Tuesday 28 January 2014

Ugandan agricultural and agro-processing sector.

The economic output is dominated by agriculture, which was responsible for 44% of GDP in 1996/97. Agriculture employs over 80% of the labour force and also accounts for over 90% of export earnings. Total GDP amounted to US$5.4 billion in 1995, compared to US$134 billion in the case of South Africa. Most agricultural production takes place in the south, where the climatic conditions have always supported the densest rural populations.

Uganda forms part of the East Africa plateau, mostly at an altitude of 1000 to 3000 metres above sea level. It has an equatorial climate, modified by altitude. Most areas receive 1000 to 1500 mm of rainfall per year. Temperatures vary between 15 and 25°C. The natural vegetation ranges from forest to savannah. Favourable conditions for the cultivation of food and cash crops are found in most areas. Continuous cultivation is carried out where the rainfall is reliable and two to three crops per year are attainable. More than 75% of the land is available for cultivation or pasture. However, large areas are under-utilized. Only 8 million of the 40 million acres of arable land were being cultivated in 1997. Land tenure systems are a mixture of traditional practices, colonial regulations and post-colonial legislation and vary from region to region. The most widely found system is "customary tenure", which does not recognize the right of the individual to own land, although he or she may use land subject to the approval of family, clan or community. The co-operative network (over 5000 at village level) has played an important role in assisting farmers in the past two decades.

Grapes

Woman Plucking Tea

Agricultural production comes almost exclusively from 2.2 million smallholders, mostly working 2 to 3 hectares of land, using traditional methods of cultivation and family labour. South Africa could therefore learn valuable lessons from Uganda with regard to commercializing its own small scale farming sector. Food crops (plantains, cassava, sweet potatoes, millet, sorghum, maize, beans, groundnuts and sesame) represent 60% of agricultural GDP, livestock 19% and export crops (coffee, cotton, tea and tobacco) 12%. Some high value crops, such as cut flowers and certain vegetables and fruits, are also being exported. The government is developing a strategy to encourage exports of both food crops and high value crops, in order to diversify exports. The total value of Ugandan agricultural exports amounted to US$491.1 million in 1996. The most important products exported to South Africa and the BLNS countries were coffee, tobacco, fresh cut flowers, ginned cotton and oilseeds.

Uganda is normally self-sufficient in food production. This means that the small scale farming sector is successful in providing food for a population of almost 20 million people. Subsistence production is the norm and only about one-third of food crops are marketed. Crop marketing in Uganda takes place within a policy of trade liberalization, which corresponds to the situation in South Africa. Crop marketing is handled by co-operatives, marketing boards and private companies. The export monopolies previously enjoyed by marketing boards have been removed in line with the general policy of liberalizing trade. As a result of this, coffee producers’ earnings have increased from 20% to 84% of the free-on-board value of coffee exported.

Coffee Tree

The NRM Government has embarked on the road of privatization. A number of state-owned companies, e.g. cotton ginners, dairy processing facilities and the Uganda Seed Project, have been earmarked for privatization. The Ugandan Government encourages foreign investment in their country.

For this purpose, the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) was established. It is a statutory body that serves as a one-stop centre for promoting Uganda as a business location for investment by foreign and domestic investors. It assists investors to implement their plans, advises Government on investor-friendly policies and structural requirements and is responsible for licensing foreign investment. During the period 1991 to 1996 a total of 1 053 investment projects were implemented, comprising a total investment of US$1.34 billion and providing 80 133 employment opportunities. Of these, 38% are foreign-owned, while 24% are joint ventures between Ugandans and foreigners. The most important sources of foreign investment (in terms of number of projects) were the United Kingdom, Kenya and India. However, in terms of the value of investment projects, South Africa ranks third as source of investment. South African companies that have invested in Uganda include South African Breweries, MTN, Alliance Air, Multi Choice and Metro Cash ‘n Carry.

Some investment opportunities in agriculture and agro-processing highlighted by the Executive Director of the UIA, Mr Yob Yobe Okello, include cut flower production for exports, oil seed production and processing, cotton production, ginning, spinning and weaving, production and processing of livestock products, fruit and vegetable production and value adding with regard to coffee and grains. Several investment opportunities in tourism, manufacturing and services were also identified. There are many opportunities in Uganda’s privatisation program as well, e.g. the Uganda Dairy Corporation. Although foreigners are not a

llowed to own land in Uganda, leases, ranging from 5 to 99 years, are available.

