Branding Deal To Fetch Higher Prices For Kenyan Coffee

We had just recently posted an article in which we talked about a development in which coffee growers were to receive more money for their produce by by-passing middlemen and now we learn that they are set to earn even more from their produce due to a branding deal signed in London over the past weekend. Kenyan coffee will be branded from now on and users of the coffee for blending and other purposes must now acknowledge their use of the coffees. This will cause the price of Kenyan coffee to rise. The development is an overdue acknowledgement of the high standard of Kenyan coffees which have been blended with other coffees from around the world without acknowledgement. This is good news for growers who can now market there high quality coffees directly to producers for fair prices. Over 80% of Kenya's coffee is specialty coffee.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805260106.html

AfDB Plans $500 million Fertiliser Subsidy

The African Development Bank (AfDB) continues to roll out initiatives to cushion farmers from the effects of the high price of some farm inputs occasioned by the high fuel prices: The Bank Group is launching a facility to subsidize farmers battling high fertiliser costs and help them boost production as food prices surge. In affirming that some sort of fertilser subsidy system would have to be put in place to curb the food crises in Africa the Bank’s President, Donald Kaberuka, also stated that this system would have to be market-smart and targeted and that it may require public finance supported by international institutions. The bank hopes to raise about $500 million in funding for the facility within six months.

http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7650&Itemid=5811

AU President Sells Continent to Japanese Investors

Africa Union President, Jakaya Kikwete, President of Tanzania, used his opportunity at the podium at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) to sell Africa as an investment destination for Japanese firms. He said it was time Japan look past Africa’s turbulent history and see the great progress the Continent has made in establishing political stability and investment viability. Mr. Kikwete cited that Japan’s total investment of US $415 million in Africa – a mere 0.4% of Japan’s total Foreign Direct Investment flow (with US $352 million going to Egypt and South Africa alone) – was a clear indication that a lot needed to be done to improve Japan–Africa economic relations. Japanese Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda, had addressed the Conference earlier and pledged greater Japanese involvement in what he termed as 'The century of African Growth'. Among his pledges is the sending, by the end of the year, of a large-scale economic mission comprising leaders in the public and private sectors to explore business opportunities on the Continent. TICAD attracted a large number of African heads of State and representatives of international organizations.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805281254.html

Japan: Angola Stability Good for Investment

Angola’s political stability in recent years has made the country well suited for investment. These are the sentiments of the chairman of the Japan/Angola Parliamentary League, Senator Tetsuro Yano, who was welcoming the Angolan Prime Minister, Fernando dos Santos, to Japan as he arrived for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). He expressed his country’s desire for greater bilateral cooperation citing Japan’s need for some resources found in Angola as well as the benefits that Angola could gain from Japan’s technological expertise. He also told of his efforts to get Japanese companies to invest in Angola. The visiting Prime Minister in turn expressed the need to create a framework to identify projects that stimulate partnerships and enable the establishment of more efficient and positive co-operation relations. TICAD opens May 28th and ends May 30th, 2008. The conference aims at mobilizing efforts and know-how from the international community to accelerate the growth and sustainability of the African continent.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805270029.html

Namibia tests cash handout scheme

Can a scheme to handout cash to every non-pension receiving citizen of an African country prove effective in alleviating poverty? Conventional wisdom would have you think that it could never work, that such a scheme would only encourage an attitude of sloth among citizens and that the money would fuel social vices. Conventional wisdom is wrong –at least that is what a test run of such a scheme in Namibia seems to suggest; Namibians citizens in a settlement east of the country’s capital, Windhoek, have in recent months been receiving the equivalent of 13 US dollars a month each –whether they were employed or not- to use almost as they please and it has proven to lift the standards of living and alleviate poverty. The scheme, which is being run by civil society in Namibia, is a private initiative that was put into place when the government refused to act on recommendation by its own commission that would put all non-pension earning Namibians under a similar scheme. The pilot project has shown itself dramatically successful in uplifting lives. Much of the money has been used towards education, meeting basic needs, the launching of businesses as well as health care.

