African Farming May June 2013

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www.africanfarming.net May/June 2013

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

Tractors Tractor power for fruit and wine growers

Poultry Preservation of egg shell quality

Irrigation Irrigation by rotary precipitation

Serving

AGRICULTURE for

33

YEARS Gobal demand for palm oil has doubled since 2000.

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CONTENTS

Contents

www.africanfarming.net May/June 2013

News and Events

4

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

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

Poultry

Tractors

12

Tractor power for fruit and wine growers

Preservation of eggshell quality pre and post lay.

The role of water in the life of a chicken.

Poultry

Preservation of egg shell quality

Irrigation Irrigation by rotary precipitation

Poultry Processing

18

Serving

AGRICULTURE for

33

Assessment of biological nitrogen removal in poultry processing.

YEARS Gobal demand for palm oil has doubled since 2000.

Silk Moth Farming

The MF 7600 tractor in operation in Zambia.

20

A flutter of hope, in the form of silk moth farming, offers a new and creative means of income generation as well as the possibility of providing a sustainabale and nutritious source of protein.

Livestock

22

A new project will help livestock and irrigated agriculture farmers to improve their livelihoods through value chain improvement.

Palm Oil

24

The Heraklese palm oil venture in Cameroon must address the many doubts and worries about such enterprises that abound.

Biocontrol

26

Many management factors combine to ensure conservation of eggshell quality.

Tackling killer aflatoxins in African food crops.

Grain Storage

28

Researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre have introduced an improved metal silo that will help local farmers preserve grain from season to season.

Tractors

32

Strong international demand is helping to expand wine and fruit production in some African countries, creating a growth market for tractors suitable for vineyard and orchard work.

Irrigation

38 Aflasafe - an innovative biocontrol solution - rekindles farmers' hopes in Nigeria.

Irrigation by rotary precipitation

Managing Editor: Zsa Tebbit Editorial and Design team: Bob Adams, Hiriyti Bairu, Lizzie Carroll, David Clancy, Andrew Croft, Prashanth AP, Ranganath GS, Kasturi Gupta, Rhonita Patnaik, Ian Roullier, Genaro Santos, Nicky Valsamakis, and Ben Watts Publisher: Nick Fordham Advertising Sales Director: Pallavi Pandey Magazine Sales Manager: Richard Rozelaar Tel: +44 (0) 20 7834 7676, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7973 0076 email: richard.rozelaar@alaincharles.com Country China India Nigeria Russia Singapore South Africa Qatar UAE USA

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African Farming - May/June 2013

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EVENTS

Farming Calendar

2nd Brazil in East Africa Expo

May 22-23

Sustainable Forest Management in Central Africa www.cifor.org

YAOUNDE

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

30-2 July Africa's Big Seven 2013 www.exhibitionsafrica.com

JOHANNESBURG

July 11-13

Agrikexpo 2013

LAGOS

www.agrikexpo.com 21-26

19th IFMA Congress www.ifmaonline.org

WARSAW

24-26

2nd Brazil in Eastern Africa Expo 2013 www.brazileastafricaexpo.com

NAIROBI

August 15-17

African Farmers' Workshop and Expo www.africanfarmers.co.za

26-29

14th Association of Institutions for Tropical Veterinary Medicine Conference www.aitvm.org

JOHANNESBURG PRETORIA

September 14-15

Naivasha Horticultural Fair 2013 www.hortinews.co.ke

NAIVASHA

23-26

SAHARA- 30th Intl Exhibition for Agriculture and Food for Africa and the Middle East www.saharaexpo.com

23-28

16th ISTRC www.iita.org

CAIRO

ABEOKUTA

THE 2ND BRAZIL in Eastern Africa Expo 2013 will take place July 24th to 26th in Nairobi, Kenya. With a theme, Bridging the Missing Link, the Expo seeks to bridge the gap between Brazil and Africa by creating strong business links, which would avail Brazilian products and services in the Eastern Africa Market.

The Expo 2013 has three main segments: ● Trade Exhibition: A multi-sector exhibition showcasing different Brazilian products from sectors such as agricultural equipment, auto parts, textiles, cosmetics, food and beverages among others.

The Trade Exhibition is a three day event from 24th to 26th July 2013. ● Conference: This will be focusing primarily on three sectors: Agribusiness, housing and finance.

Brazilian experiences and successes in agribusiness and value chains will be demonstrated. On finance, how Brazil financed its development and housing sector will be manifested. The conference will be held on the 25th and 26th July 2013 at the same Venue. ● Cultural Programme: This programme will seek to bridge the cultural strengths and similarities between the two continents. There will be some sports events, together with other cultural presentations such as music and cinema.

Being the second of its kind, the Expo 2013 will provide a platform to understand the business environment, culture, technology and innovations from Brazil and Eastern Africa. As such, it is meant to establish rewarding and new business relationships between Brazil and Eastern Africa.

It is an opportunity to meet new suppliers, check new products and explore potential partnerships and joint ventures. The Expo will give an insight into the Brazilian experience that can be adapted in Eastern Africa with regard to sustainable agriculture, food security, housing and other development challenges.

Ethiopian horticultural show enjoyed successful 2013 edition BUYERS FROM AS far as Russia, the Middle East, Europe and the USA were in attendance at the fifth edition of the recently held HortiFlora Expo Ethiopia.

According to the event's organisers, HPP Exhibitions and the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association, the show concluded with "satisfactory results for most exhibitors".

More than 100 companies exhibited at the trade fair, which took place in March 2013 at Addis Ababa's Millennium Hall, while more than 1,200 visitors walked the aisles during the three-day event.

The majority of visitors at this year's edition of the show, which 4 African Farming - May/June 2013

was opened by the Ethiopian minister of trade, were directly related to the floriculture industry.

The organisers, however, noted a growing number of visitors linked to the vegetable and fruit industry this year.

Dutch firm DLV Plant organised daily seminars at the event, while a host of in-show competitions were vied for by exhibitors and contributors at the trade show.

Among the platinum winners at the event were De Ruiter Innovations from Holland, who were awarded the top prize for 'Best Stand Design', while platinum in the 'Best Breeder Quality Competition' was shared between

Harvesting flowers in a greenhouse at the ET Highland Flora flower farm, outside Addis Ababa.

France's Meilland International and international company Red Elegance. The prize for platinum in

the 'Best Grower Quality Competition' went to Langano Lily Flowers from Ethiopia. www.africanfarming.net

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NEWS

International Advisory Board for IPM Essen 2014 AT ITS MOST recent meeting, the International Advisory Board for the IPM Essen Fair has stipulated the framework for the next edition of the world's premier fair. Over 1,500 exhibitors will once more be expected at the leading marketplace of the green sector at Messe Essen January 28 - 31, 2014.

IPM Essen will be even more international: For the first time, the successful horticultural forum will be dedicated to countries from all over the world under the new name of the "International Horticultural Forum". Turkey will make a start in 2014. In lectures, experts will report on market opportunities and the economic situation.

Moreover, the members of the Advisory Board have agreed to continue the well-visited supporting programme of IPM Essen in an unamended form. In 2014 too, the trade visitors will be able to look forward to highlights such as the demonstrations of stars on the floristry scene in the FDF Creative Centre, the Innovation Showcase with innovative breeds and competitions such as the Colour Your Life Award or the IPM Fair Cup. 57,743 trade visitors from 103 countries came to the last IPM ESssen in 2013. There was greatest interest from the Asian continent; visitors travelled from 33 countries in the region (in 2012: 24). Visitors and exhibitors stated that they were very satisfied with the course of the trade fair; in each case, 92 per cent announced that they would be involved in the next IPM Essen as well.

In order to inform exhibitors and interested trade visitors throughout the world about the next IPM ESSEN, the fair team will once again be represented at a large number of events at home and abroad. In addition to the subsidiary events of IPM in China, Russia and Dubai, the team will also be present at fairs from Italy via Kenya, Colombia and the Netherlands to Spain and Turkey.

Zambia to acquire groundnut processing facility THE SOUTHERN AFRICA Trade Hub has awarded a grant of US$100,000 to Central African Seed Services (CASS) to purchase equipment for a first-of-its-kind groundnut processing facility in Lusaka.

The investment is expected to facilitate more than US$6mn of trade.

According to the Hub, the cleaning, sorting and grading equipment purchased by the grant will enable Jungle Beat, CASS's long-time Zambian partner, to export surplus Zambian groundnuts to South Africa for the first time, spurring significant growth in production. From Zambia the nuts are expected to find their way to European markets in a variety of peanut-based products.

It is reported that currently there is no company operating in Zambia with the requisite equipment, making it all but impossible for the country's groundnuts to access the more lucrative markets in South Africa and beyond.

CASS Managing Director Gordon Guthrie said peanut production in South Africa has significantly declined in the last ten years: from 140,000 to 65,000 tons per annum. Demand, on the other hand, has shown steady growth, requiring South Africa to rely on regional trading partners to meet the annual shortfall. In Zambia, he said, ideal climate conditions create the opportunity to increase both yield and production area considerably.

