African Farming March April 2013

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www.africanfarming.net March/April 2013

Europe m14.50 - Ghana C1.3 - Kenya KSH150 - Nigeria N200 - South Africa R18 - UK ÂŁ9 - USA $15

Mobile phones for farmers New dynamic for Angolan agriculture Progress in tillage efficiency Serving

AGRICULTURE for

33

YEARS Reducing the threat of mycotoxins for local dairy farmers.

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CONTENTS

Contents

www.africanfarming.net March/April 2013

News and Events

4

Europe m14.50 - Ghana C1.3 - Kenya KSH150 - Nigeria N200 - South Africa R18 - UK £9 - USA $15

Mobile phones for farmers

A topical digest of news, views and events including Farmers’ Calendar.

Analysis

New dynamic for Angolan agriculture

10

Developing a vibrant African agricultural sector. Stephen Williams talks to Jane Karuku, the president of AGRA and Kanayo F Nwanze, the president of IFAD.

Poultry

Progress in tillage efficiency

14

Serving

AGRICULTURE for

33

YEARS

Ammonia in the poultry house sabotages production. Too many producers accept high levels of ammonia in the poultry house as an inevitable nuisance — something to be tolerated.

Dairy Farming

Reducing the threat of mycotoxins for local dairy farmers.

Half of Africa's one billion population has a mobile phone - an increasingly popular tool with many smallholder farmers.

18

Reducing the threat of mycotoxins for local dairy farmers.

Angola

20

Whilst oil continues to be by far the largest economic sector in Angola, non-oil activities have recently been showing a new dynamic. This holds particularly true for agriculture, which accounts for more than 50 per cent of total employment in the country. Now, coffee, cotton and fruit are experiencing a revival.

Meat Processing

23

John F N Ng’ng’a recently visited the Kenya Meat Commission factory outside Nairobi and discovered highly specialised meat gathering and processing activities.

Pumps

Cattle breeding contributes significantly to Angola's agricultural sector.

26

Installation and use of pumps adds the energy required to facilitate movement and transfer of water from one place to another, or to accelerate normal movement down a natural gradient.

Rural Communications

28

More and more smallholder farmers are now harnessing the power of the telephone to help them connect to agricultural services, information and markets.

Tillage

30

Like much of the machinery on African farms, cultivation equipment is influenced by trends and developments in Europe and the United States.

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EVENTS

Farming Calendar

Third Africa Rice Congress 2013

IFFA 2013 www.iffa.com

FRANKFURT

THE THIRD AFRICA Rice Congress – to be held from 21-24 October 2013, in Yaoundé, Cameroon – will have as its main theme: ‘Rice Science for Food Security and Agri-business Development in Africa’.

The Congress will bring together representatives from the public and private sector, civil society organisations, farmer associations and research and extension communities engaged in the development of Africa’s rice sector.

The Congress will take stock of advances in rice science and technology aimed at improving production, processing and marketing practices across the rice value chain in Africa. The Congress will also provide an opportunity to discuss institutional innovations, policies and key investments needed to significantly increase rice production, processing and marketing in sub-Saharan Africa, thereby developing competitive and equitable rice value chains, reducing imports and enhancing regional trade.

The Africa Rice Congress will be organised by the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) in collaboration with the Government of Cameroon.

14-17

NAMPO Harvest Day www.grainsa.co.za

BOTHAVILLE

Zimbabwe to host international beekeeping conference

22-23

Sustainable Forest Management in Central Africa

March 28-30 Ethiopia Poultry Expo www.ethiopoultryexpo.com

ADDIS ABABA

28-30 Afri Green Expo www.expopromoter.com

ADDIS ABABA

April 4-7

IDMA www.idma.com.tr

10-12 4th Global Feed and Food Congress www.ifif.org 16-18 2nd Cool Logistics Africa Conference www.coollogisticsafrica.com

ISTANBUL SUN CITY CAPE TOWN

May 4-9

YAOUNDE

www.cifor.org 24-26 17th FOODAGRO 2013 www.expogr.com/tanzania/foodexpo

DAR ES SALAAM

29-30 AVI Africa www.sapoultry.co.za

JOHANNESBURG

June 5-7

IFTEX 2013 www.hppexhibitions.com

6-8

AGRENA 2013 www.agrena.net

NAIROBI CAIRO

ZIMBABWE IS TO host an international beekeeping conference, APIExpo Africa, in 2014, meant to promote beekeeping in the country and Africa at large.

According to Beekeepers Association of Zimbabwe (BKAZ) National Co-ordinator, Chaipa Mutandwa, API-Trade Africa in Uganda is the organising body and secretariat of the expo.

Mutandwa said the expo is also to be co-hosted by the local Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development.

He added that the expo will be held under the theme: Beekeeping for economic empowerment for Africa.

Mutandwa said at least 3,000 delegates are expected to attend the expo, who include exhibitors, local producers including service providers, just to mention a few.

Delegates are also expected to come from the SADC region, other parts of Africa and also Europe.

Wallace Mawire

Bayer committed to help raise agricultural productivity in Africa BAYER CROPSCIENCE IS committed to help raise the agricultural productivity in Africa, and plans to extend its operational footprint in the continent, said Christian Asboth, Senior Vice President for Africa, Middle East and CIS, at the 2nd AGCO Africa Summit in Berlin, Germany.

During a high-level business panel on "Making Business Work and Fit for Africa", Asboth emphasised the urgent need for a sustainable introduction of modern technologies, with a strong focus on smallholder farmers in Africa to boost productivity. "Over the last years we have seen a strong development of agriculture in Africa, but the challenges of the next decades can only be solved if smallholder farmers are empowered to sustainably pilot their own success," he said, noting that the lack of access to production inputs such as fertilisers, high-quality seeds, innovative crop protection solutions, machinery and other important farming tools negatively affects agricultural production.

Tailored offerings provided by Bayer CropScience are well adapted to the needs of

4 African Farming - March/April 2013

Smallholder farmers key to increase agricultural productivity.

African farmers. These include integrated crop solutions based on improved seed varieties and modern crop protection technologies as well as product stewardship programmes and training in good agricultural practices. "We have excellent seed technology in several crops, such as in vegetables, cotton and hybrid rice," Asboth added. In order to improve agricultural productivity, a close cooperation between the different stakeholders - including local governments, farmers’ associations and co-operatives, NGOs, the agricultural input industry and the banking and insurance sector - is absolutely

necessary, Asboth noted. "At Bayer CropScience, we hope to increase agricultural productivity by partnerships along the entire food value chain from seed to shelf," he commented.

Bayer CropScience is already involved in projects to set up and improve farmer proximity shops, provide farmers with agronomical and product stewardship training, as well as connect smallholder and industrial farmers to provide access to more advanced farming equipment.

Asboth said: "We aim to help smallholder farmers in East and West Africa to raise their productivity to improve their livelihood. This is how we aim to help reduce hunger and poverty and how we can contribute to agricultural development in Africa."

The AGCO Africa Summit is a joint initiative of AGCO, Bayer CropScience, DEG, and Rabobank.

Guest speakers included Prof. Dr. Horst Köhler (former Federal President of Germany), John Agyekum Kufuor (former President of the Republic of Ghana), and Olusegun Obasanjo (former President of Nigeria).

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NEWS

Zambia takes the lead in conservation farming THE CONSERVATION FARMING Unit (CFU) of the Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) has continuously promoted conservation farming since 1996 with the support of the Norwegian government.

More recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and other organisations have become involved in the practice, and, today, it is estimated that about 250,000 famers apply the basic form of CF on portions of their land. ‘’This is good news because ask any of the many thousands of farmers who have adopted CF and they will tell you that they are more food-secure, they have surpluses to sell and they can produce crops in all but the driest seasons,’’ information obtained from the CFU indicates.

Hoe tillage allows farmers to complete land preparation in the dry season, plant on time, reduce soil disturbance from 100 per cent to 10 per cent, reduce labour peaks and apply nutrients more accurately. Crops establish more evenly, harvest rainfall and survive dry periods that are common at the onset of the rains.

Instead of ploughing, ox farmers rip furrows in the dry season and when they have completed their own land preparation, they can

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rip for their neighbours, thus earning some money in the process. Ripping takes four hours per hectare compared to 14 hours for ploughing and can be undertaken throughout the dry season, making better use of scarce oxen.

Farmers with tractors who rip instead of plough reduce diesel consumption from 40 litres per hectare to 12, reduce costs, wear and tear and can make a profitable business out of providing this service to customers who benefit from lower costs. ‘’CF is practical, relatively easy to adopt, costs less, produces more, arrests erosion, performs better in dry and wet seasons and in combination with leguminous crop rotations and the judicious use of fertilisers on maize, reverses land degradation.”

From experience, it is true that ‘’CF offers farmers many spectacular benefits, and that it is the best ‘on farm’ solution for farmers to increase productivity and adapt to climate change.”

Around the world, CF is referred to by other names, such as No–Till, Reside Tillage, Conservation Tillage and Zero Tillage depending on the amount of soil disturbance, the degree of soil cover and crop rotation.

Whatever terms are used, the most important principles are constant and relevant

to all arable farmers whether they use a hoe, oxen or a tractor with satellite navigation – reduce soil disturbance to the minimum possible, maximise soil protection to the degree possible by preserving the previous harvest’s residues and rotate. ‘’Achieving these elemental goals in different farming conditions is the subject of continuous refinement the world over. Today, nearly 100 million ha of the world’s crop land is farmed using these methods, with 85 per cent in the US, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Australia and Paraguay; yet Africa - a continent that could benefit so much from these practices - contributes less than 0.5 per cent of the total.

Nawa Mutumweno

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NEWS

Fast-growing fish varieties to benefit farmers

Nigeria to target five million farmers for GES programme

NEW BREEDS OF Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) - an economically important fish that is native to much of Africa which grow about 30 per cent faster than the most common commercial strains, will boost food security and farmers' earnings in Egypt and Ghana.

The selective breeding programmes use natural selection, where young fish with the desired trait of rapid growth are bred together. This continues for many generations to produce fish that grow ever-more quickly. The technique is simple but it takes a long time. The method doesn't use genetic engineering, gene transfer or growth hormones.

Aquaculture represents 72 per cent of total fish production in Egypt, which is the world's second largest producer of tilapia after China. The Abbassa strain of tilapia grows 28 per cent faster than the most commonly-used commercial breed.

In Ghana, the Akosombo strain was developed by national research body the Water Research Institute (WRI) in partnership with WorldFish. The eighth generation of the strain reaches maturity more than 30 per cent faster than the unimproved strain.

