Ethiopia Earned $318 Million From Horticulture Exports in 2018/19

Ethiopia collected some $318 million from the export of flowers and other horticulture products Ethiopian fiscal year, which ended July 7, 2019.

Mekonnen Hailu, Public Relations Director of the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC), said the export of flowers alone generated $261 million of the mentioned sum, securing the rest, $57million, from the export of vegetables, fruit, and herbs.

... over a hundred companies have been engaged in the cultivation of flowers, fruit, and vegetables as well as herbs and supply of high-quality products to the international market.

Ethiopian horticulture products' main export destinations are the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, UK, USA, Japan, Norway, Germany, UAE, Belgium, and Italy.

Merkato

Nigeria: Onion Seedlings As Fish Food?

Onion farmers in Jigawa State are said to have faced difficulty in the last farming season following the acute scarcity of onion seedlings in the market. The seedlings became scarce after fish farmers discovered their importance in fish farming and therefore bought them in large quantities to feed their fish. Following the two phenomena - fish farmers and poor weather (excessive rain) conditions - the onion seedlings become a scarce commodity and the price soared by over 200 percent.

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Editor: There's obviously a lot of information missing from the article from which the above snippet was taken. Are the onion seedlings given directly to the fish for them to chew on?! Or are do the seedlings and the fish exist in some sort of aquaculture-type symbiosis? Inquiring readers would have liked to know!

Full article...























Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/how-fish-farmers-bad-weather-hampered-onion-farming-in-jigawa.html

Kenya horticulture exports rise 18% in 2011

Kenya's earnings from horticulture exports rose 18% in 2011, despite a marginal dip in volumes, buoyed by a favorable exchange rate and strong prices for vegetables and fruits.

Horticulture is the country's leading source of foreign exchange, alongside tourism, remittances from Kenyans living abroad and tea exports.

East Africa's largest economy earned 91.6 billion shillings ($1.10 billion) from the sale of flower, fruit, vegetable and nut exports in 2011, data from the USAID Kenya Horticulture Competitiveness Project (KHCP) showed.

The body, which aims to boost employment in the industry, said there was scope for further growth in 2012, especially in flower production, which makes up the bulk of the sector's earnings.

Kenya exports most its horticultural produce to Europe, whose sovereign debt crisis has driven many countries to the brink of recession at the start of 2012.

The USAID Kenya Horticulture Competitiveness Project said the country exported 382,638 tonnes of horticulture in 2011 compared with 403,026 tonnes in 2010.

BusinessLive

Bad weather reduces Ethiopian Valentine's Day flower exports

Officials at the Ethiopian Flowers and Vegetables Exporters Association say that cold weather saw the late cutting of flowers, affecting exports to European market for Valentine's Day.

The association said that the country failed to reach an expected 30 percent increase in exports as the bad weather delayed flower cutting by up to 15 days.

Horticultural products have, in recent years become one of Ethiopia’s major export products along with traditional coffee. In 2011, the country made US$220 million from the horticulture industry, making it one of Ethiopia's biggest foreign currency earners.

Flower growers are benefiting from financial incentives as they mount a challenge to Kenya – the current African leader in flower exports.

"This year, the flower price was up in Europe and we were expecting to get more income from the sector. But we are unable to achieve the goal," the association said in a statement.

Prices of flowers in Europe have risen significantly, with some flowers fetching 0.60 euro, up from 0.25 euro.

Ethiopia began exporting flowers in 2001-02, earning US$159 000, exports soared to US$2.9 million the following year.

In the past six months, Ethiopia has earned US$156 million and is expecting to get more than US$300 million from annual exports.

Africa Report

Zimbabwe: horticultural sector shows signs of recovery

by Tabitha Mutenga

Despite poor funding, Zimbabwe's horticultural sector has marginally improved, with fresh produce production expected to increase to 4 500 tonnes in 2011, from 3 200 tonnes last year.

However, this is still far below production levels before the country embarked on agrarian reforms in 2000, when fresh produce levels hovered around 10 000 tonnes, although it hit 10 240 tonnes at the height of the agrarian reforms.

Fresh produce output amounted to 3 000 tonnes in 2009.

Statistics compiled by the Commercial Farmers Union show that horticultural production has generally improved, registering growth of 43 000 tonnes in 2010 against 35 000 tonnes in 2009.

There is still much more investment to be undertaken before production levels rise to levels above 60 000 tonnes experienced when the sector was still vibrant.

Flower production is expected to remain stagnant at 7 500 tonnes this year after picking up in 2010 to 7 500 tonnes. This was a drop from 8 000 tonnes realised in 2 008. Flower production output reached 5 000 tonnes in 2009.

Production had peaked at 22 800 tonnes in 2003.

Local horticultural production includes products such as cut flowers, fruit and tropical fruit, out of season fruit and vegetables. At its peak during the late 1990s horticulture was the second largest agricultural foreign exchange earner after tobacco, recording export figures in 1999 of US$144 million.

The sector is currently facing a number of challenges which include power outages that grossly affect fresh produce exports which require certain temperatures to be maintained and also affects irrigation of the crops.

Labour shortages are also a huge problem in horticulture and due to poor salaries, farm workers are opting for gold or diamond panning as a source of livelihood.

Horticultural production, which is labour intensive, also requires highly technical and specialised skills.

Very high start up costs especially for new farmers (infrastructure like greenhouses, cold rooms and working capital), has negatively affected production, inc-luding dilapidated irrigation infrastructure, particularly in communal areas.

Stringent phyto-sanitary demands on quality, food safety and hygiene especially from Europe also have a negative im-pact of horticultural output.

Citrus production in 2011 is projected to slightly improve from the 29 750 tonnes in 2010 to 30 000 tonnes although production in 2000 and 2001 was 39 320 tonnes. Over the years, production increased to 47 770 tonnes in 2004, declining to 15 000 tonnes in 2 009.

Horticultural production is a rapidly growing sector and export of flowers had made Zimbabwe the fourth largest supplier to the Dutch flower-auction market. However, horticultural exports are prone to price fluctuations because of global supply and demand factors.