Peter Nieuwoudt, Director at Jungle Beat, put total current Zambian production of groundnuts at 160,000 tons annually.

He said Zambia could be a major regional groundnut producer and more than double current production.With the processing plant, Zambia is also expected to export and consequently pay better prices to farmers.

Wallace Mawire

Rice development hub identified in Liberia THE MINISTRY OF Agriculture through its implementing partners, Africa Rice Center (Africa Rice) and The Central Agriculture Research Institute, CARI has identified the Foya Region in Lofa County and the Bong Mines Region in Bong County as locations for two of the several rice development hubs expected to be built in Liberia over the next few years.

At a meeting for the selection of the Rice Development Hubs held at CARI's main office in Suakoko, Bong County, stakeholders including officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, CARI, Africa Rice, CRS, BRAC, as well as other local NGOs and farmers selected both Lofa and Bong counties for the production of Upland and Lowland Rice respectively.

The head of Africa Rice, Dr. Inoussa Akintayo took over a hundred people who attended the meeting on several hours of sightseeing, showcasing several varieties of rice including the most popular lowland (NERICA-L19), Suakoko 8 and upland (NERICA 14) varieties that are being produced at CARI station and will be distributed to farmers and NGO for certified seed production.

Africa Rice is the implementing partner for the Ministry that is expected to lead the campaign to establish and boost the rice sector development in Liberia. Rice is Liberia’s staple food. There are basically two systems of rice cultivation that are carried out in Liberia; upland rice and lowland or swamp rice. The former dominates with about 63 per cent of households fully relied on upland rice techniques, 17 per cent swampland, and 21 per cent a mixture of both.

The current activities of Africa Rice include: enhancing food security in vulnerable communities of Liberia, in the face of a global price crisis. This would be supported by the following specific objectives to: make seeds and good agricultural and post-harvest practices available to farmers to increase rice production, improve rice quality and reduce imports; develop a critical mass of trained scientists, extension workers and community seed producers; and establish a policy framework for the development of rice seed systems that assure seed security in Liberia.

6 African Farming - May/June 2013

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NEWS

German company invests in Zambian agriculture AMATHEON AGRI HOLDING of Germany is to invest about US50mn to irrigate over 10,000 hectares of land for food production in Mumbwa, central Zambia.

According to the firm’s chief executive officer Carl Bruhn, it will grow traditional crops such as soya, wheat, maize and barley, while future operations might include cattle and timber.

In the long term, the company’s objective is the vertical integration of arable land into Zambia’s value chain, thus contributing to the country’s growing economy. ‘’We chose to invest in Zambia due to its strong agricultural potential, the growing population as well as the robust economy and stable Government. Our extensive research of the African markets proved effective. Zambia is indeed a very welcoming investment destination,’’ he elaborated.

Mr. Bruhn was speaking when Vice President Guy Scott and Labour minister Fackson Shamenda toured Amatheon Agri’s flagship 20,000 ha farm in Mumbwa recently. Amatheon Agri Zambia chief executive officer Andrew Fleming was also at the event to give highlights about the firm’s business and long-term strategy in Zambia.

Others who attended the function were local Member of Parliament Brian Chituwo, German Ambassador to Zambia Bernd Finke, Senior Chief Shakumbila, Chief Kaindu, and delegations from the Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock, the power utility firm, ZESCO and Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU).

Amatheon is the first German company to invest in large-scale irrigated farming in Zambia. The Big Concession has historically been planned as a large-scale farming area, but in the past the lack of electricity and appropriate roads left the region widely underdeveloped.

With the imminent electricity connection to the area and upgrade of roads by the Government, the firm is set to harvest its first crops in April 2013.

Based in Berlin with management structures in Germany, the UK, Zambia and South Africa, Amatheon Agri Holding NV is a European farming and agribusiness firm developing sustainable projects, mainly in Africa.

Through the development of new, largescale irrigated agricultural operations, it seeks to create shareholder value, community improvement and increased food production.

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Rwanda to invest in cattle disease prevention methods THE RWANDAN GOVERNMENT will set up a veterinary laboratory in the Nyagatare district, Eastern Province, as part of its plan to prevent the outbreak of cattle diseases that pose a threat to the country’s livestock sector According to the Rwandan government, the aim of the new laboratory is to prevent and control cattle disease outbreaks in the country by providing sustainable services to farmers.

In the past the Rwandan government has had to overcome limited vigilance and capacity to identify, monitor and prevent the outbreak of cattle diseases. The province was recently struck by foot and mouth disease forcing the

government to put up animal quarantine in the area as it is highly contagious.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, however, recently removed the quarantine.

Last year director of Veterinary Services at the Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB), Dr Otto Muhinda, revealed that from the 1,652 cattle that were tested in Kigali, 167 animals were found with the disease.

"These cattle had to be put down because this disease is very dangerous as it affects human beings especially when they drink fresh uncooked milk from infected cows," he said.

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African Farming - May/June 2013

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NEWS

Cassava to replace maize farming in Africa FARMERS IN TANZANIA should shift from planting maize to growing cassava, since the latter will soon overtake the former’s demand on the continent.

Scientists meeting there have pointed out that cassava is on the verge of replacing maize as the main staple for the nearly one billion residents of the African continent and that the ‘roots’ value is clocking to over two billion US dollars per year, it was observed.

“Cassava is currently the most droughtresistant crop which can also thrive in low nutrient soil and scientists have come up with new varieties that are resilient to diseases,” explained Dr Nteranya Sangina, the Director General for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.

His organisation, the IITA, is hosting the 12th International Plant Virus Epidemiology Symposium, which took place recently in Arusha. The event has gathered scientists from more than 40 countries worldwide.

With the threats of global warming and the related climate change, the scientists attending

the symposium are of the view that maize, which has always been the main food crop for Africa, is losing its hold as the continent’s staple food, as it increasingly becomes susceptible to drought and diseases.

“In Nigeria, cassava has already taken over from maize. We make ‘ugali’ from cassava and extract ethanol from its roots and we are now using cassava to make bread which means the crop is also replacing wheat,” said Dr Sangina.

During the meeting, participants took tea with bread made from cassava flour and many could not distinguish the taste from that of wheatflour bread and with over 170mn people eating bread daily, cassava is just on the verge of becoming popular food in Africa.

Dr Elly Kafiriti from the Naliendele Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) said his Mtwara-based Southern Zone Research and Development Centre is currently working to develop diseaseresistant cassava, as well as developing more resilient crop variety to intercept the effects of changing climate and emerging diseases.

Morogoro is being described as having the highest potential for cassava growing in Tanzania and the Kitui area can do the same for Kenya. Together, they can make East Africa self reliant on food and totally abolish the importation of food during drought spells.

Running under the theme, Evolution, Ecology and Control of Plant Viruses, the symposium is said to be also focusing on emergence, epidemiology and control of native and new virus diseases. “This is to reflect on the prevailing situation of virus diseases in Africa and around the world that are not only ravaging the crop production, but also affecting the international exchange of germ plasm and commerce,” explained Dr Sangina.

The Arusha-held, five-day symposium also provided a forum for exchange of latest knowledge and technologies to control virus diseases and pave way for an African and global strategy to combat emerging and re-emerging plant virus diseases.

German company invests in Zambian agriculture AMATHEON AGRI HOLDING of Germany is to invest about US$50mn to irrigate over 10,000 ha of land for food production in Mumbwa, central Zambia. According to the firm’s chief executive officer Carl Bruhn, it will grow traditional crops such as soya, wheat, maize and barley, while future operations might include cattle and timber.

In the long term, the company’s objective is the vertical integration of arable land into Zambia’s value chain, thus contributing to the country’s growing economy. ‘’We chose to invest in Zambia due to its strong agricultural potential, the growing population as well as the robust economy and stable Government. Our extensive research of the African markets proved effective. Zambia is indeed a very welcoming investment destination,’’ he elaborated. Mr. Bruhn was

8 African Farming - May/June 2013

speaking when vice president Guy Scott and labour minister Fackson Shamenda toured Amatheon Agri’s flagship 20,000 ha farm in Mumbwa recently. Amatheon Agri Zambia chief executive officer Andrew Fleming was also at the event to give highlights about the firm’s business and long-term strategy in Zambia.

Amatheon is the first German company to invest in large-scale iorrigated farming in Zambia. The Big Concession has historically been planned as a large-scale farming area, but in the past the lack of electricity and appropriate roads left the region widely underdeveloped.

With the imminent electricity connection to the area and upgrade of roads by the Government, the firm is set to harvest its first crops in April 2013.

Nawa Mutumweno

www.africanfarming.net

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NEWS

Lorentz solar water irrigation system employed in Oujda, Morocco THE LORENTZ SOLAR powered pump system has recently been employed by Noureddine Lahmidi, a farmer from the village of Oujda, Morocco to replace his diesel and subsidised butane powered irrigation pumps.

Lahmidi, who requires an irrigation system for a six hectare area of olive trees, made the decision to change the pumps following a detailed usage and cost analysis, Lorentz said.

According to the company, increasing energy prices and supply problems meant that Lahmidi required an alternative power supply as the remote village in which he lives is not connected to the electrical grid and diesel and butane prices are increasing due to market prices and subsidy reductions.

