"The earliest maize plants grew only small, 25-millimetre-long (1 in) corn ears, and only one per plant." - Wikipedia/Maize
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Showing posts with label farming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farming. Show all posts
Friday, July 21, 2023
Agbadonia 😆
"The earliest maize plants grew only small, 25-millimetre-long (1 in) corn ears, and only one per plant." - Wikipedia/Maize
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Friday, January 14, 2022
FarmBots!
“...the Facebook of farming.”We’re one step closer to self-farming farms https://t.co/1Z2YTRwrqK
— Recode (@Recode) January 8, 2022
I want to touch one, grasp one, hold one, feel one, but wait...it's remotely-controlled. 😵John Deere’s self-driving tractor lets farmers leave the cab — and the field https://t.co/PmRuOl3IxG pic.twitter.com/iM5KioJ62u
— The Verge (@verge) January 9, 2022
😄 In other news, 😄
twitter is officially back on in the land...so happy.
One Hour Later: oh wow, you can touch and feel this
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Saturday, September 25, 2021
What is the koko?
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Monday, August 05, 2019
Circular farming :: being part of the solution
Vietnam burns 40m tonnes of rice straw as a byproduct of its rice production, releasing vast quantities of carbon dioxide into the air.
Fargreen is helping farmers to use their rice straw for growing mushrooms, providing them with an additional income.
It buys the waste rice straw from farmers who are part of their network, and involves them in the process of growing edible mushrooms using the rice straw as the only substrate – which effectively means the rice straw acts as a soil for the mushrooms.
...Read HERE
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Learn more about Circular Farming.
Do you know anyone who is involved in agriculture?
Monday, December 17, 2018
Readers are leaders, somebody said. OK. #FastFive
1. Your Better Self with Akanna: Overcoming the Scarcity Mentality
2. #Futurists: Inspired by the man who showed the way to modern computing, tech-minded experts shared ideas for how to tackle climate change, nuclear proliferation, and broken political systems
3. The link between migration and technology is not what you think: newer forms of social media activism are increasingly enabling disrupters to set the migration agenda, based on fear and lies, in a quest for power.
4. Medium-scale farms are on the rise in Africa. Why this is good news
5. World's most popular attractions, according to Uber
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Sunday, November 25, 2018
The 1% -- an invitation to be a food provider
Work in agriculture and farming
Get a job as a cook/chef
Join the global food elite. "As countries develop, the share of the population working in agriculture is declining. While more than 2/3 of the population in poor countries work in agriculture, less than 5% of the population does in rich countries. It is predominantly the huge productivity increase that makes this reduction in labor possible. " Employment in Agriculture, Our World in Data
If we are serious, it only takes 1% - 5% of us to feed everybody comfortably and abundantly.
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Get a job as a cook/chef
Join the global food elite. "As countries develop, the share of the population working in agriculture is declining. While more than 2/3 of the population in poor countries work in agriculture, less than 5% of the population does in rich countries. It is predominantly the huge productivity increase that makes this reduction in labor possible. " Employment in Agriculture, Our World in Data
 |
| Click for more agric data and interactive charts |
If we are serious, it only takes 1% - 5% of us to feed everybody comfortably and abundantly.
Get email updates.
Order Big Girl and Big Boy.
Monday, September 03, 2018
Skimming is the new reading, somebody wrote. OK. #FastFive
Reviewing the 2008 global financial crisis // The key policymakers have always maintained they had no choice but to let Lehman Brothers collapse. That’s simply not true. (More...)
Sooner than later, people will realise that cattle ranching is a good investment. - Audu Ogbeh, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development (More...)
Unlocking Africa’s Agricultural Potential to Create Wealth, a speech delivered at the FAO by Akinwunmi Adesina, former Agric Minister (More...)
Aretha Franklin died without a will. One of the singer’s attorneys said he urged her repeatedly to draft one. (More...)
Young people working for free, no money for food but they're cooler than you (More...)
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Sooner than later, people will realise that cattle ranching is a good investment. - Audu Ogbeh, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development (More...)
Unlocking Africa’s Agricultural Potential to Create Wealth, a speech delivered at the FAO by Akinwunmi Adesina, former Agric Minister (More...)
