The nuts are found in an almond-like fruit. It is dried, ground to powder, then boiled in water to let out a highly-concentrated butter. The substance rises to the top, solidifies, and is then milled and filtered to extract the unrefined Shea butter. It has an off-white color, frictionless feel, and easy-grip texture that has made it a valuable cosmetic ingredient for centuries.

Uses of Shea Butter

It helps stimulate collagen production for the treatment of wrinkles, scars, and burns.

• It can be used to moisturize dry scalp and stimulate hair growth
• It moisturizes and protects the skin from the sun’s harsh UV rays by creating a mild natural sunscreen
• Shea butter is used as a cooking butter
• It is used to treat eczema, burns, dry skin, acne, and dermatitis
• Other common uses of Shea butter include candle-making, cosmetic production, and in waterproofing wax.

Where Shea Butter is Found in Africa

Today, Shea butter is found in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Guinea Bissau, Uganda, Togo, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Niger, Mali, Sierra Leon, South Sudan, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, and Guinea. Of these countries, Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda are the largest producers of Shea butter in Africa.

Ghana and Nigeria cultivate the species called Vitellaria Paradoxa while Uganda cultivates Vitellaria Nilotica. Both species can grow as high as 50fts and takes 40 to 50 years of maturity before producing Shea nuts. The Shea tree grows wild across over 1.5 million square miles of the Savannah and can remain productive for up to 200 years.

About 600,000 tonnes of Shea butter is produced in Africa per annum. The Shea butter produced in West Africa is denser while that produced in East Africa is creamier. Also, West African Shea butter has a higher concentration of vitamin A, compared to that of East Africa.

According to FAO Stat, Nigeria was the largest producer of Shea nuts in 2017. Despite it produces about 370,000 metric tonnes per annum, only about 20,000 metric tonnes is processed into butter. Although most Shea butter produced in Nigeria is for domestic consumption, there is undocumented trade of Shea nuts across to Ghana, Togo, and Benin. On the other hand, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana are the largest exporting countries of Shea nuts.

The global Shea butter market is estimated to reach $1.74 billion by 2025. For Africa to maximize its involvement in this market, there is a need for standard Shea processing methods and facilities, best practices awareness amongst farmers, and adequate documentation of all exported Shea butter across the continent. Most importantly, these governments need to heavily investment to harness the full potential of Shea butter in the international market.

Written by Joy Ejere Uche

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Although the African Union agreed to implement it by July 1st, 2019, it has been postponed and further delayed by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Whenever implemented, AfCFTA could generate up to $35 billion per annum, cut importation by $10 billion, and increase the combined GDP of the countries to more than $2.5 trillion.

Also, it will ease the movement of people, goods, and services. It will create employment opportunities and become the largest free-trade zone in the world. It will also attract direct foreign investments to every country and quicken the industrialization of the continent.

AfCFTA holds a lot of promises for the agricultural, manufacturing, transportation, and other sectors that are directly or indirectly involved in the trade of goods within the continent. For this study, we will focus on helping farmers to understand the impact of AfCFTA on the agricultural sector.

Africa has the potential to become a major food producer and supplier for the rest of the world. For maximum productivity, the countries have to deepen integration and prepare common markets for intra-continental trade. The farmers need to put over 600 hectares of uncultivated arable lands into good use for large scale commercial farming. They need to replace outdated farming tools with modern technologies and techniques. And most importantly, agricultural policies must focus on the majority group of smallholder farmers.

These will not only increase food production but create jobs and reduce poverty for farmers who rely on agriculture as the only means of livelihood. In essence, AfCFTA will help ensure that the continent can feed its rapidly growing populations. It will foster macroeconomic convergence, economic integration, and decrease inequalities between wealthy and deprived economic regions.

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement will help ensure the redistribution of agricultural produce from surplus to deficit regions. The governments will have to invest in infrastructural development to help farmers to access markets, storage facilities, drought-resistant seed, and invest in all aspects of the agricultural value chain. Governments also have to invest in research and development programs to help smallholder farmers understand modern techniques and technologies.

Implementing the AfCFTA will have farmers focus their energy on quality over quantity of yield. It will stir the need for basic infrastructure and facilities to ensure maximum productivity. In general, it will have multiplier effects in improving continental food security and sustainability from a trade perspective. Especially now when the continent is grappling to sustain production capacity due to environmental and political challenges.

Written by Joy Ejere Uche

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Ginger is one of the many cash crops that is grown on the fertile soil of Africa. We drink, spice our food, bake our cookies, and benefit from its antioxidant and medicinal properties. It contains Gingerol, an active ingredient in the treatment of inflamed arthritic joints, infections, high cholesterol, stomach cramps, cold, fever, diarrhoea, etc.  

