SAPA welcomes commitment to the NDP

 The South African Poultry Association (SAPA) welcomed the commitment made by President Zuma, at the State of the Nation address on the 17 June 2014 to the agricultural objectives as set out in the National Development Plan Poultry-Africa-hyper7proSAPA has put plans in place to transform South Africa's local poultry sector. (Image source: hyper7pro) Kevin Lovell, CEO of SAPA, said in aiming for a five per cent economic growth rate and reducing unemployment, poverty and.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 11th August 2014

East Africa dairy farmers benefit from agricultural training

 East African farmers have benefitted from agricultural training, with the volume of milk sold by farmers in the East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) project increasing by 102 per cent over three years Dairy farmers Gates FoundationThe EADD project set a target to double the earnings of 17,000 dairy farmers in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. (Image source: Gates Foundation) The EADD joined forces with Heifer International, the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) Technoserve, the.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 11th August 2014

KARI develops new banana and rice varieties

 The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) has developed new banana, rice and cassava varieties for farmers in Kenya Kenyan-farmer-K. TrautmannThe new banana, rice and cassava varieties for Kenyan farmers will prevent them from recycling seeds during the planting season. The new FHIA-17 banana variety matures within 12 months and has an impressive number of banana fingers and weighs more than 100 kg. “The FHIA-17 is suitable for coffee and cotton zones. It is.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 11th August 2014

Kenya's avocado sub-sector shows promising future

 With an estimated annual production of 115,000mt, Kenya’s avocado sub-sector has experienced further growth as investments increase in the counties and new export markets open up avocado-olle svenssonMore than 70 per cent of total avocado production comes from smallholder farmers. (Image source: olle_svensson) Foreign investors setting up avocado factories in the country have also improved prospects among local farmers. Each year, more than 1,000 avocado containers are.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 11th August 2014

Renewable energy needs guarantees for investors in East Africa

 The slow pace with which renewable energy projects have been rolled out across Africa may prove to be an advantage in a few years. As they catch up, African countries could benefit from technological developments and falling costs of wind and solar power. Norman Ndaba, Power and Utilities Sector Leader at global financial advisory firm Ernst & Young, says telecommunications developments in Africa may be an indicator of how renewable energy will evolve. In the 1980s and.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 8th August 2014

A commercial agreement endorsed to facilitate East Africa Oil and Gas Free Port Project

 The parliament of Ghana has endorsed a commercial agreement between the Government, Lonrho Ports Ghana Limited and Atuabo Free Port Company Limited to facilitate construction of the Ghana Oil and Gas Free Port.   The Ghana Oil and Gas Free Port will be set up at Atuabo in the Western Region. The port is also expected to come into full operations in 2016 and will assist in meeting Ghana’s logistics and support requirements in oil and gas industry. It will also help.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 8th August 2014

Quantum Power to provide Tema LNG with importation storage in East Africa

 Quantum Power Gas is enthusiastic in developing the Tema LNG importation storage, re-gasification and delivery facilities. The company is a subsidiary of Quantum power, a pan African energy and infrastructure industrial investment platform, and has signed a partnership agreement with Golar LNG to see completion of the project. Golar is expected to provide some certain technical, engineering, design and construction of the required floating and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 8th August 2014

Kenya: China to Ship in 5,000 Foreign Workers for the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway Project

 China Road and Bridge Corporation will bring in 5,000 workers to work on the standard gauge railway, Kenya Railways MD has said.     The works on the 609km railway is expected to kick off in September after a frosty start that was marred with claims of corruption. Parliament gave the project a clean bill of health.     "The contractor will bring in the workers and get additional ones locally. We have also commenced discussions to reduce timelines.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 8th August 2014

SH80 MILLION POWER PROJECT LAUNCHED IN HOMA BAY

 Homa Bay: A power project, which will cost Sh80 million to develop, has been unveiled in Homa Bay county.   The ambitious initiative, being undertaken by Kenya Power, is expected to end frequent power outages in the area.   Dubbed "Boresha Umeme Homa Bay", the initiative will increase electricity supply in the area to six times the current flow.   Kenya Power Managing Director Dr Ben Chumo said the move is part of a countrywide exercise to upgrade.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 8th August 2014

Shelter Afrique has signed a US$8 million deal with the Kenya Medical Association for housing

Shelter Afrique the Pan-African Housing Financier has advanced a US$8 million [KSH704M] loan to the Kenya Medical Association for the construction of 160 housing units in Mombasa for exclusive sale to members of the association. The loan which follows the approval by the Shelter Afrique board in March 2014 sees Shelter Afrique partner with the KMA yet again having already jointly financed two of the KMA’s housing projects. Signing the loan documents, the Acting Managing.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 8th August 2014

Lifelong ARVs for pregnant women, says Kenya Health Minister

 All pregnant, HIV positive women will go onto lifelong antiretroviral treatment from January 2015, Kenya Health Minister. In addition, people with HIV will start treatment when their CD4 count, which measures immunity, drops to 500 not 350 as at present. Currently, pregnant HIV-positive women with a CD4 count over 350 only receive ARVs during pregnancy and breastfeeding to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission. In September 2014, the health department will also.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 8th August 2014

Kenya chooses GM and biotech, but there are smarter ways to feed Africa

 Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto has made the case for Africa to use biotechnology in food production to deal with hunger and poverty. But when it comes to the issue of food security in Africa, there are often hidden agendas at work. There’s a lot to be gained by agri-tech companies if leaders blindly promote biotechnology.   Biotechnology is, generally speaking, the use of living organisms to fulfil a practical function, and we have a lot to thank it.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 8th August 2014