A number of investment incentives are available, including capital allowances and operational expenses deductible from a company’s income and deductible annual allowances for depreciable assets. A uniform corporate tax rate of 30 percent is applied. The foreign exchange regime has been fully liberalised and there are no restrictions on the movement of capital in and out of the country. The Ugandan population is reasonably well trained, with a fair number of graduates. Labour legislation include aspects such as medical, pension and leave benefits. Uganda has a growing and open economy with a government committed to private enterprise. An abundant raw material base and access to growing regional and domestic markets are further advantages. Uganda has access to the East African market comprising 74 million people, Comesa (with 23 member countries and 300 million people), as well as duty free and tariff quota access to the EU in terms of the Lomé Convention and duty free access to the US market for certain products under the GSP system.
http://www.daff.gov.za/docs/GenReports/Uganda.htm

Monday 20 January 2014

Technology helps farmers deal with health risks.

by Benjamin Herrold

January 02, 2014 8:00 am • By Benjamin Herrold Missouri Farmer Today

RUSH HILL — On the morning of Dec. 5, 2012, Audrain County farmer Ronnie Harris woke up and tried to get dressed, just like every other morning.
But, this time, he fell to the floor. Harris had suffered a stroke in his sleep.
He later found out the stroke was possibly caused by elevated L protein levels, a hereditary condition.
His left side was initially paralyzed, but gradually, his strength and coordination have been coming back.
After months of physical therapy and rehab, Harris came home to the farm in February, but then on April 19 he fell and broke his hip, putting up another obstacle for his recovery.
For Harris, who grows corn and soybeans, recovery from the stroke and hip surgery have given him time to think about his health, something he says farmers often don’t make a priority.
He says this is especially the case with long-term wear and tear on the body with the aches and pains that add up from day after day of work. Harris also did some bridge work as supplemental income.
“You start thinking about it when it starts hurting,” Harris says. “. . . I would jump down off of stuff that’s 6 or 7 feet tall instead of climbing down.”
Harris’ wife, Tonya, a teacher, remembers several farmers among the patients at the hospital getting joint replacements.
“Hip replacements seem pretty common for farmers,” she says. “There were several patients who were farmers.”
Some long-term health risks are associated with farming, says Jon Bailey with the Center for Rural Affairs.
“I think all the data shows that farming is still one of the most-dangerous occupations,” he says. “The nature of farming kind of lends itself to those long-term, chronic kind of conditions.”
Bailey says farming today is less physical, but the new technology brings new challenges.
“Certainly, I think the physical nature of farming has changed,” he says. “Technology and maintenance bring their own risks.”
Bailey says it seems farmers are interested in their long-term health, particularly having health insurance.
“Obviously, having health insurance is step number one in dealing with these long-term conditions.”
Under the Affordable Care Act, Bailey says health insurance plans are required to have coverage for mental health issues as well, if farmers need that.
Harris says the long road back has been tough mentally some days with the insurance paperwork to navigate and sometimes slow progress.
“Some days you kind of get depressed when it’s raining and you need to be in the field,” he says. “But, then the next day you’ll be better.”
Harris has a hired hand to work on his operation. His son, Kaleb, is busy with high school, sports and FFA activities, but he is interested in joining the farm after college.
In the meantime, Harris has found an opportunity to get more involved on his farm through the University of Missouri’s Agrability program.
Several months after his stroke, Harris heard about the program from a neighbor who had used it.
Agrability seeks to help farmers who are disabled or suffering from chronic health conditions remain in production agriculture.
Agrability coordinators provide assessments as to what technology can help the farmer, and make referrals for farmers for the equipment they need, as well as funding sources for the assistive technologies.
Harris is working with Agrability to get lifts so he can get on his tractors.
“I think I can run the tractors if I can get up on them.”
Harris says getting the lifts to get on his tractors hasn’t been easy.
“It’s been a pretty slow process.”
Still, he is encouraged by the prospect of being able to get out and see his fields from the seat of a tractor again.
Harris says the lifts are one of several examples of how technology can make farming safer and easier on the body. He is optimistic the next generation of farmers will have fewer joint replacements.
“It’s a good thing, my son Kaleb, he’s more computer-oriented,” Harris says. “You can run your irrigation from your phone now.”
Harris also has neighbors who have auto-steer technology for their tractors and combines. He says that also can spare wear and tear on the body.
“My neighbors who have auto steer, they say you’re not as tired and wore out at the end of the day,” he says.
Tonya adds new air seats “really save your back.”
It’s been a long, challenging recovery process for Ronnie Harris, but he’s optimistic for the future.

New rules on Common Agricultural Policy reform approved.