Background 

Ginger is one of the strongest spices in the world, dating back to 5000 years AD. The earliest mention was in the writings of Confucius, an ancient Chinese philosopher, and the Romans. It was first discovered among the Austronesia people in South-East Asia before it graced the East African soils.  

The Austronesians used it for rituals, for healing, and in blessing their ships. In the first millennium, it was later carried in voyages to the Pacific Islands, India, and off to Madagascar and Comoros. The 14th century holds the earliest records of trade and barter; a pound of ginger in exchange for a sheep.  

Cultivation 

Ginger is a herbaceous perennial crop that is cultivated in the humid tropics. There are about 50 known species of ginger in Africa. It is a root crop with trumpet-shaped and scented flowers that appear in lilac, pink, pale yellow, or white variants. It has small, berries-like fruits, and its leaves smell like the crop. Ginger grows well on fertile, well-drained soil, and humid environments. It grows between 300m and 900m high, and 30cm depth.  

The seed or rhizome is first treated before planting to prevent pest infestation and diseases. The soil is cleared and ploughed 12 inches deep and 24 inches apart. The preferable planting season is between May and June where there is low rainfall.  

The farmer then weeds, applies fertilizer, and spreads green leaves on the plant beds, 45 to 90 days after planting. This process is defined as mulching and it is done to conserve soil moisture. The crop should be rain-fed or irrigated every two weeks to ensure high-quality yield. Harvest takes place between 4 to 5 months after planting.    

Nigeria is the largest producer of ginger in Africa and the third-largest exporter in the world after India and China.  South Africa, DR Congo, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zambia, and Ghana. 

Written by Joy Ejere Uche 

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Mr. Wole divulged this information during his panel session on the 26th of February, 2020. The session dubbed ‘Roundtable: Agritech Youth Empowerment’ was hosted by MyFarmbase Africa, an Agritech platform that leverages technology for research, advocacy, and sustainable agriculture consulting. The startup aims to leverage all at its disposal to boost food production in Africa.

MyFarmbase invited Wole Oshin, Ag. Head AgriBusiness, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc; Aliu Iyanuoluwa, CEO/Co-founder MyFarmbase Africa; Segun Oworu, Digital Farming project Lead, Bayer Middle Africa Ltd.; and Angel Adelaja-Kuye, Consultant to Ogun State.

See also: Event Review: Meet the Farmers Conference (MTFC) 2019

“The AFDB would invest N300 million in Nigeria, the pilot country to help smoothen the kick-off of the processing zones,” said Mr. Wole.

He further explained that the pilot would begin in the middle of the third quarter of 2020, and the private agro companies in the country will spearhead the program.

To further smoothen things for the agricultural value chain in Africa, the AFDB will be partnering with the fintechs in the continent. Fintechs will leverage the partnership to drive financial solutions across the agro value chain.

The agro-processing will focus on Maize, Soya, rice, aquaculture, cocoa, poultry, cassava, and livestock farming.

More on MTFC:

• UNDP Launches Cultivate Agro Initiative for Innovative Agritech Startups
• How Logistics Can Scale Agro Trade in Africa
• The Future of Technology in Agriculture
• Dealing with Agricultural Challenges in Africa
• UAE’s Interest in Non-oil Trade Relations with African Countries

The post AFDB to Setup Fourteen Agro Processing Zones Across Africa appeared first on MTFC | Meet The Farmers Conference - Nov 2019 - Dubai UAE.

The distribution of agro commodities in Africa continues to be inefficient, leading to excessive spoilage and the high cost of logistics. These challenges in the African logistics system affects the productivity of the agro sector.

Africa has the potential to produce cash and food crops in massive quantities. Asides the need for technology and finance to scale agriculture, logistics also contributes a major role to this effect. Logistics is needed to aggregate large quantities of agro commodities from across Africa for exportation. Hence, the need to establish a modern logistics system for agro trade.

See also: The Future of Technology in Agriculture

Although Africa has large amounts of arable lands for cultivation, a large part of these lands are unreachable. This is due to insufficient inter-connecting infrastructure within and outside the continent. As a result, the cost of transporting agro commodities is relatively high when compared to the cost of production. 

Logistics play an important role in Africa trade but unlocking the potentials require innovation and digital solution. The improved distribution could come through government policies and private company involvement to relieve the burden on agro-dealers. 

There is also need for investments in basic infrastructure such as roads, ports, trucks, dockyards, air cargo, and warehousing. This will ensure that the farm produce reach the final consumer. These infrastructures are essential to facilitate inter-regional trade of agro produce.

At Meet the Farmers Conference 2019, William Stenhouse the Vice President of Agility Africa will be speaking on “The Role of Logistics in Agriculture”. 

