Zambian government signs US$26 million loan agreement

 The Zambian government has signed a US$26 million loan agreement with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in a bid to provide rural financial services to small-holder farmers Zambia-farmers-wateringcrops Small-holder farmers in Zambia will benefit from a loan deal entered by the Zambian government and IFAD. (Image source: Bread for the World) The Zambia rural finance expansion scheme will receive support from IFAD through a loan of US$10.8mn and funding.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 31st July 2014

ILRI conference discusses accessing finance for livestock and dairy farming

 A guarantee fund needs to be set up to allow financial service providers to hedge their risks in the multi-stakeholder livestock value chains, according to speakers at a recent conference in Nairobi on livestock and dairy farming in Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACT) countries Cattle-Africa-ILRIAccording to speakers at a conference hosted by the ILRI, developing livestock-relevant financial products and services should be a key priority for stakeholders in livestock production..... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 31st July 2014

Africa: Test Could Ease Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Children

 A new genetic test for tuberculosis (TB) could dramatically improve the accuracy of diagnoses of infected children in developing countries, although a simple diagnostic kit could be some way off. The research, published last month (1 May) in the New England Journal of Medicine, examined the DNA of more than 2,800 children admitted to hospitals in Kenya, Malawi and South Africa with TB symptoms. It identified specific gene sequences that appear more frequently during a TB.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 30th July 2014

Africa: On Trial - Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa

 Increasing agricultural productivity and adapting farming to climate change are central to Africa's development prospects. There are important opportunities to enhance yields and increase resilience through the adoption of improved crop varieties.   In some cases, biotechnology, and in particular genetic modification (GM), offers advantages over conventional plant-breeding approaches.   Accordingly there are a various projects under way to develop new GM varieties.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 30th July 2014

Kenya to adopt e-agriculture services

Kenya's ministry of Agriculture is pushing for the implementation of e-agriculture extension services to enable farmers in rural areas access information on modern production methods and improve productivity as Agriculture remains the most important economic activity in Kenya. The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Romano Kiome said yesterday that plans were underway to establish information desks in all districts across the country as a way of improving information flow..... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 30th July 2014

IFC/World Bank Report : 4 million Kenyans projected to have clean off-lighting by 2015

Lighting Africa will release the findings of the Lighting Africa Market Trends Report – Overview of the Off-Grid Lighting Market in Africa. In Kenya, an estimated 30 million still live without electricity and rely mostly on kerosene for lighting.  Given the current market growth of between 94 – 115% for off-grid lighting products, up to four million Kenyans could have access to clean, safe lighting by 2015. The report provides a snapshot and projects trends in the.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

Solar powered LED lighting across Africa

Philips has launched a new initiative, which will see the installation of 100 light centres across rural Africa by 2015. These are areas of about 1,000m2, or the size of a small soccer pitch, which are lit using a new generation of highly efficient solar powered LED lighting. The idea is to create areas of light for rural communities which live without electricity thus effectively extending the day and creating numerous opportunities for social and economic activities in the.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

Liberia and EU sign deal to end 'logs of war'

Liberia and the European Union have signed a deal to prevent illegal timber exports and kickstart the country’s forestry industry. But is it “green” enough? Liberia is home to 45% of the rainforests in West Africa, but for many years its timber industry was rooted in corruption. Former President Charles Taylor, currently on trial for war crimes, was accused of selling “logs of war” to fund his brutal regime, forcing the UN to place sanctions on.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

Timber projects in Congo Basin pose huge challenges

COUNTRIES of Africa’s Congo Basin would like to grow richer by making and selling products from their abundant supply of timber, but experts see a path strewn with obstacles. A first difficulty is that electrical power for sawmills and factories “is not available, because its production is problematic”, Emmanuel Ze Meka of the International Tropical Timber Organisation says. “There is also a lack of transport infrastructure” and “taxation is.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

South Africa enters solar power world top 10

South Africa has now connected more than half a gigawatt of utility-scale solar power, moving into the world top 10 of countries harnessing renewable energy from the sun, according to figures released last month by Wiki-Solar.org. Wiki-Solar is a leading authority on the deployment of utility-scale solar power - photovoltaic (PV) power stations of 5 to 10 megawatts (MW) and above. The United States tops Wiki-Solar's list of the top 10 markets for utility-scale solar power, with.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

Solar computer is a product of Africa

CAPSULE Technologies, a Cape Town-based technology firm, has designed Africa’s first solar-powered desktop computer running on Android. Recognised as a World Design Capital project, the device, called the IMPI Mk1, is highly energy-efficient and can operate on 20W, compared with other desktop computers which can burn an average of 200W to 400W. Capsule Technologies founder Megan Verkuil said on Friday the computer was built in response to Africa’s energy.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

Oil find to transform East African economies

East African oil and gas discoveries are poised to fundamentally transform the economies of the region as the fuel resources usher in new investment in road, rail, power and industrial infrastructure, according to Standard Bank. Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Mozambique have emerged as one of the most prolific oil and gas exploration regions in the world over the last 10 years, says Mr Simon Ashby-Rudd, the London-based global head of oil and gas at Standard.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014