At the current pace, tilapia production in Ghana is projected to increase tenfold by 2015.

THE NIGERIAN MINISTER of agriculture has said that his ministry is to enrol more than five million farmers in its Gross Enhancement Support (GES) programme.

Professor Akinwunmi Adesina made the statement at the opening of the 2013 cropping scheme meeting headed by the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria, Nigeria.

Federal Department of Agricultural Extension director, Dr Damilola Eniaiyeju, said on behalf of Adesina that the main aim for GES was to deliver fertiliser directly to farmers within the country, working towards increasing productivity.

Research institutes, such as IAR, were urged by Adesina to meet the needs of Nigerian farmers by finding a way that would improve yields and productivity.

Vice chancellor of ABU, professor Abdullahi Mustapha, said that the attitudes of key players, the right policies and opportunities for investment were all vital in ensuring food security and improving economic growth across the country.

IAR director Professor Ahmed Falaki, stated earlier that the institute has resolved to renew its vision and carefully articulate its research strategies, despite issues related to financing the project.

Huge investment for Musese irrigation project TEN YEARS AFTER entering into a tripartite agreement with the government and the Namibian Development Corporation (NDC) for one of the oldest green scheme projects in the country, Tulio Van der Merwe Parreira could soon invest N$50mn (US$5.5mn) in upgrading the infrastructure on the government project.

Speaking to New Era, the Rundu-based businessman said he is just waiting for AgriBank to approve his loan application for N$50mn (US$5.5mn) to start with the envisioned Private Public Partnership plan that could boost the country’s food security and reduce food imports.

“Since the project is situated in a communal area it will be impossible to get a loan from the commercial banks, therefore I approached AgriBank and listed my own property as security to make sure that the entire available land at the project is under irrigation,” he explained.

Parreira is confident the investment will boost food production at the 1,000-ha

President Hifikepunye Pohamba pictured at an irrigation system at the Musese project.

Musese irrigation project, situated some 70 km west of Rundu. Parreira sealed a 30year tripartite partnership with the government and the NDC. Forming part of his new investment plans will be the acquisition of an additional water pump at the project which he says

pumps as much as 3000 cu m of water per hour. “The extra pump will be very useful, because its efficiency is very high, hence the electricity we will use to pump water will be less,” said Parreira.

“When I partnered with government 10 years ago only 112 ha were under cultivation. At the moment 280 ha of the 800 ha are under cultivation, but we would like to make maximum use of the entire area,” he said.

After the agreement ends, all the infrastructure will belong to the government. The 53-year-old businessman said he wants to put up more infrastructure to produce more food at the farm and at the same time create more jobs.

The region currently has seven green scheme projects that fall under the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry.

Following the global food crisis in 2008, extra efforts were made in the area of food production to ensure that the country becomes self-sufficient in food production.

Nigeria’s FG to privatise Lower Anambra irrigation project THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT has pledged its commitment to revitalise the Lower Anambra irrigation project through a private sector initiative.

The 3,850 ha irrigation land project established in 1981 is the biggest irrigation project in the southeast, and will mainly facilitate the cropping rice in the country.

Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, recently visited the project in Omor, Ayamelum Local Government Area of the state and stated that the government would re-energise the project for the production of food, through an engagement with the private sector.

He expressed apprehension that the project - if handled by government agencies - would not achieve its desired goals. “If we revive this agricultural project now and hand it over to the

6 African Farming - March/April 2013

government to run, I can be very sure that in another five years, we would come back and find the same problem,” he said.

He added that successive governments were unable to deliver on agriculture because they were based on the ideology that government will run agriculture to produce rice and sell in the market, adding that it was the same reason why many government agencies failed.

“If it was private farmers that had this opportunity, I am sure that the project would never have failed. It has not failed in other countries, but because of our attitude, in the public service particularly, the same reason that railway failed, NITEL failed, Nigeria Airways and several other agencies, because government and public service were unable to run them.”

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NEWS

AfDB boosts Nigerian rice production

Uganda in drive to revamp wheat production

THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT Bank (AfDB) has earmarked US$150mn to support the rice value chain under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the federal government.

Chief Operations Officer of the Bank, Dr Patrick Agboma, disclosed this recently in Abuja. He explained that AfDB in 2012 pledged US$500mn to support rice, cassava, aquaculture and sorghum of the ATA. He said: “It is well known that the AfDB has committed US$500mn for the ATA over the next three years but for this programme maybe up to US$150mn could be put up.”

Agboma said there is the need for infrastructural development in the sector for sustainable development across states.

Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs Ibukun Odusote, said that the programme will be implemented across six Staple Crop Processing Zones (SCPZ) in the country. She added that the centres will be located in areas where there are high potentials for production of the selected crops.

THE UGANDA GOVERNMENT is in a drive to revive wheat production neglected over thirty years ago, and researchers at Buginyanya Zonal Agriculture Research and Development Institute (ZARDI) are researching for wheat varieties that would mature faster in the mountainous areas, where it’s currently grown, while other varieties that would thrive in flat lands are also being developed.

According to the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), the country presently produces over 30,000 tonnes of wheat in mountainous areas of Mt Elgon in the east, Mt Muhabura in the south west and in Mwizi and Buhweju in western Uganda.

Dr William Wagoire, a wheat research scientist, says he and other scientists will develop new varieties that can encourage farmers to try out wheat growing again. The team will also use funds from the Eastern African Agriculture Productivity Project (EAAPP) to develop varieties that grow in areas that have historically grown wheat and the focus is mostly on the Acholi subregion in northern Uganda.

Geoffrey Muleme

Kenyan rice farmers yet to embrace Nerica variety THE NEW RICE for Africa (NERICA) variety is poised to reduce rice importation costs in Africa with annual savings of more than US$90mn. But such good news is yet to be embraced by rice farmers in Kenya.

According to an official at the National Irrigation Board, a government agency in charge of rice irrigation projects, most irrigation schemes in Kenya like Bunyala, Ahero, West Kano among others have not gone full throttle to embrace the Nerica variety due to lack of information.

“Lack of awareness on profitability of the new rice technology to the African rice farmer remains the main impediments to appreciate the significance and importance of Nerica,” he said.

Collecting ears of Nerica rice.

Nerica, a drought resistant variety does not require flooding water as other varities across Africa, thus making it a viable entity for the Africa rice production breakthrough, given the climate change patterns. According to latest findings, Nerica is one agricultural biotechnology application with promising potential to Africa's rice production

to address dwindling food security situation in the continent.

Scientists at the Africa Rice Centre (WARDA) in Benin have created Nerica by crossing Oryza sativa (Asian rice) with Oryza glaberrina (Africa cultivated rice).

Researchers at WARDA reveal that the variety selected from the resulting germplasm is high

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VIV Asia

March 13-15

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agriculture equipment

yielding; shorter growing season - takes 105 days to mature, high protein content and resistant to local stress like drought.

It is estimated according to WARDA that more than 200,000 ha of land will soon be under Nerica cultivation, approximated to produce not less than one million tonnes of rice per year.

Kenya, for instance, has a rice production deficit of more than 200,000 tonnes, which has to be met by importing rice, resulting in loss of currency.

Rice output in Kenya has steadily decreased, falling short to meet the consumption demand of 280,000 tonnes annually.

According to experts at the Mwea Irrigation Scheme, the Rice importation in Kenya has locked farmers into a vicious cycle of poverty.

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NEWS

Combatting African cocoa pests and diseases A NEW INITIATIVE is being introduced to tackle cocoa pests and diseases in West Africa.

The International Cocoa Organization [ICCO] is to lead the initiative, in partnership with the Common Fund for Commodities [CFC] and the European Cocoa Association [ECA].

The world’s two leading chocolate manufacturers, Mars and Mondelez International, as well as other companies, are expected to get involved.

The project, which will be launched in April, aims to tackle the cocoa pests and diseases that are the main challenges to a sustainable cocoa economy. Together, they account for more than 40 per cent of global crop losses in cocoa production, and result in reduced income for cocoa farmers. The ‘Integrated Management of Cocoa Pests and Pathogens in Africa’ project is a US$3.2mn initiative that will address this issue in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo, the source of 70 per cent [about 2.8mn tonnes] of global cocoa production.

With the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana [CRIG] co-ordinating activities on the ground, the project aims to gather regional expertise, building on past and existing initiatives in these countries, with the active support of the cocoa and chocolate industry, in order to improve the productivity on cocoa farms by reducing losses to indigenous cocoa pests and diseases. In addition, the project will strengthen in-country and regional capacity for improved pest surveillance for prevention of spread, early detection, eradication and continued management of existing and invasive pests and pathogens.

Among the major indigenous cocoa pests and diseases to be targeted are those that cause significant crop losses in Africa: mirids; sting bugs; stem borers; black pod and cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus [CSSV].

Also to be addressed is the recent emergence of parasitic plants such as mistletoes and epiphytes, which also threaten West African cocoa production.

Particular attention will be given to CSSV, as new outbreaks in Côte d’Ivoire are casting doubt over the future of production. The viral disease is one of the most intractable and destructive to strike the cocoa industry in West Africa, and it has similar effects to witches’ broom disease, which cut cocoa production in Brazil by over 50 per cent in the 1990s.

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Threat to Africa farmers THE BANANA BACTERIAL wilt is threatening the growing of bananas across East and Central Africa. In partnership with local and international institutions the Rural Energy and Food Security Organisation [REFSO] has intensified an awareness campaign against BXW Xanthamonas control and promoting banana programmes. The five-year Ks35mn (US$408,000) campaign is funded by USAID. The organisation has partnered with Bioversity Wilt-damaged banana plant.

International, Research in East and Central Africa [ASERECA], NARO and Institute des Science Agronomiques du Burundi [ISABU], Kenya Agricultural Research Institute [KARI], Institute of Science Agronomy of Rwanda [ISAR] and Lake Zone Agricultural Research and Development Institute [LZARDI].

The bulk of wilt effect is rampant in Northern Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, where bananas are grown on a large scale. However, the disease originated in Ethiopia.

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ANALYSIS

Global food security is near the top of the international agenda as the world faces volatile commodity prices.

Africa has a key role in coming to terms with a food crisis, not only to feed itself but to help feed the world, as Jane Karuku, the president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and Kanayo F Nwanze, the president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) explained to Stephen Williams.