Zimbabwe's horticultural sector is essential to economic recovery and is strategic in respect of the enhancement of the country's export receipts.

In paprika, production has improved from 340 tonnes last year to 1 200 tonnes this year.

In 2008, paprika output was pegged at 740 tonnes, declining to 260 tonnes in 2009. Output reached its peak at 13 870 tonnes in 2000.

Zimbabwe exports flowers to the Netherlands, Germany, UK, USA, France and Italy. Fresh vegetables are exported to South Africa, Zambia, UK and Namibia while fruits are taken to South Africa and UK.

Financial Gazette

Kenya flower farms accused of paying poor wages

by George Murage

The chairman of the parliamentary committee on agriculture, John Mututho, has lashed at flower farmers for paying their workers poorly.

Mututho accused the farmers of being too profit-minded, adding that they were to blame for the high poverty levels in Naivasha. "The farmers are making millions in terms of profit but the flower farm workers are among the most poorly paid in this country."

The MP he was in the process of drafting a bill to which would address the plight of workers in the horticulture sector. "A bouquet of flower goes for over Sh10,000 in Europe but workers in Naivasha are getting less than Sh4,000 per month,"

He supported calls that workers be rewarded appropriately for their work but was quick to dismiss calls for mass protests. Mututho attributed the current status of Lake Naivasha to pollution by some errant farmers who were releasing chemicals from their farms.

allafrica.com

Zimbabwe's horticulture exports fall sharply

by Obert Chifamba

The Zimbabwe Horticulture Promotion Council says deterrent freight charges, high production and export-related costs had caused a steep decline in horticultural exports over the last seven years.

HPC chief executive Mr Basilio Sandamu said the planes they contracted to ferry produce were failing to get southwards bound cargo and were only getting northwards bound cargo. This, he said, had made it very expensive to contract them as their charges were designed to make up for all the losses incurred.

Freight charges constitute 55 percent of all the costs of production.

"In the past there were between four and five flights to European markets every week but now there are only three, which reflects that export volumes have fallen sharply. "Last year we exported seven million kilogrammes of flowers, down from the traditional 24 million kilogrammes per year in good years," explained Mr Sandamu.

He said it was now critical for the industry to maintain the current mark and start building from there as any further descent would be disastrous and would also give regional competitors like Kenya and Uganda more edge over Zimbabwe.

"Critical mass is key in making a footprint on the markets. It is a game of volumes so we must maintain our grip on the market to be taken seriously," he added.

He said Zimbabwe enjoyed preferences in EU markets under the EU/ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) agreement that enabled it to export flowers duty free.

At the moment the country sends 85 percent of its flowers to EU destinations through the Dutch auction floors, which makes it vital to access cheap funds to refurbish infrastructure and re-plant new varieties while expanding the area under production.

"In the past we used to have 400ha under horticulture, now it is less than 150ha. We are currently operating at 30 percent of our full potential. The most painful fact is that we have very good growing conditions and highly skilled personnel," lamented Mr Sandamu.

Furthermore, he said funding constraints had seen farmers failing to refurbish greenhouses or replace old varieties with new ones to keep pace with developments on the markets.

"Farmers have no access to credits. "This comes against a background that has seen prices for basic export requirements like the CD 1 export form rising from US$50 in the recent past to the current US$250 for a single sheet. Indirectly, this is taxing farmers and compromising viability," he said.

Mr Sandamu said phytosanitary, tax and nursery charges accompanied by the SADC and EUR 1-certificate costs made it very difficult for farmers to operate viably. In the end the costs of exporting end up higher than the returns, which discourages farmers from producing for the export markets.

Additionally, very high production costs are making life difficult for farmers, as they need 16 Euro to establish a square metre of a green field while a hectare needs 160 000 Euro.

To break even the farmer needs to have planted nothing less than 5ha in which the first 18 months will be without an income.

"Working capital of 40 000 Euro per hectare per year is also needed, which is difficult for the current crop of farmers. In the past those who excelled used proceeds from tobacco and other crops to fund horticulture. There was a lot of cross subsidisation and this made it possible for the farmers to survive before they even started reaping anything from their horticultural projects," further explained Mr Sandamu.

Horticultural earnings now contribute between 1,5 and 2 percent to the country's GDP, down from a high of 5 percent in the recent past.

"Farmers are no longer re-capitalising but only maintaining what is there, leaving us operating at a fifth of what we used to do in 2001. There are economic fundamentals to be addressed first, failure of which the industry is doomed to continue singing the blues," he said.

The Herald

Kenyan flower industry yet to fully recover from 2010 disruptions

by Suleiman Mabatiah

Kenya’s flower exporters are cautiously optimistic that the prospects for their industry will improve during 2011 after disaster struck in the form of volcanic ash and adverse winter weather conditions in 2010. But prices will be lower as the global economic recession still weighs heavily on their primary market, the European Union.

In 2010, the industry faced enormous challenges. Volcanic ash in April and bad winter weather in December depressed cut flower sales by 15 percent, compared to 2009.

Kenya is globally the main exporter of cut flowers to the European market and the third largest exporter worldwide after the Netherlands and Columbia. The East African country is also the leading cut flower exporter among African developing countries. According to the Kenya Flower Council, 65 percent of exported flowers are sold through Dutch auctions, although direct sales are growing.

The council highlights that the industry has recorded strong growth in volume and value of cut flowers exported every year; 10,946 tons in 1988 compared to 86,480 tons in 2006 and 117,713 tons in 2009. The industry provides between 50,000 to 60,000 livelihoods directly and over 500,000 indirectly.

Statistics from the council show that the Kenyan flower industry suffered losses of 1.5 to two million dollars a day when 400-500 tons of cut flowers could not reach the market in 2010. Some 500 workers were laid off.

The industry has reportedly been optimistic that 2011 holds the potential for recovery. But Kenya Flower Council chief executive Jane Ngige is aware that the continuing economic woes in its key market could, just like the weather, affect the industry’s performance in 2011.

