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South Africa Nigeria
South Africa to target Asian market following maize surplus .
South Africa , which has had a bumper crop of maize this year leading to depressed prices and dampened demand in Africa , will now target Asian markets to boost maize exports
South Africa , which had faced a maize de cit last year , is expecting to produce a maize surplus of around 3.5mn tonnes this season . �is has created a major slump in demand and the industry will need to attract new maize importers to prevent wastage of crops that can create another setback for the struggling economy .
South Africa had exported almost all its maize surplus in 2014 / 15 to other African countries . �is season , the country is looking to expand maize export for the rst time to Asia and the Middle East , where buyers use it for animal feed rather than human consumption .
New research station to empower Nigerian farmers
�e International Institute of Tropical Agriculture ( IITA ) has unveiled a new research station in Ago-Owu in Osun state , Nigeria , as part of efforts to expand its research agenda and create impact at farm level . �e organisation marks its 50th anniversary . �e station , located in the
Ayedade Local Government Area , will support the state ' s agricultural programmes and offer training support to the youth in the area in particular , and Nigeria in general .
In 2015 , Governor Rauf Aregbesola donated a piece of land measuring about 205.5 hectares to IITA as he sought to bring research closer to the people of the state with a view to creating transformational change in the agricultural sector of the state . IITA accepted the offer with the signing of a memorandum of understanding and began investment on the land with the development of roads and other infrastructure .
Industry producer group Grain SA told Reuters that it will target markets including Japan , South Korea , Taiwan and the Middle East . South Africa has a geographical advantage over rivals like Argentina to supply these markets .
" Most of the countries in the East do not have a lot of land , their animal feed industry mostly imports all the raw materials ," Grain SA chief executive Jannie de Villiers told Reuters . " I do not expect a lot of maize going into Africa ." South Africa will struggle to sell maize in Africa a�er increased rainfall boosted crops in Malawi and Zambia which have li�ed export bans on their non-genetically modi ed ( GM ) crops that are preferred on the continent .
�e country is expected to harvest a record 15.6mn tonnes of maize this year , double last year ' s output . Favourable weather conditions have li�ed yields following an El Nino induced drought that scorched crops in 2016 .
Aregbesola said he was glad that the MoU with IITA moved beyond paper to implementation . He commended IITA for its research efforts in the last 50 years , adding that the research facility will advance research in Osun state with a spinoff effect in other parts of the country . “ We believe that this research facility will train and empower our youth in modern agriculture ,” he said .
�e inauguration of the facility also allowed researchers to make presentations on new ndings from cassava weed management , breeding , banana breeding and multiplication , cassava processing , and a asafe – a technology for controlling a atoxins among others . �ere was a presentation of improved seeds of maize , cowpea , soya bean , yam , plantain seedlings , and cassava stems for onward distribution to farmers in Osun state . IITA also gave the governor some quantities of Purdue Improved Crop Storage ( PICS ) bags which provide a simple , low-cost method of reducing post-harvest cowpea losses due to insect infestations .
May - June 2017 [ 6 ]
FARMERS
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