Aretha Franklin died without a will. One of the singer’s attorneys said he urged her repeatedly to draft one. (More...)
Young people working for free, no money for food but they're cooler than you (More...)
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Order Big Girl and Big Boy.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
So you want to be an agripreneur / agropreneur / farmer / food businessowner, Part Two
This is a story of opportunity.
Opportunity, thanks to the terrible economic leadership in Nigeria, or as I call it, the olodocracy.
Opportunity that means "make here, produce here," because the exchange rate is like a gazillion naira to one dollar.
Opportunity that means buy low, sell high translates to make local, sell global.
Let us learn from this conversation between Ndidi Nwuneli and Wale Adefarasin.
Grab a pen and write these down: Bring farmers together in co-operatives . Alternatively, do the farming yourself . Agriculture is not just crop farming . Deepen value-chains by providing agric inputs . There's also Finance, Logistics, Transport, Delivery, Training, IT/technology, Processing, Marketing ...
Trust UpNaira // More on agric here
Get email updates.
Order Big Girl and Big Boy.
BONUS: Food and Agriculture University
Opportunity, thanks to the terrible economic leadership in Nigeria, or as I call it, the olodocracy.
Opportunity that means "make here, produce here," because the exchange rate is like a gazillion naira to one dollar.
Opportunity that means buy low, sell high translates to make local, sell global.
Let us learn from this conversation between Ndidi Nwuneli and Wale Adefarasin.
Grab a pen and write these down: Bring farmers together in co-operatives . Alternatively, do the farming yourself . Agriculture is not just crop farming . Deepen value-chains by providing agric inputs . There's also Finance, Logistics, Transport, Delivery, Training, IT/technology, Processing, Marketing ...
Trust UpNaira // More on agric here
 |
| Agricultural produce, see more in UpNaira: farming |
 |
| Some subsectors, see more in UpNaira: farming |
Get email updates.
Order Big Girl and Big Boy.
BONUS: Food and Agriculture University
Wednesday, April 02, 2014
All about solutions...The Smallholder Foundation and Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu
NI: We at the SmallHolders Foundation believe that
education is critical – education is development for us. Education opens
the mind and motivates the quest for results. We believe that an
educated person will make a better choice, more than an uneducated
person. In that case we looked at the whole chain and we saw that one of
the things that kept farmers trapped in poverty was the inefficient
agricultural extension services. Agricultural extension services should
be a tool that organizations and government agencies can use to educate
farmers about new techniques, new crop varieties, new livestock, how to
control crop and livestock diseases. But this critical service does not
exist anymore.
So we decided that we have to establish a radio
station. In 2007, we established a smallholder farmer’s rural radio.
Today the radio station designs and broadcasts agriculture environment
and market information to 250.000 small farmer listeners, in the local
Ibo language, 10 hours a day. It teaches them how, when and where to
cultivate and for whom there are cultivating; how to rear livestock
properly and at the same time the market to sell livestock. For example,
we taught them how to gather rainwater during the abundant rainy season
to use for vegetable gardening in the dry season.
The radio station is also educating farmers how to
open bank accounts, the need for accurate record keeping and how they
can check their input and their output. I believe that by the time a
farmer decides to cultivate maize, he should make a simple budget, Every
morning the radio station gives farmers commodity prices from eighteen
regional markets so they decide which market to go to.
Read the full BMW Foundation interview with Nnaemeka, founder and executive director of the Smallholder Foundation here. In 2011, he was named Young Person of the Year at the Future Nigeria Awards.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Think Agric
First thing on Monday mornings, 9:30 am on the radio: 99.3 NigeriaInfo , Oluwaseun hosts the inspiring programme Think Agric.
This morning I almost cried to hear the vision of the guests for Nigerian agric-driven dignity and prosperity.
The programme is rerun on Friday evenings too, in case you miss it.
Meanwhile, here's an introduction to Agricultural transformation in Nigeria, by a young lady named Tola Sunmonu who I've showed on upnaira before. Please check it out (Tola Sunmonu: Agriculture - Nigeria's food for thought)
Other really important stuff:
Last night, we won at AFCON. Oh how wonderful. Nigeria, that didn't even qualify last year, slayed the giants, chickens, and eagles, and emerged the champions.
