Agriculture
8 Miles sells Biyinzika Poultry to investor consortium as it winds down operations
8 Miles, the UK-based fund, has sold its entire stake in Biyinzika Poultry International Ltd to a consortium that includes an American company and a regional industry executive
Why maize is causing trade tensions between Kenya and its neighbours
There was confusion in the East African grain market this week after Kenya banned maize imports from Tanzania and Uganda, saying that levels of mycotoxins in maize from the two countries were above safety limits
Second wave of locust invasion can be stopped early — here’s how
The current locust invasion in East Africa has caused significant damage in pastoral regions, where the pests have devoured pasture and tree leaves. They are now reaching some of the major maize growing areas where they are likely to cause a lot of damage to the crops
Climate change to lead to more insect and pest invasions
Studies show that insect-pest related yield losses for maize, rice and wheat are expected to increase by between 10% and 25% for each degree Celsius of warming. The impact will be huge
Kenya’s Perfect Storm
Annual rains have hit Kenya especially hard this year, causing havoc in the capital. But there is a silver lining amid the gloom: weather-related infrastructure challenges have pushed bureaucrats to tackle old issues like corruption and mismanagement with a renewed sense of urgency
Financial equality for Africa’s women farmers
If Africa’s gender gap is ever to be closed, the unique obstacles faced by African women, particularly poor female farmers, must become part of the global dialogue
Listening to Africa’s Future Farmers
To remain profitable, younger growers must produce larger crops from smaller spaces, which requires innovation. Our study found that in many cases, the best solutions for young farmers are already being designed by young people
Commercial banks are key players in the agri-business value chain
While it’s true that most commercial banks in Uganda are not ideally structured to finance individual small-holder farmers directly, the reality is that they still play critical roles within the sector, making them an indispensable part of the overall ecosystem
Investment in agriculture is not matching its output performance – World Bank report
Total factor productivity is the efficiency and utilisation of inputs in production, which means that Uganda has been putting in more than it has got outMore Agriculture
Coffee exports and earnings rise in November
Uganda's coffee exports in November 2016 were 408,027 60-kilo bags worth $50.41 million, a 64% increase in volume and 101% rise in value compared to the same period in the previous year, according to official figures.
Coffee exports fall 6% year on year in October even as earnings rise
Uganda exported 209,478 60-kilogram bags of coffee worth $24.23 million in October 2016, a 6.15% decline in volume and 5.97% rise in value compared to the same period last year.
Invest in agriculture to get economy back on track, leaders say
Political and business leaders believe that with recent reports of Uganda’s economic downturn, more government attention to agriculture - which employs most Ugandans - and increased investment in the sector will spur growth.
Coffee exports fall 9% year on year in August
Coffee exports in August rose 8.41% month-on-month but fell 9.22% year-on-year, according to figures from the Uganda Coffee Development Authority. Their value however rose 11.19% month-on-month and declined by 7.66% year-on-year.
At last, evidence that African agriculture is powering economic transformation
The evidence is now in and the verdict is that Africa´s agriculture is powering economic transformation in the region. African agriculture - spurred on by public investment - has shown remarkable improvement compared to its precarious state 15 years ago.
If Africa learnt to feed its chickens it could feed its people
Africa, which imports nearly 83% of the food it consumes, has a real chicken and egg problem. The continent is caught between pressure from imports in some countries and an inability to meet demand in others.
The deputy central bank governor on the state’s role in agricultural financing
Government used public sector banks, the Uganda Commercial Bank and the Cooperative Bank to provide loans to farmers at subsidized interest rates – which were often highly negative in real terms. Some of these lending schemes were financed from the Central bank.
Coffee exports fall year on year in July
Coffee exports in July 2016 rose 0.81% month-on-month, but fell 33.33% year-on-year. The value of the exports, on the other hand, gained 1.98% month-on-month and fell 37.02% year-on-year.
Economy slows in first three months of 2016
Real Gross Domestic Product fell 1.3% year-on-year in the third quarter of financial year 2015/2016, compared to a 2.1% growth in the second quarter, according to data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics.
