Over the past 20 years sub-Saharan Africa has registered the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-bo092e.pdf">highest rate</a>&nbsp;of agricultural production in the world. There have been knock-on effects with the region also seeing the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---inst/documents/publication/wcms_624872.pdf">fastest growth</a>&nbsp;in off-farm employment and non-farm labour productivity.



There’s a&nbsp;<a href="https://farmerline.co/2019/05/29/securing-the-future-of-agriculture-in-the-face-of-an-ageing-farmer-population/#:%7E:text=Ghana%20is%20like%20many%20other,Food%20and%20Agriculture%2C%202011">widely held</a>&nbsp;view that Africa’s agricultural growth trajectory could be jeopardised by an ageing farm population because young people are fleeing from farming. Several sources indicate that the average age of Africans in farming has risen to 60 years or more. But we are unaware of any empirical evidence to support this claim.



To understand what’s really going on, we used nationally representative survey data collected by the government statistical offices of six African countries – Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria and Tanzania. Because these surveys were replicated multiple times in each country between 2000 and 2018, we can compute how much time people spent annually in farming and off-farm jobs. We can examine trends in the age distribution of the labour force in farm and off-farm employment since 2000.



This was done as part of our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rural21.com/english/current-issue/detail/article/the-myth-of-africas-ageing-farmers.html">research</a>&nbsp;into young people’s access to land as well as their migration decisions and employment opportunities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Breaking the myth</h2>



Our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rural21.com/english/current-issue/detail/article/the-myth-of-africas-ageing-farmers.html">findings</a>&nbsp;debunk the myth that most farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are over 60 years of age – far from it in fact.



According to the national government-administered data in the six countries, the average age of the agricultural workforce ranges from about 32 years to 39 years. Even when not counting young adults in the 15 to 24 year old range, the average age of the agricultural workforce ranges from 38 to 45 years of age. And even going beyond the generally accepted labour force age range of 15 to 64 years to include all elderly people of any age working in farming, the mean age of farmers barely changes.



This is explained by the fact that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.populationpyramid.net/africa/2020/">only 3%</a>&nbsp;of sub-Saharan Africa’s population is 65 years and over. And less than half of this group is economically active and engaged in farming.



Secondly, the average age of the agricultural workforce in the six African countries examined has either increased by one or two years or remained constant over the past decade. Between the first and latest survey periods, which spanned from seven to 12 years, the average age of the labour force in farming increased by less than two years in four of the six study countries (Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia). The mean farmer age remained unchanged in Nigeria and declined slightly in Tanzania.



In other words, the age of Africans in farming is barely rising, if at all. Considering that roughly 7 million to 10 million young people are entering the labour force in sub-Saharan Africa each year, it is easy to understand why the average age of the farming population is not rising, even with large numbers of young people partially or fully moving out of farming.



Based on these nationally representative surveys, it is clear that of the region’s many agricultural challenges, an ageing workforce in farming is fortunately not one of them.



Third, our study found that individuals in off-farm jobs are on average one to three years younger than those in farming, especially when the sample excludes the 15-24 year old age group.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How to make farming profitable for young people</h2>



As highlighted in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220388.2018.1430767?journalCode=fjds20">previous studies</a>, the share of employment in farming has been declining over time as opportunities for off-farm employment expand in Africa’s rapidly transforming economies. But farming still accounts for a significant proportion of the jobs held by working-age individuals and remains the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220388.2018.1430767?journalCode=fjds20">single largest</a>&nbsp;employer of rural youth. Most of the jobs, however, are, part time.



It is true that many young people from rural areas are leaving farming as off-farm opportunities continue to expand. Nevertheless, most young people who are economically active remain engaged in farming. What is missing, however, is a critical mass of skilled young Africans with access to finance and know-how to drive productivity growth in farming and related value chains.



The idea of keeping young people in farming for fear of African agriculture becoming the preserve of the elderly is misplaced. A more effective strategy would prioritise resourcing the millions of rural youth already engaged in farming to make farming more profitable. Making agriculture “sexy” is not nearly as important as making it profitable. Young people will flock to agriculture if and when it becomes clear that it can make good money.



