In the eight districts where N2Africa is working in Zimbabwe, farmers are expanding the area they put under legumes. Farmers are increasingly aware of the importance of legumes for enhancement of soil fertility, but also the nutritious protein provided by legumes and their profitability as compared with other crops that were previously prioritised in the districts.

We have started exploring opportunities to initiate N2Africa activities in Uganda. To this end I met with several potential partners in Kampala and also travelled to the area around Kabale in the south-west Uganda and to Mbale in the south-east of Uganda.

In 2011, roughly three quarters of the global soyabean cultivation area was planted with genetically modified (GM) soyabean (James, 2012). In Africa, GM soyabean is only commercially cultivated in South Africa. Is the rest of Africa missing out on a great opportunity, or are the disadvantages of GM soyabean for smallholders outweighing the benefits?

N2Africa was featured in a recent article on the problems of soil fertility in Africa. To read the article click here.

One issue often raised when we discuss soyabean as an important crop for smallholder farmers in Africa, is the use of genetically-modified varieties. A discussion was sparked amongst N2Africa staff, and it came to light that Linus Franke had written a report on the issue of GMOs recently. We summarise some of the recent discussions in this latest edition of the Podcaster. Apart from news items from various countries, we also report on steps taken to expand the activities to N2Africa to new countries.