08 October 2013

By: PantherMedia/Scanpix

On October 7 EU chief executives at the Special Committee on Agriculture meeting (SCA) have approved the compromise texts of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform (new rules related to direct payments, rural development, single CMO and horizontal regulation).

“It’s an important step towards the entry into force of the Common Agricultural Policy reform. The new rules set the guidelines for the future of EU agriculture and give certainty to our farmers to plan directions of farm development, investments, financial plans,” noted Lithuanian Minister of Agriculture prof. Vigilijus Jukna.
The final agreement on the political aspects of the CAP reform was reached during the trilogue on September 24, where the Council, under Lithuanian Presidency, European Commission and the Parliament solved the outstanding sensitive multiannual financial framework related issues. By this agreement EU Member States, EU institutions and other organizations have been succeeded in a three-year work of intensive negotiations.
The above mentioned CAP regulations will have to be translated into the national EU languages and revised by lawyer-linguists as soon as possible. The Parliament intends to vote for the whole CAP package in November at the plenary session in Strasbourg. EU Agricultural Ministers will officially approve the texts at the EU Agricultural and Fisheries Council in December.

http://www.eu2013.lt/en/news/new-rules-on-common-agricultural-policy-reform-approved

A respite on Goss's Wilt.

New Product Promises to Prevent And/Or Cure Goss's Wilt Outbreaks

By Rod Swoboda Released April 18, 2012

Goss's wilt has emerged as an economically important corn disease in the past few years. In the hardest hit fields in Iowa and Nebraska, yield losses of more than 100 bushels per acre were reported. The disease is showing up in other states, too.
Goss's wilt is a foliar disease with large, gray to reddish cigar-shaped lesions usually starting on the upper corn leaves. Spraying corn with fungicides won't control it. Goss's wilt is caused by a bacterium, not a fungus. It's hard to say exactly why Goss's wilt was so severe last year. But widespread planting of corn hybrids susceptible to the disease is a prime factor.
Current crop production practices are another reason the disease is appearing more often. There's more corn following corn, which favors a pathogen that survives in crop residue. "Several factors are involved and this isn't an easy disease to manage," says Alison Robertson, Iowa State University Extension plant pathologist.
Plant pathologists recommend planting corn hybrids that have resistance to Goss's wilt, using crop rotation such as corn-soybean instead of continuous corn and using crop residue management. However, they realize continuous corn is going to be grown, and with soil erosion a concern, you have to be careful with tillage if you try to manage Goss's wilt by burying crop residue. Be aware that even with tillage the bacteria can survive underground.
There is a new product on the market, Procidic, a broad-spectrum fungicide and bactericide combination. It's the only product labeled to control Goss's wilt and it is registered for use throughout the Corn Belt. University plant pathologists are testing Procidic this year in Iowa and Nebraska.
New broad-spectrum product
Procidic can be applied as a preventative treatment or a curative, says Steve Knauss, of Greenspire Global Inc., which markets Procidic. Knauss, based in Des Moines, says the product has all natural ingredients and doesn't cause stress to plants. There's no maximum number of applications and no rate restrictions on the amount that can be applied per year.
If you use the product to control fungal diseases along with bacterial diseases such as Goss's wilt, you could start with 2 ounces applied in-furrow. Or a 4 to 6-ounce rate sprayed on the corn at V3 to V5 growth stage, followed by a second application prior to tassel at the 8 to 10 ounce rate. In a worst case scenario, if you find Goss's in a field with severe infestation, Knauss says you may have to use Procidic at a higher rate up to 14 ounces per acre in a rescue situation. Continued scouting is recommended.
Procidic at a 6-ounce rate applied preventatively to young, growing corn plants would bring the cost more in line with fungicide applications. The product can also be used as a curative or rescue treatment. "Using Procidic as a curative or rescue treatment, we're trying to save yield and grain quality," says Knauss. If Procidic is applied at a 14-ounce rate the cost is about $33 an acre. If corn prices are $6 per bushel, and if you gain 5 to 6 bushels per acre by controlling the disease, that's the breakeven.
"A key benefit of Procidic is you are buying one product for the price of two," says Knauss. "It's a fungicide and bactericide; it controls other corn diseases in addition to Goss's wilt." The label says Procidic controls anthracnose, southern and northern corn leaf blight, fusarium wilt, gray leaf spot and others. It is also labeled to control certain diseases of soybeans, alfalfa, wheat and rice.
Offers timing flexibility
Procidic works on contact and is rapidly absorbed into the plant to work systemically, too, says Knauss. When you see disease pressure present on corn plants you need to use a higher rate and shorter intervals between spraying. Rates and instructions for use depend on timing of application.
Goss's wilt can remain in a field on infected crop residue for years. Knauss suggests using the preventative approach for best results. "Growers have lost anywhere from 10 to 20 to 100 bushels per acre from Goss's wilt if it shows up in a cornfield and is not treated," says Knauss. "The past few years in working with this product we've seen very positive results. Procidic works." While it is new to the U.S. Corn Belt, the product has been used abroad for the past 25 years for control of bacterial and fungal diseases in many fruit and vegetable crops.
More information and dealer contact information can be found at greenspireglobal.com or contact your local ag retailer for Procidic.