Fossil fuel deliveries are also subject to supply difficulties resulting in an inability to water crops. Combined with the issue of unreliable internal combustion engines, the overall difficulties in the farmer’s previous irrigation system resulted in an increase in the cost of production and therefore a decrease in competitiveness, Lorentz claimed.

Although the Moroccan government provides subsidies on both diesel and butane for rural users, these subsidies are the subject

Benefits of the solar powered system include the fact that no fuel is required and it offers a stable and reliable energy source.

of reform as they have now reached a level above six per cent of GDP, meaning they will be reduced significantly.

The Lorentz system has been designed with two

pumps, one to draw water from deep below the ground and pump it into a pool, while a second pump is then used to pump water from the pool to the crops. The pumps are then connected to the solar modules via a controller.

According to the company, benefits of the solar powered system include the fact that no fuel is required, removing the energy bills plus the time and cost of filling fuel tanks and having fuel deliveries. The sun is also a stable and reliable energy source, meaning no concerns about fuel supply, transport issues or increasing operating costs.

These elements give the solution a good return on investment and a best quality/price ratio in comparison to conventional pumping systems, especially in remote areas, LorentzZ said.

An analysis carried out by the company suggested that, over a period of five years, diesel powered pumps would cost a total of US$25,973 and butane would cost US$14,414, while a solar energy source comes at a cost of US$16,800. The solar powered pumps will therefore significantly lower Lahmidi’s costs compared to the previous diesel and butane powered pumps, Lorentz’s research showed.

Agriculture fast track fund for sub-Saharan Africa THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT Bank, Sweden's Ministry for International Development Cooperation and the US Agency for International Development have a new US$25mn fund to help spark greater private investment in agriculture infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Agriculture Fast Track fund is designed to help members of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition with up to US$1.5mn per project including design, feasibility studies, market analyses, financial modeling, site surveys, and business plans. With such documentation central to commercial lending, the fund expects better project preparation will boost private sector loans for agriculture infrastructure by increasing quality and bankability.

"The African economy is currently overly dependent on public investment for infrastructure development," said AfDB President Donald Kaberuka. "The Agriculture Fast Track is a critical tool to better leverage donor funding to catalyse private sector investment in support of infrastructure construction and Africa’s long-term economic growth and food security."

US President Barack Obama launched the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition at last year’s G-8 summit to match market-oriented regulatory reforms in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania with US$3.7bn in private sector agricultural commitments.

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Since its founding, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah said, "We’ve seen member countries make serious reforms that have led to real progress. The launch of the Agriculture Fast Track allows African farmers to take advantage of these reforms through fasttracked infrastructure projects that will better deliver their products to markets."

Managed by the African Development Bank, the fund is backed by US$15mn from USAID and US$10mn from the Swedish government.

"By targeting the project preparation stage of projects, the Agriculture Fast Track will advance infrastructure projects when funding is most acutely needed to pivot from planning to construction," said Swedish Minister for International Development Co-operation Gunilla Carlsson.

"This targeted approach allows us to catalyse significantly more private sector investments and ensure the highest standards in terms of social and environmental sustainability."

USAID is boosting its collaboration with crop productivity leader Syngenta International to help build smallholder capacity in Africa, Asia and Latin America in co-operation with other donors, scientists, and entrepreneurs.

Building on its ten-year, US$500mn commitment to Africa, Syngenta and USAID have a memorandum of understanding to work with New Alliance countries to increase growers’ use of technologies in crops such as potatoes and expand access to crop insurance and seed treatment.

"Scaling the adoption of innovative technologies like drought-tolerant seeds and crop insurance can build the foundation for sustainable food security," Shah said. "By strengthening our partnership with Syngenta, we can reduce hunger and undernutrition across three different continents and help bring the end of extreme poverty within reach.”

Syngenta CEO Mike Mack said the collaboration with USAID "is part of our ambition to enable a worldwide step-change in farm productivity. Public private partnerships such as this will be catalysts for transforming agriculture by improving knowledge and technology in farming especially in developing markets."

Analysing a broad spectrum of African industry from banking to agribusiness, UNDP is working to bring economic growth closer to low-income communities by focusing on how businesses can better embrace them as consumers, entrepreneurs and employees.

"Inclusive business represents a promising approach by bringing the benefits of economic growth directly to the poor by including them in value chains,” said UNDP Deputy Director for Africa Babacar Cissé. “We need young entrepreneurs and innovators as drivers of inclusive businesses. We need organisations willing to take the roles of catalysts, supporters and funders of inclusive businesses.”

Scott Stearns

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NEWS

IITA maize holds solution to Africa’s drought RESEARCHERS AT THE International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, have said that maize lines and hybrid developed in the institution offer the hope of saving African farmers from the challenges of drought.

According to IITA’s Communications Officer, Godwin Atser, the maize lines were of extra-early maturing genotypes developed and conserved at the institute’s gene bank.

He noted that identification of the maize lines had led to the possibility of sustainable development of more resilient varieties with dual characteristics of escaping and tolerating drought in the near future.

He said the discovery of the maize parental lines was also seen as ‘good news’ for farmers, especially in drought-prone areas of Africa, where maize remained a key staple.

An IITA scientist, Muhyideen Oyekunle, said 48 per cent of the early maturing lines under study at IITA were drought tolerant with tolerance indices ranging from 0.17 (low) to 15.31 (high).

10 African Farming - May/June 2013

Oyekunle and other researchers found that under drought conditions, hybrids performed better than open-pollinated varieties and could provide safety nets for farmers during drought.

He also identified five diverse groups among the early maturing maize inbred lines studied and two inbreds as the best in terms of combining ability for future hybrid production.

Oyekunle explained that general considerations in breeding for drought tolerance in maize include information on genetic diversity among tropical maize lines and populations, hybrid performance and inheritance of drought tolerance.

He said IITA and other stakeholders had made early and extra-early maturing maize varieties and hybrids available to farmers in West Africa.

The varieties, he said, were being widely adopted to the extent that maize cultivation was largely replacing sorghum and millet in the savanna ecologies.

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NEWS

Improving animal health planning to control avian influenza in Egypt AFTER ITS FIRST detection in 2006, Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza (HPAI) has spread rapidly in Egypt and become endemic in poultry populations in several governorates. HPAI continued to cause considerable economic loss to poultry producers and remains a public health challenge in the country.

Over 40mn birds had been culled during the early periods of 2006-2007 alone. At present, outbreaks continue to occur in different production sectors and

along the poultry value chain including in commercial farms, household flocks and live bird markets.

Sound animal health planning is of paramount importance to enhance the national disease control programme. This, in turn, requires generation of reliable epidemiological information and analysis.

In light of this current challenge, the Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in close

collaboration with its national counterparts, has organised a training course in applied statistics (biometrics) to strengthen the national capacity in epidemiological data analysis and management. Veterinary officers from the national animal health services will be trained to enhance their skills in epidemiological data collection, entry, coding, filtration, analysis, interpretation and presentation of results as well as in experimental designs in order to support animal health policy decision making.

Somali cattle grading A COLLABORATIVE STUDY by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Terra Nuova on grading of export quality Somali livestock identifies improved nutrition and livestock breeding programmes as possible interventions.

Somalia is the largest exporter of live animals from Africa. However, lack of a formal system of grading livestock and livestock products

has affected its total value.

Experts now say that a system to enforce quality control for the purpose of stabilising and expanding livestock trade is needed.

The objectives of the study was to identify the grading system in use for the four types of export quality Somali livestock - camels, cattle, goats and sheep - in selected markets based on brokers’ and traders’ local knowledge.

Another was to analyse and document the rationale behind the indentified grading system, evaluate the relationship between the grading system and the price and ascertain the validity of the grading system in the real market environment.

Researchers note that increasing the quality and availability of animal feed during the long journey from the point of initial purchase to the point of

slaughter will lead to enhanced livestock body condition. Body condition and conformation were identified as an important trait used in grading livestock for export.

Others were sex and age of the animal. The findings of the study will be a useful source of references for regulatory agencies and others involved in formalising and publicizing of Somalia’s grading system for export quality livestock.

Mwangi Mumero

MYCOTOXINS STICK TO TOXFIN™ Kemin’s TOXFIN is the duct tape of toxin binders: it sticks to even the trickiest of mycotoxins throughout the gastrointestinal tract, preventing mycotoxins from entering the blood stream of the animal, while leaving behind the beneficial nutrients.

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Kemin Industries South Africa (Pty.) Ltd. info.sa@kemin.com TEL: 08610 KEMIN (0861053646) www.kemin.com

© Kemin Industries, Inc., and it group of companies 2013 All rights reserved

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®™

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African Farming - May/June 2013 11

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POULTRY

Biological contamination of egg contents by microbes is affected by the capacity of the eggshell to prevent or inhibit entry, invasion and infection, by bacteria, fungi and viruses.