Developing a vibrant African agricultural sector

J

ANE KARUKU AND Kanayo F. Nwanze were two of the speakers at a food security conference organised by Chatham House in London. Away from the meeting, they found the time to explain just how critical is Africa’s agricultural sector to the continent as a means to eradicate poverty, hunger and malnutrition.

Food security is a very broad term and encompasses many different but interconnected elements. Global warming, or climate change, will undoubtedly have an increasingly powerful impact on the continent, and many observers are also alarmed at a recent spate of “land grabs” in Africa as powerful corporates and even state actors move to acquire productive land and water resources. The issue of bio-fuels is also integral to Africa’s future food security.

Throughout Africa there is an increasing appreciation of the role that the agricultural sector plays in practically all economies. This is due primarily to organisations such as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The AU Nepad’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) has also played its part in ensuring that governments commit to allocating a significant part of their national budgets (10 per cent) to agricultural development.

Throughout Africa there is an increasing appreciation of the role that the agricultural sector plays in practically all economies.

Two main policy directives AGRA’s president Jane Karuku explained that the alliance that she heads has two main policy objectives; namely to ensure that Africa can feed itself and also using increased productivity for improving rural incomes and livelihoods. AGRA, IFAD and

10 African Farming - March/April 2013

Jane Karuku, President of AGRA.

other actors such as the FAO and the IRDC are working together in close partnership for Africa’s agricultural development and towards a food security agenda.

Furthermore, the African Capacity Building Foundation prepared a major report last year on how Africa’s agricultural capacity can be boosted.

“We currently work in 16 African countries across the full integrated value chain,” Karuku says. “What we do is build capacity, training agri-scientists in particular at African institutions. They work with local crops, the foods that local people eat and that adds to the value systems they already have. There are about 800 people working in colleges and universities, from low- to PhD-level who then return to their countries to develop strains of crops and animal breeds because these are the property of national institutions – from maize to sorghum, millet to beans, groundnuts, cassava and wheat such as tef in Ethiopia. We work with local crop varieties across all of Africa’s different ecological and climatic zones.”

AGRA, Karuku told African Farming, has

released about 330 new seed varieties and has about 40,000 tons of new improved seed varieties that are already within the system. But the Alliance’s work goes further than this as it also supports SMEs that work in the agricultural value chain, such as those small companies that distribute inputs such as seed and fertilisers as well as livestock feed. This whole programme is named “Seeds”.

But, as Karuku explained, that is just one plank of AGRA’s work. “We are also focusing on agronomy such as looking at fertiliser use, and we’ve also noted that some farmers are now so successful that we need to develop warehousing facilities. We want to move away from a buyers’ market, and having safe storage means that farmers can choose when to sell their crops into the markets as well as controlling post-harvest losses. Warehouse receipts can also be used as collateral so that farmers can more readily raise finance. We are also linking into the ‘purchase for progress’ initiative (P4P), which is where local farmers are selling food to the World Food Programme that provides humanitarian assistance to hungry pockets of the continent, and further afield, where they are food shortages.

“There is also a move by AGRA to support agricultural groupings such as cooperatives as one farmer has no voice but a collective can exert pressure on authorities to embrace pro-agricultural policies. These groups can also come together to bulk purchase inputs. We have many successful projects across Africa. As importantly, we are working on gender issues as 80 per cent of Africa’s agricultural output eaten in Africa is from small-holders and women comprise 80 per cent of smallholder farm labour. We are also working with governments to ensure that they can identify and pursue policies that can raise sustainable agricultural productivity.”

For his part, Dr Nwanze said that IFAD’s focus is enabling poorer rural people to overcome poverty by providing financial support, primarily through governments, by extending loans with levels of interest that can be as low as 0.75 per cent, really just

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ANALYSIS

Global leaders recognise agricultural development is a major driver of economic growth and food security in Africa.

an administrative fee. These loans can have, for developing countries, terms as long as 40 years with grace periods of 10 years. Loans for middle-income developing countries carry terms that are closer to commercial financial arrangements with higher interest rates and shorter terms, typically 15 or 20 years.

IFAD’s focus is enabling poorer rural people to overcome poverty by providing financial support, primarily through governments.

A financing institution So IFAD is primarily a financing institution and as such carries quite a wide-ranging loan and grant portfolio, amounting to close to US$14bn. But as Nwanze made clear: “Loans and grants are only made when specific programmes have already been designed by governments and by communities, and specific targets have been set. We work solely in developing countries and only in rural areas’ projects and focus on agriculture and rural development.”

Partnerships are central to everything that IFAD does. The Fund is, in fact, a unique partnership of members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries, and member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). There are also particularly close ties with the UN’s Romebased agencies – the Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Food Programme.

In fact, IFAD is also a UN specialist agency based in Rome. Since its establishment in 1974, in the wake of the droughts and famines that had struck Africa and Asia in the preceding years, it has distributed more than US$20bn in grants and loans.

Arguably, the most important role that IFAD has (other than being a source for affordable finance) is to bring the points of view of small-holder farmers and rural entrepreneurs to bear on international policy deliberations, and build their capacity so that they themselves can engage in and influence relevant policy processes.

With a US$1bn annual budget, and Africa receiving the lion’s share of around 45 per cent, IFAD views farmers as its primary clients and the small-holders as entrepreneurs.

Nwanze made a number of particularly significant points. “If you go back three

12 African Farming - March/April 2013

Kanayo F Nwanze, the president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

years or so, no one accepted that smallholder agriculture was a business. Today, if you read the G20 and G8 declarations you will hear them talk about smallholder agriculture, women farmers and nutrition, so at least some people are listening!

A major transformation “In recent years we have undergone a major transformation in the way we operate. We started decentralising away from Rome and putting more people in the field, establishing country offices, and we found this had a tremendously positive impact in the way we can now supervise the implementation of projects, support them, and have dialogue with partners.

This is key, because these are not IFAD projects but IFAD-supported projects – they are host government owned and they must target communities.

“And we have implemented a very robust resource measurement framework that ensures dollar for dollar value for money.

For example, I can tell you that in 2011 our portfolio of IFAD-supported programmes benefited 19mn women, but we now want to move towards not just stating the number of beneficiaries to what it meant in terms of their livelihoods.

“This is what we mean when we say we want to move towards “granularatory” in our system of measurement. In the last few years, when we published our rural poverty report, we have come to realise that agriculture may not be the only pathway for rural people to get out of poverty; there are other non-agricultural means to do so. So we are looking at onfarm and off-farm relationships.

“And we also realise that increased production and productivity is not enough; there has to be linkage to markets. So this is where the whole value chain approach comes in and this represents a lot of work for IFAD and its development partners to do. And not just IFAD; there is even more for governments to do. They must put the right policies in place and create an environment where the domestic private sector can see the case to come in with investment, because if the domestic private sector does not invest they will not take the produce to markets.”

It was clear in speaking with both Karuku and Nwanze that they believe global leaders recognise agricultural development is a major driver of economic growth and food security in Africa. Cross-sector initiatives, like the New Alliance for Food Security, demonstrate that there is the political will to scale success and effect real change on the ground. 2013 will be a critical year for Africa’s farmers and global food security, and the UK’s G8 summit will spotlight agriculture as a solution to hunger and malnutrition. The 10th anniversary of NEPAD’s CAADP will celebrate the increased public investment in agriculture

by African governments.

Next year also presents an opportunity for a continued global push for increased smart investments in agriculture, both by governments and the private sector.

Farming is a business and the private sector must fuel the development of Africa’s agribusiness in upgrading smallholder agriculture to meet demand from foreign and emerging markets in developing countries.

The sad fact is that despite the enormous potential for agriculture in Africa, it is lagging behind and the continent is still a net importer of foodstuffs. That puts it at a severe disadvantage in the face of rising food commodity prices. Last year may have seen rises in “hard” commodities, such as gold (up 4.4 per cent); oil (2.4 per cent) and copper (2.2 per cent), but these appear modest next to the “softs” that constitute staple foodstuffs for millions of Africans, such as wheat that soared 28.8 per cent, soyabeans (up 18.6 per cent) and maize (that rose 8.5 per cent) on international markets. h

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S03 AF March April 2013 Agro Ecology Feature_Layout 1 14/03/2013 11:57 Page 13

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POULTRY

Too many producers accept high levels of ammonia in the poultry house as an inevitable nuisance — something to be tolerated.

Ammonia in the poultry house sabotages production

T

O L E R AT I N G A M M O N I A C A N negatively affect flock performance and can create health problems for those who work in the poultry house.

And, in a growing number of cases, elevated levels of ammonia have resulted in community strife and litigation against producers.

Ammonia is the natural by-product of the chemical reaction between manure in the litter and moisture. The wetter the litter, the more ammonia in the air.

Moisture in the poultry house can have any number of sources, ranging from the natural humidity in the air, to foggers and evaporative cooling pads, to the watering system. You can control some, but not all, of these sources.

You can manage ammonia levels by paying close attention to litter conditions. If the litter is too wet, it’s time to do some detective work and find the source of the moisture. The best way to quickly determine litter condition is to grab a handful near a drinker and squeeze. If the litter clumps together in a ball, it is too wet. If the litter falls apart immediately, it is too dry, creating dusty conditions that can harm production.

If the litter clumps briefly and then crumbles apart, it has the correct moisture content — about 20 to 25 per cent.

If the litter is substantially wetter under the drinker line than elsewhere, the source of wet litter is undoubtedly the watering system. Wet conditions are inherent in open watering systems, such as bells or troughs. If you are using such a system, your best chance for reducing ammonia levels is to replace it with an enclosed system with nipple-type drinkers. However, enclosed watering systems require proper management. This means ensuring the drinkers are at the correct height for the birds’ age and size and making sure the water pressure is correct. Pressure too high causes wet litter; pressure too low stunts the birds’ growth. Another source of wet litter is leaking lines and drinkers. You should correct all leaks and drips as soon as you find them.

There are some who counsel growers to

14 African Farming - March/April 2013

It is essential to pay close attention to litter conditions.

You can manage ammonia levels by paying close attention to litter conditions. manage their watering system by targeting specific flow rates. For years, the poultry industry focused on measuring flow rates to determine how well a drinker performed.

But, research revealed that this emphasis on flow rates was counterproductive. Flow rates merely tell how much water passes through a drinker and not how much goes into the bird or how much is spilled onto the litter. Ziggity recommends judging a drinker’s performance by the measures that truly matter — bird performance, not by a preconceived flow rate that has no real meaning.

Proponents of high flow rates will even offer complicated formulas to suggest how much water to supply the birds.