This morning I almost cried to hear the vision of the guests for Nigerian agric-driven dignity and prosperity.
The programme is rerun on Friday evenings too, in case you miss it.
Meanwhile, here's an introduction to Agricultural transformation in Nigeria, by a young lady named Tola Sunmonu who I've showed on upnaira before. Please check it out (Tola Sunmonu: Agriculture - Nigeria's food for thought)
Other really important stuff:
Last night, we won at AFCON. Oh how wonderful. Nigeria, that didn't even qualify last year, slayed the giants, chickens, and eagles, and emerged the champions.
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Smiling farmers
I like to think that Nigeria's Economic Vision is about smiling farmers like this Balinese guy, as opposed to wealth concentrated in the hands of very few. Maybe very soon Nigerians can smile too while creating wealth from the abundance, and I mean, abundance, that God has given to Naija.
While the government people are counting the Metric Tons of food (targeting 20 million additional MT by 2015, almost halfway there in 2012) and millions of jobs (targeting 3.5 million new jobs by 2015, already more than halfway there by 2012), I'll be counting the smiles on the faces of Nigerians.
Send in your pics of smiling farmers - just post the URL in the comments. Thanks.
In other news, I'm still on the hunt to eat wheat-cassava bread, checked at UTC they said next week. They had better! My nutella is waiting.
 |
| Photo by David and Angie Sim. See supermodel, abeg |
 |
| Minister of Agric. posing with rice. See smile, abeg. |
Send in your pics of smiling farmers - just post the URL in the comments. Thanks.
 |
| Nice smile, Tola, but you don't look like a farm worker. |
Friday, December 28, 2012
Who has tried wheat-cassava bread?
I bought this UTC wheat loaf that I thought was "cassava bread." Not. I hear Butterfield also makes the same. I read somewhere too that the smaller bakers have not been as successful in integrating cassava into their bread. Anyway, I'm still looking forward to try it; I mean, I've eaten potato bread, banana bread, gourmet zucchini bread, ... why not garri bread :D
I'm looking forward to working with the Ministry of Agriculture to publicize the successes and foster more success down-the-line. Here is part of their progress report from the last sure and steady pdf:
The transformation agenda sets out to create over 3.5 million jobs in the agricultural sector, from rice, cassava, sorghum, cocoa and cotton value chains, with many more jobs to come from other value chains under implementation.
The agenda aims to provide over 300 Billion Naira (US$ 2 billion) of additional income in the hands of Nigerian farmers.
Over 60 Billion Naira (US$ 380 million) is to be injected into the economy from the substitution of 20% of bread wheat flour with cassava flour.
In total, the agricultural transformation agenda will add 20 million metric tons to domestic food supply by 2015, including rice (2 million metric tons), cassava (17 million metric tons) and Sorghum (1 million metric tons).
Cassava Transformation:
The goal of the cassava transformation programme is to turn Nigeria, the largest producer of cassava in the world, into the largest processors of cassava in the world.
Government is aggressively expanding markets for cassava, through the development of high quality cassava flour to substitute for up to 40% of wheat imports, dried cassava chips, native and modified starch, high fructose cassava syrup and ethanol.
Achievements:
• Developed 40% substitution of cassava flour for wheat flour, through collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. This is the first time such a level of substitution will be achieved.
• Mr President directed on November 30, 2011 that the cassava flour bread be commercialized. Within 90 days, the commercialization was successfully achieved in February 2012 when UTC, the largest corporate baker of bread, introduced the cassava flour bread, with 20% cassava flour substitution for wheat flour. The feat was repeated in April 2012 when Butterfield, another large corporate bakery, introduced its 20% high quality cassava flour bread. Cassava Bread is 60% of the cost of Wheat Bread.
• Two large scale cassava processing plants (Thai Farms and DATCO) which were at the brink of collapse when the flour millers in Nigeria stopped buying cassava flour before the advent of this Administration, are back in business and have doubled their capacity to over 22,000 MT.
• 153 SME processors of high quality cassava flour, all of which had collapsed when flour mills stopped buying cassava flour, before this Administration, were fully audited and are being upgraded to ramp up cassava flour production. Total high quality cassava flour production now at 110,000MT, from the SMEs.