Preservation of eggshell quality pre and post lay HERE ARE MANY facets to egg quality governed by a range of factors and which fall within best practice layer management and egg processing during and after collection. Quality of egg contents (yolk and albumen), as the part of the egg consumed, is clearly critical but so is eggshell quality. This determines shell strength and integrity which in turn affects the incidence of mechanical damage and entry of microbial pathogens which can put consumers’ health at risk and ruin the reputation of the producer.

T

Structure and composition Before any discussion on factors affecting eggshell quality it is important to understand

the structure and chemical composition of the egg shell. The egg shell surrounding and enclosing an egg is almost entirely calcium carbonate (94 to 97 per cent). The remaining three to six percent is made up of organic chemicals and egg shell pigment. The eggshell is actually highly porous with a hen’s egg containing up to 8,000 microscopic pores.

The eggshell is completely covered by a coating of mucous called the cuticle or bloom deposited on the outer surface of the egg just before the point of lay. Cuticle which is protein in nature helps protect the egg content from ingress of bacteria through the shell. Eggshell quality is governed and determined by a wide range of factors including the structure, colour and shape of the shell in its entirety. Hen’s eggs come in a wide range of shell colours white, tinted, speckled, uniformly-brown and even some with a blue hue depending on the breed.

Eggshell quality

Quality of egg contents as the part of the egg consumed, is clearly critical but so is eggshell quality.

12 African Farming - May/June 2013

Many factors affect the general functional quality of the egg shell and most of these will have been determined and set before the egg is laid. Eggshell thickness is governed and eventually determined by the length of time the egg spends in the shell gland (uterus) and the rate of calcium deposition during eggshell formation.

Those eggs which remain in the shell gland for a short period of time will have a correspondingly thin shell. In addition the 24 hour day when the egg is laid can have an effect of shell thickness. Generally speaking, those eggs laid earlier in the day and within the light portion of the photoperiod will have thicker shells. The magnitude and/rate of calcium deposition can also affect the eggshell thickness with marked differences between various breeds of laying hen because some breeds can deposit calcium at a faster rate than others.

An additional key factor which affects eggshell thickness and therefore its functional quality is relative age of the laying hen. With

increasing age of hens comes a general decline in eggshell thickness. Other factors such as the formation of abnormal ridges, calcium deposits or body checks (ridges) will be important considerations in determining the overall quality of the eggshell.

The overall aesthetic quality of eggshell and egg is determined by a series of factors which the consumer can actually see and pass judgement on. These will include the overall soundness of the shell and whether cracks and depression breaks are visible, cleanness of the shell and its shape and colour. These in turn can be affected by the treatment afforded to eggs during and after collection. For instance, temperature of the water used in any egg washing procedure will affect the incidence of 'thermal' cracks.

Moisture condensation on the shell, the temperature at which eggs are refrigerated and the mechanical handling of the egg all have an affect on the aesthetic quality of the eggshell and egg, either positively or negatively.

Biological contamination Biological contamination of egg contents (yolk and albumen) by microbes is hugely affected by the capacity of the eggshell to prevent or inhibit entry, invasion and infection, mainly by bacteria but also fungi and viruses, via the many microscopic pores that perforate the eggshell. Provided the cuticle or bloom deposited by the hen on the shell is sufficient in quality and coverage it will act as effective additional barrier to ingression by microbes.

Egg washing makes eggs look nice and clean for the consumer but also removes most if not all of the cuticle or bloom from the surface of the eggshell. Egg washing clearly makes for the easier entry of microbes by destroying the integrity of the cuticle or bloom but the pair of inner shell membranes will play a significant role in preventing the entry of bacteria into washed eggs.

Many management factors combine to ensure conservation of eggshell quality.

Providing the poultry farmer manages his/her flock in the correct and proper manner, through provision of the right nutrition and house conditions, then high egg shell quality should come automatically.

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POULTRY

Management tips Useful tips to assure production of eggs having consistently good eggshell quality include house conditions free of stress and to strictly avoid scaring laying birds. This will ensure that the egg spends the required amount of time in the shell gland to provide adequate shell thickness, strength and integrity.

Research and experience shows adoption and use of an 'ahemeral' lighting programme (cyclical with a period not equal to 24 hours) is highly effective in making sure that hens retain their eggs for a longer time in the uterus to produce the required shell thickness. Nutrition is another key factor with properly formulated feed rations with optimal amounts and concentrations of calcium and phosphorous, generally regarded as 3.50 to 3.75 per cent calcium and 0.45 per cent phosphorus.

All other things being equal (e.g. correct photoperiod and feed rations) young layer flocks will always produce eggs with thicker and stronger shells. This means farmers should expect a higher incidence of thinner shells and correspondingly higher shell breakage with older flocks and those laying eggs several months after moulting.

Monitoring and managing flock health is also important in respect of eggshell quality because diseases such as infectious bronchitis and Newcastle disease are responsible for eggshell abnormalities with respect to shape and texture.

Eggs having so called ‘body checks’ can be a particularly significant factor in eggshell and egg quality. Such eggs will have been cracked and damaged in the uterus during early shell formation with further shell material subsequently laid over the crack. Producers can minimise this problem of body checks by: • By ensuring that caged hens are not in overcrowded conditions, because it is continual contact of hens with each other and the sides of the cage which leads to a high incidence of the ‘body check’ damage.

• Avoid hanging onto flocks for too long because older birds produce a higher incidence of eggs with ‘body check’.

• Install and use a lighting programme that is

Many factors affect the general functional quality of the egg shell.

Many management factors combine to ensure conservation of eggshell quality.

Frequent egg collection will prevent stains on eggshell.

no longer than the longest natural light in open houses.

Management procedures that will ensure a high overall aesthetic egg quality include: • Frequent egg collection which helps to prevent the build-up and accumulation of dirt soil and stains on the eggshell.

• Ensure temperature of the egg washing water is 11°C (20°F) higher than the temperature of egg contents, as this will assist in preventing thermal cracks. In poultry parlance these are often called 'blind checks'.

Modern in-line commercial egg collection has gone a long way to reduce the incidence of checked and cracked eggs, but producers should still be aware that deficiencies in their egg collection system can be responsible for high and costly levels of shell damage.

Keeping eggs free from microbiological contamination is perhaps the most critically important aspect of egg quality, and certainly in relation to consumer health and protection and the reputation of the egg producer. Best practice in egg washing and egg handling must be followed with use of an appropriate and proper sanitising agent to maintain high standards of shell cleanness and eggs free from bacterial contamination. h

By Dr Terry Mabbett

14 African Farming - May/June 2013

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NEWS

Biocontrol product reduces mortality in poultry by 43.9 per cent POULTRY FED WITH maize that had been treated with aflasafe experienced reduced mortality in addition to other benefits, according to a new study by scientists from IITA and the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

To unravel the benefits of aflasafe in the poultry industry, researchers set up a feeding experiment involving 1,020 broilers that used the following feed formulations: aflasafe maize without binders, host farm’s feed with binders, contaminated feed with binders, and contaminated feed without binders.

The broilers were fed for eight weeks.

Results showed that the use of maize from aflasafetreated feeds reduced mortality rate by 43.9 per cent, feed intake dropped by 10.4 per cent, and there was an increase of 3.3 per cent in feed conversion ratio.

Unveiling details of the results to stakeholders at a conference in Lagos, Dr Ranajit Bandyopadhyay, IITA Pathologist, said the results demonstrated the impact of aflasafe—a biological control product developed by IITA for controlling aflatoxins.

Produced by toxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus, aflatoxins have become a menace in developing countries, contaminating about 25 per cent of grains produced in the region. The aftermath effects of consuming aflatoxin-contaminated grains include stunting in children, liver cancer, and even death.

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After more than a decade, scientists at IITA have developed a biological control product named aflasafe that is controlling grain contamination in Africa.

The impact of aflasafe on the poultry industry—one of the major consumers of maize—has been hailed by stakeholders. “We are excited with these results because the use of aflasafe is a cheaper and safer solution for the poultry sector,” says Dr Emmanuel Ewuola of the Department of Animal Science, University of Ibadan, who supervised the animal feeding experiment. He added that with aflasafe grain poultry farmers would not need aflatoxin binders in feeds.

Dr Ayoola Odutan, Managing Director of Amo farms, who is also the Chairman of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, in his presentation, cited IITA for the work, stressing that the future is bright for the poultry industry because science-led outputs such as the discovery of aflasafe that improves the quality of maize have come to the rescue of the industry.

The Managing Director of Doreo Partners, Mr Kola Masha, in his presentation, cited the economic gains of using aflasafe. He said that the result of the feeding trial translates into an estimated increase in profitability of about US$3,200 (over 500,000 naira) for every 10,000 birds.

Supplier of automated hatchery equipment E-CAT AS A major supplier of hatchery automation worldwide is marketing innovative products designed to totally review work principles in a hatchery today.

"Our solid background of many years of know-how in the hatchery automation industry enables us to provide our customers with a full range of turnkey automated systems for eggs, chicks, trays and waste handling, as well as highly specialised In Ovo Injection, egg vaccination and egg candling systems," said a company release. "Our equipment range can cope with different capacities of hatcheries ranging from 10,000 to 120,000 chicks/hour.

