Farming Tag

Tech Innovations in Farming for Sustainable Future

By Eric Hamilton
Apart from producing food, farmers also protect natural resources – soil, water, and biodiversity. They are also innovators. Since the inception of agriculture, farmers have had to change, adapt and create new ways of cultivating crops, coping with difficult terrain, and enduring extreme climatic conditions and ag weather events. Currently, agriculture is the...

Farmers urged to take up new maize seed varieties

Maize farmers in Kenya have been urged to adopt new high-yield varieties of seeds to boost their crop production.
Seed Trades Association of Kenya chairperson Kassim Owino said some farmers, especially in the main grain basket of Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia are stuck with the decade-old varieties of seed such as Hybrid 614 despite dwindling crop yields.
“When you stick to the old variety, it...

Western rice production boost hope as authority installs mill at Kibos

The government is installing a Sh65 million rice milling machine in Kisumu, raising hope among farmers who had seen production dwindle over the years.
Lack of milling machines has been a serious setback for rice production in the region. The existing mill is slow and energy consuming.
Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) chairman Owidi Odoyo said the machine was ordered from India in 2019....

New farming school to develop talent in Singapore’s agri-tech sector

By Osmond Chia
SINGAPORE – When his business folded in June 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr S. Shagihan, 56, needed to seek new pastures for a living.
Eight years ago, he was keen on a farming business but opted to start a venture in food and beverage automation because he felt opportunities in agriculture were limited.
But Singapore’s emphasis on producing its own food since...

Amazon, Microsoft Swoop In on $24 Billion India Farm-Data Trove

By Shruti Srivastava
Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. are among technology giants lining up to harness data from India’s farmers in an ambitious government-led productivity drive aimed at transforming an outmoded agricultural industry.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration, which is seeking to ensure food security in the world’s second-most populous nation, has...

Elgeyo Marakwet: Where 90kg bag of potatoes costs the same as two plates of chips

Elgeyo Marakwet is the highest producing area of Irish potatoes. What will shock you is that one bag of potatoes is worth Ksh. 500. In many hotels around the country, the standard price of one plate of chips is Ksh. 250.
So, that means that one bag is equivalent to 2 plates of chips.
In Nairobi a 50kg sack of potatoes goes at an average price of 3,000 shillings. This clearly shows that Elgeyo...

For farmers in Africa to recover from COVID-19, bridge the last mile

Written By Chris Toe & Wallace Shuaihua Cheng

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on smallholder farmers in Africa. In some countries, supply chain disruptions have made it hard for farmers to get seeds, fertilizers, and services in time for growing seasons. In other countries, movement restrictions continue to prevent farmers from going to marketplaces to sell their...

African experts urge a ‘special focus’ on agriculture in post-COVID recovery

Written By Verenardo Meeme

African experts are urging governments across the continent to give a “special focus” to agriculture in the post-COVID-19 recovery era.

The agriculture sector needs to make more investments in irrigation, dam construction and equipment acquisition, as well as embrace superior seeds, if food and health security risks are to be reduced, experts say. This support...

Does farm size really matter in Africa?

Written by Stephen Carr
Addressing Africa’s real agricultural issues.
Among the issues exercising the minds of those concerned with the future welfare of the African continent and its people is the issue of farm size. Many debate if land should be in the hands of larger scale commercial farmers or a multitude of smallholders. But, the hundreds of millions of small-scale farmers of Japan,...