Reaping big from cocoa INTERVIEW: Stephen Sembuya is the CEO of Pink Food Industries, a cocoa-producing enterprise. He spoke to Ian Katusiime about cocoa and the other pertinent issues in the industry. What influences your management style? I come from an industrious background. My dad was the founder of Sembule …
Read More »Extreme poverty in Uganda fell from 53.2% to 34.6% in 7 yrs
Extreme poverty in Uganda fell from 53.2% in 2006 to 34.6% in 2013 Poverty reduction among households in agriculture accounts for 79 percent of of national poverty decline from 2006 to 2013. According to the World Bank Group’s latest Poverty Assessment, the proportion of the Ugandan population living beneath the national poverty …
Read More »US flower grower quits Ethiopia after arson attack
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | A US-based company has pulled out of Ethiopia after anti-government protesters attacked its flower farm causing 10 million euros in damage, and triggering job losses in the country and The Netherlands, a spokesman said Tuesday. Flower growers and exporters Esmeralda Farms began operations in …
Read More »Web TV aims to boost youth interest in African farming
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | AFP | With the logo of his internet TV station on his black T-shirt, Inoussa Maiga energetically plucks corn stalks in northern Burkina Faso for a programme on farming in Africa. Maiga, 30, launched Agribusiness TV in May in the Burkinabe capital Ouagadougou, determined to change …
Read More »Drought ravages Lesotho as water is exported to S.Africa
Sephareng, Lesotho | AFP | For farmer Mohlakoane Molise, the view of the enormous Katse dam from his smallholding high in the mountains of Lesotho taunts him daily. His country is suffering through its worst drought in 35 years, but the vast and vital water reserves remain out of …
Read More »COMMENT: Tackling the Agricultural Investment Dilemma
COMMENT: By Donnas Ojok Agricultural Coops and Fair Trade: Tackling the agricultural investment dilemma It is generally believed that agricultural cooperatives offer a natural entrepreneurial solution to the problems of poverty faced by millions in the developing world. The argument goes that these coops allow even the least literate smallholders …
Read More »New UBOS report faults government on agriculture Investment
The proportion of Ugandans engaged in agricultural activities has registered a slight increase according to the latest National Services Delivery Survey. A report, which was compiled by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) shows that the proportion of Ugandans who depend on agriculture increased from 75% in 2008 to 76% …
Read More »US announces new programme to boost Uganda’s agriculture
A United States supported program to help spark explosive growth in the agriculture sector by bringing together some of Uganda’s most-trusted, powerful, and well-known sector leaders has been launched in Kampala. The Leveraging Excellence in Agricultural Development program, part of President Obama’s Feed the Future initiative, will bring together 17 …
Read More »Museveni to set Uganda’s middle-income agenda on Thursday
President Yoweri Museveni has challenged his new cabinet to look for investments, end corruption and move to total commercialization of agriculture in order to move the country to middle-income status. He will outline his complete plan for this to be achieved when his new cabinet meets for the first time …
Read More »The case for Uganda’s exports
It has almost become a norm that for every State of the Nation address, President Yoweri Museveni has to lament about the fact that Uganda imports far much more than it exports. This year’s address was no different. He lamented how Uganda had become a ‘supermarket’ economy, importing all sorts …
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