The conception within our company is to make available the advanced technologies but with the spares and after sales service being of paramount importance."

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POULTRY

Biological contamination of egg contents by microbes is affected by the capaciy of the eggshell to prevent or inhibit entry, invasion and infection, by bacteria, fungi and viruses.

The role of water in the life of a chicken

I

T IS ALMOST impossible to overemphasise the importance of water to poultry flocks. A chicken is 70 per cent water; a loss of only 10 per cent of that water will result in the bird’s death. And, a single day without water will cause a layer to stop laying.

Water is a major component of blood and plays a major role in transporting to the cells and carrying waste away. It fills almost all space in the cells and between them. It lubricates the joints. Water also is a primary element in two of the most important processes that occur in chickens — digestion and respiration, which is key to thermoregulation.

Drinking from poultry nipples on the BriteTap Chicken Waterer.

Chickens need sufficient water when they eat to soften the food in the crop.

Digestion Digestion begins as soon as a bird picks up a bit of feed. Saliva, which is largely water, lubricates the food, helping it pass down the oesophagus into the crop.

Chickens need sufficient water when they eat to soften the food in the crop. Dry feed can form clumps in the crop, which can press on the bird’s carotid artery, causing blood flow to the brain to lessen. This can cause paralysis and possible death.

Susan Watkins, an extension poultry specialist for the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas, said it is equally important to remember that nature designed chickens and turkeys to swallow whole seeds and bugs. Water is needed to soften the feed so that digestion in the stomach is more effective.

Enzymes and acids begin to break down the food as it moves into the proventriculus, the first part of a chicken’s stomach. As it breaks down, it then moves into the muscular gizzard (or ventriculus), which some have likened to chicken teeth. Here peristaltic action combined with grit in the gizzard grinds the food even more, turning it into a liquid emulsion.

16 African Farming - May/June 2013

Most of the absorption of nutrients occurs as this emulsion moves through the small intestine. The small intestine is lined with villi, projections that increase the amount of area available for absorption of nutrients into the blood. Undigested food then moves into the large intestine. The large intestine is much shorter than the small intestine and its primary function is to absorb the remaining water. This is important in helping birds maintain their body water balance. When chickens acquire an organic or inorganic substance that causes them to have diarrhoea, the food and water speed through the large intestine too fast for the water resorption to occur. This can cause the birds to dehydrate.

Respiration Respiration in birds is more than just breathing. It also involves delivering oxygen to cells to allow the chemical breakdown of nutrients that produce energy. A result of that reaction is carbon dioxide, which is carried by the blood stream to the lungs where it is expired as waste when the chicken exhales.

The chicken respiratory system is very important in thermoregulation. Birds have no sweat glands and must rely on other means of losing heat as the temperature rises. At 29.5°C, birds will begin to pant. This has a cooling effect because panting increases the rate of evaporation. This will also cause the bird to be thirstier and increase its water intake on hot days.

Birds also attempt to increase evaporation by spreading their wings, allowing more air to penetrate the insulating feathers and reach the skin. At this point it is imperative the flock have unlimited access to fresh water. Without sufficient water, birds will begin to exhibit signs of heat stress. Among those signs are the comb and wattles which become shrunken and bluish; the tendons on the back of the legs stand out prominently; and the bird droppings are off colour. Heat stress can be life threatening.

Water quality Water molecules consist of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen. But, water is a mixture of a variety of substances dissolved or suspended in it. And, those added materials can drastically affect flock performance.

“Unfortunately, as the modern broiler becomes more and more efficient in its growth and feed conversion, it will become less and less tolerant of stressors with a significant stressor being poor water quality.

What might have had no impact on birds 15 years ago, could be devastating for the bird of today,” said Watkins.

Ideally, water should be clear, odourless and tasteless for the poultry flock. It should have no bacteria in it. Certain levels of minerals and chemicals appear to have little or no effect on poultry flocks. But,

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POULTRY

Poultry nipples for smallholders POULTRY NIPPLES ARE used extensively in the watering systems used by commercial poultry operations. However, these commercial watering systems were designed for owners with thousands, or tens of thousands of chickens. Commercial systems incorporate water pressure regulators, high pressure flushing valves, electrical antiroosting devices and other components that are suitable for large scale poultry keeping, but too complicated, too expensive, and too large for backyard poultry keepers.

The BriteTap™ poultry nipple chicken waterer is designed for smallscale chicken keepers, but incorporates many of the benefits of largescale commercial poultry watering systems. However, the BriteTap waterer does so at a fraction of the cost. The BriteTap waterer features the following: A closed-system design that includes poultry nipples. This design shields the chicken's water from dirt and droppings so it stays sanitary and owners don't need to clean the waterer on a daily basis.

Clean-Out plugs on the ends of the waterer allow owners to clean the

interior with a bottle brush. These clean out plugs are an inexpensive replacement for the high pressure flushing mechanisms used by commercial poultry watering equipment. Benefits include: • Clear plastic construction so owners can see the interior of the waterer when cleaning it rather than relying on high-pressure flushing equipment required in large-scale systems.

• Anti-roosting is achieved by designing the BriteTap waterer so that tit sits very close to the wall of the water supply tank. Chickens don't have space to roost on the BriteTap waterer so they can't soil it with their droppings. The design eliminates the need for mechanical or electrical anti-roosting devices.

• Easy set up and maintenance - The BriteTap can be mounted to any food-grade plastic container or to a standard water cooler. Set up takes just a few minutes and does not require special tools or rigging as is the case with commercial poultry watering systems.

For more information about the BriteTap waterer, visit www.ChickenWaterer.com

when those levels exceed the norms, birds either sicken or stop drinking, or both. Additionally, bacteria in the water can have a serious impact on a flock. If the particular flock is a breeder/parent stock operation, the disease can be passed on to the eggs, resulting in diseased chicks.

Generally, it has been assumed that potable water is of sufficient quality for poultry. However, The Poultry Industry Council of Canada suggests that may not be the case. It pointed out in its Factsheet #111 2000, “Water Quality for Poultry”: “Water quality is determined by a number of criteria; however, it is difficult to define what constitutes good quality drinking water for poultry since many of the standards have been derived from those developed for other livestock or humans. In addition, many guidelines have been based on the effects on mortality rather than on performance.

Interactions that occur between minerals, as well as the actual quantity of water consumed, also make it difficult to establish an exact toxic level for any one element.”

It is critical that producers have their water tested so they know what their flocks are consuming. Additionally, the testing should not be a one-time event but should be done regularly. Water quality can change over time.

“Qualities to look for include turbidity, taste, odour and colour.

Turbidity results from materials in suspension, for example, silt, clay, algae or organic matter. Turbid waters are unpalatable and they clog the delivery system. Water should not taste bitter, sweet, salty or sour, since such impressions are usually the effect of salts.

Bitter tasting water may be contaminated by iron and

manganese sulfates. Iron gives the water a reddish or brownish colour; copper tends to turn the water bluish. On the other hand, the water may be clear without being safe. The presence of total dissolved solids is not visible in ‘clear’ water,” according to the Poultry Water Quality Consortium in its “Poultry Water Quality Handbook.”

Water is a basic element of life. Producers who want to optimise their flock performance would be well advised to spend time evaluating the amounts and quality of water provided to their birds. h

Chickens need sufficient water when they eat to soften the food in the crop.

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POULTRY PROCESSING

New research at the Georgia Institute of Technology has added to understanding of biological nitrogen removal (BNR) in poultry processing facilities, particularly for system optimisation for resilience and efficiency.

Assessment of biological nitrogen removal in poultry processing

S

UFFICIENT WASTE WATER (pre)treatment capacity is needed at poultry processing facilities to control effluent quality, eg, biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, ammonia and phosphorus, according to Dr Spyros G. Pavlostathis and Malek G. Hajaya of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta in a report of their latest study sponsored by the US Poultry & Egg Association.

Although the combination of nitrification and denitrification leads to efficient nitrogen removal, poorly understood factors periodically lead to system upsets and incomplete nitrogen removal, they explain.

Ammonia is a poultry processing wastewater component that requires a high degree of removal before the final disposal of the treated wastewater. As discharge effluent limits are being established for total nitrogen, not just ammonia, nitrogen removal will become an even more pressing issue for poultry processing facilities, especially those with direct effluent discharge. The overall objective of this research project was to systematically assess the effect of conditions/parameters that can affect the efficiency of biological nitrogen removal (BNR) in poultry processing facilities by conducting targeted sampling in such facilities as well as longterm bench-scale testing.

Nitrification and denitrification tests conducted with mixed liquor samples collected at a poultry processing wastewater treatment plant during warm (autumn) and cold (winter) seasons confirmed reports that low temperature conditions are more detrimental to nitrification than to denitrification.

A laboratory-scale, multi-stage BNR system maintained at room temperature (22-24째C) was continuously fed with poultry processing wastewater amended with a mixture of three benzalkonium chlorides (BAC), a class of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs). The nitrogen removal efficiency initially deteriorated at a BAC feed concentration of 5mg per litre due to 18 African Farming - May/June 2013

Nitrogen removal will become a more pressing issue for poultry processing facilities.

severe inhibition of nitrification in the unacclimated system. However, the system recovered after 27 days of operation, achieving high nitrogen removal efficiency, even after the feed BAC concentration was stepwise increased up to 120mg per litre.