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Meet the Farmers’ Conference is an annual agro event that aims to enhance economic diversity, promote technology in agriculture to catalyze output, and create a sustainable agro-economy for global food security by promoting trade relationships between Africa and the Middle East.

Innov8Agric Challenge is a major highlight of Meet the Farmers Conference – an initiative of Crenov8 DMCC, a multinational digital and management consulting firm. The Challenge is aimed at promoting innovative ideas for early stage Agric entrepreneurs from all sectors of the agriculture ecosystem who are applying creative and innovative methods to improve the state of agriculture across Africa. As part of its goals, the challenge will help the participants raise funds from investors, pitch their solutions to a global audience and open investment opportunities for Agritech startups in Africa.

See also: UAE’s Interest in Non-oil Trade Relations with African Countries

The startups selected to pitch at the Grand Finale are Crop2cash; a Nigerian- based startup that connects farmers to capital and profitable markets, Acquameyer Drone Tech; a Ghanian- based AgTech startup that provides farmers with drones to spray, plant, and analyse soil and crops in real time and Lentera Africa; a Kenyan- based AgTech startup enabling farmers adapt to climatic changes through technology.

Over 1000 startups submitted applications for the 2019 edition of Innov8Agric Challenge and the selected finalists will get all-expense paid trips to Dubai for the Grand Finale of the challenge and an opportunity to grants, access to further funding opportunities, business expansion and access to experts and mentors in the business of Agriculture. This pitch competition will take stage during Meet the Farmers’ Conference which is scheduled to hold on 27th and 28th November 2019 at the Address Hotel Marina, Dubai, UAE.

Are you an agro stakeholder or startup interested in attending the conference? Register here

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However, Africa’s agricultural potentials cannot be fully maximized without dealing with its challenges. Farmers across Africa, unlike their global counterparts, face challenges that go beyond pests, diseases, damaging water, etc. Their challenges mostly border on lack of access to the necessary input required to boost productivity.

The majority of Africans depend on agriculture for their livelihood. As regards to this, boosting agricultural growth will scale income and the living conditions of Africans. Considering that one of the most effective ways to boost the use of local products and services and generate economic growth is by scaling the growth of the agricultural sector.

See also: UAE’s Interest in Non-oil Trade Relations with African Countries

Agricultural growth propels economic development which will be unachievable without significant investments in the sector. Investments in the agricultural sector cut across; Inputs e.g. Fertilizer and Hybrid seed; Infrastructure e.g. Irrigation, Storage, Electricity, Technology, Roads, Ports, etc.; Markets e.g. Trade; policies, regional and international trade flows, off-take markets. When these are carried out properly, jobs will be created across all investment sectors.

To properly deal with Africa’s agricultural challenges, there is a need to collaborate, cooperate and network at multiple levels. Which is the platform Meet the Farmers Conference (MTFC) 2019 aims to provide.

MTFC is the largest agro conference that connects agro stakeholders from Africa and the GCC. The conference aims to produce a healthy environment, economic profitability, and innovations, in a bid to drive business partnerships that will foster formidable agricultural growth.

The conference will feature a presentation from Leonie Hartmann the CEO of Avagro. He will be speaking on the topic ‘How to Deal with Agricultural Challenges in Africa’.

More on MTFC:

• Creating a Sustainable Future In Agriculture
• The Role of Dubai as an International Trade Hub for Businesses in Africa
• The role of African Farmers in Achieving Zero Hunger and Global Food Security
• Where this is found in Africa Series – an Expository of African Cash Crops
• Highlights of Agriculture in North Africa

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Sustainable agriculture aims to meet our present agricultural needs without compromising its availability for future generations.

Agricultural Sustainability is not boosting food production to feed people, neither is it farming that focuses on the environment. It is a multifaceted system that focuses on the Argo process and agribusiness in general, rather than just a specific agricultural product.

Research has it that sustainable agriculture can be actualized via three factors; a healthy environment, economic profitability, and innovation. The process of agricultural sustainability cuts across every member of the agri-ecosystem; farmers, food processors, distributors, retailers, consumers, and waste managers alike.

To achieve a sustainable agricultural future, collaboration and cooperation at multiple levels and cross-cultural knowledge exchange is required.

Meet the Farmers Conference (MTFC) 2019, the largest agro conference brings together agro stakeholders from Africa and the GCC. It aims to create a healthy environment, economic profitability, and innovations, to drive business partnerships that will make a formidable impact in agriculture.

The conference will feature panel session that includes Bola Oyedele, Azeez Oluwole, Joshua Ajisope, Ademola Akinyemi and Kenneth Okonkwo will be addressing ‘Ways to Create a Sustainable Future in Agriculture’. 