However, this ignores how birds drink: by pecking the trigger pin. Chickens can only hold so much water in their beaks. If the

drinker discharges more, that water ends up on the litter.

The consequence of wet litter The consequences of wet litter and high ammonia levels cannot be over emphasised. People usually can detect ammonia at around 15 parts per million (ppm). However, prolonged exposure desensitizes the nose. Some growers who have worked in the poultry house environment for years cannot detect ammonia at 50 ppm, a level considered threatening. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says humans should not be exposed to 25 ppm for eight hours or longer and exposure to 35 ppm should not exceed 15 minutes.

The ammonia is at its strongest concentration at litter level, where the chickens are. The ammonia will dissolve in the fluid around the eyes, causing irritation. In greater concentrations, the birds can go blind. Other drawbacks of ammonia and wet litter include increased foot lesions, breast blisters, skin burns and

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S04 AF March April 2013 Poultry_Layout 1 14/03/2013 11:58 Page 15

POULTRY

scabby areas. Any disease in the birds takes feed energy away from meat production to fight off the condition. Additionally, any injury or unhealthy condition increases downgrades and condemnations. And, recent university studies have demonstrated ammonia concentrations above 25 ppm have a definite impact on a grower’s settlement check.

Ammonia and wet litter also foster disease in the flock. Even at a level of 5 ppm Wet litter and ammonia pose very real threats to your poultry flocks. (undetectable to the human nose), ammonia can irritate the protective breeding ground for flies. Both conditions lining of a chick’s respiratory system, can annoy neighbours, and, as rural areas making it more susceptible to disease. become more populated, people offended And, the wet litter conditions encourage by the smell and flies are more likely to turn pathogens to grow. Among the more to the courts for help. As a practical matter, serious diseases fostered by wet litter are you cannot eliminate ammonia but should avian influenza, gangrenous dermatitis, strive to keep it below 25 ppm.

Besides managing the watering system, exotic Newcastle disease, gumboro, botulism, E. coli and salmonella. Wet there are several other steps you can take to reduce ammonia levels: litter also encourages coccidiosis.

Heavy concentrations of ammonia can ● Maintain adequate ventilation in the cause a poultry operation to smell bad. house, even in winter. During cold And, the wet litter provides a very fertile weather, many growers will reduce

ventilation to save on heating costs. The loss of income because of the ammonia can rapidly outpace any savings on heat. ● Immediately remove any wet spots that develop and replace with dry litter. ● Ensure there is adequate drainage around the house to prevent surface water from getting in. ● Remove all caked litter after each flock and ventilate the house well to dry the litter.

Wet litter and ammonia pose very real threats to your poultry flocks and to your settlement checks. These unsanitary conditions also threaten your health and the health of anyone else who must work in the poultry house. But, there are a number of steps you can take to reduce wet litter and ammonia, especially correctly managing your watering system and ventilating your houses.

Ziggity Systems, Inc. is the only manufacturer 100 per cent focused on poultry watering for improved performance. www.ziggity.com. h

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African Farming - March/April 2013 15

S04 AF March April 2013 Poultry_Layout 1 14/03/2013 11:58 Page 16

Poultry promotes prosperity in Mozambique TECHNOSERVE WORKS ACROSS a value chain to help create and support a thriving domestic poultry industry, transforming the lives of thousands of farmers.

In a hand-built barn in northern Mozambique, Domingos Alfredo Torres tends to his flock of 1,500 chickens. The farmer fills watering and feed stations, ensuring that his chickens grow healthy and plump. They will be in his care for barely five weeks, but these animals represent an opportunity for Domingos to build a better life.

Domingos earned US$30 from his first flock – money that he used to put a better roof on his house and pay school fees for his children. He has the potential to raise seven flocks each year for Novos Horizontes, a nearby poultry company. Compared to growing crops, chickens represent a more dependable source of income for Domingos, his wife and their nine children.

“With crops, I am always depending on the rain,” Domingos said. “With chickens, I have more control over the outcome. I want to invest in my barn and earn more money from chickens.”

Thousands of similar stories have been playing out across the country in recent years thanks to the growth of the poultry industry. TechnoServe recognised poultry’s potential to create jobs and economic opportunities in Mozambique, launching a comprehensive programme in 2005 to strengthen the industry.

TechnoServe’s work began with a strategic plan for the industry, funded by the US Agency for International Development and conducted in collaboration with local stakeholders. Research showed that much of the galinha found in Mozambique stores was Brazilian chicken, imported illegally after sitting in Middle Eastern supermarkets for a year or more.

Domestically produced poultry accounted for only a third of the market.

The challenge was to make the local industry competitive enough to sell chickens at a better price than the Brazilian imports.

Through the USDA’s Food for Progress programme, TechnoServe secured funding for a programme that brought together a wide range of partners, both public and private, to strengthen the Mozambican poultry industry. One of the first steps was to bring local producers together and create a national poultry association. These early meetings, which brought together sometimes fierce competitors, weren’t always easy. But they resulted in the formation of an industry group, known as AMA, which gave domestic producers a unified voice.

TechnoServe worked with AMA to recommend import requirements that would protect the health and safety of Mozambicans but not constitute a restraint of trade. The Mozambican government implemented those recommendations. AMA also launched a popular advertising campaign – featuring a voluptuous animated local chicken – that promoted the benefits of buying domestic poultry. These measures helped local producers capture a greater share of the Mozambican market.

16 African Farming - March/April 2013

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NEWS

Brazil’s poultry sector sees new potential UBABEF, BRAZIL'S POULTRY association, has released the 2012 statistics for the country’s poultry production, which have shown a drop of 3.17 per cent (12.645mn tonnes) compared to 2011.

However the association predicts a three per cent rise in both production and export for chicken meat in 2013.

According to UBABEF the fall in production was due to high feed costs, which resulted in several businesses stopping. However 2013 looks brighter for the industry, with higher grain production predicted and future contracts for corn and soybeans have indicated that the prices are below those of 2012, which negatively impacted the industry. However, a return to historical levels is not expected.

On the other hand the potential for 2013 means the industry can grow. USABEF plans to put international marketing initiatives in place that will span 11 countries: ● participation in important international fairs and workshops in France, UAE, China, Japan and South Africa; ● opening the market in India; ● opening of new markets such as Nigeria and Algeria in Africa (the continent that will receive special focus on actions this year), and Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia, Asia; Brazil has maintained its position as the largest exporter and third largest producer of chicken, behind the United States and China.

Nutreco to invest in Ghanaian poultry GLOBAL ANIMAL NUTRITION and feed company, Nutreco, has shown interest in investing in Ghana’s poultry industry An official for the company was in the country as part of a West African tour to identify business opportunities in a bid to expand feed production in Africa.

Poultry farmers continue to face issues with feed costs causing the broiler sector of the poultry industry in Ghana to face competition from imported poultry.

In a presentation delivered to officials of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Nutreco CEO Knut Nesse said that the company could provide feed to Ghana, which would benefit key players across the value chain.

“The company has what it takes to put Ghana’s poultry on its feet so far as feed is concerned,” Nesse remarked.

The chief director of MoFA, Maurice Tanco Abisa-Seidu, insisted that the ministry would provide adequate support to any company that worked towards promoting growth to the poultry sector.

Nutreco currently has a plant in Egypt where it produces feed for farmed tilapia in the country and across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

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African Farming - March/April 2013 17

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DAIRY FARMING

A mycotoxin is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by organisms of the fungus kingdom, commonly known as moulds. The term ‘mycotoxin’ is usually reserved for the toxic chemical products produced by fungi that readily colonise crops. One mould species may produce many different mycotoxins, and the same mycotoxin may be produced by several species.

Reducing the threat of mycotoxins for local dairy farmers

B

IOMIN SOUTH AFRICA COO Albert van Rensburg pointed out that the contamination of animal feed with mycotoxins is a threat to farmers internationally. "The complex diet of ruminants consists of forages, concentrates and silages, which can be a source of diverse mixtures of mycotoxins that contaminate individual feed components.

Concomitantly, there has been an increase in feed intake to meet the greater nutrient demand, which often exposes cows to mycotoxin contaminated feeds."

Van Rensburg noted that dairy cows have some capacity to protect themselves against the harmful effects of mycotoxins, due to the detoxifying action of certain rumenal micro-organisms. He did, however, highlight the fact that modern dairy cows have a much faster passage of feed through the rumen, which ultimately results in less time for rumen microbes to detoxify mycotoxins.

"The combined factors of high production, incompetent rumen microflora action, unbalanced nutrition and mycotoxins in the feed, are key factors that enable mycotoxins to escape detoxification and be absorbed by the intestine, as in monogastrics," he said.

Dairy farmer Louis Lemmer, who is based in Lichtenburg in the North West province, has been making use of a mycotoxin deactivator since July 2012, and has noticed measurable improvements in milk production in his herds. “Commonly these types of feed additives are known as “binders” and, I have already noticed a steady increase in milk production of between 2.5 and 3.5 per cow, per day since switching to a product that offers three different mycotoxin risk management strategies; biotransformation bio- protection and adsorption (binding)."

Modern dairy cows have a much faster passage of feed through the rumen, which ultimately results in less time for rumen microbes to detoxify mycotoxins.

18 African Farming - March/April 2013

The contamination of animal feed with mycotoxins is a threat to farmers internationally

"At this point in time, it is too early to determine whether the mycotoxin deactivator has improved the wellness of the livestock. However, judging by the improvement in milk production, I am confident that it will have a positive effect in the long-term. One of the most important aspects of farming is seeing a good return on investment, due to the fact that profit margins are so low,” he continued.

Symptoms of mycotoxicosis Symptoms of mycotoxicosis in a dairy herd may be non-specific, wide ranging and sub-clinical, depending on the types of mycotoxins and their interaction with other stress factors, such as farm management, presence of infectious diseases and the welfare of the animals. Van Rensburg added that it is difficult to recognise when mycotoxins are causing poor health and performance in herds. "Mycotoxins such as zearalenone predominantly affect reproduction and are relatively easy to identify. Unfortunately, the most common and most difficult challenges for identification occur when rations contain low levels of mycotoxins, and when the health effects are subclinical."

Mycotoxins can be the primary agent causing acute health or production problems in a dairy herd, but are more likely to be a factor contributing to chronic problems, including; a higher incidence of diseases, poor reproductive performance and suboptimal milk production.