The same high nitrogen removal efficiency was retained when the system was operated at 10째C with BAC-amended poultry processing wastewater.

Microbial acclimation to and degradation of BAC was responsible for the successful operation of the BNR system with the BAC-amended poultry processing wastewater. Batch assays performed before, during, and post BAC exposure showed that

the development of BAC biotransformation capacity and the acquisition of resistance to BAC, especially by the nitrifiers, contributed to the recovery of nitrification and led to a high nitrogen removal efficiency.

Simulations using a comprehensive mathematical BNR model developed for this research accurately described the fate and effect of BAC in the BNR system when the interactions between adsorption, inhibition, and resistance/biotransformation were considered within the conditions prevailing in each reactor of the BNR system. Adsorption determines the level of the inhibitory effect of BAC, while BAC biotransformation and resistance determine www.africanfarming.net

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the extent of exposure of the microbial communities to BAC. Finally, the inhibitory effect of BAC is reduced, if not completely removed, by the development of BAC resistance and biotransformation capacity.

The Georgia researchers concluded that the results of their study will enable the rational design and operation of BNR systems for the efficient treatment of QACbearing wastewater. The outcome of this research provides information presently lacking, supporting the continuous use of QACs as antimicrobial agents in poultry processing facilities, when and where needed, while avoiding any negative impacts on biological treatment systems and the environment.

Pavlostathis and Hajaya added that, given the benefits of using QACs as effective sanitation chemicals in poultry processing facilities, the effectiveness of biological processes for the degradation of QACs in order to avoid process upsets, especially for the nitrification step, should be further evaluated using alternative process configurations (e.g. sequential batch reactors, fixed-film reactors) in order to capture process variability across the entire poultry processing industry. h

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Country Bird secures US$25mn World Bank loan IN ORDER TO increase capacity at its plants in South Africa, Country Bird has secured a US$25mn loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group The IFC, which funds private-sector ventures in developing countries, has granted the poultry and stock feed company a five-year loan.

A spokesperson from Country Bird said, “The proposed transaction will result in a long-term strategic relationship with the IFC.” Under its expansion programme, Country Bird claimed that day-old chick production will increase from 12.8mn to 14.6mn per year at its Ramaphatle breeder farm in Botswana, and from 12.4mn to 26.8mn at its

Chainda farm in Zambia.

The company added that it will also increase its feed mill capacity from 60,000 tons to 108,000 tons per annum in Zambia.

The chicken processing capacity at its Mafikeng plant will meanwhile increase to 41.4mn a year from 28.8mn, while soya deactivation plants will also be installed at two of its feed mills in South Africa, the company said.

Country Bird’s share price recently rose by 2.18 per cent to US$0.40, bringing its growth over the past six months to 15.4 per cent.

The company’s share price also rose sharply last month following South Africa’s plan to impose anti-dumping duties on imported Brazilian chicken.

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SILK MOTH FARMING

Madagascar’s political, economic, environmental and social path has been rocky and convoluted for several decades. Its forests have been decimated, both in terms of flora and fauna, and its rural communities and farmers face an uncertain future, but there is a flutter of hope in the form of silk moth farming.

Madagascar’s metamorphosis A very healthy Saturniidae silk moth larva caterpillar enjoying a leaf of its talandoha host food plant.

A

FLUTTER OF hope, in the form of silk moth farming, offers a new and creative means of income generation through textile production, but one that brings with it the added possibility of providing a sustainable and nutritious source of protein from moth pupae. And by encouraging local communities to farm silk moths to produce unique and marketable high-quality textile, the protein by-product may also help them move away from the practice of bush meat hunting, thereby conserving their unique environment in the process.

Change in Madagascar has, for decades, been of a destructive kind with the decimation of animal populations through bush meat trading and local consumption, destruction of habitat through deforestation by both industrial logging and through mainly endemic slash-and-burn agriculture practices called ‘tavy’. Although millions of dollars in conservation aid reaches the country each year, it seems that the Malagasy people are aware positive change is needed.

Thankfully, a focussed band of NGOs are making it their business to make a difference. African Farming decided to take a look at the work of one such NGO, CPALI, whose out-of-the-box creative thinking is introducing silk-moth farming as a means of income generation through silk textile production. It is also exploring the viability and popularity of ‘pupae-as-protein’, to replace the need for bushmeat hunting and deliver a much-needed source of nutrients and protein to a seriously malnourished population.

CPALI and SEPALIM CPALI, headed by Dr Catherine Craig, is a small Harvard-Universitybased US NGO funded by private donors and grants. CPALI has founded SEPALIM, the Malagasy NGO on the ground and implementing the silk-moth programme. SEPALIM is headed by President and CEO, Mamy Ratsimbazafy, responsible for all on-theground operations conducted by a small but dedicated team of seven, conducting such activities as: women’s programmes, farmer recruitment, textile and field training.

The textile project began in 2009 as wild silk production, to help farmers displaced from the Makira Protected Area, or MPA in the NE of the country. The pupae-for-protein project has emerged from this

20 African Farming - May/June 2013

and is currently being researched, including the sampling of leaves of the Talandoa host plant, aimed at understanding how the plant grows in different types of soils, and how pupae feeding on the leaves in different growing environments differ for nutritional content.

Wild silk moth pupae and caterpillars have been a traditional food in Madagascar for centuries - 60 per cent of Saturniidae caterpillar dry mass is protein, with the remainder high in fat and mineral content so, the project is not introducing something unfamiliar, it’s simply taking a scientific understanding to the communities who, armed with fresh knowledge, can conduct a viable agri-business model delivering regular and sustainable working income and generating food in the process – and aiding conservation, too.

Farmers are currently raising the endemic Saturniidae species, Antherina suraka, and ensuring the caterpillar stage has its native food plant, Polycias bakeriana (Araliaceae), in sufficient quantity to sustain it. Unlike most projects that gather caterpillars and pupae, the moths’ host plants are also being farmed and farmers intercrop host trees on existing farms and recover degraded sites. SEPALIM breeders produce chrysalides from which adults emerge and the females are then put on the host trees to lay their eggs. Pupae and cocoons are harvested twice a year. The team trains these rural communities, including members of farmers’ families, to make the cocoons into a unique, non-spun textile, which can increase a single-family income by US$90-200, which is significant, considering annual incomes average US$70/yr. The nonspun, patent-pending, silk textile is currently marketed in Australia, Europe and the US (visit: www.source4style.com; www.habutextil.com).

Only a percentage of pupae are required to maintain the silk producing element of the project, with a large number of pupae being a by-product offering a protein alternative to lemurs and other species targeted by bush meat hunters.

From the horse’s ‘moth’ African Farming spoke with Harvard University-based CPALI President, Catherine Craig PhD, to tell us more.

AF: How is the project addressing the needs of farmers in and around the MPA and other regions, and how many types of pupae/moth are being farmed?

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SILK MOTH FARMING

Several silk moth farmers and the women’s group leader whose lives have changed as a result of the silk moth programme.

CC: Currently only our target silk producer, Antherina suraka – but in the future we hope to add at least three species. We are initiating research on the protein content of those in the coming two years, depending on funding, and hope to extend the project to other communities. Our aim is to create jobs where there are none, and to introduce new means of sustainable protein production that is accessible to even the poorest farmers.

AF: Where does a farmer begin the process, and how difficult is it to undertake?

CC: The project is simple and inexpensive to implement. Farmers need to plant the host plants for two years before they can raise a full crop of larvae. We start them off with seedlings. The only expensive part is maintaining a staff and the costs involved in training farmers and textile producers, which requires a great deal of dedication, because these farmers have not raised larvae previously, nor have they had much education. Hence, they need to learn ‘how to learn’.

AF: How much can farmers earn from silk production and what interest is there?

CC: US$30 can be earned producing 4,000 cocoons, which weigh about one kilo; textile producers earn about US$18 for the production of a 1m x 1m piece of textile. As for food by-product, we don’t have data yet, but we know that about 25 per cent of farmers in the community are interested in silk production. But by adding pupae, we are increasing the value of silk production to the farmer who can either eat the pupae or sell them, once 250 have been set aside for the next year’s ‘seed’ crop. We plan to introduce consumption of pupae after the cocoon has been produced, so we have two products from a single agricultural product and two markets: local market – food, and international market - textile.

AF: How does the nutritional analysis and silk differ between species?

CC: We suspect that nutritional content will vary depending on the host plant. Different species of caterpillars feed on different host plants, so that will likely influence species differences. Different silk producers also spin different colours of silk with different molecular, structural and morphological qualities that give them different uses.

AF: What are the main challenges to overcome?

CC: The main challenges are unusual weather conditions with longer than usual rainy seasons, or a rainy season that starts late, and very hot temperatures. The insects must be reared on shaded trees, but when the

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trees are young they do not produce enough foliage. The temperature affects when the adult emerges from the chrysalis and, hence, the initiation of rearing season. Currently we have two major rearing seasons in our area with our target species. The new species we are working on and hope to introduce have one lifecycle per year, but they produce a much larger cocoon. The goal is to have a mix of silk producers that feed on host plants representing a forest succession: open field, secondary forest, and primary forest, with the farmers intercropping host plants on existing farms.