A related priority is to encourage skilled young Africans to apply their expertise to address the many policy, regulatory, and financing barriers that inhibit them from starting and expanding agribusiness firms that provide important services to African farmers.

farmer-africa-women-black-woman

African farmers are younger than you think. Here is why

By Andrew Pascoe, President of the Commercial Farmers&#8217; Union in Zimbabwe.



President Robert Mugabe’s notorious land reforms in the early 2000s robbed thousands of Zimbabwean farmers of their land, and of their livelihoods. What was presented as an attempt to right the wrongs of colonialization, turned into a politicised, corrupt land grab. It has taken twenty years for the injustices and illegalities to have been recognised.



 On the 29th July 2020, Zimbabwe finally made the headlines for the right reasons. The government, led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, and the white farmers, represented by the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), signed a compensation deal worth $3.5 Billion, described by President Mnangagwa as a “new beginning of the land discourse in Zimbabwe”.



 The deal has set many a tongue wagging. It is thus crucial to lay out all the facts on the table. Most importantly perhaps is the democratic nature of this agreement. The CFU conducted a referendum of its members, 60% of whom today live outside Zimbabwe. Out of 2896 votes on the day, there were 2759 ‘Yes’ votes, and only 137 ‘No’ votes. Votes have continued to trickle in since the cut off, and as of the 13th of August, 95% of the 3,191 votes were cast in favour. The agreement itself is a result of long and tough negotiations, based on the Zimbabwean constitution which provides for the payment of compensation for improvements on “compulsorily acquired agricultural lands”.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="972" height="647" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Belarus-equipment-reaches-Zimbabwe-1-1.png" alt="Equipment arrives from Belarus as part of training for the farmers of ZImbabwe." class="wp-image-379494" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Belarus-equipment-reaches-Zimbabwe-1-1.png 972w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Belarus-equipment-reaches-Zimbabwe-1-1-300x200.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Belarus-equipment-reaches-Zimbabwe-1-1-768x511.png 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Belarus-equipment-reaches-Zimbabwe-1-1-696x463.png 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Belarus-equipment-reaches-Zimbabwe-1-1-600x399.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 972px) 100vw, 972px" /></figure>



 A database was thus created, known as the ‘Valcon Database’ which has 4,730 farms registered, representing almost 90% of all farms affected by Mugabe’s Fast Track Land Reform Program. The database calculated the value of all registered farms in order to arrive at a fair figure of compensation.



 In this case, the valuation of permanent improvements was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Zimbabwe Land Acquisition Act. As per the constitution, the land value was to be excluded, and in accordance with International Valuation Standards, the Depreciated Replacement Cost (DRC) method was used to establish the value of improvements was used.



 None of this was done alone. The replacement costs per unit were agreed with Government after consultations with reputable contractors, which took over a year to obtain and agree in full. The figure of $5.2 Billion was established as being the collective valuation of improvements



to the farms as a whole. Considering Zimbabwe’s economic difficulties, this figure was considered to be unaffordable, and after lengthy negotiation the government offered a figure of $3.5 Billion, which was put to farmers for their acceptance or rejection. In light of the economic climate, it was clear that the payment would not be in one lump sum.



 The key was to find a payment schedule that provided swift relief to farmers, many of whom have waited two decades for compensation, while not further increasing the country’s debt burden. The terms of the deal, a 50% down-payment within one year of signing, with the balance to be paid over the next four years, represent a fair compromise. In addition, the government has committed to paying the full sum within 12 months should the funds successfully be mobilised within that time.



 There are of course those that criticise the agreement. For some, the compensation figure and the payment schedule are not what they hoped for. For others, the very concept of an agreement based on improvements to the land, and not its value, is a non-starter.



 Yet we urge those around the world to listen to the voice of those directly affected by the issue, who almost unanimously voted in favour. We are not blind to the limitations, but we recognise that for the first time in two decades, there is a Zimbabwean government prepared to recognise our plight, to treat us with respect and dignity and to compensate us for our suffering. We have put this matter behind us, and call on others to do the same. We hope that the dialogue and willingness to compromise reflected in this agreement represents the beginning of a new era in relations between Zimbabweans of different races and backgrounds, and between Zimbabwe and the nations of the world.



 While the agreement is not perfect, as those who have lived this struggle for two decades, we resolved to move forward, and to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Belarus tractors for Zimbabwe

What do  Zimbabwe’s farmers think of the $3.5 bn deal?

