovative solutions to overcome the effects of climate change on food production.
Solar dry, soldier fly, AI: Africans fight hunger with innovation
No end in sight for deadly drought
Reading Time: < 1 minute An “unprecedented” three-year drought in the Horn of Africa is affecting tens of millions of people and the region will take years to recover, says the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations and a host of aid organizations. But the latest forecast is for another poor rainy season. “If below-average rains do materialize, the Horn […] Read more
Development partners commit US$30 billion to food production in Africa
Continent facing record-level hunger
Dakar | Reuters — Development partners have committed US$30 billion to boost food production in Africa over the next five years, the president of the African Development Bank said on Friday at the close of a summit on food security on the continent. The continent is facing its worst food crisis ever, with more than […] Read more
Putin ally warns agriculture supplies could be limited to ‘friends’
Reuters — One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s allies warned on Friday that Russia, a major global wheat exporter, could limit supplies of agriculture products to “friendly” countries only, amid Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis. Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy secretary of […] Read more
Canada shuts to seven African countries’ travelers
Latest COVID-19 variant spurs decision
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada is closing its borders to foreign travelers who have recently been to seven southern African nations to help stop the spread of a newly identified variant of COVID-19, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told reporters Friday. The European Union, the United States and Britain are among those tightening border controls as […] Read more
More acres seen needed worldwide to meet mounting crops demand
U.S. acres may have already hit ceiling: AgResource chief
Geneva | Reuters — Farmers need more space to grow crops to meet mounting demand for food and renewable fuel at a time of slowing growth in yields, consultancy AgResource said on Tuesday. A renewable fuel push under U.S. President Joe Biden’s climate agenda is set to trigger a boom in soyoil use, reinforcing a […] Read more
Farmers and Canadian Foodgrains Bank set down deep roots
Reading Time: 4 minutes Across the country, thousands of farmers take time during their busiest season to harvest crops that will be sold to support the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. A few have been going for more than three decades, but many came to be during the 23 years that the charity, an alliance of 15 churches and church-based agencies, […] Read more
Deere taps tractor-hailing tech in bid to break ground in Africa
Low incomes, lack of credit hobble African mechanization
Nanyuki, Kenya/Johannesburg | Reuters — It’s ride-hailing, farm style. Deere and Co. is teaming up with the “Uber of tractors” in Africa and betting on a future where farmers summon machines with the touch of a button. The world’s leading farm equipment maker is outfitting its tractors with startup Hello Tractor’s technology, which allows farmers […] Read more
Drones to be tested against Africa’s locust swarms
U.N.'s FAO testing drones to detect, spray pests
Nairobi | Thomson Reuters Foundation — The United Nations is to test drones equipped with mapping sensors and atomizers to spray pesticides in parts of east Africa battling an invasion of desert locusts that are ravaging crops and exacerbating a hunger crisis. Hundreds of millions of the voracious insects have swept across Ethiopia, Somalia and […] Read more
Namibia looks to import cattle as drought decimates herds
Windhoek | Reuters — Namibian state-owned meat processing and marketing firm Meatco is in talks with neighbour Botswana to import cattle, as severe drought decimates local herds and threatens beef export deals with China and European countries. The southern African desert nation moved closer to famine last month after dam levels fell below 20 per […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