AF: How many communities are involved and how easy is it to conduct your operations?

CC: The latest data show there are 271 farmers and 51 SEPALI Members involved – you have to plant 250 trees to be a member. There are 54 trained breeders and 27 current, practicing breeders, as well as 16 producers – these are famers who have deposited cocoons into the cocoon bank. There are 11 farmer groups across 13 communities, and six women’s groups making textile. Only women are involved in textile production and only those who produce cocoons can make textile, due to its high value.

Communication and contact are very tough, with personnel, equipment, cocoons and pupae transported by boat on the river. We use cell phones and written messages sent by canoe up river, and sometimes via radio broadcasts, but there is no cell coverage in the villages. The team communicates to the wider world via internet from Maroantsetra.

AF: In relation to other forms of income generation, how viable is pupae farming?

CC: For subsistence farmers, few opportunities to earn money exist and that is why the CPALI programme was conceived. The beauty of our project is that it creates many different types of jobs for different skill sets: arborists, cocoon producers, cocoon processors, textile producers and product producers. Farmers can deposit cocoons into our cocoon bank and build up cash returns, for withdrawal at any time. If farmers produce two kilos (8,000), the target number, they double their income. 8,000 cocoons can be made into about 5 sq m of textile, making about US$70. We don’t yet know what the selling price per pound of pupae will be but in the capital, Antananarivo, the cost of Borocera pupae is US$2-4 (4,000-8,000Ariary) per kg. The cost of zebu or beef is US$45. 4,000 cocoons is 4-8 kg of protein, so profits double if pupae are sold.

AF: What is the potential long-term Impact of the project in Makira, Madagascar and Africa as a whole, and what outside support does CEPALI need?

CC: Silkworms are found all over the world and could be developed as a ‘conservation industry’ generating two different income streams – food and cash. Our goal is to build up a valuable barrier forest around the MPA and give people the means to be able to respect the protected area. We also want to focus on Malagasy flora and fauna and emphasise the development of endemic species of silk producers over non-native species.

CPALI needs continued outside financial support to enable SEPALIM project expansion to new areas and to make use of new species of silk producers. In particular, we need to grow the SEPALIM staff so that we can implement the programme throughout the Makira Area. Our longterm goal is to establish a farm school in our new demonstration site where we can train lead farmers from other sites bordering parks and protected areas on how to raise silkworms for food and silk production.

We also hope that the CPALI/SEPALIM programme will be introduced into mainland Africa. We are particularly interested in adapting it to border forests that surround those forests serving as important, primate sanctuaries, where local communities need new sources of protein to replace bush meat, as well as jobs. To get involved please contact: ccraig@cpali.org, or mamycpali@gmail.com.

AF: Thank you. h

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S06 AF MayJune 2013 Ethiopia_Layout 1 20/05/2013 12:13 Page 22

A new project will help livestock and irrigated agriculture farmers to improve their livelihoods through value chain improvement.

Market boost for Ethiopian farmers

LIVES hopes to improve the income of small-scale farmers through value chain development in livestock.

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NEW PROJECT which will directly support the Government of Ethiopia’s effort to transform smallholder agriculture to be more marketoriented was launched on 22 January by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), both members of the CGIAR Consortium (the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research). The research project is entitled “Livestock and Irrigation Value chains for Ethiopian Smallholders – LIVES”. The LIVES project is supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and will be jointly implemented

by ILRI, IWMI, the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural research (EIAR), the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and regional Bureaus of Agriculture, Livestock Development Agencies, Agricultural Research Institutes and other development projects.

LIVES project manager, Azage Tegegne stated that this is “an

22 African Farming - May/June 2013

excellent opportunity for CGIAR centres to work hand in hand with Ethiopian research and development institutions”.

Furthermore he emphasised that this project is unique in the way it integrates livestock with irrigation agriculture development. The project is designed to support the commercialisation of smallholder agriculture, through the delivery of testing and scaling lessons to other parts of Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture Wondirad Mandefro, welcomed the project, saying that it would contribute to both the Growth Transformation Plan (GTP) and the Agricultural Growth Program (AGP) of the Ethiopian Government.

Amy Baker, the Canadian head of aid, said she expects this investment to generate technologies, practices and results that can be implemented on larger scales and ultimately benefit millions of Ethiopian smallholder producers as well as the consumers of their products.

The Canadian Ambassador to Ethiopia, David Usher, noted

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ETHIOPIA

that the project is likely to contribute to Ethiopia’s agricultural transformation, improving nutritional status and unlocking sustainable economic growth.

LIVES activities will take place over six years in 31 Ethiopian districts in the regions of Amhara, Oromia, Tigray and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region. LIVES hopes to improve the income of small-scale farmers through value chain development in livestock (dairy, beef, sheep, goats, poultry and beekeeping) and irrigation agriculture (fruits, vegetables and fodder). The project aims to invest over US$18.86mn (CAD 19.26mn) which will directly and indirectly benefit more than 200,000 households engaged in livestock and irrigation agriculture. The project will also improve the skills of over 5,000 public service staff, and work with over 2,100 value chain input and service suppliers at district, zone and federal levels.

Long-term beneficial impact "Projects that support local farmers can help a community in so many ways; not only by providing food and the most appropriate crops, but also by teaching long term skills that can have an impact for years to come," said the Canadian Minister of International Co-operation, Julian Fantino. "The LIVES project teaches smallholder farmers new agricultural techniques and provides technical assistance, training, and mentoring to government specialists. They in turn will provide production and marketing assistance to local farmers. This is a project that helps all areas of farming and agriculture development."

The project will focus on clusters of districts, developing and improving livestock production systems and technologies in animal breeding, feed resources, animal nutrition and management, sustainable forage seed systems, sanitation and animal health, and

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The project is designed to support the commercialisation of smallholder agriculture.

higher market competitiveness. Potential irrigation agriculture interventions include provision of new genetic materials and development of private seedling nurseries, as well as work on seed systems, irrigation management, water use efficiency, water management options, crop cycle management, and pump repair and maintenance.

The main components of the project are capacity development, knowledge management, promotion, commodity value chain development, and documentation of tested and successful interventions. Gender and the environment will be integrated and mainstreamed in all components of the project. h

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PALM OIL

The Heraklese palm oil venture in Cameroon must address the many doubts and worries about such enterprises that abound.

Palm oil plantation in Cameroon: progress or disaster?

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AMEROON’S LOCATION IN the heart of the Central African tropics makes it ideal for palm oil cultivation. Not surprisingly, the new rush by foreign investors for African agricultural land has not left fertile, lush Cameroon unaffected.

A recent Reuters report highlighted some, but far from all, of the reasons the new wave of foreign investments in African farm land is so controversial.

Global demand for palm oil has doubled since 2000 and farming it in the traditional Asian growing countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, etc) has increased challenges and costs. Investors are therefore increasingly looking to Central Africa.

Herakles Farms, owned by New York venture-finance firm Herakles Capital, is one of many investors with plans for huge palm oil holdings in Cameroon. As with all such investments, they promise Cameroonians ‘steady work, roads and health care’.

But not everyone is jumping up with joy at the Herakles investment.

Air of suspicion The concerns expressed are now familiar to anyone who has kept up with the land investment rush in recent years. There are allegations of government leaders doing shady deals behind the backs of the people they lead, fears of displacement and loss of livelihood; and there is also scepticism about the various benefits promised.

Will the jobs and other social benefits promised be equal to or exceed the resource-mining and will there be permanent changes to society? Without details (and monitoring) of the promised “steady work, roads and healthcare”, it is impossible to say.

Herakles is also accused of being underhanded in various ways in how it solicited local community input about its investment plans.

The Reuters article showed that despite years of heated debate about the pros and cons of these large-scale farming investments, very few of the main reasons for conflict have been dealt with by governments or investors.

24 African Farming - May/June 2013

Gobal demand for palm oil has doubled since 2000.

One fear expressed by some of the locals is that the proposed new Herakles palm oil plantation will remove one of the few remaining areas.

For the investors, doing business with strong-arm governments that have little regard for the opinions of their people buys them a sort of stability in often sociopolitically volatile investing environments.

Yet the times have changed to a more open, informed era in which it is no longer quite as easy as before to repress people with complete impunity. Even where government guns can keep a sullen, unhappy population under control, investors now face considerable risks to their reputation and finances if they are allied with governments which neither respect nor represent their people well.

Concerns over livelihoods One fear expressed by some of the locals is that the proposed new Herakles palm oil plantation, which, according to the company, will cover more than “60,000 hectares of land – 10 times the size of Manhattan”, will remove one of the few remaining areas suitable for community food cropping. Will 20, 30 or 40 years of mostly low-wage ‘steady work’ compensate for this kind of loss?

Regarding the low-paid jobs that will be on offer, it is a toss-up whether such jobs will mean an overall improvement in the livelihoods of the workers concerned, and of the communities.