Van Rensburg explained that mycotoxins exert their effects through four primary mechanisms, namely; intake reduction or feed refusal, reduced nutrient absorption and impaired metabolism, alterations in the endocrine and exocrine systems and suppression of the immune system. "It is a well known fact that almost all mycotoxins suppress the immune system and impair a proper rumen function, even at levels that may not cause metabolic or physiological problems. Accurate feeding of dairy cows in combination with continuous mycotoxin risk management is therefore key in managing the optimal performance of livestock," he concluded. h www.africanfarming.net

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ANGOLA

FAO recognises Angola’s family agriculture potential

Zambian govt invests in smallscale dairy equipment THE ZAMBIAN GOVERNMENT plans to invest more than K3bn (US$579,576) in buying equipment for small-scale dairy farmers across the country through their respective cooperatives and milk collection centres.

Benson Mwenya, ministry of agriculture and livestock director in charge of livestock, said only about 15 per cent of the country's dairy potential was tapped leaving room for increased investment and expansion of the sector, which will include establishing more milk collection centres.

Mwneya pointed out that Zambian milk has remained uncompetitive on the regional market in terms of pricing because of the high cost of feed, which accounts for more than 50 per cent of the total production cost. “The milk is, however, more competitive in terms of quality because of its low bacterial count.”

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THE DIRECTOR GENERAL of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO), José Grasiano da Silva, recently said in Luanda that Angola has strong potential for the development of family agriculture, being well placed at the Portuguese Speaking Community (CPLP) level. Da Silva was speaking to the press at the end of an audience with the Angolan minister of Agriculture, Afonso Pedro Canga.

Da Silva said that a study conducted by the FAO in the CPLP places Angola above Brazil, with a considerable advantage, in terms of their potential production from family agriculture. The FAO study shows that Brazilian family farming employs 12mn people, whereas Angola currently employs 13.2mn people in family agriculture. Brazil is already considered successful in promoting family agriculture, whereas Angola has large, untapped potential to boost development of the sector. As such, the two countries are interested in co-operating in experimental research, under United Nations mediation.

Da Silva’s audience with the Angolan minister of Agriculture was aimed at tackling matters concerning projects involving FAO and the

Angolan Government. Following their meeting, Da Silva said that both FAO and the Angolan Government consider the assistance rendered to family agriculture and trade to be a priority area. It is important to make peasant farmers more engaged and present in the market and stimulate them into increased productivity so that their surplus can supply local markets, he stated. He also added that the audience enabled the parties to review the south-south co-operation with other countries, with emphasis on the role of co-operation with Brazil's Imbrapa, in the recovery of Angola's experimental research capacity.

Da Silva recalled that before the war, Angola had an agro-farming and veterinary research system that equalled that of South Africa, in some cases even taking the lead.

However, the specialist warned that the process of promoting an experimental research system takes time and requires investment.

In his turn, the Angolan minister of Agriculture, Afonso Pedro Canga, praised the friendship and co-operation with Brazil as, he added, it permits the transfer of technology, expertise and dialogue, in addition to technical assistance.

African Farming - March/April 2013 19

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ANGOLA

Whilst oil continues to be by far the largest economic sector in Angola, nonoil activities have recently been showing a new dynamic. This holds particularly true for agriculture, which accounts for more than 50 per cent of total employment in the country.

Coffee, cotton and fruit are now experiencing a revival

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PART FROM OIL and diamonds, Angola's major export earners for the past four decades, the country previously had substantial exports of cash crops which fed foodprocessing and textile industries. Much reduced in scale since independence, coffee, cotton, fruit and other plantation crops are now experiencing an accelerating revival in Kwanza Norte.

An agricultural project nearing completion is the Mucoso irrigated perimeter, near Cambambe. Mucoso once exported to European markets but output slumped in the 1990s and much of its area reverted to subsistence farming.

Coffee output is slowly reviving as neglected plantations are being removed and replaced.

Spanish company Incatema Consulting has upgraded Mucoso with the installation of a modern drip-feed watering system composed of two million metres of pipes. As a result, some 500 ha will benefit from mechanised farming. Another 500 ha will be subdivided into 166 smaller holdings, which will produce pineapples, mangoes, citrus fruits and vegetables.

Coffee has a long history in the area, thanks to the shade provided by its highland forests.

Cattle breeding contributes significantly to Angola's agricultural sector.

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ANGOLA

Plans are afoot to boost local cotton production by irrigation.

Apart from improving the local diet, Mucoso will also provide raw materials for food-processing industries at Cambambe.

Irrigated fruit growing is generally labour-intensive and thus a good source of employment. The hope is to eventually resume Angola's once buoyant agricultural export trade.

Another cash crop being resurrected is cotton. Kwanze Norte has long been a cotton producer, but plans are afoot to boost local cotton production by irrigation.

Coffee also has a long history in the area, thanks to the shade provided by its highland forests. Coffee output is slowly reviving as neglected plantations are being removed and replaced. Bushes should ideally be replaced every seven years, but Angola has many trees over 30 years old.

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Another government-led agribusiness project in Kwanza Norte aims to replace more expensive meat products while also cutting imports of poultry products.

Co-operation agreement with Vietnam Angola has signed a co-operation agreement last July with Vietnam's Thai Hoa Group, the country's top arabica producer and trader, and with Brazilian consultants to refurbish coffee plantations. The plan is to plant 100,000 ha over the next decade.

Before independence, the Camabatela area in the Northeast of the province was a major cattle-rearing area, and it provided 60 per cent of northern Angola's beef supply. Angola's Ministry for Agriculture has been bringing more cattle into this region and cattle numbers are today around 7,000. Local breeders receive the cattle on the condition that they return a similar number several years later. The government is now providing veterinary support services.

Another government-led agribusiness project in Kwanza Norte aims to replace more expensive meat products while also cutting imports of poultry products. This is the role for the recently established poultry and egg enterprise at Lucala, which is located on the railway and main highways as well as having good access to water and electricity supplies. This US$42mn South Koreanfinanced project produces two million eggs a month and hatches 150,000 chicks a week for distribution to small farmers in the region. The project will also produce chicken feed and a factory capable of processing 32,000 chickens a day. h

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ANGOLA

Angola to up domestic food production AN ANNOUNCEMENT, MADE in January by Foreign Relations Director Francisco da Cruz, detailed plans to boost Angola’s self sufficiency drive by increasing domestic food production to 25mn tonnes.

The ministerial director stated that the initiative is aimed at development and combating poverty. Da Cruz said that the targets for food production would include grains, cereals and tubers and that there would be, in addition, an expected drop in milk imports of up to 15 per cent and production of 60 per cent of the chicken meat the country consumes, as well as 50 per cent of beef, goat and mutton.

According to a statement cited by news agency Angop, target figures include: ● 20mn tonnes of cassava ● 2.5mn tonnes of grains ● 1.5mn tonnes of potatoes ● 1mn tons of grains (beans, peanuts and soy)

These targets are to be achieved through public-private partnerships at existing agro-industrial zones such as Capanda, Quizenga and Cubal.

The Capanda zone is a government-driven initiative managed by a special entity called Sodepac, charged with attracting interest from the private sector using a PPP model.

The zone benefits from existing infrastructure including a railway line between Luanda and Malanje as well as road access. Power is supplied from the Capanda dam on the River Kwanza.

Produce and processing in this zone will include soya beans, maize, cassava, sugar cane, cotton and dairy.

The Pedras Negras cereal farm project was inaugurated in August 2012 in Casuco, northern Malanje. The farm has been developed to alleviate hunger and poverty across the whole country and reduce Angola’s requirement for imports. The project also aims to educate and up-skill local people and includes a training centre for 60 students, 260 dormitories, four protocol houses and other facilities.

Tomato processing plant to be unveiled A TOMATO PROCESSING factory, whose works begin in January 2013, and another for packaging shall be built in the southern Benguela province, according to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Afonso Pedro Canga.

Speaking to ANGOP at the end of a meeting with farmers in the framework of his visit to Benguela province, Afonso Pedro Canga said

22 African Farming - March/April 2013

the equipment for the construction of the tomato processing factory is already in the country.

Regarding the packaging plant, Afonso Canga did not mention the date for the start of the works, but stressed the need for it to be set up to produce equipment meant to withstand concentrate tomato units in Benguela and two others already installed, one in Namibe and another in Bengo.

During his stay in Dombe-Grande, accompanied

by the deputy governor for the economic sector, Agostinho Felizardo, Afonso Canga visited the Coporolo River Valley Agricultural Perimeter, as well as learning of the main concerns of the farming co-operative.

As part of his first visit since the swearing in of the new government stemming from last August's general elections, the minister also visited the districts of Caimbambo, Cubal and Ganda.

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MEAT PROCESSING

John F N Ng’ng’a recently visited the Kenya Meat Commission factory outside Nairobi.

Highly specialised meat gathering and processing activities

A

FACT-FINDING VISIT to the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) factory in Athi River about 50 km to the south-west of Nairobi City may not be quite a pleasant experience for the compassionate or faint-hearted. KMC public relations officer mr John Mutwiri met our team at the reception and integrity room. We had intended to meet the managing commissioner, Dr Ibrahim Haji Issak, PhD. for an interview but he was held up in an impromptu meeting that was expected to last quite a while, so we and John agreed that we visit the factory in the meanwhile.

He introduced us to the enthusiastic and lively ms Lorna, a biochemist at the factory’s quality assurance laboratory, who explained briefly about the laboratory’s activities and later warmly accepted to take us (as requested by John) on a factory visit.

Both big (cattle) and small herds (sheep and goats) are received at the Boma entrance by a team of veterinary officers and the Boma supervisor. Here the herds have to be assessed for mad-cow and anthrax among other diseases; they are also assessed for pregnancy and must have their movement permit duly signed by veterinary officers from their area of origin. The company maintains 72 Bomas sub-divided into pens; while 22 cows and 15 bulls are ideally allocated into each respective pen, a group of 150 to 200 sheep or goats occupies each pen. The animals should supposedly stay at the Bomas for 24 hours awaiting slaughter and without being fed anything. If their ‘waiting’ time is extended for unavoidable circumstances, then feeding can be done. Any animals suspected to be sick, pregnant or not included in the veterinary permit or those that are violent and hostile to the rest of the herd are kept in the ‘suspect’ pens.

The herds have to be assessed for mad-cow and anthrax among other diseases; they are also assessed for pregnancy and must have their movement permit duly signed by veterinary officers from their area of origin.