• Secured a total of 2.2 million MT of dried cassava chips exports to China. This amount is 200,000MT greater than our 2015 projected plan. Exports of dried cassava chips to China, for the first 1 million MT, started in July 2012. This will earn Nigeria $136 Million annually and represents the first time Nigeria will achieve commercial scale exports of dried cassava chips.
• Held a highly successful agribusiness investment forum in the US in April 2012. Successfully secured $ 6 Billion investment commitment from a large US investor for ethanol production. Four ethanol plants will be established, 2 in the North using sugar cane (a total of 200,000 ha) and in the south using cassava (a total of 150,000 ha). Feasibility is being completed and expected to break ground on first ethanol plant in 2013 with a 2015 completion date.
• Secured financing of over $ 200 million from the China Exim Bank for the procurement and installation of 18 large scale industrial cassava flour processing plants, with capacity of 1.3 Million MT of High Quality Cassava Flour, in place within 18 months. Processing plants to be run and owned by the private sector. The 18 plants will produce 1.3 million MT of high quality cassava flour and meet all of Nigeria’s cassava flour need for up to 40% substitution for wheat flour.
• The National Root Crops Research Institute released 3 Pro-Vitamin A varieties, the first in Africa to develop and release cassava varieties with Vitamin A.
More on all this transformation stuff here: Sure And Steady Nigeria report
I'm looking forward to working with the Ministry of Agriculture to publicize the successes and foster more success down-the-line. Here is part of their progress report from the last sure and steady pdf:
The transformation agenda sets out to create over 3.5 million jobs in the agricultural sector, from rice, cassava, sorghum, cocoa and cotton value chains, with many more jobs to come from other value chains under implementation.
The agenda aims to provide over 300 Billion Naira (US$ 2 billion) of additional income in the hands of Nigerian farmers.
Over 60 Billion Naira (US$ 380 million) is to be injected into the economy from the substitution of 20% of bread wheat flour with cassava flour.
In total, the agricultural transformation agenda will add 20 million metric tons to domestic food supply by 2015, including rice (2 million metric tons), cassava (17 million metric tons) and Sorghum (1 million metric tons).
Cassava Transformation:
The goal of the cassava transformation programme is to turn Nigeria, the largest producer of cassava in the world, into the largest processors of cassava in the world.
Government is aggressively expanding markets for cassava, through the development of high quality cassava flour to substitute for up to 40% of wheat imports, dried cassava chips, native and modified starch, high fructose cassava syrup and ethanol.
Achievements:
• Developed 40% substitution of cassava flour for wheat flour, through collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. This is the first time such a level of substitution will be achieved.
• Mr President directed on November 30, 2011 that the cassava flour bread be commercialized. Within 90 days, the commercialization was successfully achieved in February 2012 when UTC, the largest corporate baker of bread, introduced the cassava flour bread, with 20% cassava flour substitution for wheat flour. The feat was repeated in April 2012 when Butterfield, another large corporate bakery, introduced its 20% high quality cassava flour bread. Cassava Bread is 60% of the cost of Wheat Bread.
• Two large scale cassava processing plants (Thai Farms and DATCO) which were at the brink of collapse when the flour millers in Nigeria stopped buying cassava flour before the advent of this Administration, are back in business and have doubled their capacity to over 22,000 MT.
• 153 SME processors of high quality cassava flour, all of which had collapsed when flour mills stopped buying cassava flour, before this Administration, were fully audited and are being upgraded to ramp up cassava flour production. Total high quality cassava flour production now at 110,000MT, from the SMEs.
• Secured a total of 2.2 million MT of dried cassava chips exports to China. This amount is 200,000MT greater than our 2015 projected plan. Exports of dried cassava chips to China, for the first 1 million MT, started in July 2012. This will earn Nigeria $136 Million annually and represents the first time Nigeria will achieve commercial scale exports of dried cassava chips.
• Held a highly successful agribusiness investment forum in the US in April 2012. Successfully secured $ 6 Billion investment commitment from a large US investor for ethanol production. Four ethanol plants will be established, 2 in the North using sugar cane (a total of 200,000 ha) and in the south using cassava (a total of 150,000 ha). Feasibility is being completed and expected to break ground on first ethanol plant in 2013 with a 2015 completion date.