Zimbabwe finance minister Mthuli Ncube has told sceptical farmers that his government will pay them out in hard currency for farms taken by violent mobs 20 years ago.



Speaking to CNBC Africa from Harare, Ncube confirmed that the government was negotiating with more than 4,000 dispossessed farmers to pay compensation for improvements to their erstwhile &nbsp;&nbsp;land after a referendum gave the green light to the idea. Many farmers fear that the government will try to pay them out in discredited bonds. &nbsp;&nbsp;



“I can assure you that this agreement is in US dollars &#8211; it will be honoured in dollars, no other currency. In terms of the process of approval there was a referendum of 4,000 plus farmers around the globe who accepted this deal,” says Ncube.



“A lot of this money will make its way back into farming. &nbsp;It is a constitutional requirement the supreme law of the land Zimbabwe wants to follow the law that is what this agreement is going to do.”



Yet many former Zimbabwean farmers remain sceptical, including veteran farmer Ben Freeth. Privately, farmers feel that this is a way Zimbabwe is trying to ingratiate itself with the international finance community by giving the impression that property rights have been restored.



“It is a pie in the sky scheme as far as I am concerned. The government doesn’t have the money. The idea is to portray this as the government and farmers kissing and making up leaving Zimbabwe looking like a great place to invest – it is just an illusion,” says Freeth.



“There is a lot of concern out there no one has actually seen the agreement there is a great deal of secrecy around the deal it is all a bit mysterious.”



Farmers have also questioned the 99-year lease on farms that government is offering in a bid to kick start what was once the bread basket of Southern Africa. Ncube tried to reassure farmers.



“In terms of 99 year leases that is a different matter..the way we will do it is working with farmers &nbsp;and provide a guarantee to banks&nbsp; extending loans &nbsp;to farmers , but we understand it take time for banks to accept 99 year leases,”says Ncube



“It is a big step in the right direction 20 years after the land acquisition was carried out. We will work together to deal with our issues.”

Finmin Ncube on who will fund Zim’s $3.5bn compensation to white farmers

EXCLUSIVE: “I can assure you that this agreement will be honoured in dollars” Zimbabwe’s finance minister Mthuli Ncube on the $3.5 billion deal with farmers

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe agreed on Wednesday to pay $3.5 billion in compensation to white farmers whose land was expropriated by the government to resettle black families, moving a step closer to resolving one the most divisive policies of the Robert Mugabe era.Zimbabwe&#8217;s President Emmerson Mnangagwa speaks during his meeting with Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko (not pictured) in Minsk, Belarus January 17, 2019. Natalia Fedosenko/REUTERS/File Photo



But the southern African nation does not have the money and will issue long term bonds and jointly approach international donors with the farmers to raise funding, according to the compensation agreement.



Two decades ago Mugabe’s government carried out at times violent evictions of 4,500 white farmers and redistributed the land to around 300,000 Black families, arguing it was redressing colonial land imbalances.



The agreement signed at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s State House offices in Harare showed white farmers would be compensated for infrastructure on the farms and not the land itself, as per the national constitution.



Details of how much money each farmer, or their descendants, given the time elapsed since the farms were seized, was likely to get were not yet clear, but the government has said it would prioritise the elderly when making the settlements.



Farmers would receive 50% of the compensation after a year and the balance within five years.



Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube and acting Agriculture Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri signed on behalf of the government, while farmers unions and a foreign consortium that undertook valuations also penned the agreement.



“As Zimbabweans, we have chosen to resolve this long-outstanding issue,” said Andrew Pascoe, head of the Commercial Farmers Union representing white farmers.



The land seizures were one of Mugabe’s signature policies that soured ties with the West. Mugabe, who was ousted in a coup in 2017 and died last year, accused the West of imposing sanctions on his government as punishment.



The programme still divides public opinion in Zimbabwe as opponents see it as a partisan process that left the country struggling to feed itself. But its supporters say it has empowered landless Black people.



Mnangagwa said the land reform could not be reversed but paying of compensation was key to mending ties with the West.

Emmerson_Mnangagwa_(2019-01-15)

Zimbabwe agrees to pay $3.5 billion compensation to white farmers

LUSAKA (Reuters) &#8211; Zambia’s African Green Resources (AGR) on Sunday launched an $81 million financing programme under which the company and its partners will provide farm supplies and technology to farmers in exchange for grain.