Achieving the New Vision for Agriculture: New Models for Action

To feed 9 billion people by 2050, the world will need to adopt new strategies aimed at sustainably increasing agricultural production. Meeting this challenge will require significant increases in investment, innovation and collaboration among all stakeholders.The World Economic Forum’s New Vision for Agriculture serves as a platform to build collaboration among stakeholders to achieve a vision of agriculture as a driver of food security, environmental sustainability and economic opportunity.
In the past three years, governments, business, farmers and civil society organizations have embraced and begun to implement this vision at global, regional and country levels.This report outlines the progress to date of partnerships catalysed by the New Vision for Agriculture, and the key challenges and next steps that must be addressed to realize the full potential of the multistakeholder partnership model.

Source: http://www.weforum.org/reports/achieving-new-vision-agriculture-new-models-action

Entrepreneur Highlights.

"When you reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity. You have the choice. You can overcome and be a winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be a loser. The choice is yours and yours alone. Refuse to throw in the towel. Go that extra mile that failures refuse to travel. It is far better to be exhausted from success than to be rested from failure."

- Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

NEW VISION FOR AGRICULTURE

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM RELEASES "NEW VISION FOR AGRICULTURE" REPORT
Jan. 30, 2012

Source: Kraft Foods news release

Kraft Foods, which has co-chaired the World Economic Forum's "New Vision for Agriculture" initiative for the past year, today shared a new report from the project team.

The New Vision for Agriculture is a public-private initiative designed to transform agriculture through greater and smarter investment. The new report shares insights from the last year's work driving agricultural transformations in Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico and Tanzania.

The goal of the report is to help other nations begin their own transformations.

"It's clear that agriculture, done right, is the best means the world has today to simultaneously tackle food security, poverty and environmental degradation," said Irene Rosenfeld, Chairman and CEO of Kraft Foods, who co-chaired today's session in Davos where the new report was launched.

"From our own work in cocoa, coffee and cashews to the work of more than 25 other companies that have joined this initiative, we're catalyzing innovative agricultural transformations around the globe. But the private sector can't do it alone. We must continue working together with national governments, multilateral institutions, civil society and farmers to create lasting change."

Opportunity Seized from a Compelling Need

In response to global food crises, in early 2009 several World Economic Forum companies saw a clear and compelling need - and an opportunity - to improve food security in a meaningful way. By investing in agriculture, companies saw they could also address two of the world's other most pressing problems: poverty and environmental degradation.

That's how the New Vision for Agriculture initiative began. Its goals are to increase food production by 20 percent each and every decade, while decreasing carbon dioxide emissions and reducing poverty by 20 percent in the same time span.

Since 2009, members of the initiative have:

*Defined a shared vision of agriculture as a driver of positive change;

*Developed a roadmap the private sector can use in achieving that vision, particularly through multi-stakeholder partnerships;

*Facilitated public-private collaboration in 10 countries and at the G20 level; and

*Shared best practices so that others can also create partnership-driven agriculture transformations.

Good Progress ... But More Work to Be Done

New Vision for Agriculture projects are delivering solid results on the ground in countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico and Tanzania.

In Vietnam, for example, work is literally beginning to bear fruit. Vietnamese farmers in pilot projects expect to boost fruit and vegetable yields 30 percent in 2012 and 100 percent by 2014.

In another project, tea farmers achieved a 30 percent increase in the amount of Rainforest Alliance-certified tea, improving livelihoods and using resources more efficiently.

Still, participants in the New Vision for Agriculture initiative realize that there's much more work to be done. There are many more crops where progress is needed, many more countries and many more partners to engage to have a truly global impact.

To learn more about the initiative's efforts around the world, click here.