The success of the private programme may prove sufficient in changing the government’s mind and make the scheme country-wide and may provide food-for-thought for policy makers in other African countries.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7415814.stm

Spreading Profits to Coffee Growers

In prospering communities of the world there is a high appreciation for such dainties as Swiss chocolate and specialized coffees. They are usually very expensive to purchase but rarely ever do we hear complaints about their prices nor is much thought taken into how much money finds its way into the pockets of the cocoa and coffee farmers who cultivated the crop that produced those dainties. Truth is, they earn very little for their labours and a lot of them live in deplorable conditions. However, there is beginning to arise, in the conscience of the world, concern over the state of these farmers and governments and civil society have began to put a lot of effort to ensure that they enjoy some of the enormous profits of their products. One such initiative in Kenya is doing just that –at least to some extent- allowing coffee growers to negotiate better prices with buyers abroad and eliminate middlemen who kept most of their earnings. It is already paying dividends as the Business Daily Newspaper reports.

http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7649&Itemid=5811

Turning around the maternal and infant mortality rate

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) provides us with staggering figures on maternal and infant mortality rates from birth in some parts of Africa: the organization reports that in Southern Sudan pregnancy-related death rates are about 2,030 for every 100,000 births, for example. These are the worst rates in the world but other African countries have not been fairing much better especially in comparison with rates on other continents. In the midst of this, however, some organizations are stepping in to turn around the tide of death from birth and bringing hope to communities ravaged by the phenomenon. UNFPA and White Ribbon Alliance - an international organization to promote safe motherhood with members in 91 countries –are finding success in Malawi (in Southern Africa) in ensuring that women get the sort of care that would prevent loss of life. They are eager to duplicate their success in other parts of Africa especially Southern Sudan, where UNFPA is aiding the capital’s hospital to provide better natal care.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080512/lf_nm/sudan_maternal_mortality_dc;_ylt=ArWnv7ajhu5s2mZqDhRQSdu96Q8F

Reverse ‘Brain Drain’ at East African Universities

For decades it has been very common occurrence to see a large number of High School and University Graduates from East Africa seek ‘Higher Education’ at overseas Universities and colleges mainly in the United Kingdom and the United States and now very commonly in Australia. A great amount of these students eventually take up residence in these countries leaving their mother countries without many of their best brains and talents. It hasn’t been common for the reverse to happen but it may be beginning to take place; Students from the United States, the UK and other developed countries are beginning to seek undergraduate level and graduate level degrees from East African Universities. There are also many students from these countries who have opted to spend a semester or two at local universities. For both these set of students there is a realization that the ‘university experience’ should be socially and culturally enriching just as much as it is academically enriching. The BBC carries the story of one such student from Britain, who opted to take his Master’s Degree at a Ugandan University rather than at home in the UK, in a recent online article.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7342706.stm

NEPAD Spurring Growth in Africa

At the opening of the 21st Century Africa was beginning to realize that decades of economic mismanagement and civil conflict had negatively impacted its potential as an investment destination and economic hub -putting it well behind other continents in the quest for a share in the riches of a vibrant global economy. In 2001, therefore, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) was launched as an Africa-based and African-run initiative to bring Africa truly into the global economy and make it competitive. Non-Africa based actors pledged their support to the initiative. Seven years down the line NEPAD can look back and see that it has faced numerous challenges but it can also see some triumphs. An article posted on allafrica.com highlights some of NEPAD’s triumphs and successes in the arduous task of bringing Africa truly into the world economy. It exposes little known work being done by the organization as well as provides more insight into its more well known initiatives. It’s a must read for those seeking to know whether the oft maligned organization is playing any vital role for Africa.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805091086.html

Inventor Brings Affordable Power to Slums

An estimated 60% of Kenya’s capital city’s (Nairobi’s) population live in slums which cover only 5% of the total land area. Apart from the fact that these slum dwellers live in generally deplorable sanitary environments, that most of them do not have access to tapped water, that their environment is crime-ridden, they also have to suffer the indignity of having limited electrical power in a city where electricity should be for all. Those who do have electricity have it illegally while the rest have to find other means of lighting their houses, cooking, powering their radios and charging their all important mobile phones. A Kenyan engineer, Mr. Charles Rioba, would have them know he has good news for them, however; he has invented an energy storage device that can be recharged by solar energy, mechanical cranking or mains electricity. The device is cheaply available to be purchased or to be hired and provides a much safer means of powering slum households while the government looks into means of eradicating slums altogether. The device could mean that children in the slums can now read late at night and that households could have easier access to news via the radio.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805190090.html