From the Boma pens, the animals are herded into the running races for big and small herds respectively. During our visit, only cattle were scheduled for slaughtering. The running race for big herds leads to the stunning box area. Closer to this area, the running race width accommodates only one animal forcing them to queue up for ‘stunning’. Stunning involves using a captive bolt gun which the stunner uses to hit the animal on the forehead between the eyes leading to loss of consciousness after which it is shackled and hoisted up by one find leg and slaughtered with a highly sharp and sterilized knife. Slaughtering involves slitting the jugular and carotid veins.

The shackling allows for maximum flow of blood from the animal into a special channel for collection in the sticking area. Why the ‘stunning’? Loss of conscious does not interfere with maximum flow of blood out of the animal body and allows for smooth slaughtering of the animals. In the area immediately next to the stunning box, the animals are evidently afraid and unwilling to move on apparently due to the sound of the captive bolt gun.

New & Used Food Machines All With Warranty Bowl Cutters Used Rex 200 litre all stainless steel Bowl Cutter Used Laska 200 litre Bowl Cutter with black bowl Used Meisner 120 litre all stainless steel Bowl Cutter Used Alpina 80 litre Bowl Cutter with black bowl Used K & G 65 litre Bowl Cutter with black bowl New Fatosa 35 litre all stainless steel Bowl Cutter Mincer and Mixer Grinders Used Biro 56 Flat pan mincer Used Kilia 130 self feed mincer with agitator Used Cato 160 cross feed mincer, as new Used Hobart 4346 Mixer Grinder Used Wolfking 140 Mixer Grinder Vacuum Packers & Shrink Tunnels New ATM Vacuum Packers, table top to Double chamber Machines Used Tecnotrip large single chamber machine Used Cryovac ST 90 hot water shrink tunnel Used Roschermatic large hot water dip tank

Used Webomatic small rise and fall Diptank Used Webomatic automatic rise and fall diptank Used Cryovac CJ 51, hot air shrink tunnel Mixers and Tumblers Used Vakona 220 litre vacuum mix tumbler Used Dorit Vacuum Tumbler 1,000 litres Used Laska 800 litre Twin Z arm Mixer Used IFM 1,000 litre Twin ribbon Mixer Used Tecmaq 250 litre single paddle Mixer Dicers and Flakers Used Urschel RAA Dicer was used on cheese Used Urschel RAA Twin dicer set up fast production Used Treif Felix Dicer set up with wire frame for cheese Used Holac meat Dicer chamber 84 mm x 84 mm Used Butcher Boy meat Flaker with loader Used Dunhelm two stage cheese cutter Miscellaneous Used Burger Machines, sausage makers.

Used Frying lines, batter and breading machines Used bag Makers, Twin linear weighers Used trolley loaded ham cookers

www.machines4food.co.uk KMC Head office at Athi river Town about 50 Km south west of Nairobi.

Email: sales@machines4food.co.uk Unit 40, Second Avenue, Westfield Industrial Estate, Midsomer Norton, Radstock, BA3 4BH, England

Tel: 44 (0)1761 410345 Fax: 44 (0)1761 410332

www.africanfarming.net

African Farming - March/April 2013 23

S06 AF March April 2013 Meat Processing Feature_Layout 1 14/03/2013 11:35 Page 24

MEAT PROCESSING

Anthrax can be identified through identification of oozing of blood (bleeding) that does not clot in an animal’s openings.

KMC factory rules and guidelines.

ms Lorna explained that the animals are apparently conscious of the ‘death’ awaiting them ahead. To nudge them ahead into the stunning box in turns, a factory employee uses a low voltage live electric wire as opposed to beating them; “beating or hitting the animals on the back spoils the quality of meat,” explained Lorna.

Next to the large herd running race is the small herd running race from where the animals are herded into a crane (lift) and transported to an upper floor from where they are slaughtered with the need for prior stunning. All the blood retrieved from the slaughtering is collected for future use.

At the stunning and sticking areas the Muslim religion Halal guidelines are evident; just facing the sticking (slaughtering) zone on a raised cabin is a Muslim man who offers prayers at the start of each slaughtering session. One among the two slaughtering men is a Muslim who is tasked with ensuring that each animal being slaughtered is facing towards Mecca, the Holy Muslim city.

The carcasses are then hoisted in a moving pulley line to the production area where removal of face skin (masking) followed by dehorning and removal of hooves --From the hooves backside a tendon is removed from which a binding agent is made for canned (corned) beef. After the hooves are removed, the carcasses are hoisted from this point (heads facing down) and a team of skinners (ready with sterilized knives that are sharpened every other moment) (and who are each assigned the specific area to skin) readily perform the act.

At the end of the skinning line, removal of offal and other internal meat and organs is carried out. Meat inspectors can be seen busy at work but are very particular at this point to assure that the meat is fit for consumption. Fit or unhealthy meat and internal organs are either passed or condemned at this juncture. Fit internal organs are fed into a chute to another point for cleaning and packaging while the unfit is also sent via another chute to the inedible meat section.

After removal of internal organs a huge electric power saw slits the carcasses into two to allow for further trimming (removal of fat and some internal meat) and thorough cleaning of the meat using pressurized water. The carcasses (now half of each animal) are pushed further on to the grading section where several graders work closely with the meat inspectors; each half is weighed and graded and its details recorded. The graded and approved carcasses are then directed to the chilling area, where they are chilled for 8 to 10 days to gather the meaty taste and flavor as they await processing and packaging ready for the local and export markets. Some carcasses are condemned and await further analysis in secluded storage in the factory.

The six meat grades Meat grading depends on a number of factors viz. age of the animal; conformation (amount of flesh on the carcass); finish (and trimming that determines the amount of fat on the meat); weight (certain grades must reach certain weights) and the amount of damage on the meat (damage could result from factors such as poor handling, flaying and splitting).

24 African Farming - March/April 2013

Prime is the best grade and retrieved from young animals of 18 to 30 months (two and a half years; male and female animals must weigh a minimum 180 to 310 kg and 160/170 to 310 kg respectively. Prime grade is soft and juicy and has adequate fat to give the meat flavour Choice is the second grade where the animal weight must be the same as for prime but with a maximum of 320 kg. Fullness of the muscles is a critical consideration here while age may vary from 18 to 42 months.

Fair Average is the third grade; there is no age limit here but the carcass must weigh 140 to 340 kg. For the fourth grade (standard grade), the carcass is of average quality and there is no age or weight limit but it is preferred that the carcass weight be from 80 to 400 kgs.

The commercial (fifth) grade is poorly placed. The carcass is from starved animals - starvation causes loss of fats and leads to wasted muscles. Here there is no weight or age limit.

Manufactured grade is the lowest and the carcass is very poorly placed in terms of quality; there is no age or weight limit. Extensively bruised carcasses and starved animal’s watery-like carcasses can be lowered to the manufactured grade. After grading, all the meat is taken to the chilling areas where it is stored for eight to 10 days.

Rejected meat The inspectors and graders reject meat (it carries the stamp “R”) if they identify more than six parasites (worms) on the meat. Such meat is not fit for fresh sale but suitable for canning where it is stored for 10 days under minus 10°C; the cold temperatures destroy the worms. Meat identified with six to 20 parasites is also frozen and later sold to institutions where thorough cooking is expected to fully destroy the worms.

Diseases such as anthrax and mad cow disease can be identified at the Boma by veterinary officers who issue ‘disease-free certification’ before the animals can reach the production area but if such accidentally pass through, the meat inspectors and graders at the factory are able to readily identify this. Anthrax, for instance, can be identified through identification of oozing of blood (bleeding) that does not clot in an animal’s openings; other forms of hemorrhages are also a sign of the disease; once the slaughtered animal is infected with anthrax, the spleen is extremely swollen. If anthrax, for instance, reaches the production area accidentally, production stops immediately and all the people involved in the line are put on quarantine; the carcasses on that line are destroyed through burning and special processes and

Dr Ibrahim Haji Issak M Commissioner.

www.africanfarming.net

S06 AF March April 2013 Meat Processing Feature_Layout 1 14/03/2013 11:35 Page 25

MEAT PROCESSING

precautions have to be undertaken before normal production resumes given that Anthrax is highly contagious.

Other pertinent facts on KMC and the KMC factory Not a single product from the animal (big herd in this case) goes to waste; the red and white offal (including tripe & intestines), throats, liver and hearts are transferred to separate areas for washing, trimming and packing ready for distribution to customers or storage. Sinews are used to produce a binding agent for corned beef. Continuous trimming ensures adequate quantities of fat; the fat is frozen and later crushed and cooked to remove meat bits. It is later boiled in water and salt added to separate it from the water.

The oil is later cooked in centrifugal tanks to produce tallow that is stored in tanks for sale as corning oil. While condemned meat is incinerated in a huge digester, rejected meat is transported through chutes to the inedible meats section. Here the lower legs are boiled for thirty minutes to separate the hooves from the trotter; hooves are used to make hard products while the horns are exported to Asian countries to make ornamental products. Bile is collected from animals and boiled to produce glue - a medium-sized tank requires bile from about 600 animals.

KMC is guided by its motto “A Cut above the Rest” that describes its core product (meat) is guided by among others ‘Food Safety; Occupational Safety & Health & Road Safety’ policies. Personal hygiene rules guide operations in the factory and are strategically posted at different points.

Among other processes, the Quality Control Laboratory performs the soxhlet extraction method that seeks to determine the fat and salt content in sausages for instance. It also analyses the

www.africanfarming.net

The expansive KMC factory.

All employees in the factory wear protective garments and footwear. meat and bone meal and lumen and blood meal for pets, and corned beef (also tickled with salt for better preservation) among other by-products.

All employees in the factory wear protective garments and footwear including wellington boots; any and all persons entering the factory must disinfect their footwear in pools of calcium hypochloride. At the main entrance, the boots must be cleaned with soapy water before the journey to disinfection begins.

A lot of water is utilised at the factory; owing to strict hygiene considerations and standards, each animal carcass could use as much as 1000 litres till it reaches the chilling rooms. h

African Farming - March/April 2013 25

S07 AF March April 2013 Pumps & Rural Comms_Layout 1 14/03/2013 11:38 Page 26

PUMPS

Installation and use of pumps adds the energy required to facilitate movement and transfer of water from one place to another, or to accelerate normal movement down a natural gradient. Dr Terry Mabbett reports.

Pumps and pumping for water in farming

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ATER SUPPLIES ARE invariably located away from the place where needed for use. Potable water supplies, whether for people or poultry, can be many metres below ground surface level in wells and boreholes, while water resources for irrigation and field livestock may be in water-holes, ponds, canals and rivers too far from cultivated fields to be carried by hand or vehicle in any practically useful quantities.