"When the ability of consumers to buy is curtailed, it certainly bruises the industry," Ngige acknowledged. "Reduced returns will translate into loss of revenue and, of course, jobs. Hopefully this will not be the case."

Demand for luxury goods such as flowers declined in Europe when the global economic and financial crisis first bit at the beginning of 2008, causing flower prices to immediately drop by between 15-30 percent.

Julius Riungu, farm manager at Timaflor, said that the industry expects prices to drop further this year. The company has increased the acreage planted with flowers to counter the possible fall in prices.

The farm has a total workforce of 1,060 people, of whom 60 percent are men and 40 percent women. "If workers have to be sent home due to the recession, flowers could become bushes, worsening the situation," he said at the farm.

Timaflor trains its workers to form savings and credit cooperatives to save money.

Susan Makena joined the farm in Oct 2010 and is assigned to flower pruning. "I left the hotel industry for the flowers. The money earned has enabled me to help my extended family that is poor. I also use the cash to pay school fees for my children," she said, adding that dismissal would mean "death" to her.

For Martin Dyer, general manager at Kisima Farm, the previous year’s calamities in the euro zone were a blessing, competitively. "We were lucky that we were able to take our flowers to Europe in time as we used other routes to get there. The prices had increased by then, due to the supply problems," Dyer explained.

With his farm’s high quality, "big head" roses, he hopes to weather the continuing effects of the recession: "The small heads flood the market. Price- conscious customers should go for the best: the big heads."

Not all workers are equally happy. Cecilia Wanjiku, who has four children, complained that the earnings at Kisima Farm are not enough to meet all her needs but she has no other option as work is scarce.

"Instead of being idle, I opted for casual work at the flower farms. Idleness leads to vices such as stealing to earn a living," she said during a lunch break at the farm. She and the other workers clock five to eight hours a day. Most women interviewed said they use their earnings to pay school fees and buy food.

Dyer is optimistic that no job cuts will be required at Kisima Farm. 

IPS

Fall in value of euro hurts Kenya's export-dependent horticulture sector

The raging Greek debt crisis has filtered into Kenya’s horticultural industry, causing foreign exchange losses running into billions of shillings as the country reassesses its overdependence on the turbulent European Union market.

Players say the crisis that has battered investor confidence across Europe and pushed the euro to its lowest level in 13 months has significantly eroded their earnings, delaying their recovery from other recent shocks like drought, the global financial crisis and the recent export interruption by the Iceland volcano eruption.

Kenya sells 82 per cent of her horticultural exports in EU countries where payment is made in the euro, leaving only 18 per cent to the dollar dominated destinations of US, Middle East, Japan and Russia.

For many years, the industry has relied on the stability of the euro to navigate through tough economic times, including the global economic crisis of last year. “It is not easy for the industry to come to terms with a falling euro because for a long time investors have relied on its attractiveness to grow,” said Jane Ngige, the Kenya Flower Council CEO.

The economic turbulence in Greece, triggered by a deep fiscal crisis after the country’s public debt rose to 115 per cent GDP, has changed the tide against the euro, weakening it against other world currencies, including the Kenya shilling.

Business Daily Africa

Kenya's horticulture sector falters

by Nick Waitathu

Horticulture, Kenya's leading foreign exchange earner, is faltering. Eleven months after the industry registered an impressive performance of over Ksh 73 billion (US$1 billion) earned from exports for the period ending December 31, 2008, it is faced with two serious challenges: prolonged dry weather and low export demand due to the global down-turn. In addition, Kenya has yet to recover from the effects of the post-election violence which rocked the country in early 2008.

Horticultural demand and value are currently around 75 per cent and 80 per cent of their peaks in recent years. Kenya Flower Council's Jane Ngige says of the industry, that even though the situation is changing positively, performance has been poor since the beginning of 2009. "Volumes of flowers from Kenya to international markets declined by 30 per cent between January and April this year, back to the situation in 2006 when the industry exported 80,000 tonnes," she says.

As a result of the global financial sector crash last year, foreign consumers' appetite for Kenyan products has declined drastically. Ngige explains that even though Kenya enjoys a substantial market share of the European fresh produce market, due to the credit squeeze, customers no longer give automatic preference to Kenyan horticultural products. Businesses have also been affected by volatile fluctuations in currency rates; Kenyan exporters are paid in euros or sterling pounds but inputs are paid for in dollars.

Drought, combined with restricted spending by importers and a consequent glut of produce on the world flower market, has also led to a year-on-year decline in income from cut flowers. Currently, Kenya exports around 80 per cent of its flowers to the European cut flower trade with almost half sold to the UK. But, to ensure that that Kenyan flower growers remain in business, the Kenyan Flower Council (KFC), together with other players in the export sector, have embarked on a search for new markets in the US and Asia, including the Far East.

Ngige claims that despite their problems none of her organisation's members have closed their business. But the prolonged drought ravaging many parts of Kenya has contributed to horticulture's problems: many rivers and most water towers are dry, including around Naivasha, the main flower producing area. Water levels in Lake Naivasha remain critical and water rationing has been imposed to control extraction.

To counter the effects of drought, growers are adopting new technology, including hydroponics, and improving the efficiency of water and nutrient usage.

Stephen Mbithi, chief executive of Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK), points to significant savings. "Hydroponics saves 30 to 50 per cent of water: half the water used on soil-grown crops can be lost to evaporation," he says. Investing in water harvesting and recycling of wastewater is essential if growers are to survive, he adds.

Dr Romano Kiome, Kenya's Permanent Secretary for Agriculture, confirms that the government is developing an irrigation master plan to help the country's farmers and growers change from a reliance on rain-fed production to more water-efficient techniques. "Water usage in agricultural production is not efficiently managed or organised," he warns. "This leads to users experiencing problems even during the rainy season."

Whilst the rains have recently returned to Kenya, it is not yet known what impact this will have on the horticulture industry for 2010, although Mbithi is optimistic that production levels will return and Kenya will be able to regain its international market share. However, it is clear that in the long-term, those engaged in horticulture and agriculture in Kenya will need to make major changes to their businesses, both in growing and marketing their crops. Some are already doing so. But further support and incentives will have to be put in place if they are to keep their businesses viable.