Wild tree brings hope to subsistence farmers

More and more communities in (agriculturally and/or economically) marginalized areas of the world are finding hope in previously neglected plants that thrive in their regions. The Jatropha curcas and the Aloe Vera plants are recent examples. Here in Kenya, another such plant is gaining in popularity –the Moringa tree. The tree, whose salty leaves have for many years been used by some communities as part of their diet, is fast gaining popularity as a purely commercial crop -its seeds have found a place in the world’s markets as a raw material for cosmetics. Farmers who sold the tree’s leaves for a largely subsistence income are beginning to realize the far more economically beneficial practice of selling its seeds. The seed has high value in the cosmetics raw material markets of the United States, Europe and China among other places and until recently only Ugandan and Tanzanian farmers had caught on to the fact that it had great export value. Now a local oil processing firm, Earth Oil, is working with local farmers to boost the supply of the seed for export. The firm processes about 50 metric tonnes of the seeds, 30% of what it requires, and is looking to local farmers to help make up the deficit.

http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7115&Itemid=5811

Good Tidings for Banana Farmers in Kenya

A high yielding, pest resistant variety of banana has been developed in Kenya –good news for many Kenyan banana farmers who have in the recent past suffered from the onslaught of banana pests. A scientist at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Professor Esther Kahangi, is largely credited with the development of the ‘tissue culture’ banana. The high yielding tissue culture banana has already uplifted livelihoods of many Kenyans living in rural areas in close to 14 districts due to their rapid multiplication. The tissue culture is an improvement on tissue culture banana developed in 1997 which, although resistant to poor weather conditions, was vulnerable to pest attack. Apart from its value as a food crop, sales from banana output provide the much-needed household income for small-scale farmers in Kenya.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805090129.html

Ivorian ex-rebels begin to disarm

In a sign that further progress was being made in Côte d'Ivoire’s (Ivory Coast) march towards comprehensive peace and reconciliation, the rebel force ‘New Force’, based in the north of the country, began to disarm. Cote D’Ivoire Prime Minister and former rebel leader Guillaume Soro congratulated the fighters for starting the disarmament process and said the disarmament sent a “strong signal” that the peace accord signed in Burkina Faso last year was being implemented. About 43,000 rebels are expected to lay down their arms over a five-month period at six demobilisation centres in the northern and western parts of the country in a process Ivorian Defence Minister Michel Amani Nguessan termed as “irreversible” and move that should represent an end to the state of mistrust that has loomed over the country since the crisis began.

http://www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrDate=05/06/2008&qrTitle=Cote%20D%E2%80%99Ivoire%20rebels%20start%20to%20disarm&qrColumn=FOREIGN

Kenya Launches Revolutionary US$ 50 Million Farm Programme

A major new partnership was launched May 6th, 2008, to provide small-holder farmers and small agricultural enterprises in Kenya with the financing they need to break out of poverty and build viable businesses. The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), in partnership with Equity Bank Limited, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Kenya Ministry of Agriculture signed an agreement for a loan facility of US$50 million (3 billion Kenyan shillings) to accelerate access to affordable financing for 2.5 million farmers and 15,000 agricultural value chain members such as rural input shops, fertilizers and seed wholesalers and importers, grain traders and food processors. This timely development comes at a time when Kenyan farmers are still grappling with the effects of post 2007 elections turmoil which displaced many of them and their workers as well as the problem of inaccessibility to affordable seeds and fertilizer. The programme fills a gap in financial services for the farm sector and is expected to do much to alleviate the effects of the global food crisis on Kenya.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805060781.html