As part of broader plans by AGR to invest $150 million in Zambia for projects including a 50 megawatt solar farm and irrigation dam, AGR will target 120 commercial farmers and 250,000 small and middle farmers with the new programme to boost food security in Zambia and the surrounding region, chairman Zuneid Yousuf said in a statement.



It will cover 60,000 tonnes of fertiliser for wheat and soya farming &#8211; worth $55 million &#8211; and $26 million for projects such as the expansion of grain storage silos. It will be financed through regional and global banks, with the money repaid from the produce the programme yields.



“We expect to receive 44,000 tonnes of wheat per season,” Yousuf said, some of which will be processed before being sold on local and international markets.



“We will repay the loan from sales of wheat flour, soya processing plant products and silo revenue.”



Some of the money is also guaranteed by the African Development Bank, the African Union, Sace Italy and Agriculture Grain International.



The farmers, meanwhile, would benefit from the ability to grow their businesses with the help of access to markets and credit finance, Yousuf added.



World Food Programme (WFP) estimates indicate that a record 45 million people in 16 nations in southern Africa face growing hunger after repeated drought, low yields, widespread flooding and sluggish economic growth.



Reporting by Chis Mfula; Editing by Emma Rumney and David Goodman

What you need to know about this Zambian agriculture business launching an $81 million farmer financing scheme

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The inability to link Ivorian cocoa to the farmers raises questions on the sustainability of Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa sector. That’s according to Edward George an Independent Commodities expert. George notes that at least 3 quarters of Ivorian cocoa production is not traced back to its source but adds that new technology can make it possible to digitally connect the farmer to the value chain. He joins CNBC Africa to discuss how technology is helping to improve cocoa production in Cote d’Ivoire.

How can technology improve Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa production?

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For the past few weeks, locusts have been swarming across East Africa with farmers in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya now counting losses. The devastating insects are moving fast through the region and have reached Tanzania and Uganda. Masokoyi Wasswa, Chief Administrative Officer of Amudat District which is one of the areas affected, joins CNBC Africa for more.

Tracking the impact of locust invasions on Ugandan agriculture

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According to the weather agency, the expected rainfall may affect post-harvest handling activities and ongoing infrastructure projects. Nsengiyumva Francois, President of the Chamber of Agriculture at the Private Sector Federation joins CNBC Africa to discuss what cautions farmers are taking to protect their crops against heavy rains.

How Rwandan farmers are guarding their produce against heavy rains

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The Africa Investment Forum held in Sandton this week is attracting not only regulators, financiers and big business, but also start-ups. One of these start-ups is Hello Tractor from Nigeria, which is currently operating in 11 African markets. Jehiel Oliver, CEO of Hello Tractor spoke to CNBC Africa’s Kenneth Igbomor.

Africa Investment Forum: Hello Tractor CEO Jehiel Oliver on unlocking opportunities for African farmers

By Patience
Koku, Nigerian farmer, owner of Replenish Farms and member of the Global Farmer
Network



When food
systems are supplied by rain-fed agriculture, changes in rainfall can throw not
only farming, but also food security, into complete disarray.



This is
what farmers are experiencing in Nigeria, where the rains come much later now
and stop earlier than they once did. Whilst some areas of the country deal with
unseasonably wet periods, other areas contend with prolonged and more frequent
droughts.



These
changes have put unprecedented pressures on Nigerian farmers, with many of them
finding it difficult to cope. 



Thankfully,
Nigerian farmers can learn lessons from food producers elsewhere, who have also
coped with changing conditions, and one proven solution is the adoption of
“no-till” farming.



No-till
farming is the practice of growing crops without disturbing the soil through
tillage, which allows the soil to breathe, naturally maintaining its moisture
and reducing &#8211; or even eliminating – the risk of soil erosion.



What is
needed now is nothing short of a no-till revolution, a new period of Nigerian
farming that will build resilience for farmers across the country, helping them
contend with new climate pressures. 



But to
scale up the practice of no-till in Nigeria, we must overcome three fundamental
barriers.



Firstly,
many farmers are reluctant to adopt new practices that could help maintain soil
health, even in the face of extreme droughts. 



