Kayunga, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | More than 300 out-growers in Kayunga district are stuck with their canes after failing to acquire selling and transportation permits from the Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited-SCOUL. SCOUL introduced the system of giving out loans to farmers who wanted to start growing sugarcane in 2001 …
Read More »Madagascar paddy farmers rise up against ‘new city’
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Anger is boiling over in the hills surrounding Antananarivo over plans to relocate part of Madagascar’s choked capital to emerald-green farmland. Hundreds of farmers in Ambohitrimanjaka village are facing off with the authorities over a presidential scheme that threatens to engulf a thousand hectares (2,500 acres) …
Read More »Farmers in Lango dash to plant crops
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Farmers in Lango sub-region have taken advantage of the early rains to plant crops. Previously planting season would begin with first rain in late January and continues until October when the rain would reduce before ushering dry season. But in the recent years, the …
Read More »Pigs, sheep, and rabbits had highest population growth from 2008 -2018 – UBOS
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Farming households in Uganda managed to increase the population of pigs, sheep, and rabbits between 2008 and 2018 at a faster rate than they did for cows and goats, new statistics have shown. The figures, published on Tuesday by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) …
Read More »Maize, sim sim export earnings increase
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Maize and sesame (sim sim) farmers in Uganda are laughing to the bank after the prices of their crops rebounded pushing the country’s export earnings up in August. Maize export earnings were up by 145% in the month of August, bringing in $13m (Shs 48bn) …
Read More »Myth on carcass disposal impeding fight against African swine fever in Rubanda
Rubanda, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Myths and misconception surrounding burying of carcasses is impending the fight against the African swine fever outbreak in Rubanda district. In September this year, veterinary authorities in Rubanda and Kabale districts banned the movement and sell of pigs and their products following a confirmed outbreak …
Read More »Bunyoro farmers demand oil opportunities
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Farmers in the oil-rich Bunyoro region have demanded for exposure to commercial opportunities in oil and gas sector. According to the farmers they have all the goods and services to supply in the oil and gas sector but do not know the quality and the …
Read More »Jihadist “ghosts” wreak havoc in northern Mozambique
Macomia, Mozambique | AFP | Aldeia da Paz was once a sleepy place. Farmers went about their daily lives, tending to meagre crops along the road linking Mozambique to its northern border with Tanzania. Everything changed after nightfall on August 1st. “They arrived around seven o’clock in the evening,” said Lucas …
Read More »Renewable energy alternatives can tame deforestation
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandan farmers are demanding that the government addresses deforestation through a deliberate investment in alternative sources of energy. They say that the approach should be integrated with the operationalization of the tree fund stipulated under the Environment and the National Tree Planting Act and implemented …
Read More »Glimmer of hope as Italy battles ‘olive tree leprosy’
GAGLIANO DEL CAPO, Italy | AFP | Working in an arid Italian field of crumbly soil, agronomists are battling a rampant bacterium that has already infected millions of olive trees and could threaten the entire Mediterranean basin. Xylella fastidiosa, which has no known cure, has devastated ancient olive trees in Italy’s …
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