Farmers Review Africa March/April 2020 Farmers Review Africa March - April 2020 digital ( | Page 3

CONTENTS Volume 8. Issue 2 March / April 2020 Building resilience in dairy farming Volume 8. Issue 2. March/April 2020 Editor’s Note News Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism launched to boost fertilizer supply to 200,000 farmers in Nigeria..................................02 Inside... Businesses must support each other during Covid-19 crisis P03 Businesses must support each other during Covid-19.................03 John Deere taps tractorhailingtech for farmers in Africa P20 Looking to the future of agriculture P25 FARMERS REVIEW AFRICA Global food prices drop amid coronavirus outbreak....................04 Please visit the website .com m viewafrica .farmersrev farmersre iewafrica.co F A R ME R S R E V I E W A F R I C A I S S U E 1 3 Sierra Leone to count on African Development Bank to help build resilient economy...................................................................................05 Executive Editor Nita Karume [email protected] Writers Silimina Derick, Bertha M. Contributing Writers Nqobile Bhebhe Zimbabwe Oscar Nkala Botswana Bertha M South Africa Nita Karume Kenya East Africa Advertising Executives Ken Tobby, Paul Amimo, M. Cherono Project Manager Victor Ndlovu [email protected] Graphic Design & Layout Faith Omudho Art Director Augustine Ombwa [email protected] Correspondents - Isabel Banda [email protected] Sales & Marketing Gladmore. N [email protected] Mandla M. [email protected] Kholwani. D [email protected] Polite Mkhize [email protected] [email protected] East African Liaison Arobia Creative Consultancy Tel: [phone] [email protected] [email protected] Published by : Mailing Times Media [phone] [email protected] Uzenzele appointed advisors on R250m cannabis project.......06 “You have been in the trenches with us,” Ghana VP Mahamudu Bawumia tells African Development Bank ...............07 Zambian agriculture business launches $81 million farmer financing scheme................................................................................................08 Poduct Bearings: the unsung hero components in Agricultural machinery................................................................................................................09 Cover Story Building resilience in dairy farming............................................................16 Feature NTN-SNR’s expertise in the agricultural market available for all manufacturers................................................................................................10 Case IH tractors play key role in turning sugarcane waste into valuable commodity............................................................................................12 Investment in technology vital to boost agricultural output and exports ....................................................................................................................13 Coronavirus could threaten global agricultural trade....................14 NAMPO Harvest Day 2020 Postponed................................................14 Global teamwork procures masks for Cummins employees in China..........................................................................................................................15 John Deere taps tractor-hailing tech for farmers in Africa..........20 Why we must rethink the potato for a sustainable use of resources.................................................................................................................22 Looking to the future of agriculture.........................................................25 Holding out hope amidst a pandemic Over the past couple of weeks, the unforeseen speed and spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection spread has continued to reach pandemic proportions. So much so that globally we have developed an obsession with figures and statistics — how many new cases have been reported from how many countries? How is the infection curve growing? But these are not the only numbers keeping people awake at night. While still uncertain in its magnitude, the economic impact of the outbreak is of great concern too. African governments have been forced to take extreme measures. From cases of complete lockdown of all institutions to barring air travel to and from highly affected areas, the effects of the virus are being felt across the globe. According to WHO over 600 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the continent as of 19th of this month. Most of the countries have since ramped up testing, ready fragile health systems as well as creation of awareness for their populations. The economies have already begun to suffer, with many companies closing down because of the government-mandated lockdown. However, while the food and agricultural sector should in principle be less affected than others, illness-related labour shortages, transport interruptions, quarantine measures limiting access to markets and supply chain disruptions resulting in food loss and waste could affect supply. Ultimately, while today’s focus is on stopping the interhuman transmission, mitigation and early recovery measures should be anticipated and put in place as soon as possible to minimize the disruptive effect on food systems and market chains, locally and globally. Self-quarantine and sanitization is the order of the day in many an African country, but this, too, shall pass. Nita Karume [email protected] Selina Wamucii: Farmers across Africa benefit from direct market access.........................................................................................................26 Farming by Satellite Prize 2020 Launches.............................................27 Mailing Times Media (Pty) Ltd makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the contents of its publications, but no warranty is made as to such accuracy and no responsibility will be borne by the publisher for the consequences of actions based on information so published. Further, opinions expr essed are not necessarily shared by Mailing Times Media (Pty) Ltd FARMERS REVIEW AFRICA www.farmersreviewafrica.com