Nigerian
farmers, like those anywhere, tend to be very cautious when changing what they
do on their farm, which are already beset with risk. 



These
practices, known as agroecology, are essentially <a href="http://www.fao.org/family-farming/detail/en/c/415959/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">farming practices designed to make
the most of nature’s resources</a>
whilst limiting the negative effects in return, but have yet to make a stamp in
the country.



Yet, we
have evidence from New Zealand, Argentina and many other countries of the
benefits of these approaches. Our colleagues in New Zealand, for example, have
shared stories about the impact no-till farming has had for them, including the
ability to <a href="https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/articles/6230-new-zealanders-benefit-from-no-till?v=preview" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plant seeds
within days of a harvest</a>
or <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/news/article.cfm?c_id=16&amp;objectid=12143141" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eliminating
soil erosion entirely.</a>



These types
of stories have the power to convince farmers of the need to work much more
closely with natural processes, since farmers more likely to adopt a new
practice once they can be sure it will work. 



Secondly,
even if farmers were willing to take on new practices, many are missing the
necessary funding and finance needed to help put these new techniques into
practice. 



At
Replenish Farms in Nigeria, I am working to solve this by encouraging farmers
to share resources. Crop farmers are giving their harvest residue to
pastoralists, for example, in exchange for manure that can be used to naturally
fertilize crops. 



This means
less pressure to use mineral fertilizers, lower costs and more support towards
increasing the organic matter in soil, which provides optimum conditions for
plant growth. 



Lastly,
when it comes to farming with minimal disturbance of the soil, specialised
planting machinery in Nigeria is often expensive or not suited to our soils. 



My company,
1Hectare1Family, is addressing this by working in collaboration with a number
of partners to find cheaper, more efficient tools. 



<a href="http://www.crossslot.com/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cross-Slot</a>, a New Zealand-based company, is one of these
partners. They make the right equipment for efficient no-till farming in New
Zealand and are advising us on how to achieve this in Nigeria. 



We are also
attempting to forge a collaboration with the Registrar of the National Soil
Science Institute, in the hope that we can provide smallholder farmers with
both the right training and equipment to be able to convert their practices to
no-till.



In the
first year of adopting no-till at Replenish Farms, just one per cent of
production used it. In the following season, that was quickly scaled up to
around 10 per cent. 



Next
season, we will be expanding it to more than 50 per cent &#8211; evidence of just how
successful no-till has been. 



But my farm
is not unique. The potential of Nigerian farming is huge when we embrace the
lessons of elsewhere and adapt them to help us meet our needs.

Op-Ed: Three challenges to overcome for more sustainable farming in Nigeria

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At the top of the year it was announced by National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) that the farm gate price of coffee dropped from last year to this season, leaving local coffee farmers and producers no choice but to adapt to the international market prices. This development only adds to other challenges being faced by the industry and today. To see how they suggest these setbacks can be overcome but the small and medium players in the sector, country Manager of Challenges Group, Neil Walker joins CNBC Africa for more.

How Rwanda is empowering its small coffee producers, reducing reliance on international coffee markets

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According to the Africa Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition (AROFSN), hunger on the continent continues to rise after many years of decline. Meanwhile, it’s estimated that currently, more than 40 per cent of fruits and vegetables in developing regions spoil before they can be consumed. To share insights into how to reduce food losses, Betty Kibaara, Director at Rockefeller Foundation joins CNBC Africa for more.

How farmers can reduce food losses in Africa: Lessons on food security and nutrition

LUSAKA (Reuters) &#8211; Zambia has introduced a cap on the price of maize to keep the staple food affordable, sparking protest from commercial farmers who accused the government of bringing back price controls.



Agriculture Minister Michael Katambo said on Sunday that millers, stockfeed manufacturers, chain stores and grain traders agreed in a meeting with the government to peg the price of maize at a maximum of 2,600 kwacha ($198.93) per tonne.



The price of maize meal, Zambia’s staple food, has in some cases doubled to 150 kwacha per 25 kg bag from 75 kwacha early this year.



Zambia’s 2019 maize production is expected to fall 16% to about 2 million tonnes from 2.39 million tonnes last year largely due to prolonged dry weather, Katambo said in May.



Katambo said on Sunday that the private sector panicked and rushed into the market thinking that there was not enough maize and this pushed up prices.



