Food security ‘vital part of national security’, Sunak tells farmers

Food security ‘vital part of national security’, Sunak tells farmers

Rishi Sunak has told farmers that food security is a vital part of national security as he set out support for the sector. Speaking at the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) annual conference, the Prime Minister outlined a doubling of the amount going to technology and innovation schemes such as robotics, roof-top solar and agricultural research, to £220 million, helping farmers to increase productivity. The money is part of the Government’s […]

February 21, 2024 8

Business / Economics

Agri-focus – 13 February 2024

Technical advisor at Agribank Namibia, Hank Saisai, provides an update on the state of the agriculture sector in the country. https://iono.fm/e/1405951

February 14, 2024 30

Africa

Trucking innovation highlights Africa’s cold storage problem and opportunities

By Bonface Orucho, via bird story agency A new, sustainable method of generating electricity to refrigerate trucks has been introduced into the African cold storage market. As reported by Creamer Media’s Engineering News, Global logistics company DP World partnered with food and clothing retailer Woolworths to unveil a mobile refrigeration trailer in South Africa powered by AxlePower technology. According to Engineering News, the project's AxlePower technology “transforms ordinary […]

February 9, 2024 19

Local

Namibian photograph wins international award.

A photograph of a Mahangu (Pearl Millet) harvester in northern Namibia has won first prize in an international photographic competition organised by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The competition was part of the FAO’s International Year of Millets, which raised awareness of the nutritional benefits of millets, including Mahangu, and their cultivation under changing climate conditions. The picture, taken in May 2021 by Jonathon Rees, shows […]

January 31, 2024 26

Africa

El Niño: Malawi’s harvest of maize – its staple food – may fall by 22.5% this year

By Joachim De Weerdt, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ; Channing Arndt, CGIAR System Organization; James Thurlow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ; Jan Duchoslav, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ; Joseph Glauber, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ; Liangzhi You, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) , and Weston Anderson, University of Maryland Maize is the preferred staple of most of southern Africa. […]

January 30, 2024 45

Namibia

Otjiwarongo residents cultivate gardens to address food insecurity

Gardens can be seen on the outskirts of Otjiwarongo's informal settlements, with some residents busy ploughing and planting vegetables to address food insecurity. Some are using riverbeds for planting maize and pearl millet, known as mahangu. Those who planted last year anticipate harvest soon, while others rely on hoped-for rain. Here’s Otjozondjupa Governor James Uerikua.

January 23, 2024 74

Africa

Ghana wants to make importing food like rice and tomatoes more costly: expert explains why it’s a bad idea

By Sylvanus Kwaku Afesorgbor, University of Guelph Ghana, like many other developing nations, relies heavily on imports of food and consumer goods to feed its population. For instance, Ghana imports 55% of the rice that is consumed locally. The country’s import dependence is primarily a consequence of the production of low-value primary products without substantial value addition. To forestall over-dependence on foreign goods, the government has proposed a trade […]

January 23, 2024 8

Namibia

Call for youth to be given land for farming.

In order to ensure food security in the country, farmers in the northern region of the country are busy ploughing their fields in anticipation of a good harvest. Local youth, Willem Amutenya, has though called on traditional authorities to allocate land to young individuals for farming purposes, saying that young people are capable of contributing to the agricultural sector if given the opportunity. Amutenya further encouraged his fellow youth to […]

January 18, 2024 32

Environment

Healthy food is hard to come by in Cape Town’s poorer areas: how community gardens can fix that

Community gardens can be a boon for residents. Nattrass/Getty Images Tinashe P. Kanosvamhira, University of the Western Cape In 1950, as part of the Group Areas Act, South Africa’s apartheid government banished people of colour to outlying areas, away from central business districts. The Cape Flats are one such area, sprawling to the east of central Cape Town. Today the legacy of apartheid spatial planning endures. The area is home […]

January 16, 2024 14