FRW news in brief

    | June 9, 2014

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    Farm Radio Weekly has a new trial resource for you: Farmer news briefs. These are stories from across the continent which have been adapted from print or online sources and are suitable for use in your regular farm radio program. Read them, edit them, broadcast them, localize them, or simply use them as background info. Want more details? Click the link under the story to see the original article.

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    1-South Africa: Urban micro-farming

    In the townships around Cape Town, urban farmers are using small parcels of land to grow crops, feed their families and earn an income.

    Many of the townships where black people were resettled during apartheid still face widespread unemployment. But a group of women in Gugulethu, 15 kilometres from Cape Town, has started a vegetable garden.

    A local NGO is training and supporting them through an initiative called “Harvest of Hope.” The initiative finds markets for the farmers’ produce. A vegetable box scheme established by the women has grown exponentially.

    The income they earn from delivering boxes of produce all over suburban Cape Town helps them overcome poverty.

    To read the full article, go to: http://allafrica.com/stories/201405061681.html?aa_source=mf-hdlns

    2-Uganda: Will biotech crops make farmers rich?

    Field trials of biotech varieties of banana, sweet potato, rice, cassava, cowpea and sorghum are being conducted in Uganda, Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria.

    Globally, the sale of biotech crops was valued at $116.9-billion US last year, representing nearly 200 million hectares of biotech crops. If a new law before the Ugandan Parliament passes, it will allow small-scale Ugandan farmers to grow biotech crops.

    According to the article, farmers in South Africa, Burkina Faso and Sudan have profited since introducing biotech maize and soya.

    To read the full article, go to: http://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/Farming/Ugandan-farmers-could-benefit-from-biotech-gains/-/689860/2305750/-/item/0/-/otkcez/-/index.html

    3-Rwanda: A rejuvenated co-op movement

    Over the last ten years, agricultural co-operatives have improved the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in Rwanda by creating better access to bank loans, farm inputs and markets.

    The Rwanda Development Organization works with AGRA, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, to support over 200 agricultural co-operatives in eight districts.

    AGRA provides financial management and helps the growing co-operative movement develop business plans. The two agencies now offer training and support for over 21,000 Rwandan farmers.

    To read the full article, go to: http://allafrica.com/stories/201405090533.html