“Maize prices were rising every week because of this panic and the implication was that the mealie meal price was getting higher,” Katambo said, referring to maize meal.



Katambo said Zambia still had sufficient maize stocks and indications were that less than 1 million tonnes of maize had been bought from the 2 million tonnes the country produced.



“This price is not coming from the government but the private sector players who attended the meeting,” Katambo said.



In a statement on Sunday, the Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU), which represents commercial farmers condemned the cap, saying prices should be left to market forces.



ZNFU said its members were not invited to the gathering where the price was agreed and had called for an urgent meeting this week to discuss the decision.



($1 = 13.0700 Zambian kwachas)



Reporting by Chris Mfula; editing by Jason Neely

Here’s why Zambia has introduced a cap on the price of maize

By Ifeoluwa Adenike Alade, PhD candidate,&nbsp;University of Ibadan, Nigeria



Food
and nutrition insecurity
is a chronic problem for Africa. Despite decades of humanitarian and
development efforts, <a href="https://globalnutritionreport.org/nutrition-profiles/africa/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">one
in five</a>
Africans remain undernourished and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jun/05/nearly-half-of-all-child-deaths-in-africa-stem-from-hunger-study-shows" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a
third</a> of
Africa’s children are stunted. 



One little-known
crop that is essential to food security on the continent is amaranth. This
leafy green vegetable is one of the most consumed in Africa and <a href="https://www.nap.edu/read/11763/chapter/3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">accounts for</a> up to 25 per cent of daily protein
intake in some countries, making it essential to their health and wellbeing.



What’s more,
it is a plant that is quick to grow, thanks to
its highly <a href="https://www.appropedia.org/Original:Amaranth_Modern_Prospects_for_an_Ancient_Crop_5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">efficient
photosynthesis process</a>,
and which &nbsp;thrives on degraded land even in hot
and dry weather, making it an increasingly important crop to mitigate the
impact of climate change on food production. 



But one threat
that holds back amaranth from making an even greater contribution to Africa’s
food security is the amaranthus leaf webber, a species of moth that is commonly
found in the tropics. The webber larvae are voracious pests, and a single leaf webber
infestation can destroy an entire field of amaranth.



To prevent
an infestation and protect their amaranth harvest, farmers rely on pesticides.
However, long-term pesticide use comes with challenges, including the
development of resistance among leaf webbers. 



So, what if
farmers had another tool to stop this pest? 



This
question motivated me to search for new crop protection techniques that could
be affordable, effective, and sustainable, and it turns out that nature may
have already come up with a solution. 



Many plants
have evolved ways to deter pests through releasing biochemicals that repel
harmful insects. By identifying the biochemical that targets leaf webber and
reproducing this as a crop protection product, we can effectively safeguard
crop harvests using the plant’s own biochemistry.



For amaranth
farmers, plant-produced repellents could be valuable new tool in the toolbox,
supported by other strategies such as pest monitoring and surveillance, using
complementary crops to repel pests and using existing pesticides when
necessary.



Taken
together, such <a href="https://croplife.org/crop-protection/stewardship/integrated-pest-management/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">integrated
pest management</a>
(IPM) can dramatically improve yields while also reducing labour and costs, by
ensuring that farmers use the most effective and sustainable combination of
crop protection techniques. 



To progress
this research, I am studying leaf samples of a group of amaranth species to
compare the levels of biochemicals with the abundance of leaf webbers. If leaf
webbers are less abundant on plants with certain biochemicals present, then I
will have detected a possible repellent.



The next
stage involves examining the genetic make-up of the amaranths that produce
these repellents to discover the blueprint for the most pest-resistant variety.




Crop
scientists can then develop a species that is no longer vulnerable to this
pest. This would be a huge boon for Africa’s food security, especially in the
rural areas that rely on amaranth, protecting both nutritious food supplies and
agricultural livelihoods.



Such a
solution is an example of how crop protection can be proactive rather than
reactive when it comes to defending vital crops against pests. 



And as one
of the next generation of crop scientists, my work is just a small part of an
increasingly innovative sector. 



Preventing
crop pests from striking is essential for Africa’s food security. And with new
research, techniques and technologies, we are better equipped than ever before
to do so sustainably.