Pumps have been used for thousands of years but were mainly small hand-powered and animal-powered pumps for raising relatively small volumes of water. It was not until the invention of the steam powered engine some 200 years ago that pumping assumed a significant role in water engineering.

Pump and pumping technology is continually moving and improving. While most larger pumps use chemical energy such as gasoline or diesel or electrical energy to empower and energise water supplies, hand-operated pumps continue to play a vital role in obtaining and using both domestic and agricultural water supplies in some rural areas.

Pumps are not only used to access water but also to remove supplies that have been used and require treatment, processing and recycling. Thus pumps may be used to energise and move domestic and industrial sewage, fluid from poultry manure lagoons and contaminated water from sugar factories and other crop processing facilities.

Mainstream pumping technology encompasses two basic types of pumps – positive displacement pumps and roto-dynamic pumps.

Positive displacement pumps Positive displacement pumps generally deliver only small discharges of water irrespective of the head of water generated.

There are a range of examples of which the piston pump, the rotary pump, the air-lift pump and the Archimedean screw are among the most widely used and best known.

The piston pump is typically used for obtaining domestic water supplies in rural areas by lifting groundwater out of wells and boreholes. Basically a piston moves up and down within a cylinder.

When the pumping lever is depressed, the piston is raised thus lifting the water above it and pushing it through the discharge outlet. Simultaneously it draws water from the well through the nonreturn valve to recharge and fill the cylinder. When the lever is subsequently raised, the non-return valve is shut off and the piston moves downwards. This allows water to flow through a higher adjacent valve and into the upper part of the cylinder, ready for discharge when the lever is pushed down again.

Water discharge is determined by the energy available from and provided by those working the pump handle. And the height to which the water can be pumped using this mechanism has a ceiling, fixed by the inherent strength of those doing the pumping, and the integrity of the pump seals which will start to leak when the pressure becomes too high.

Piston pumps come in numerous designs and with equally numerous names. They are alternatively called ‘cylinder’ pumps or 26 African Farming - March/April 2013

A farmer uses a small pump to irrigate his fields in Keta, Ghana.

Pump and pumping technology is continually moving and improving. ‘plunger’ pumps and the wide range of pumping units working and operating on this suction principle are often and collectively called ‘barrel’ pumps.

Rotary pumps possess a pair of gears which mesh together while rotating in opposite and opposing directions. Water that becomes trapped in between the rotating gears is empowered and energised and subsequently forced into the delivery pipe. An air compressor used to force air down a pipe and into the inlet of the water pipe is the essential feature of the air-lift pump.

The mixture of water and air thus created is less dense than the surrounding water in the well and therefore rises up above ground level. This type of pump is not particularly efficient, but will nevertheless pump and raise water containing highly abrasive particles of sand and grit, which would otherwise damage alternative types of pump that require close forced contact between the water and moving metal parts.

The Archimedean screw pump, as the name implies, has an extremely long history and pedigree and is still used today in parts of Egypt for pumping irrigation water out of the River Nile and its tributaries. Water is raised by turning the screw. Such is the durability of the original concept that some modern pumping stations use the same basic idea except that the screws are massively larger and are driven by a power unit.

Roto-dynamic pumps Roto-dynamic pumps all have one thing in common which is reliance on rotational movement for pumping action. Three main types of roto-dynamic pumps are recognised and categorised by the mode of water flow through the pump mechanism.

They are centrifugal, axial flow and mixed flow pumps. www.africanfarming.net

S07 AF March April 2013 Pumps & Rural Comms_Layout 1 14/03/2013 11:38 Page 27

PUMPS

Some basic centrifugal pumps cost relatively little to build and manufacture and are the ideal lowoutlay pump where efficiency is not the most important factor in the pumping equation.

An Archimedes screw pumps being used in Egypt.

Centrifugal pumps are the most widely used and are particularly appropriate for supplying water to farms and irrigation schemes especially those employing a system of pipes that requires small discharges of water to be delivered at high pressure.

Centrifugal forces are a common feature of everyday life but not always well understood. Basically a centrifugal force is created by a circular spinning motion that enables liquid to remain contained, the faster the spin the tighter the liquid is held. The most obvious example is the spinning motion of the globe that prevents surface water flying off into outer space.

Centrifugal pumps harness the very same idea by using an impeller which spins at high velocity inside the casing of the pump.

Water is sucked into the pump from the pond, river, canal or other source via a short pipe called the suction. As the impeller continues to spin, water is pitched outwards for collection by the pump casing and subsequently ‘channelled’ towards the outlet called the delivery.

Some basic centrifugal pumps feature simple impellers with straight vanes but these are invariably inefficient because they create a lot of turbulence in the flow of water and therefore cause significant loss of energy. That said they cost relatively little to build and manufacture and are the ideal low-outlay pump where efficiency is not the most important factor in the pumping equation.

Larger pumps require more measured design and manufacture and are invariably fitted with curved vanes so that the water experiences smooth entry and exit through the impeller. With this achieved, any loss of energy is kept to an absolute minimum with a correspondingly high level of energy efficiency maintained. Most impellers are fitted with side plates and are termed closed impellers, but in situations where there are significant amounts of debris suspended in the water supply open impellers are used in preference to minimise any risk of blockage.

Versatility is the hallmark of centrifugal pumps and consequently they can be used in a very wide range of situations and applications. For instance, they are able to deliver water at low heads of just several metres up to heights of 100 m or more. In addition, the discharge from these pumps is high, ranging from several litres per second to several cubic metres per second. The higher discharges and pressures are achieved by operating two or three pumps in tandem or by using a multi-stage pump. The latter is made up of several impellers on a single shaft which is driven by the same motor with water fed from the outlet of one stage and into the inlet of the next stage, thus enhancing the pressure at each subsequent stage. www.africanfarming.net

Axial flow pumps comprise a propeller located inside a tube that acts as a discharge pipe. The propeller is fixed to a long shaft running down the centre of the tube. The shaft and therefore the propeller are turned by a power unit to raise the water up the pipe.

Axial flow pumps are extremely efficient at raising big volumes of water using relatively low pressure and are therefore best suited for raising water out of lakes and rivers and into distribution canals for eventual use in irrigating agricultural crops, or alternatively in land drainage schemes where large amounts of water need to be raised through just two or three metres.

On the downside they are very expensive because the components and especially the drive shaft and bearings required for support of the shafted propeller are of high cost. This means that axial flow pumps are generally used only for large pumping installations.

Mixed flow pumps combine the technology of axial flow pumps and centrifugal pumps and therefore offer the ‘best of both worlds’. Thus mixed flow pumps offer greater efficiency in the pumping of larger volumes of water than do centrifugal pumps, and are more efficient than axial flow pumps when it comes to pumping water at higher pressures. h

African Farming - March/April 2013 27

S07 AF March April 2013 Pumps & Rural Comms_Layout 1 14/03/2013 11:38 Page 28

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

More and more smallholder farmers are now harnessing the power of the telephone to help them connect to agricultural services, information and markets.

Mobile phones helping farmers make better decisions

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HE NUMBERS ON the keypad of Eric Owandu's mobile phone have been completely worn away, but that hasn't stopped it from being one of the most important tools on his farm. Six months ago Eric, from Gem District, western Kenya, signed up to a regional trial of the new EFarming text message service that provides him with advice on crop management, fertiliser use and which maize varieties to plant. "My mobile phone is now like a piece of farm equipment," he says. "It's key in determining my productivity in the field."

Established in 2011, E-Farming is run by the African Soil Information Service (AfSIS), a CIAT-led initiative, which has spent the last four years collecting and analysing thousands of soil samples in an effort to create a comprehensive soil map of subSaharan Africa. In its pilot phase, the text messaging service - run in conjunction with the Africa Soil Health Consortium led by CABI-Africa and Fibre Link Communications Ltd - is being assessed to see whether agronomic advice can be effectively disseminated to farmers via mobile phone.

Agronomic advice When registering for the service through SMS, farmers are able to indicate their crop of interest and whether they want information on soils, fertiliser application, agronomy, markets or pesticide use. Farmers also have the option to send a separate SMS requesting specific information, to which AfSIS and Fibre Link Communications respond on an individual basis. Eric is one of currently around 1,600 farmers to have subscribed to the trial. If successful, the service could be extended to include very precise, site-specific advice for boosting food production, based on the new AfSIS soil maps.

Here are two examples of what the messages - limited to 159 characters - say: â—? If your maize crop is about three weeks from planting time it is time to weed your field. Weeds compete with plants for water and nutrients, affecting their growth â—? Weeding of maize should be completed by now. After this, top-dress with CAN or UREA fertilisers. Use one 50k bag/acre of UREA or two 50Kg bags of CAN/acre 28 African Farming - March/April 2013

Half of Africa's one billion population has a mobile phone - an increasingly popular tool with many smallholder farmers.

It's an unprecedented opportunity to reach farmers with important crop management information.

Each text message Eric receives costs 10 Kenyan Shillings (US$0.12), and he receives, on average, three messages per month. While the cost is roughly double that of a standard text message in Kenya, Eric is very happy with the service, describing it as 'affordable'. He is also in no doubt that it is effective: "I would urge other farmers to join," he said, with this season's maize crop towering several feet above him. He even had some suggestions for additional services: "I would request the AfSIS project to go further and tell us when the rainfall is due, where we can access farm inputs and where to sell our harvests."

Dr Peter Okoth, senior scientist at CIAT and AfSIS, explained why the scheme has become possible: "Three or four years ago, farmers in Kenya didn't have mobile phones.

Now almost every farmer or household in the country has one. You can buy a phone for as little as 800 KSH (US$10), thanks to low-cost handsets from China. It's an unprecedented opportunity to reach farmers with important crop management information. Of course, the smart farmers will subscribe to the service, and then organise group meetings

with their neighbours to share information by word-of-mouth!"

the

Boosting yields So far, farmers have reported that E-Farming enabled them to purchase the correct seed and fertilisers, on time. Many are expecting to double their maize yields. An extra advantage of the service is that the information reaches farmers much more quickly than if an extension adviser had to visit each farm in person. This is particularly important when heavy rains make road travel in rural areas difficult.

Ambrose Ogwayo, an extension officer at the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture, was approached by AfSIS in 2011 to help recruit farmers in Gem District into the scheme. He has personally helped the service reach an additional 250 maize producers. "The farmers used to plant late, but now they plant on time with the onset of the rains," he explained. "From my observations, many more farmers would like to join the service."