New Agriculturalist

Ethiopia lures agricultural investors as farm workers live in poverty

by Jason McLure

Until 2008, people in the Ethiopian settlement of Elliah earned a living by farming their land and fishing. Now they are employees.

Dozens of women and children pack dirt into bags for palm seedlings along the banks of the Baro River, seedlings whose oil will be exported to India and China. They work for Bangalore- based Karuturi Global Ltd., which is leasing 300,000 hectares (741,000 acres) of local land, an area larger than Luxembourg.

The jobs pay less than the World Bank’s $1.25-per-day poverty threshold, even as the project has the potential to enrich international investors with annual earnings that the company expects to exceed $100 million by 2013.

“My business is the third wave of outsourcing,” Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi, the 44-year-old managing director of Karuturi Global, said at the company’s dusty office in the western town of Gambella. “Everyone is investing in China for manufacturing; everyone is investing in India for services. Everybody needs to invest in Africa for food.”

Companies and governments are buying or leasing African land after cereals prices almost tripled in the three years ended April 2008. Ghana, Madagascar, Mali and Ethiopia alone have approved 1.4 million hectares of land allocations to foreign investors since 2004, according to the International Institute for Environment and Development in London.

Emergent Asset Management Ltd.’s African Agricultural Land Fund opened last year. On Nov. 23, Moscow-based Pharos Financial Advisors Ltd. and Dubai-based Miro Asset Management Ltd. announced the creation of a $350 million private equity fund to invest in agriculture in developing countries.

“African agricultural land is cheap relative to similar land elsewhere; it is probably the last frontier,” said Paul Christie, marketing director at Emergent Asset Management in London. The hedge fund manager has farm holdings in South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

“I am amazed it has taken this long for people to realize the opportunities of investing in African agriculture,” Christie said.

Monsoon Capital of Bethesda, Maryland, and Boston-based Sandstone Capital are among the shareholders of Karuturi Global, Karuturi said. The company is also the world’s largest producer of roses, with flower farms in India, Kenya and Ethiopia.

One advantage to starting a plantation 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the border with war-torn Southern Sudan and a four- day drive to the nearest port: The land is free. Under the agreement with Ethiopia’s government, Karuturi pays no rent for the land for the first six years. After that, it will pay 15 birr (U.S. $1.18) per hectare per year for the next 84 years.

Land of similar quality in Malaysia and Indonesia would cost about $350 per hectare per year, and tracts of that size aren’t available in Karuturi Global’s native India, Karuturi said.

Labor costs of less than $50 a month per worker and duty- free treaties with China and India also attracted Karuturi Global, he said. The $100 million projected annual profit will come from the export of food crops, including corn, rice and palm oil, he said. The company also is plowing land on a 10,900- hectare spread near the central Ethiopian town of Bako.

The project will give the government revenue from corporate income taxes and from future leases, as well as from job creation, said Omod Obang Olom, president of Ethiopia’s Gambella region and an ally of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ruling party.

“This strategy will build up capitalism,” he said in an interview in Gambella. “The message I want to convey is there is room for any investor. We have very fertile land, there is good labor here, we can support them.” The government plans to allot 3 million hectares, or about 4 percent of its arable land, to foreign investors over the next three years.

Workers in Elliah say they weren’t consulted on the deal to lease land around the village, and that not much of the money is trickling down.

At a Karuturi site 20 kilometers from Elliah, more than a dozen tractors clear newly burned savannah for a corn crop to be planted in June. Omeud Obank, 50, guards the site 24 hours a day, six days a week. The job helps support his family of 10 on a salary of 600 birr per month, more than the 450 birr he earned monthly as a soldier in the Ethiopian army.

Obank said it isn’t enough to adequately feed and clothe his family. “These Indians do not have any humanity,” he said, speaking of his employers. “Just because we are poor it doesn’t make us less human.”

Obang Moe, a 13-year-old who earns 10 birr per day working part-time in a nursery with 105,000 palm seedlings, calls her work “a tough job.” While the cash income supplements her family’s income from their corn plot, she said that many days they still only have enough food for one meal.

The fact that the project is based on a wage level below the World Bank’s poverty limit is “quite remarkable,” said Lorenzo Cotula, a researcher with the London-based IIED.

Large-scale export-oriented plantations may keep farmers from accessing productive resources in countries such as Ethiopia, where 13.7 million people depend on foreign food aid, according to a June report by Olivier De Schutter, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food. It called for ensuring that revenue from land contracts be “sufficient to procure food in volumes equivalent to those which are produced for exports.”

Karuturi said his company pays its workers at least Ethiopia’s minimum wage of 8 birr, and abides by Ethiopia’s labor and environmental laws. "We have to be very, very cognizant of the fact that we are dealing with people who are easily exploitable,” he said, adding that the company will create up to 20,000 jobs and has plans to build a hospital, a cinema, a school and a day-care center in the settlement. “We’re going to have a very healthy township that we will build. We are creating jobs where there were none.”

The project may help cover part of the $44 billion a year that the UN Food and Agriculture Organization says must be invested in agriculture in poor nations to halve the number of the world’s hungry people by 2015.

“We keep saying the big problem is, you need investment in African agriculture; well here are a load of guys who for whatever reason want to invest,” David Hallam, deputy director of the FAO’s trade and markets division, said in an interview in Rome. “So the question is, is it possible to sort of steer it toward forms of investment that are going to be beneficial?”

Buntin Buli, a 21-year-old supervisor at the nursery who earns 600 birr a month, said he hopes Karuturi will use some of its earnings to improve working conditions and provide housing and food. “Otherwise we would have been better off working on our own lands,” he said. “This is a society that has been very primitive. We want development.”

Bloomberg

New port cold storage terminal to spur Ghanaian exports

Ghana is expected to fetch over $1.2 billion in foreign exchange annually. This follows the inauguration of a-300,000-metric-ton capacity world class fruit terminal facility at Tema for the storage of horticultural produce annually.

