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SENEGAL: As protests swell “self sufficiency” plan is questioned

Discontent in Senegal’s capital Dakar, where millions depend on imported rice and foodstuffs, has increased in lockstep with rising global food and utility prices. The government has touted a “self-sufficiency” rice growing campaign as its answer to people’s problems, but experts say the scheme is flawed. “The government has not set out a credible vision for agricultural and rural development. Their vision is not one that will really help develop the rural economy,” Jacques Faye, ex-director...

ZIMBABWE: More food shortages anticipated

Erratic weather is likely to hurt Zimbabwe's harvest this year, with the country ending up with an even higher maize deficit than in 2007, according to the latest report from the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS-NET). Heavy rainfall, with flooding in several districts, in December 2007 forced many farmers to scale down their planned crop area, as they were unable to prepare the land and apply fertiliser, FEWS-NET's Food Security Update for February 2008 commented. ...

ETHIOPIA: “Eight million need assistance, despite record harvest”

Ethiopia experienced a record harvest during the meher season that runs from June and October but pockets of poor food production across the country have still left millions of people needing food assistance, according to a food security update. Citing the Somali region in particular, the update issued by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) on 6 February stated that poor rains during the deyr season, from October to November, exacerbated extreme food insecurity in parts of the...

Bumper harvest in South Kombo

The women of the southern villages of Medina Salaam and Berending are looking forward to a successful harvest once again, thanks to support from a Hampshire based charity. Operafrica, an NGO registered in The Gambia, is now in its second year of agricultural projects in Kombo South and is building on the success of the first season. Last year, the women of Medina Salaam harvested a bumper crop of red creole onions, under the advice of Operafrica’s local agricultural advisor. Although...

RAC for Central River Region North Pledge to Increase Crop Productivity

The regional Agriculture Coordinator for CRR South, Mr. Lang K Kinteh, has called on farmers to adhere to recommended farming techniques to boost crop productivity in the region. Mr. Kinteh made his remarks in an interview with our provincial reporter in his office in Kuntaur Wharf town. According to him his function is a basic task, to help farmers to improve and increase crop productivity. He noted that there are principal livestock and crop officials who always give technical support to...

WEST AFRICA: High prices of food imports may leave people hungry

Food monitors are concerned that people in West African countries who rely on international imports of wheat and rice are going to struggle to buy enough to eat this year due to high commodity prices. The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) said in a bulletin released on 7 November that poor global production of wheat means worldwide prices reached a record high in September 2007 and remained volatile in October. Rice prices have also risen steadily since January 2007 according to the...

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Cutting edge farming methods boost production

While increasingly grim forecasts predict agricultural declines in southern Africa due to climate change, a farming method called Conservation Agriculture (CA) is showing promise for subsistence farmers who are already struggling with poor food security. A recent study by economist William R. Cline, ‘Global Warming and Agriculture: Impact Estimates by Country,’ predicts a 39-47 percent decline in agriculture in southern Africa by 2080 if greenhouse gases escalate at their current pace. That is...

How Climatic Change Effects the Crop Growth and Development

1. Effects of enhanced CO2 on crop growth Plants grow through the well-known process of photosynthesis, utilizing the energy of sunlight to convert water from the soil and carbon dioxide from the air into sugar, starches, and cellulose--the carbohydrates that are the foundations of the entire food chain. CO2 enters a plant through its leaves. Greater atmospheric concentrations tend to increase the difference in partial pressure between the air outside and inside the plant leaves, and as a...