• Secured financing of over $ 200 million from the China Exim Bank for the procurement and installation of 18 large scale industrial cassava flour processing plants, with capacity of 1.3 Million MT of High Quality Cassava Flour, in place within 18 months. Processing plants to be run and owned by the private sector. The 18 plants will produce 1.3 million MT of high quality cassava flour and meet all of Nigeria’s cassava flour need for up to 40% substitution for wheat flour.
• The National Root Crops Research Institute released 3 Pro-Vitamin A varieties, the first in Africa to develop and release cassava varieties with Vitamin A.
 |
| Cassava_based industry in Nigeria |
Friday, July 15, 2011
Good tidbits on grassroots investment
We want a wealthier society, in which even the poorest (or at least the median earners) have a dignified lifestyle. Here are some newsbits from around the web that give one hope.
Photo: Smiling Farmer from worldisround.com
1. "We have to go out and get investments and get that money into the country." - Olusegun Aganga, explaining the focus of the Ministry of Trade and Investments. Source: Daily Trust
2. Ndidi Nwuneli, a successful serial NGO founder, has turned her focus to Agriculture. She writes for Business Day every Tuesday on Agriculture, including Eating Beyond Our Means last week, and Transforming Our Farmers into Entrepreneurs on July 13th.
3. EFInA, a Nigerian NGO funded largely by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, religiously tracks Access to Banking/Capital/Finance. As most Nigerians remain outside the formal banking sector, and too many are unbanked (formally or informally), EFInA funds ideas that increase financial innovation and access - e.g. through its s-weet Innovation Fund
By the way, here is the EFInA report on the Financial Services Landscape in Nigeria (2010).
4. (Source: Business Day - CBN and small enterprise funding)
The Central bank has earmarked funds for grassroots lending/investment, which include since 2009:
Photo: Smiling Farmer from worldisround.com
1. "We have to go out and get investments and get that money into the country." - Olusegun Aganga, explaining the focus of the Ministry of Trade and Investments. Source: Daily Trust
2. Ndidi Nwuneli, a successful serial NGO founder, has turned her focus to Agriculture. She writes for Business Day every Tuesday on Agriculture, including Eating Beyond Our Means last week, and Transforming Our Farmers into Entrepreneurs on July 13th.
3. EFInA, a Nigerian NGO funded largely by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, religiously tracks Access to Banking/Capital/Finance. As most Nigerians remain outside the formal banking sector, and too many are unbanked (formally or informally), EFInA funds ideas that increase financial innovation and access - e.g. through its s-weet Innovation Fund
By the way, here is the EFInA report on the Financial Services Landscape in Nigeria (2010).
4. (Source: Business Day - CBN and small enterprise funding)
The Central bank has earmarked funds for grassroots lending/investment, which include since 2009:
- N200 billion Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CASS) Fund being channeled to farmers: through state governments to farmers’ cooperatives and unions within their constituencies, and also through private promoters/projects.
- N200 billion guarantee scheme for new loans to SMEs to be provided at bank’s prime lending rate
- N500 billion manufacturing and infrastructure (power and airline) intervention fund
- CBN also set up Entrepreneurship Development Centers, EDCs, to train citizens in locations around the country (see ALF-EDC); as well as a Nigerian Incentive-based risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), to reduce banks’ perception of agriculture as ‘highly risky’ and consequently expand bank lending to the agricultural sector from the current 2% to at least 10% within the next five years.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Africa is ripe for Biomass
[Nairobi, Kenya]
WELL, I'M back on the blogging scene...sort of. While I've been absent from cyber space off and on for a multitude of reasons (lousy Internet access, getting burnt out from writing, political "challenges", etc.) my interests have shifted to investigating/researching things (producing electricity via biomass/biodiesel, ecobuilding with hemp, building durable roads with cheap termite technology, etc.) where the outcome could have huge implications for East African society.
Money doe$ grow on tree$...