The US$5million facility is part of a three-phase programme aimed at upgrading the cold chain infrastructure of the maritime and airport as well as the construction of farm pack houses, with the view to opening up the horticultural sector of the economy. The facility which began in 2006 under the Agricultural Services Sub-Sector Investment Programme (AgSSIP), through a World Bank facility, also included the conversion of an old open shed occupying some 4,400-square-metres into eight fully refrigerated chambers completed with cold store facilities.

Inaugurating the fruit depot at shed nine at the Tema Harbour, Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, said the facility marks the successful completion of the first phase of the government’s programme of diversifying agriculture through non-traditional trade improvement as part of the development of the horticultural industry. Government, he hinted, was constructing a similar facility at the Kotoka International Airport by tapping into the Millennium Challenged Account (MCA) as the second phase of the programme, while the third phase would visit and address the issue of infrastructure both at the farm site and roads leading to the farms where actual production took place.

These developments, the Vice President observed, would facilitate both internal and external trade as the country take advantage of supportive weather and better proximity in the export market. According to Aliu Mahama, “here in Ghana, it is ‘summer’ all year round; a situation which enhances and supports organic production of horticultural products. As of now the European Union alone imported 90,000 tons of fresh produce from Ghana since 2007 which earned us some 80 million Euros.” He therefore expressed hope that the converted facility would play a special role in contributing to the transformation of the Tema Port to be seen as the port of choice serving the West African sub-region.

Peace FM

Mt Kenya rivers disappear, poor water management blamed

by Patrick Mathangani

Ever since she settled in Mutiriri village in Laikipia East in 1984, Esther Njeri, 49, has depended on Ontulili River. However, around 1992, the river that flows from Mt Kenya became unpredictable. Water levels would go down drastically, sometimes slowing down to a trickle.

Other times, it would flow downstream with gusto as if with a newfound will to keep going. "At the time I was clearing bushes to build a house, it had enough water for everyone," Njeri said on the banks of the river, where she had taken family linen to wash.

Big horticultural farmers are accused of diverting river water for irrigation. Residents say rivers started drying up in 1990s when big companies, mostly owned by white farmers, set up camp in the area.Most of the farms are located upstream and block water. By the time the rivers reach downstream, there is barely enough left for everyone.

"If they want water, they should draw a little and leave the rest for us," said Njeri. Scores of nearby rivers — such as Timau, Nanyuki and Naromoru —have seen water levels go down to dangerous levels. Authorities have been forced to close down water projects to save those downstream.

A few kilometres from Ontulili River is a scorched valley, which once used to be Muramati River. During its heyday, the river was a vibrant source of livelihood for residents. "Now, even monkeys have nothing to drink," said Samuel Muriuki. Muramati is one of the 20 rivers that have dried up in the past decade. Many more could be on the way to oblivion.

The mountain, which is Africa’s second highest after Mt Kilimanjaro, is the source of scores of rivers that nourish large swathes of Kenya and districts hundreds of kilometres away. Wanton destruction of the environment through encroachment, cutting down of trees and unregulated use of water from rivers now threaten to wipe out this water fountain.

Experts warn that unless some drastic action is taken, there would be nothing but scorched earth in coming decades.The arid districts of Laikipia and Isiolo depend on the rivers which empty into Ewaso Nyiro, while residents in districts nearby — Nyeri, larger Meru, Kirinyaga and Embu — draw their water from Mt Kenya rivers. The Tana, where Kenya’s biggest hydro-electricity projects are located, owes its existence to the mountain.

Human encroachment and bad policies over the years have led to the destruction of the mountain’s ecosystem and made water sources dry up. The most wanton destruction was human settlement sanctioned by the former Kanu regime in the 1990s. One of the most visible effects happened in Ontulili Forest on the Meru side, where thousands of people were settled on about 2,000 hectares. The new residents settled in the extremely cold environment some 2,200m above see level, cleared large swathes of forest for settlement and grazing.

Although the government eventually settled them in an alternative area in 2004, only large treeless plains remain of what used to be a sanctuary for various tree species and animals. The area, which borders the moorland, was unfit for human habitation. However, the political interests of a former Cabinet minister took centre stage.

"Some of the river sources in this area have dried up. All you can see are rocks," said Mr Frederick Njau of the Green Belt Movement. The organisation, founded by Nobel Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai, is planting trees in Karuri, Kiriti and Kieni-ini. Njau said the project aims at rehabilitating the catchment as well as restoring the natural richness of vegetation by planting indigenous trees.

Most of the area formerly settled on is now empty plain used for grazing. Uncontrolled cutting of trees has been linked to global warming. Experts have warned that the snow of Mt. Kenya may disappear.

"The mountain used to be covered in snow, and you could not see any rocks," said Mr Godfrey Wanjohi, chairman of Nanyuki River Water Users Association. He has lived in the area for decades. The association has secured funding for a Sh126 million dam at Secret Valley in Kahurura Forest, which would be used to hold water for use during dry seasons. However, he said an investor with powerful Government connections, who wanted to use the site to build a hotel, was resisting the move.

There are signs that recent measures to conserve rivers, including the Water Act, are not being followed. Just a few metres from where Njeri stood expressing her worries about the disappearing Ontulili River was a furrow drawing water to the nearby Kenya Horticultural Exporters farm. Using gravity, the furrow, which is several hundred metres long, runs over a "bridge" across the river before emptying its load into a pipe. At one point, it diverts water to another nearby farm.

According to the Water Act, it is illegal to use furrows to draw water since it results in wastage through seepage and evaporation. A man who said he is the human resources manager for the firm, but declined to give his name, referred us to the Water Resources Management Authority in Nanyuki.

Nanyuki sub-regional manager for Ewaso Nyiro North Catchment Area, Mr William Hamisi, confirmed it is illegal to use furrows. He said the authority has discussed the issue with the firm. "We’ve destroyed some furrows and issued temporary permits for others," said Hamisi. However, he said individual users with small mobile pumps were difficult to regulate.

For instance, Naromoru River had more than 1,000 such users, he said. He said major rivers, including Nanyuki and Timau, have recorded a decline in water levels of up to five metres since 1990s."Communities downstream can barely get enough. This has caused conflicts," he said.

