Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | The chocolate industry is indirectly driving massive and illegal deforestation in Ivory Coast, fuelling a catastrophic decline in wildlife, a green group said Wednesday. “In several national parks and other protected areas, 90 percent or more of the land mass has been converted to …
Read More »
Farming in Nigeria is not for the fainthearted. Ilorin, Nigeria | AFP | Intermittent electricity means generators are needed half the time. Chronically potholed roads make transport slow and expensive. Fake fertiliser has previously devastated crops, while toxic feed ruined one dairy farm. But for a group of 13 hardy farmers …
Read More »
Soc Trang , Vietnam | AFP | With a flashy gold watch and a chunky matching ring, Tang Van Cuol looks a far cry from the average Vietnamese farmer as he slings back a shot of rice wine and boasts about his projected earnings. After years scratching a living growing rice …
Read More »
Kampala, Uganda | GODFREY SSALI | Three NAADS officials from Manafwa District who caused a payment of 65.3m shs for supply of 100,000 coffee seedlings without following procurement laws, regulations and requirements have been sentenced to 5 years imprisonment each, if they fail to pay a total court fine of …
Read More »
Blantyre, Malawi | AFP | Malawi’s former agriculture minister was Wednesday arrested and charged with graft for allegedly profiting in a $35-million maize import deal from neighbouring Zambia, officials said. George Chaponda has been battling against graft allegations following the controversial purchase of 100,000 tonnes of maize in July 2016. Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau …
Read More »
Gahara, Rwanda | AFP | Inside a metal shed in southeastern Rwanda, Nicholas Hitimana brandished a plastic container holding a green liquid: geranium essential oil, freshly distilled and ready for export at more than $200 (175 euros) a kilo. The pioneer of essential oils in Rwanda, Hitimana said he understood …
Read More »
Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | African countries are currently having trouble releasing their biotech crops popularly known as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) to farmers, but scientists seem to be embracing a new strategy to ensure that there exist relevant regulatory systems. On July 18, the biosafety agencies and partners across …
Read More »
Kampala, Uganda | Isaac Khisa| The Uganda government says it is determined to ensure that the Biotech Bill is passed into law to facilitate safe development and application of biotechnology in the country. The National Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill, 2012, is now before parliament for debate amidst protest from the opponents of the …
Read More »
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria on Thursday began to export yams to Europe and the United States, as part of moves to diversify its oil-dependent economy and earn much-needed foreign exchange. Agriculture minister Audu Ogbeh flagged off the first consignment of the fibrous tuber from the port in the …
Read More »
Unknown to most Ugandans, NARO currently runs one of the most active GMO research facilities on the African continent Kampala, Uganda| ANDREW S. KAGGWA | Barbara Ntambirweki, a research fellow with Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) is preparing for a bit fight – against introduction into the country of Genetically …
Read More »
The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price