Although a good living can be made from growing cannabis, coca leaves, opium and other "controversial" crops, an increasing number of farmers around the world - especially Africa - are seeking economic prosperity via biomass/biodiesel crops. :-) This, to me, is exciting because so many positive benefits arise from this act. Here are just a few of those benefits taken from a business plan that I wrote recently for a dear Kenyan friend of mine regarding an upcoming green farming initiative:
Promotes Self Sufficiency
MGO is keen to assist rural communities in becoming self sufficient. This can be achieved by growing energy crops that can provide biodiesel/biomass to power engines or generate electricity. Money will be saved from buying expensive oil imports, and by reducing dependency from an unreliable electrical grid. This is already happening in some rural communities in India where regional economies are flourishing. For example, the waste from jatropha biodiesel extraction can be used to create soaps, dyes, organic fertilizer, rodent repellent, and a host of other beneficial products. Also, a cheap efficient water treatment solution is readily available from the seeds of the nutritious moringa oliefera plant. This solution is comparable to expensive unnatural alternatives, and allows the community to save on precious foreign exchange.
Another road to self sufficiency is by encouraging cassava farming. It should be noted that there has never been a famine in West Africa because of cassava’s durable drought resistant personality. This is unlike maize here in East Africa, which requires ample rainfall. A perfect example of too much dependency on maize took place in 2005 where severe droughts in Kenya lead to rampant food shortages in rural communities. This resulted in the needless deaths of many people, and precious livestock. However, if farmers had planted an alternative crop like cassava at that time, there would have been minimal to zero deaths from starvation. Thus a reliable supply of cassava translates into a better staple food option that can feed the masses in times of famine.
Better Land Utilization
We know that it’s deplorable to substitute rich, fertile land for growing food with biomass/biodiesel plants. However, a better policy involves promoting energy crops that thrive in arid to semi-arid regions. This is a win/win situation for society and creates the possibility that this unusable land will be rejuvenated in the future due to the positive effects (alleviates soil degradation, desertification and deforestation) of plants like jatropha, pongamia and moringa. Executing this strategy is a top priority for MGO.
Job Creation
Without a doubt, numerous long term direct and indirect jobs will be created once MGO’s green farming solutions are implemented everywhere – especially in depressed rural communities. These new crops will provide a means to create a vibrant eco-friendly economy that will cater to a large untapped domestic market. Additional employment will be created in order to meet the demand for biodiesel, moringa, cassava flour and a host of other products derived from executing green farming strategies.
For example, new jobs will be created for transporters, local farmers and laborers by encouraging the production of the West African staple food, gari, which is cassava-based. This will inject much needed currency into the local market while improving the quality of life in areas where production takes place. Most importantly, one of MGO’s stated objectives is to “create jobs in poor and rural areas.” Unquestionably, this will result in reduced criminal activity in over-populated urban centers since the rationale to move from economically stagnant rural communities is diminished.
Thanks HASH...
After peeking the blog of my good Net pal, WhiteAfrican (aka Rick Hersman, aka HASH), I was motivated to write this piece for Money Talk, which is headed by my other good Net pal, Tosin (aka T). Let's just say HASH is one of the most Net-savvy dudes I've ever met. He eat, sleeps, drinks, and thinks web/mobile technologies/applications 365/24/7.
Most importantly, he's focused on making them work for Africa and he, somehow, always seems to be dialed into kool events/conferences or happenings relating to anything and everything to do with Africa, technology and the Net. Sometimes I'm amazed at how quickly he generates content on all his web endeavours. Yo HASH, sloooow down dude! :-)
Anyhow, I saw the above AfriGadget link in the widget section of HASH's blog and so, being a prolific Internet Whore, I clicked it. :-) I urge you all to take a peek too. BTW, HASH is one of the resident editors at AfriGadget, which is simply "a website dedicated to showcasing African ingenuity."
---------------------
Related links:
WELL, I'M back on the blogging scene...sort of. While I've been absent from cyber space off and on for a multitude of reasons (lousy Internet access, getting burnt out from writing, political "challenges", etc.) my interests have shifted to investigating/researching things (producing electricity via biomass/biodiesel, ecobuilding with hemp, building durable roads with cheap termite technology, etc.) where the outcome could have huge implications for East African society.
Money doe$ grow on tree$...