Op-Ed: Progress in pest prevention offers hope for Africa’s food security

JOHANNESBURG/VRYHEID, South Africa (Reuters) &#8211; Cattle have long been considered a measure of wealth across Africa &#8211; but it is not just farmers cashing in.



A pioneering app in South Africa lets investors, eager to benefit from rising global beef demand, buy shares in a cow from their mobile phone for as little as 576 rand ($41).



Self-styled “crowd-farming” company Livestock Wealth connects investors with small-scale farmers via its “MyFarmbook” app, where they can buy their own cow and receive interest rates of between 5% and 14% depending on where they put their money.



Launched in 2015 with 26 cows, the project now includes more than 2,000 cows and has taken in 50 million rand, with 10 percent of investors coming from outside South Africa.



Groups of investors can buy a whole cow, while individuals can purchase shares in a pregnant cow or young calf.



A pregnant cow costs 18,730 rand and takes 12 months before the newborn calf can be sold for a return, while investing in a calf costs 11,529 rand and takes six months for it to grow enough to be sold.



“We can link small scale farmers to big markets by introducing private capital into the growing phase,” said 38 year-old Livestock Wealth founder and CEO Ntuthuko Shezi, who was inspired by his grandparents’ farming success.



“The household bank account was a crop,” added Shezi of his family experience, standing among a herd of cattle at a partner farm in Vryheid, a ranching town in northern KwaZulu-Natal province.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">“EASIER” THAN REAL FARMING</h3>



Livestock contributes around 51% to the agricultural economy in South Africa, with global sheep and beef prices rising after droughts in major producing areas.



“Many people live in urban areas and they have interests in participating in farming but they cannot physically be there and this offers them a platform to do that,” said Wandile Sihlobo, economist with South African agribusiness association Agbiz.



Small business consultant Nontokozo Sabela, 34, was once interested in farming &#8211; but found the app a better alternative.



She bought her first cow in 2016 and earned around 6,000 rand from it. “This way it’s easier for me, it’s cheaper, it’s convenient,” said Sabela.



As with any investment, however, risks exist. Both the impact of weather on feed costs and fluctuations in global demand for beef can affect the cow investments.



Shezi now hopes to expand his business into the produce market after launching a vegetable growing system this month that aims to give a 220 rand return per month over five years.



($1 = 14.1696 rand)



Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne

Is African cattle investment the new cash cow? Here’s how investors are cashing in…

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The CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board (GCB) says Ghana and Cote d&#8217;Ivoire have agreed to set up a stabilisation fund under its new pricing mechanism for cocoa beans to support farmers should producer prices drop on the international markets. Edward George, Independent Commodities Expert joins CNBC Africa for more.

West Africa cocoa outlook

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 Medium-scale African farmers are relatively wealthy and influential.
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By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/thomas-jayne-297893">Thomas Jayne</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/michigan-state-university-1349">Michigan State University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/milu-muyanga-630942">Milu Muyanga</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/michigan-state-university-1349">Michigan State University</a>

Driven by population growth and growing land scarcity, most African farm households <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919203000460">are witnessing</a> the gradual sub-division of their land. Over time farms are getting smaller and smaller. Today, over 80% of farms in relatively densely populated countries – like Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi and Rwanda are smaller than one hectare. Because they’re so small, few can generate enough income to keep farmers above the poverty line and most of them increasingly rely on off-farm incomes.

But, from about ten years ago, we have started to see <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/agec.12308">evidence</a> of a major rise in the number of medium-scale, African-owned farms. 

Along with many colleagues, we <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305827375_Africa's_changing_farm_size_distribution_patterns_the_rise_of_medium-scale_farms">set out</a> to understand who these people are. We randomly selected farms operating between five to 50 hectares, and interviewed the farmers. We found that the rapid rise of these medium-scale farms was being driven by a diverse group of people including urban-based professionals, influential rural people, and successful smallholder farmers who acquired more land and grew their operations.

Within the past decade, the amount of agricultural produce that these farms contribute to countries’ national output has risen rapidly. In some countries, like Tanzania and Zambia, medium-sized farms now account for <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305827375_Africa's_changing_farm_size_distribution_patterns_the_rise_of_medium-scale_farms">roughly</a> 40% of the country’s marketed agricultural produce. 

This isn’t uniformly true across Africa. In land-constrained, densely populated areas like Kenya and Rwanda, small-scale farms still account for most of the agricultural output. Medium-scale farms are on the rise mainly where there is substantial, undeveloped land.