But Ogwayo also believes the service has some limitations. "In many places farmers are illiterate and they would not be in a position to read most of the messages. Also, when there is no face-to-face contact, it becomes difficult for farmers to raise questions." To address this, AfSIS is investigating the possibility of sending text messages in local languages, and is also looking at establishing a voice-activated advice hotline for farmers to call with specific questions. h www.africanfarming.net

S08 AF March April 2013 Tillage Feature_Layout 1 14/03/2013 11:40 Page 29

Like much of the machinery on African farms, cultivation equipment is influenced by trends and developments in Europe and the United States.

Michael Williams reports.

Progress in tillage efficiency

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NE OF THE benefits from recent increases in world food prices is that they may help to encourage further development of the African continent’s farming potential.

Cropping is one of the areas where Africa offers scope to increase production of food and other products. According to official estimates, Africa has 60 per cent of the world’s supply of land that could be growing crops but remains uncultivated.

Bringing more of this land into full production will require a number of factors including profitable crop prices that will help to finance essential investment in tractors and equipment.

Another important factor needed to bring under-used hectares into production is to use mechanisation efficiently. Like much of the machinery on African farms, cultivation equipment is influenced by trends and developments in Europe and the United States where much of the emphasis continues to focus on tillage methods that can help to reduce fuel costs and the time needed for preparing a seedbed.

Pressure to save fuel and time is an important influence on trends in cultivation methods, with some of the long established implements becoming less popular. Examples include p-t-o driven rotary cultivators, which have a reputation for using a large amount of tractor power to produce a relatively slow working speed. This means they are now used less frequently for large scale cultivation, but they are still important for specialised work.

Pressure to save fuel and time is an important influence on trends in cultivation methods.

One of the unique features of a powered rotary cultivator is the highly efficient chopping and mixing action of the rotor with its Lshaped blades, ideal for dealing with crop residues, particularly from large-scale vegetable and flower production. Rotary cultivation is also popular for vineyard work and the blades are effective for preparing seedbeds for crops that need a fine, deep seedbed for healthy root development Some rotary cultivators can be equipped with steel tines instead of the traditional L-shaped blades. Tines have a less effective chopping action, but they also avoid the risk of leaving a smeared, compacted soil layer which can build up when the L blades are used at the

Seed drill and HRB series power harrow combination from Kuhn Farm Machinery.

www.africanfarming.net

African Farming - March/April 2013 29

S08 AF March April 2013 Tillage Feature_Layout 1 14/03/2013 11:40 Page 30

TILLAGE The plough's special feature is the ability to invert the soil.

end of ploughing have been incorrect, but there has been a big reduction in the area ploughed each year, especially in Europe where ploughing was once part of the cultivation routine on almost every arable farm. Although some farmers have stopped ploughing completely, mainly on the lighter soils, many more are continuing to plough on a rotational basis covering some of their land each year.

same depth over a number of years. For those who need the special benefits offered by rotary cultivation, design features available from most of the leading manufacturers include a gearbox allowing the rotor speed to be altered to produce a fine or coarse tilth.

A design feature available on many ploughs, but not on other implements, is the ability to change the working width from the tractor cab.

Advantages of power harrow An obvious p-t-o powered alternative to the rotary cultivator is the power harrow. It needs less tractor power than a rotary cultivator, reducing fuel and labour costs per hectare. Popular working widths are about 2.5 to 3.5m with a typical 120 to 150hp tractor requirement, but bigger versions with hydraulic folding include an 8.0m wide model from Maschio for tractors in the 300 to 350hp range.

Power harrows are capable of producing a fine tilth in a wide range of soil types, but they do not match the chop-and-mix capability of a rotary cultivator. In many soils using p-t-o power for either a rotary cultivator or a power harrow can produce a seedbed in one pass following primary cultivation with a disc plough or a heavy tined cultivator. Adding a seed drill attachment to the cultivator helps to boost efficiency by combining seedbed preparation and sowing the seed in one operation. All the leading power harrow and rotary cultivator manufacturers offer this type of till-and-drill combination, and the extra working width of power harrows can make this an efficient crop establishment system.

Design improvements introduced on power harrows include strengthened drive mechanisms. Hitting a tree root or a large stone can cause a shock load leading to expensive repair bills, and this was a familiar problem when power harrows first appeared.

Design improvements have helped to overcome the reliability problem and examples include adding a spring coupling

to absorb shock loads in the drive train, and Kverneland’s NG power harrow tines have a special steel core that allows just enough springiness to absorb some of the shock loads. Most of the leading manufacturers also use tines that can be replaced quickly in the field, and an example is Amazone’s Quick+Safe tine design.

Another victim of the demand for cultivations with improved fuel efficiency and a faster work rate is the mouldboard plough, probably the oldest tillage implement on the farm. Rising fuel and labour costs brought some predictions that ploughing would become obsolete, replaced by more powerefficient cultivation systems plus herbicide sprays to control the weed problems.

So far the gloomy predictions about the

30 African Farming - March/April 2013

Ploughing has unique ability of completely inverting the soil The rotational approach retains some of the benefits of ploughing on part of the farm each year, and this can be an important attraction. Ploughing has the unique ability to completely invert the soil, which can be more effective than a herbicide spray for dealing with some persistent weed problems.

Inversion with a plough is also an effective way to incorporate organic manure into the soil, and ploughing can also deal with the ruts and other surface damage caused by heavy harvesters and trailers.

A design feature available on many ploughs, but not on other implements, is the ability to change the working width from the tractor cab. The adjustment varies the width for each furrow, typically between about 300 to 450mm, and in most cases this is controlled hydraulically while the plough is working. The advantages include the ability to increase the working width to make maximum use of the tractor power while ploughing down a slope, but change to a narrower setting when the slope is upwards.

Width adjustment also allows experienced operators to compensate while ploughing beside an irregular field boundary.

Disc harrows have remained a popular option for primary cultivations for generations of farmers. Attractions include making efficient use of tractor power; the cutting and mixing action of the discs is an effective way to deal with straw and other

A Great Plains Flatliner similar to the batch of subsoilers supplied to Sudan.

www.africanfarming.net

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S08 AF March April 2013 Tillage Feature_Layout 1 14/03/2013 11:40 Page 32

TILLAGE

crop residues and discs will also break up hard, dry soil clods to help produce a seedbed. Another reason for choosing a set of discs is the fact that the design is mechanically simple, which should mean relatively low maintenance costs. Operating a set of discs should also be a straightforward job that does not need years of experience, as selecting a suitable disc angle and increasing or decreasing the load on the weight trays to provide the required amount of soil penetration are the

principle adjustments.

Equipment manufacturers supplying disc type cultivators to African countries include the American based Great Plains company which sells mainly heavy duty discs to suit high horsepower tractors. Ryan Haffner of Great Plains says there is a preference in Africa for big diameter discs which are rugged enough to work in difficult conditions and also leave the coarse surface finish that is generally preferred on African farms because it offers increased

Lemken's Rubin disc cultivator has a 12cm maximum working depth.

32 African Farming - March/April 2013

Tine, disc and press roll combination implements help to speed up the cultivation routine to save fuel and time. weather resistance. Great Plains also owns the Simba machinery company in the UK which has supplied large numbers of machines to Africa including Flatliner subsoilers used in Sudan.

To speed up the cultivation process based on discs there is growing interest in implements that bring discs, tines and a press roll together to provide a one pass operation instead of two or three cultivations with individual implements. The tines provide soil fracturing to a depth of up to 30cm on some models while the discs produce a surface tilth and mix straw and other crop residues into the soil. The press roll at the rear provides the final levelling and firming action which on many soils can leave the ground ready for the seed drill.

Tine, disc and press roll combination implements have become a popular choice on European farms, helping to speed up the cultivation routine to save fuel and time, and some are also in use of African farms. h

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New MF Beta combine range with Skyline cab MASSEY FERGUSON'S MF Beta five- and six-walker combine harvesters, which made their debut at the SIMA, Paris show, now come equipped with a completely new ‘Skyline’ cab and other new features to boost operator comfort and overall productivity.

The new Skyline cab brings the highest levels of vision, comfort and control to Massey Ferguson’s best-selling harvester range, providing a working environment and specifications normally only found on premium combines.

The Skyline cab interior provides an excellent workspace, superb visibility through noise-reducing glass, along with a totally new control arm console equipped with the new powergrip controller. It is also fitted with a new techtouch terminal that provides full monitoring and control along with automatic setting for multiple crops.

Equipped with state-of-the-art features and control systems the cab is manufactured using the highest quality materials. It not only looks good, but operators will also appreciate the quality ‘feel’.

With its luxury features and unsurpassed levels of specification the Skyline sets the combine cab benchmark.

The Skyline cab will be standard for all 2013 season models in the Massey Ferguson Beta series combine harvesters, which includes the five-walker MF 7360 at 276hp* and the six-walker MF 7370 at 360hp**. Both are also available with the unique ParaLevel system that provides levelling on slopes up to 20 per cent. (*Max Power; **Max power, plus 30hp boost for unloading).

A D V E R T I S E R S

Case IH Magnum - at the forefront of tractor technology ONE OF THE STAR attractions at the 2013 LAMMA Show was this distinctive Case IH Magnum 340, one of a limited number of identical tractors which the company has produced to mark 25 years of Magnum production at its factory in Racine, Wisconsin. Just 25 Silver Edition models, all based on the flagship Magnum 340, came to Europe.

The first-ever Magnum rolled off the production line in 1988 and was eagerly awaited because it was the first all-new tractor to be developed by the combined engineering expertise of International Harvester and Case, two of the best-known companies in the farmequipment sector. Since then Magnum-series models have been at the forefront of high-horsepower tractor design. Known for groundbreaking pulling power and torque, Magnum has achieved an excellent reputation for performance, reliability and straightforward operation and service.

Powered by an 8.7-litre, six-cylinder turbocharged and intercooled diesel delivering up to 374hp with Power Management, the Magnum 340EP features Efficient Power (EP) technology to provide greater power and increase productivity. This includes Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology, which improves horsepower, engine responsiveness, fuel economy and reliability for maximum performance and lowest possible operating costs.

The 340EP delivers its power through a full Powershift Transmission and, like all Magnum models, is equipped with Automatic Productivity Management (APM), which automatically selects the most efficient gear ratio and engine speed combination. When APM is activated the operator needs only to select the desired ground speed for optimised performance.

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