More on MTFC:

• The Role of Dubai as an International Trade Hub for Businesses in Africa
• The role of African Farmers in Achieving Zero Hunger and Global Food Security
• Where this is found in Africa Series – an Expository of African Cash Crops
• UN Appoints Aliko Dangote and Akinwumi Adesina to Tackle Global Malnutrition
• AATF partners IRRI to Scale Hybrid Rice Production in Africa

The post Creating a Sustainable Future In Agriculture appeared first on MTFC | Meet The Farmers Conference - Nov 2019 - Dubai UAE.

Brewed coffee

Coffee is a drink that is brewed and prepared from roasted coffee beans. The dark-brown beans are slightly acidic, bitter and stimulating as a result of its caffeine content.

Coffee was first discovered in the native forests of Eastern Africa. According to history, it was found around AD850 in Kaffa by an Abyssinian (former name for Ethiopia) known as Kaldi. Coffee was first brewed in the mid-15th century by some Yemenis who obtained the beans from Somali traders that journeyed from the Eastern Highlands of Africa.

Coffee Cultivation

Cultivation

One of the ways of planting coffee is through the traditional Shade-grown method. The beans are planted at an altitude of 1500 meters on fertile forest lands. The seeds are intercropped alongside other food and tree crops that provide shade from sunlight.

See also: AATF partners IRRI to Scale Hybrid Rice Production in Africa

A more modern method is practiced in developed countries like Brazil. The seeds are first planted in a nursery within controlled temperate conditions. The seedlings are then transferred outside at six to twelve months.

Coffee sorting process

Coffee Producers in Africa

Ethiopia is the #5 producer of coffee in the world. The country is popular for exporting Kaffa and Sidamo (Arabica) beans. Another major species is the Canefora or Robusta which produces better yields as a result of high resistance to disease infestation. Both Arabica and Robusta trees produce crops within 3 years of cultivation and still produce for 20-30 years. Other gourmet Ethiopian coffee beans species include Wollega (Nekempte), Limu, Sidama, Yirgacheffe, Tepi, and Bebeka.

top producers of coffee in the world

Coffee in East Africa is cultivated in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Burundi, and Uganda. In the North is Sudan and Ivory Coast on the West African coast. It is also produced in Zimbabwe, Angola, Cameroon, DRC Congo, Tanzania, and Malawi on small scales. 

Coffee is currently cultivated in over 70 countries globally and about 25 African countries economically benefit from its production. Brewed coffee is one of the most consumed beverages in the world. The bean is a major agro commodity in Africa and has become a primary export in Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Burundi.

Africa is recognized for producing some of the world’s finest quality beans. Millions of people in these countries depend on coffee production as the primary source of livelihood. The global demand for coffee is expected to increase by a third to 200 million bags by 2030, as the population increases.

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A major challenge is that most businesses encounter higher tariffs for exporting within than outside the African continent. The arduous visa requirements and export duties demanded across borders are enough to discourage intra-African trade. Building a trans-African highway network system will take years to complete but there has to be an efficient mode of transportation for intra-African trade to occur. If not properly addressed, there would be more goods than the means of transportation across the continent.

The high level of importation has left several African countries with negative trade balances. Shortage in the number of standardized manufacturing plants within the continent is saddening. Most manufacturing industries are either foreign-owned, redundant or cannot process very large quantities into consumable goods.

African governments have to invest heavily to resuscitate the production and manufacturing sector to create employment for the locals and ensure that quality goods are manufactured. Governments have to ensure that the manufacturing companies for the AfCFTA are not multinationals because it would be unfair competition to local manufacturers. The rules of origin can help prevent the transhipment of goods and foreign companies from taking advantage of zero tariffs.

Furthermore, there is an uneven distribution of populations amongst African countries. Some countries also have an unfair advantage of numbers over others in market size and landmass. These factors have to be considered before setting transactional and regulatory duties. There are concerns regarding uneven economic gains of the agreement such as tariff losses and the cost of adjustment to a competitive environment. Some countries, for example, depend solely on the fiscal revenues generated on tariffs, eliminating these would constitute a huge loss of revenue.

For smooth transactions between the countries, there would be a need for increased cooperation on rules of origin, harmonization of custom tariffs, trade facilitation and setting up phytosanitary measures regarding the standard of goods traded. There is a need for government sensitization so that citizens can benefit from the opportunities presented by this agreement. Business owners should also be aware of fraudulent acts and avoid exporting counterfeit goods from respective countries.

The concerns about the AfCFTA are genuine and have to be addressed for seamless trade facilitation within the continent. Pan-African financial institutions like the African Development Bank and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) are contributing their quota to foster trade-relations in the region. Afreximbank has set aside a $1 billion AfCFTA Adjustment Facility to enable countries to adjust to the sudden tariff revenue losses as a result of the implementation. These and more are essential for Africa to be truly ready to implement and enjoy the full benefits of the free trade agreement.

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