Hamisi added that the authority has been forced to ration water in some circumstances. About 70 per cent of the population in the affected areas — including Laikipia East and North, parts of Nyeri North and some parts of Meru — face water shortages. Hamisi said the river now remains dry for five months instead of three. The authority has drawn five-year plans to reverse the trend.

The Standard

Ethiopian incentives attract floriculture investors

Not many people seek their fortune in Ethiopia. Yet former computer consultant Bhanu Prasad took a friend's advice in 2002 and left home in Hyderabad, India, to try his luck at flower farming in the east African country.

He said, "It's a country coming up, it's safe, and the climate is good for flowers. We guessed the business would take off.''

Today Prasad's 10 hectares of greenhouses in the central Ethiopian town of Debre Zeit send 40,000 roses a day to the world's largest flower market in Amsterdam. He employs some 300 Ethiopians and is one of 70 commercial flower operations to open in the country since 2002.

Ethiopia, which suffered an estimated 1 million deaths during famines in the mid-1980s, is handing over arable land to entrepreneurs. As a result, flower exports have grown to $125 million from $159,000 six years ago, helping make the country Africa's second-largest flower exporter, after Kenya.

``We can catch up with Kenya in the next two to three years,'' said Fantaye Biftu, a senior adviser at Ethiopia's trade ministry. One day the flower industry may rival coffee, currently responsible for 36 percent of overseas earnings, as the country's leading export.

Ethiopia has some natural advantages in growing flowers. The country's main airport in the capital, Addis Ababa, is two hours closer to Europe by jet than Kenya's, which is important in an industry where air freight accounts for 40 percent of costs.

The country's central highlands -- 6,000 feet above sea level -- more moderate temperatures and reliable sunlight also make it easier to produce the large roses that make up 70 percent of exports. Producers say big-bulb roses are particularly popular in Russia, where sweethearts often prefer a single giant flower.

Persuading investors to come to Ethiopia in the first place wasn't easy. In the 1970s, most businesses were nationalized by Ethiopia's Communist Derg regime. Although it was toppled in 1991 by Eritrean rebels and a group headed by current Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, large-scale private enterprise is still rare.

In 2002, Zenawi's government began offering free land leases on former state-owned farms, government loans of 70 percent of start-up costs, and a five-year tax holiday for new enterprises. In addition, duties on greenhouse materials, seedlings and chemicals were waived for five years.

Over the past six years, the government has loaned more than 1 billion birr ($104 million) to flower farmers -- about half what the country spends annually on health care for its 78 million citizens, according to Ministry of Finance figures.

The tax breaks have been criticized by environmentalists who argue that they benefit few citizens and that the self-regulation of the industry use of pesticides leaves some workers at risk.

``There is little public debate on investments in general and who the beneficiaries of these luxury packages are,'' said Berhe Costantinos of the Center for the Human Environment, a nonprofit group for sustainable development.

That's disputed by government officials, who point out that chemical use is partially monitored by an umbrella group of local charities called the Forum for the Environment.

``If you put in place compulsory inspection, it will have a cost,'' said Dessalegn Mesfin, deputy director general of Ethiopia's Environmental Protection Authority. ``The market itself is a regulator.''

Frequent power outages, a result of Ethiopia's overstretched infrastructure, may hold back expansion of the flower industry. Following rolling blackouts for as many as three days a week this spring, the government agreed to guarantee power to flower farms even as other businesses -- including manufacturers of porridge and feeding paste for malnourished children -- ground to a halt.

The tax breaks have also lured Ethiopians like Yidnekachew Ayele, who returned home in 2003 after attending St. Cloud State University in Minnesota to start a 20-hectare rose farm with a government loan. Ayele produces an average of 85,000 stems a day, with 90 percent shipped to the Netherlands for distribution in Europe.

``We probably compete with someone in Ecuador or Holland,'' said Ayele, who brought in Dutch and Israeli consultants to plan the facility.

Just 40 percent of the flower farms are owned by Ethiopians. The locals who most benefit from the industry are workers earning less than a dollar a day.

Sinayta Tshoma, a former housewife who harvests roses for the equivalent of 83 cents a day on the farms, said she is grateful for the work. "There are no jobs for women other than this,'' she said. "The flower farms are benefiting the people.''

Foreigners are still banned from entering the banking and telecommunications industries or even owning land. Imported cars are taxed at more than 100 percent of the sticker price, and it is still impossible to use credit cards because no local bank is equipped to process international transactions.

Ayele said the fledgling flower industry gives his native land a chance to change its reputation as a famine-prone economic basket case. "The goal is to make a name for Ethiopia,'' he said.

Bloomberg

Zimbabwe's Agribank disburses working capital for export horticulture, cotton

Zimbabwe's Agribank is currently in negotiations with the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (PTA) to increase funding to farmers.

Agribank Chief Executive, Mr Sam Malaba,said that having secured US$10 million for this year, his bank is hopeful that current projects awaiting disbursement will fully utilize the funds to justify the increase.

“Discussions have already began with the P.T.A. Bank to increase the facility. The six projects which have been approved for funding are in the horticulture and cotton sectors,” he said.
Under the current disbursement, cotton projects will receive a combined US$7 million, whilst horticulture received a cumulative US$2,9 million.

“The Bank is financing export oriented concerns in the agricultural sector with a proven track record. Emphasis is placed on good past performance. The facility is for working capital only,” he said.

With uncertainty in the agriculture sector where the weather also plays an important role in the performance of farmers, he said it was too early to predict how the bank will perform.
“At this stage it is difficult to project how the Bank will perform as our performance will be critically influenced by the shareholders’ (government) ability to re-capitalize the bank, as well as the direction that the Central Bank takes with regard to monetary policy,” said Mr Malaba.

In terms of performance, Malaba said, “The proportion of bad and doubtful debts to loans and advances declined from 2.5 percent in 2006 to 1 percent in 2007. This is due to the tight controls on loan monitoring which has resulted in the bank having a good quality loan book,” he said.

