This is our first news of 2019 so we hope you all enjoyed a good break and wish you all a peaceful, productive and enjoyable year ahead. We’re now in the last six months of funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Our N2Africa teams in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda have been very busy conducting a large survey to understand the outcomes and impacts of the programme. We’re using a variety of methods and will report more in detail in future Podcasters.
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Feeding a Hungry Planet How do we ensure a healthy and sustainable diet for our growing world population? How should agriculture adapt – or stay the same – to support the Sustainable Development Goals? The SDG Academy course Feeding a Hungry Planet: Agriculture, Nutrition and Sustainability, relaunching February 11, 2019, on edX, tackles these questions and more. |
| AISL begun local production and distribution of Legume inoculant in 2015 following a working arrangement it had with Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS) in Malawi. |
| Legume Technology are now in final commercial discussion with FarmAg International to begin commercial supply of legume inoculants across Africa. |
Zimbabwe has traditionally grown soyabean with inoculation since the 1960’s, particularly in the large scale commercial farms. The country has a government run inoculant production facility at the Soil Productivity Research Lab (SPRL), producing inoculant for a wide range of legumes. Soyabean is the main crop for which rhizobium inoculant is produced, accounting for more than 90 % of inoculants sold. The Soil Productivity Research Laboratory received support from N2Africa in 2012 for rhizobium research, production and development and to train personnel in rhizobiology.
This report studies linkages in the soybean market chain in Uganda in an attempt to grasp what kind of challenges occur in the market, what the consequences of these challenges are, and what kind of coping strategies were employed to counter the challenges and their consequences. Qualitative data analysis was done on 11 key informant interviews, six focus group discussions, and participant observations. A Market Map, showing linkages in the chain between relevant actors, was created and a theoretical framework of challenges, consequences and strategies was constructed.
The cultivation of legume crops in combination with targeted sets of agricultural technologies is expected to improve soil quality, reduce the impact of agriculture on the direct environment, and allow farmers to intensify their production and increase their incomes and food security. In this context, the N2Africa programme has disseminated ‘tailor-made’ input- and knowledge packages in Ghana.
Rizoliq Soy, a liquid rhizobia inoculant for soybean with the highest quality standards recently gained approval by local authorities to be commercialized in Tanzania. Behind this achievement is a recent public-private partnership between Rizobacter and IITA Tanzania, mediated by N2Africa. Through this accomplishment the firm continues to strengthen its position in Africa.