While much remains unknown and the story is still unfolding, we believe that medium-scale farms are an important driver of rural transformation in much of Africa – with mostly positive results. 

<h2>Influential Africans</h2>

For about ten years there’s been a prolonged surge in global food prices. This ushered in major, and <a href="https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/special-edition-agriculture-2014/africa%E2%80%99s-land-grabs">much publicised</a>, investment in African farmland by foreign investors. What happened largely under the radar were huge farmland investments by African professionals, entrepreneurs and civil servants. 

The amount of land acquired by these medium-scale African farmers since 2000 far <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268803247_Is_the_Scramble_for_Land_in_Africa_Foreclosing_a_Smallholder_Agricultural_Expansion_Strategy">exceeds</a> the amount acquired by foreign investors. 

They are relatively wealthy and influential, often professionals, entrepreneurs or retired civil servants. Many accumulated wealth from non-farm jobs, invested in land and became either part-time or full time farmers. 

Many are based in rural areas and have political or social influence with local traditional authorities. Others are urban “telephone farmers” who retain jobs in the cities, hire managers to attend to their farms and occasionally visit on weekends. 

In some countries, we also find that many current medium-scale farmers started out as small-scale farmers who successfully expanded their operations. 

Medium-scale farmers bring new sources of capital and know-how to African agriculture. They have in some countries become a politically <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/4/3/869/htm">powerful</a> group that are well represented in farm lobbies and national agricultural strategies. They have solidified African governments’ commitments to support agriculture. 

They get their land from traditional chiefs or by purchasing land from others, including small-scale farm households. Displaced smallholders, especially young people, tend to move off farm in search of other sources of employment.

We identified three reasons for the recent growth of African medium-scale farms. 

First, rapid population growth, urbanisation and rising incomes have contributed to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12571-016-0597-3">massive growth</a> in demand for food in African countries. Africans with the resources to respond to this demand are doing so. 

Second, many Africans with money and resources found farming to be a lucrative investment opportunity – especially during this sustained period of high global food prices <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/agec.12308">since</a> the mid-2000s. 

Third, policy reforms in the 1990s removed major barriers to private trade and improved the conditions for private investment in African agri-food systems. One example of this was the removal of restrictions on private movement of food commodities across district borders. The effects of these reforms exploded after world food prices suddenly skyrocketed. They <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305750X13001770">enabled</a> thousands of small, medium and large-scale private firms to rapidly respond to profitable incentives.

<h2>Smallholder farmers</h2>

With the rise of the medium-scale farms, we expected to find that smallholders were being marginalised. But we’ve changed our views on this in light of various pieces of evidence.

First, medium-scale farms are providing access to markets and services for nearby smallholder farms. For example, many medium-scale farms have attracted tractor rental providers, who now provide mechanisation services to smallholders. This allows them to farm their land with much less labour input, freeing up opportunities to work in off-farm pursuits.

Second, large trading firms <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00220388.2018.1430773">are setting</a> up buying depots in areas where there’s a high concentration of medium-scale farms. This improves market access for smallholders too.

We also found that the medium-scale farms are good for the local economy. They inject cash into the local economy through their expenditures, stimulating off-farm employment opportunities for many rural people who were formerly dependent on subsistence farming. 

Medium-scale farms have also contributed to sub-Saharan Africa’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00220388.2018.1430774">4.6% annual rate</a> of agricultural production growth between 2000 and 2015. This is the highest of any region in the world over this period. 

While there are a lot of positives, these changes are uprooting the traditional social fabric and creating new power structures. The rise of land markets is creating a new class of landless workers who are dependent on the local non-farm economy for their livelihoods. Policy makers will need guidance on how to minimise these hardships –- protecting those who are most vulnerable as the processes of economic transformation gradually raise living standards for the majority of the population.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107629/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/thomas-jayne-297893">Thomas Jayne</a>, MSU Foundation Professor, Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/michigan-state-university-1349">Michigan State University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/milu-muyanga-630942">Milu Muyanga</a>, Assistant Professor, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/michigan-state-university-1349">Michigan State University</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/medium-scale-farms-are-on-the-rise-in-africa-why-this-is-good-news-107629">original article</a>.

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