About Kraft Foods

Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) is a global snacks powerhouse with an unrivaled portfolio of brands people love. Proudly marketing delicious biscuits, confectionery, beverages, cheese, grocery products and convenient meals in approximately 170 countries, Kraft Foods had 2010 revenue of $49.2 billion. Twelve of the company's iconic brands - Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Oscar Mayer , Philadelphia , Tang and Trident - generate revenue of more than $1 billion annually. On Aug. 4, 2011, Kraft Foods announced plans to divide and create two independent public companies: a high-growth global snacks business and a high-margin North American grocery business. The transaction is expected to be completed before the end of 2012. A leader in innovation, marketing, health & wellness and sustainability, Kraft Foods is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor's 500, Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Ethibel Sustainability Index. Visit www.kraftfoodscompany.com and www.facebook.com/kraftfoodscorporate.

Wednesday 15 January 2014

Australian scientists microchip bees to map movements, halt diseases.

By Thuy Ong 20 hours ago

Detail of bees on their hive in Paris in this September 24, 2010 file photo. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen/ …

By Thuy Ong

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian scientists are gluing tiny sensors onto thousands of honey bees to track their movements in a trial aimed at halting the spread of diseases that have wiped out populations in the northern hemisphere.

Scientists at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia's national science agency, said the microchips could help tackle so-called colony collapse disorder, a situation where bees mysteriously disappear from hives, and the encroachment of the parasitic varroa mite.

Scientists will use tweezers to glue on the sensors, weighing about 5 milligrams and measuring 2.5 millimeters (a little more than 1/16 of an inch) square, after soothing the bees to sleep by refrigeration.
Some young bees, which tend to be hairier than older bees, need to be shaved before the sensor can be glued on.
Scientists will examine the effectiveness of pesticides in protecting the bees from colony collapse disorder and varroa mite.
The study will also enable farmers and fruit growers to understand and manage their crops, given the honey bee's crucial role in the pollination of crops globally, the CSIRO said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
"Honey bees play a vital role in the landscape through a free pollination service for agriculture, which various crops rely on to increase yields," the CSIRO's Paulo de Souza, who is leading the project, said in the statement.
"Using this technology, we aim to understand the bee's relationship with its environment."
Scientists plan to fit sensors on 5,000 bees in the southern island state of Tasmania over the Australian summer.
The radio frequency identification sensors work like an electronic tag for cars on a toll road, recording when insects pass a checkpoint. That will allow scientists to build a three-dimensional image of the insects' movements, a process described as "swarm sensing".

The scientists are working on shrinking the sensor to 1 mm square so they can be attached to smaller insects, including mosquitoes.

(Editing by Jane Wardell and Ron Popeski)

"I deeply care about all of the inhabitants of this planet" says Knowlton .

The hunter who placed the winning bid of $350,000 for the right to kill one of Namibia's 1,800 remaining black rhinos has taken to Facebook to let people know he is "considering all sides and concerns involved in this unique situation."

According to Page Six, Corey Knowlton has asked that people don't rush to judgment after he won an auction for the hunting permit on Saturday at the Dallas Safari Club.

"I deeply care about all of the inhabitants of this planet and I am looking forward to more educated discussion regarding the ongoing conservation effort for the Black Rhino," says Knowlton at the end of his Facebook post.

Photo via Corey Knowlton's Facebook page.

In October, the Dallas Observer reported that the club had obtained a special permit from the Namibian government, as well as clearance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, to host the event. According to the club, auctioning the hunt of an older male rhino beyond the age of breeding was the best possible way to raise funds for the Save the Rhino Trust. The trust has distanced itself from the auction, noting on its home page that it does not have "any decision making power on issues such as hunting rhino in or outside of Namibia and we are not at all part of these decisions.

"We do not directly receive money from hunting, we have nothing to do with hunting, and we have not at all been approached in this regard either, so to say that we will be receiving money from a rhino hunt is entirely inaccurate," the message on the home page continues.

Ben Carter, director of the Dallas Safari Club, told the Observer in October that the permit was expected to bring in as much as $750,000. Obviously, the auction fell well short of that mark.

Knowlton is listed as a hunting consultant for the Hunting Consortium, a Virginia-based company that offers "the serious sportsman the finest hunting adventures in the world." His profile describes him as "one of the [hunting tourism] industry's rising stars," with particular expertise in North American big-game hunting. Page Six asserts that Knowlton likely purchased the permit for a client.

"We feel that it is far better to allow this rhino to be hunted in exchange for a huge donation to the anti-poaching campaign, rather than letting him die of natural causes," Hunting Consortium presdient Robert Kern told Page Six in an email.

According to Save the Rhino International

Global economic growth with Agriculture