Everywhere we look, technology is being touted as the enabler of a new era of African agricultural prosperity. The exciting world of possibilities offered by blockchain, IoT (the Internet of Things), machine learning and the like has made companies, governments and policy-makers sit up and take notice of how such…
The 2018 budget will especially benefit Zambian crop, livestock and fish farmers, said Zambian Finance Minister Felix Mutati. Mutati delivered his K71.6 billion budget on Friday, highlighting the improvement of agriculture market information systems and the development of functional markets. The focus will be on sustaining high production and enhancing…
Aquaculture is enjoying unprecedented growth worldwide. For local farmers, it offers an opportunity to diversify profitably. Aquaculture (fish farming) is not a quick fix to get you out of trouble but is rather a diversification that can help your cash flow if your main farming enterprise is taking strain. Charles…
The profitability and sustainability of livestock farming is under severe pressure. Fortunately, top farmer Mecki Schneider has excellent advice for extensive cattle and sheep farmers. This is the third delivery in a three part series on ten tips for the restoration of livestock farming. 7. Utilise and apply technology There is…
African aquaculture will be under the spotlight when the World Aquaculture Society (WAS) convenes for its first ever annual international conference on the continent. The conference will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in South Africa from 26 to 30 June and is co-organized by the WAS,…
An exciting new mobile app, called the Maano Virtual Farmers’ Market, is under trial in Zambia to enable rural smallholder farmers to connect with buyers. Maano was developed by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). According to a co-founder and WFP’s Maano manager, Evin Joyce, the app was developed…
Extension services in the region are failing farmers and a new approach is needed if the agricultural sector is to be transformed, said Dr Daimon Kambewa at the annual Southern African Conference for Agricultural Unions (SACAU), underway in Cape Town. “The old extension model was based on providing skills and…
Mobile technology can become a powerful tool to advance a farmer's business and knowledge, like for instance this new app that will be introduced soon. Africa’s small-scale farmers are in a process of transition and transformation as they move towards commercialisation. Subsistence farmers are part of the African landscape. Some…
The international seed and agricultural products group DuPont recently opened a new technology center with the largest privately-owned insectarium in Africa, near the town of Delmas in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The company says the center will accelerate new product development across various crops for farmers and assist in helping the…
Biocontrols are quickly becoming essential to delivering fruit and vegetables that satisfy the ever-increasing demand for food raised with fewer traditional chemical inputs. To learn more about this growing segment within the industry, Meister Media Worldwide, a global agricultural media company, has partnered with South African Bioproducts Organization (SABO) to…
In a departure from the standard ‘brain drain’ that takes so much young talent out of the continent, these young Zambians have chosen to invest their brains and their energy into contributing to the development of their own country. Mwila Lwando (32) and Kabeke Mulenga (26) were at Zambia’s recent…
A new management system from SAP will connect smallholder farmers and suppliers in rural areas digitally with the global supply chain. SAP, a global leader in software manufacturing, developed the Rural Sourcing Management solution. It enables agri-businesses and consumer product companies to track their produce from farm to factory through…
The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says Zambian smallholder farmers are enhancing their technological capabilities by increasingly using irrigation. According to FAO’s market brief on irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa, Zambia has a comparative advantage for irrigation development because of the presence of large numbers of experienced equipment suppliers.…
A mobile app developed by local entrepreneurs in partnership with a mobile operator is unlocking a vital link between farmers and their markets. Lima Links is a software mobile platform which will help Zambian smallholder farmers connect with input suppliers and markets. Zambian Agriculture minister Dora Siliya said Lima Links…
Musika – a non-profit company that works to stimulate private sector investment in the smallholder market – has been a key partner of the Agritech Expo Zambia, since it started in 2014. We asked its Director of Strategy – Mr. Rob Munro – a few questions. How has Agritech Expo…
Smallholder farmers in the Eastern Cape were introduced to advanced seed varieties of the WEMA-Tela(Bt) project at a farmers’ day near Willowvale, organised by the Agricultural Research Council in collaboration with the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform. Theses varieties from the Water Efficient Maize for Africa…
American researchers successfully developed a new way to measure African farm yields, using high-resolution photos snapped by a wave of recently developed compact satellites. The Stanford University researchers now plan to scale up their project from a small Kenyan trial across more of Africa. “Our aspiration is to make accurate…
Dr Theo de Jager, president of the Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU), and of the Pan African Farmers Organisation (Pafo), spoke, this week, at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakech, Morocco at COP 22. Adressing delegates, Pafo’s president told the convention that food…
With his new drone, farmer Greg Miles from the Eastern Cape in South Africa, can check the levels of a reservoir dam and a cattle drinking point in eight minutes. With his pick-up truck this task takes 40 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Geive6K6O3Y
See how the Wuhlf Buffel clears bush with very little effort. Lantana is one of the most feared encroaching alien plants that destroys biodiversity and causes poisoning in livestock. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGOGzh44gBw
Where are we heading with technology in farming? Watch this video of Case IH’s “autonomous” tractor. It is a tractor without seat, stearing wheel or driver! A farmer can control it from his office, his pick-up or anywhere else. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjQ42kgicnQ