He said his bank will stick with the farmers because that was its mandate.

“Agribank has a clear mandate to play a pivotal role in the funding of the agriculture sector. Agriculture is the largest contributor to Gross Domestic Product and the economic recovery of the country will be driven by the agricultural sector. Therefore, apart from the national mandate that the bank has with regard to agricultural funding, it is in our self interest to be at the centre of agricultural funding,” he said.

Sunday News

Kenyan farmers increasingly abandon staple crops over viability concerns

An increasing number of food crop farmers in Uasin Gishu District are abandoning farming in favour of small scale businesses and horticulture.

They are running away from their age old activity, dropping staples like maize and wheat in preference for faster growing vegetables and passion fruits. The move is likely to threaten food security in the region.

The shift is informed by relatively low returns from traditional farming due to high cost of inputs and delays in payment from marketing bodies like the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). Farmers hope to reap higher profits by engaging in small scale trades such as vending while growing vegetables and fruits.

“I have incurred losses for the past 10 years in cultivating maize on my seven-acre farm. I could have put the investment of Sh300,000 into better use to improve the welfare of my family,” says Mr Willy Kigen.

He is now contemplating switching to growing cabbages, spinach and carrots. Farming of fruits is attracting a major shift partly due to ready markets overseas and related high returns.

Farming of fresh produce has also gained momentum due to the introduction of cold storage facilities at Eldoret International Airport.

The real threat to food security, however, lies in some farmers who are abandoning farming activities altogether to pursue other small scale businesses to vend various merchandise and services in local towns.

For the first 20 years of Independence, wheat and maize farming was lucrative business, which supported thousands of households. However, in recent times, the sector has been going through tough times, thus forcing farmers to think of alternative means of eking out a living.

The liberalisation of the economy in the 1990s flooded the local market with cheap imports, depriving local farmers of crucial markets. They ended up selling their produce at throw-away prices thus incurring massive losses.

“Every planting season comes with a steep increase in costs of inputs and production, which invariably wipes away the little profit made the season before,” said Mr Kipkorir Matelong.

Owing to the post-election violence that rocked the country a month ago, this year is forecast to be the hardest in recent times for farmers in the North Rift. Land preparation is far behind schedule and the long-rains season is expected in a month.

In addition, the high cost of diesel and limited availability of tractors has tremendously increased the cost of land preparation. Due to sharp increase in global oil prices and shortages at home brought about by the post-election violence, the price of diesel has climbed up from Sh77.29 to Sh82.24.

Farmers are now calling on the government to intervene and bring down the prices of oil in the country. Interruptions in supply of fertiliser has seen a bag of Double Ammonium Phosphate rise by 40 per cent from Sh2,500 to Sh3, 500.

A Rapid Food Security Assessment Report on a survey conducted last month by the Kenya Food Security Steering Group and Agricultural Livestock Sectoral Working Group, indicated the cost of production and inputs in Uasin Gishu have risen from Sh12,150 to Sh18,150 per hectare; a massive 49 per cent increase from last year.

However, this figure excludes miscellaneous expenses such as costs of weeding, transportation, harvesting and shelling, which have risen in response to wage demands from farmhands.

“The current situation benefits the large scale farmers because they have their own implements and can easily access loans,” says Richard Kosgei.

The frustration of small scale farmers puts a sharp focus on the future of food security in the North Rift region and the country as a whole since it will eventually lead to reduction in the area under cereal and pulse production.

Uasin Gishu and neighbouring Trans Nzoia District are regarded as the bread baskets of the country. Jointly, they account for 17 per cent of maize production in the country.

Last year, Uasin Gishu also produced some 3.7 million bags of wheat.

Although the government has given some respite to farmers by buying their produce at better prices, meaningful profitability is yet to be realised.

Currently the NCPB is buying a 90kg bag of maize at Sh1,200 and that of wheat at Sh1,700. This is a tremendous increase from the Sh400 and Sh800 at which they were being bought in 2002.

Besides erratic weather and financial constraints, bad farming practices such as burning the land, failure to control soil erosion and poor husbandry are other factors hindering farmers from reaping maximum yields from their farms.

When well prepared and under ideal climatic conditions, an acre of land can yield a maximum of 35 bags of maize and 20 bags of wheat. But on most occasions, the farmers reap about 20 bags of maize and 10-15 of wheat per acre.

Business Daily Africa

Horticulture now Kenya's top forex earner

Horticulture overtook tourism and the tea sector to become Kenya’s top foreign-exchange earner in 2007.

According to figures released by the government, the flower sub-sector alone earned Ksh43 billion ($614 million) in the year up from Ksh23 billion ($328 million) in 2006, while fruits and vegetables earned Ksh13 billion ($185 million), the best performance in the 50 years of the sector’s existence.

The sector has grown by more than 300 per cent over the past decade.

“Kenya’s earnings from flower sales jumped 79 per cent to Ksh43 billion in 2007 while 2008 has begun well for the industry going by January figures,” said the Kenya Flower Council, citing government reports.

Production in 2007 stood at 91,192 tonnes, up from 86,480 tonnes for the same period the previous year. Exports for the month of January rose to 8,495 tonnes, a 15 per cent increase, compared with 7,388 tonnes same time last year, signalling a good start for the sector.

The flower sector registered a monthly export record for cut flowers in January this year, despite low expectations for the industry following post-election violence that displaced many workers, especially in Naivasha. The sector earned Ksh66 billion ($942 million) in 2007, up from the Ksh49 billion ($700 million) earned in 2006, overtaking tea whose earnings for 2007 decreased to Ksh43 billion ($614 million) from Ksh49 billion ($700 million) in 2006.

Tourism, which has been the highest foreign-exchange earner since 2004 after years of recession, earned Ksh56 billion ($800 million) last year and was projected to grow this figure by a further 16 per cent, but the Kenya Tourist Board says that the sector has, for the first quarter of 2008 lost 90 per cent of its projected earnings as it grapples with the effects of post-election violence that have seen tourist arrivals reduced to a trickle.