British Soccer Star Plans Soccer Academy for Sierra Leone

We just can’t seem to get away from stories about football (soccer) academies here at the NGI blog. We posted two such stories this April (April 2nd and April 7th) -about plans to set-up such academies in the talent-rich but accolade-poor country of Kenya- where we trumpeted about the social and economic benefits of putting up well run football academies in impoverished parts of the world. Here again is another story about an academy initiative -this time spearheaded by a well known star to English Premier Football League enthusiasts, the West Ham Football Club forward, Craig Bellamy. He recently visited the formerly war-torn West African country of Sierra Leone and was so impressed with the talent he found there that he vowed to improve the facilities for the game. He has now set up the Craig Bellamy Foundation, which will start to build an academy in the capital Freetown. He says his motivation is not profit making but to give Sierra Leoneans opportunities they may not otherwise have access to.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/7385488.stm

http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/18077

AfDB Group Commits US$ 1 Billion More to Tackle Food Crisis

As part of a short term initiative to alleviate the effects of the global food crisis on Africa the African Development Bank (AfDB) has decided to raise its agricultural portfolio by US$ 1 billion to US$ 4.8 Billion. The announcement was made in a press statement to the media by the Bank Group’s President, Donald Kaberuka, in which the bank also commits itself to provide a rapid disbursement facility to the tune of US$ 250 million in its agriculture portfolio. The Bank’s president urged the cereal exporting countries of the world not to suspend their exporting for the sake of at least 12 highly food crisis vulnerable countries in Africa. The Bank Group would consider additional measures for budget support to assist countries in difficulty, he said.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805050726.html

http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__business/&articleid=338353&referrer=RSS

Japan to Build 1,000 Schools in Africa

The Japanese Government recently announced an ambitious plan to build over 1,000 elementary schools in Africa over the next five years. Making the announcement in a policy speech Japan’s Foreign Minister, Masahiko Kuomura, said his government was looking to ensure sufficient places for large numbers of children to acquire basic education. In addition, Japan plans to undertake the training of 100,000 math and science teachers in Africa and to support local communities around some 10,000 existing schools on the continent to increase participation in school management. 400,000 students are set to benefit from the school building initiative in which a total of 5,500 classrooms will be put up.

This may be aimed at boosting Japan's international clout, but it is definately good news for African countries trying to provide a basic education to as many of their citizens as possible.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200804291203.html

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080424a4.html

Africa’s poverty is artificial

“Africa’s poverty is artificial” -these are the sentiments of James Shikwati a columnist with Business Daily a daily business newspaper publishing out of Nairobi, Kenya. He had just recently participated in the launch of an initiative that is keen to popularize creative economy in Africa through the African Union in Accra, Ghana. He intimates that in Africa’s quest to become industrialized we have overlooked the fact that a lot of economic progress could be achieved through harnessing and developing our abundant artistic resources.

Shikwati cites the ‘Creative Economy Report 2008’ by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development which indicates that Africa Trade of Creative Products as a whole commands only 0.4 per cent of the world total of $424.4 billion. There is immense untapped wealth residing in the creative skills of the people of this continent but policy makers, leaders and parents haven’t yet began to truly perceive the enormous benefits that lie in harnessing them. The creative products and services industry drives ahead other important industries with it as it grows such as media, advertising and manufacturing and can be a significant source of foreign exchange.

We may be able to make our continent which is so creatively rich commensurately materially rich –a pleasant thought to ponder as we enter a new week, don’t you think?

http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7298&Itemid=5848

Novel Concept Housing Complex for Mombasa, Kenya

A novel concept in housing is set to come to fruition in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa; A Holdings company plans to put up a massive housing complex, at the cost of about 100 million dollars, which will be run entirely on solar power. The complex, which will also have its own water supply system, will consist of housing units of two to four bedrooms and be situated 12 kilometres north of the city centre. The construction work is set to begin with five showrooms already completed. The project will be undertaken observing high environmental safety standards and represents part of a boon for the Kenya real estate market which had taken a slight beating due to the post 2007 General Elections turmoil.

http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7305&Itemid=5810

Côte d'Ivoire: Presidential Polls date announced

Côte d'Ivoire has slated November 30th 2008 as the day on which it will hold its Presidential elections - a development which has pushed the country further down the road of political progress after years of turmoil and earned the country praise from the International community. Côte d'Ivoire has been in turmoil since 2002 but a 2007 Peace Agreement signed in Ouagadougou paved the way for an end to the conflict and included a provision calling for free and fair elections to be held. The election date has been agreed to by all Ivorian political parties. A lot of work still remains to be done to ensure that there will be a free and fair election as well as to maintain continued progress out of dark days of ethnic animosity but there now, more than ever, seems to be sufficient political goodwill to see this through.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200804300013.html