Although a good living can be made from growing cannabis, coca leaves, opium and other "controversial" crops, an increasing number of farmers around the world - especially Africa - are seeking economic prosperity via biomass/biodiesel crops. :-) This, to me, is exciting because so many positive benefits arise from this act. Here are just a few of those benefits taken from a business plan that I wrote recently for a dear Kenyan friend of mine regarding an upcoming green farming initiative:
Promotes Self Sufficiency
MGO is keen to assist rural communities in becoming self sufficient. This can be achieved by growing energy crops that can provide biodiesel/biomass to power engines or generate electricity. Money will be saved from buying expensive oil imports, and by reducing dependency from an unreliable electrical grid. This is already happening in some rural communities in India where regional economies are flourishing. For example, the waste from jatropha biodiesel extraction can be used to create soaps, dyes, organic fertilizer, rodent repellent, and a host of other beneficial products. Also, a cheap efficient water treatment solution is readily available from the seeds of the nutritious moringa oliefera plant. This solution is comparable to expensive unnatural alternatives, and allows the community to save on precious foreign exchange.
Another road to self sufficiency is by encouraging cassava farming. It should be noted that there has never been a famine in West Africa because of cassava’s durable drought resistant personality. This is unlike maize here in East Africa, which requires ample rainfall. A perfect example of too much dependency on maize took place in 2005 where severe droughts in Kenya lead to rampant food shortages in rural communities. This resulted in the needless deaths of many people, and precious livestock. However, if farmers had planted an alternative crop like cassava at that time, there would have been minimal to zero deaths from starvation. Thus a reliable supply of cassava translates into a better staple food option that can feed the masses in times of famine.
Better Land Utilization
We know that it’s deplorable to substitute rich, fertile land for growing food with biomass/biodiesel plants. However, a better policy involves promoting energy crops that thrive in arid to semi-arid regions. This is a win/win situation for society and creates the possibility that this unusable land will be rejuvenated in the future due to the positive effects (alleviates soil degradation, desertification and deforestation) of plants like jatropha, pongamia and moringa. Executing this strategy is a top priority for MGO.
Job Creation
Without a doubt, numerous long term direct and indirect jobs will be created once MGO’s green farming solutions are implemented everywhere – especially in depressed rural communities. These new crops will provide a means to create a vibrant eco-friendly economy that will cater to a large untapped domestic market. Additional employment will be created in order to meet the demand for biodiesel, moringa, cassava flour and a host of other products derived from executing green farming strategies.
For example, new jobs will be created for transporters, local farmers and laborers by encouraging the production of the West African staple food, gari, which is cassava-based. This will inject much needed currency into the local market while improving the quality of life in areas where production takes place. Most importantly, one of MGO’s stated objectives is to “create jobs in poor and rural areas.” Unquestionably, this will result in reduced criminal activity in over-populated urban centers since the rationale to move from economically stagnant rural communities is diminished.
Thanks HASH...
After peeking the blog of my good Net pal, WhiteAfrican (aka Rick Hersman, aka HASH), I was motivated to write this piece for Money Talk, which is headed by my other good Net pal, Tosin (aka T). Let's just say HASH is one of the most Net-savvy dudes I've ever met. He eat, sleeps, drinks, and thinks web/mobile technologies/applications 365/24/7.
Most importantly, he's focused on making them work for Africa and he, somehow, always seems to be dialed into kool events/conferences or happenings relating to anything and everything to do with Africa, technology and the Net. Sometimes I'm amazed at how quickly he generates content on all his web endeavours. Yo HASH, sloooow down dude! :-)
Anyhow, I saw the above AfriGadget link in the widget section of HASH's blog and so, being a prolific Internet Whore, I clicked it. :-) I urge you all to take a peek too. BTW, HASH is one of the resident editors at AfriGadget, which is simply "a website dedicated to showcasing African ingenuity."
---------------------
Related links:
- Hemp Farming in Africa: A Billion Dollar Industry?
- What is Biomass?
- Biopact (Bioenergy pact between Europe & Africa)
- BioConversion blog
- The Energy blog
- Greenedia
- AllAfrica.com - Energy
- Alternative Energy News Source
- Jock Gill (Grass Energy Collaborative - A Scenario for Grass Energy)
- HempCar.org - BioFuels facts
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