The leap in earnings from flower exports in January came as a surprise considering that the main growing areas of Kericho, Mt Elgon, Elburgon and Eldoret were among the worst affected by the post-election violence.

Naivasha, arguably the country’s flowerbed, was rocked by violence barely a week before Valentines’ Day, the sector’s most lucrative season. But not only were the ordered volumes delivered, the sector is said to be well prepared for the high season, which goes on until May.

According to the Kenya Flower Council chief executive Jane Ngige, quick action by the government and the growers to provide security both on the roads and farms averted a catastrophe — involving a possible relocation of the flower business to neighbouring countries.

Mrs Ngige said that Kenya’s flowers have a bright future because Europe is scaling down production as the continent grapples with increased production costs and the need to reduce global warming. Attention is therefore shifting to countries that grow flowers under natural conditions, instead of using the costly artificial lighting and heating systems prevalent in the developed world.

While the Tea Board of Kenya has reiterated that the shortfall in tea production is a result of the dry weather prevailing in most growing areas, it has not ruled out effects of the violence on Kericho and Nandi, where most of the tea plantations are located. Here, tea has not been plucked for almost a month now as most workers have not returned since fleeing post-election violence.

Moreover, until a fortnight ago, the roads were practically impassable.

A full return to production is entirely dependent on a national political settlement that will help ease the tension in the affected areas.

The East African

Africa should apply modern growing techniques to traditional fruits

The application of modern horticultural techniques could revive cultivation of traditional fruits in Africa like baobab, butterfruit and tamarind, according to a new report.

People in the West are becoming increasingly familiar with fruits from abroad, many of which are venerated for their nutritional properties. Indeed, baobab and tamarind are amongst the superfruits now stocked in many supermarkets.

But, while in the past fruits native to African formed an important part of the indigenous diet, cultivation of these crops in their original homelands has dwindled considerably since they were replaced by bananas, pineapples and papaya that came with the colonialists.

The new report from the National Research Council in Washington, USA, maintains that the time is now ripe to revive the old-timers - and even not so much because of consumers overseas. Rather, the authors argue that the traditional fruits contain nutrients that would be beneficial for African populations that struggle to have sufficient intake of all that they need.

In addition, they could contribute to environmental stability and rural development.

The report says that the newcomers have thrived in Africa partly because they had already been improved upon through selective breeding before they even arrived. In addition, their cultivation was encouraged by the new arrivals who brought them since they wanted familiar crops that could also be profitable to grow. The result was that a drop off in cultivation of native species, accompanied by the loss of knowledge about how to grow them.

Now, the onus is on African science institutes, policy makers, non-governmental institutions and individuals to put modern horticultural knowledge into play.

The report's authors are not alone in arguing for new techniques to be taken to the developing world.

At the annual City Food Lecture in London last week, speaker Lord Christopher Haskins of Skidby argued that this approach could help solve the imbalance of food security in a world where those in the West are wasting as much as 30 per cent of the food they buy - and others are starving.

He said that the more successful farmers could benefit from agricultural technology that would significantly boost productivity. The less productive smallholders, on the other hand, should be encouraged to follow the path of economic success in the urban areas.

The National Research Council report lists the benefits of 24 fruits that are considered candidates for optimisation. These include:

• Aizen - A large Saharan shrub that grows in particularly hostile places where few other plants can survive, aizen could protect eroding slopes, stabilise dunes and create windbreaks. The fruits are good source of vitamins A and C, calcium and some minerals, and the seeds a source of protein and zinc.

• Balanites - Also capable of thriving in the desert, balanites' fruit are similar to dates and are already eaten in arid zones where food is scares. But their full potential is not being realised, particularly since their kernels are have a similar oil-protein balance to soybeans and sesame seeds (one half oil, one half protein). They could also help counter desertification.

• Boabab - A sticky pulp from the fruits can be dried and used as a nutritious powder that is high in protein, vitamins and minerals. This is drunk with milk or other beverages. The pulp is also made into thin pancakes that keep for a long time. The "almost indestructible" trees also yield a leafy vegetable.

• Butterfruit - Butterfruit is a small tree, but its fruit, high in calories and protein, are regarded as very promising to help reduce child malnutrition. It is also a cash crop, and the mahogany-like wood could show promise for plantations.

• Tamarind - The fruits are an excellent source of B vitamins and calcium, and last a long time with no refrigeration. The sweet-sour pulp can also be made into cakes. Tamarind trees also come with the promise of restoring damaged lands.

Food Navigator

Namibian agricultural project scaled down over escalating costs

The Tandjieskoppe green scheme project in Namibia has been scaled down by 240 hectares due to the rising cost of materials.

In 2004 the Government secured a N$360-million loan from the Arab Bank for Agricultural Development (BADEA), African Development Bank and OPEC to develop the 920-hectare project. The project will now operate on 720 hectares.

About 260 farmers in the Karas Region were supposed to be settled on two hectares of land each to grow dates, grapes and vegetables. The land was also to be used as collateral security for them to acquire loans from Agribank.

But due to the increase in cost of materials arising from massive construction in South Africa, which is preparing for the FIFA World Cup in 2010, the cost of the project has soared. Initially, the project cost N$360 million, an amount that has since risen to N$500 million.

An official the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry said the ministry advised that the project be scaled down to suit the available funds because the loan did not cater for the increases.

New Era

Zimbabwean company experiences decline in tea production

Zimbabwe's Tanganda Tea Company Limited recorded a 22% decline in tea production during its financial year ending on October 31.

During the period under review production fell to 6 618 tons, down from 8 500 tons in the year before period. The company said was partly due to inadequate rainfall at its estates. This was compounded by a late start to the rains and a dry winter. "In addition, severe frost in late August negatively impacted on production in September and October," the company said.

Tanganda also suffered persistent labour shortages, which affected both quality and quantity.

According to the financial results, the coffee volume decreased from 113 tons to 41 tons as a result of the shift from coffee to macadamia nuts.

The company also indicated that it managed to make substantial investments in harvesting machines, generators and tractors over the winter months. This investment, in turn, resulted in the production up to mid-December increasing by 20% last year.

The Zimbabwean