The lack of cash economies in remote, poorly-developed rural areas often wins in the argument over whether to welcome investments such as that proposed by Herakles. The attitude is that steady income is better than subsistence farming.

But if an extended family is giving up their ancestral land (their source of food security, cultural grounding, ‘belonging’, www.africanfarming.net

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PALM OIL

independence, etc.) for one or a handful of its members to have wages, the net gain is highly debatable.

Long-term investment A huge investment such as that proposed by Herakles, however, will surely act as an anchor for other kinds of investment in the area, increasing job opportunities and general economic prospects? Not necessarily, and certainly not automatically.

In the absence of a dedicated plan to lure accompanying services to the area, those ‘new opportunities’ that will spring up on their own are likely to be brothels, bars and so forth. Single large agricultural or mining investors that come to dominate an area have initiated this trend all over Africa, and many places elsewhere.

When the large extractive investor pulls out for whatever reason, even after a decade-long presence, there is often no long-term ‘development’ left behind.

When there has not been a long-term plan between the area-dominant investor and the government, not only does the ‘steady work’ evaporate, so do the means to keep the local services running. In addition, the environmental mess and the

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Aerial view of the the Herakles palm oil plantation.

social and cultural dislocation are often such that the community can no longer simply resort to their previous subsistence agricultural existence.

This is the reality of many similar investments all over Africa. One would have hoped that all these previous experiences would inform the discussion between Herakles and the Cameroonian government, but there is little indication that this is the case.

The main investment driver’s stated motivations are fascinating to hear. Bruce Wrobel, chief executive of Herakles Farms, is not the stereotypical culturally deaf and

blind foreign investor who cares about nothing else as long as he has the minister or president’s signature.

According to Reuters, “Since a 1999 visit to West Africa during the civil wars of Sierra Leone and Liberia, Wrobel’s aim has been to mix business with philanthropy in order to assist the continent.”

Wrobel’s credentials are further bolstered by how he reportedly helped cut telephone costs for millions of East Africans via a joint venture with Seacom to install fibre-optic cables across the region. A hydro-plant run

by Wrobel’s Sithe Global Power company in Uganda has also helped reduce power blackouts in the country.

Part of the history of the foreign exploitation of Africa over the last 100 years, however, is that very often the exploiters have claimed to be motivated by pity for Africans. It is tired, it is old, and it is increasingly met with suspicion.

If Wrobel really wants to show a new model of ethical farming investment at a time of growing scepticism, the best way he can do so is by practically showing that his Cameroonian palm oil venture is addressing the many doubts and worries about such enterprises. h

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BIOCONTROL

Food quality and safety issues resulting from aflatoxin contamination have presented a serious obstacle to programmes designed to improve nutrition and agricultural production. This article looks at an innovative biocontrol solution.

Tackling killer aflatoxins in African food crops

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ETWEEN 2004 AND 2006, nearly 200 Kenyans died after consuming maize contaminated with high levels of aflatoxins and in 2010 over two million bags of maize in the Eastern and Central provinces were found to be highly contaminated and were not tradeable. Women, children and the poor are the most vulnerable to prolonged exposure.

Research conducted by Leeds University and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) found that 99 per cent of children at weaning age in Benin and Togo are exposed to health risks linked to aflatoxin.

Aflatoxins are highly toxic chemical poisons produced mainly by the fungus Aspergillus flavus in maize, groundnuts and yam chips; they also affect other high value crops such as oilseeds and edible nuts. The cancer-causing fungal chemicals impede growth and development, cause liver disease and also act as an immune-suppressant so that affected individuals become susceptible to a wide range of diseases. Livestock are also at risk and poultry are particularly susceptible.

Cattle are not so susceptible but, if they are fed on contaminated feed, the toxin ‘Aflatoxin M’ passes into the milk.

Aflatoxins also impact international trade. Globally, about US$1.2bn in commerce is lost annually due to aflatoxin contamination, with African economies losing US$450mn each year due to lost trade. Aflatoxins are also non-tariff barriers to international trade since agricultural products that have more than the permissible levels of contamination (four parts per billion in the EU) are banned. Exported goods have to comply with the food safety and quality requirements of importing countries, and quality plays an important role in increasing trade volumes and assuring the competitiveness of African food products. With agricultural development a global priority, local procurement and robust market access efforts are being scaled up in sub-Saharan Africa.

However, food quality and safety issues resulting from aflatoxin contamination have presented a significant obstacle to programmes designed to improve nutrition and agricultural production while linking small farmers to markets.

Infection by aflatoxin-producing fungi can occur at any stage, from pre-harvest to storage and detection methods commonly used in developed countries are too expensive, complex and time-consuming for most African farmers to implement. The use of aflatoxin-tolerant cultivars, management of insect pests and use of moisture-and-insect-proof storage can help to control aflatoxins, but biocontrol has proved to be a practical and effective method of reducing aflatoxins in the field.

The United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) developed an innovative biocontrol solution that reduced aflatoxins during crop development and postharvest storage. IITA, in partnership with USDA-ARS and the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF), successfully adapted this technology for use in Nigeria 26 African Farming - May/June 2013

Aflasafe rekindles farmers' hopes in Nigeria.

Aflatoxins are highly toxic chemical poisons produced mainly by the fungus Aspergillus flavus in maize, groundnuts and yam chips. and elsewhere in Africa. The natural, non-toxic, biocontrol product - aflasafe - uses indigenous strains of A. flavus that do not produce aflatoxins (called atoxigenic strains). These are applied to ‘push out’ their toxic cousins from the field in a process called ‘competitive exclusion’. When appropriately applied prior to plant flowering, these native atoxigenic strains completely exclude aflatoxin producers.

IITA suggest sprinkling aflasafe in a field by hand two to three weeks before the flowering stage of maize to prevent aflatoxin contamination while the crop remains in the field, and subsequently in storage. Even if the grains are not stored properly, or get wet during or after harvest, the product continues to prevent aflatoxin contamination.

On-station trials of aflasafe in Zaria, Ikenne, Mokwa and Ibadan showed a drop in aflatoxin contamination in maize by 50-99 per cent. In 2009, Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control accorded provisional registration status to aflasafe and permitted treatment of farmers’ fields to generate product efficacy data for obtaining full registration. Field testing of aflasafe between 2009 and 2012 has produced extremely positive results: aflatoxin contamination of maize and groundnut was consistently reduced by 80-90 per cent, in some cases even as high as 99 per cent. In 2011, IITA deployed about 14 tonnes of aflasafe in more than 450 maize and groundnut farms. www.africanfarming.net

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BIOCONTROL

Projects in Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia In 2011, IITA launched two projects that cover Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia to provide farmers with a natural, safe and costeffective solution to aflatoxin contamination in maize and groundnut. In Kenya, IITA identified four competitive atoxigenic strains isolated from locally-grown maize to constitute a biocontrol product called aflasafe-KE01. IITA researchers are currently gathering efficacy data in areas where the technology will be deployed in the country. In Zambia, the project will also develop a country-specific biocontrol product, in addition to mapping the incidence of aflatoxin in maize.

In Nigeria, where the biocontrol technology is most advanced, extension agencies have adopted the technology.

IITA is currently constructing a low-cost manufacturing facility in its Ibadan campus to optimise and adapt the manufacturing process to a developing country context, as well as develop and test viable commercialisation models of aflasafe. The manufacturing plant will have a capacity to produce five tonnes of aflasafe per hour. Market linkages between aflasafe-users, poultry producers and quality-conscious food processors are also being created to promote aflasafe adoption, in collaboration with the private sector.

The success of the project has led to expansion of biocontrol research in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Zambia. IITA is optimistic that Kenya and Senegal will have their own fully registered version of aflasafe within two years, Burkina Faso in three and Zambia in four. In 2012, at the G20 meeting in Mexico, G20 leaders announced an initiative designed to enhance global food security and improve the livelihoods of farmers in developing countries through prizes

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The success of the project has led to expansion of biocontrol research in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Zambia. and market-based incentives. The ‘AgResults’ initiative included aflasafe as one of the first three pilot projects for incentivising adoption of agricultural technologies by the poor.

IITA’s experience in Nigeria has shown that the cost of biocontrol (US$1.5 per kg, with a recommended usage of 10kg/ha) is affordable for most farmers in the country. The Institute has also calculated that adoption of this biocontrol technology with other management practices will reduce aflatoxin contamination by more than 70 per cent in maize and groundnut, increase crop value by at least 25 per cent and improve the health of children and women.

Reducing aflatoxin contamination should also improve agricultural trade. In Senegal and the Gambia, for example, aflasafe-SN01 could reinstate groundnut exports to the EU, lost due to aflatoxin ontamination. The World Bank has estimated that in Senegal, added capital investment cost of US$4.1mn and 15 per cent recurring cost would attract a 30 per cent price increase for groundnut oil cake. Exports would increase from 25,000 tonnes to 210,000 tonnes. The increased export volume and price would annually add US$281mn to groundnut exports. For confectionery groundnut, adherence to good management practices would increase export value by US$45mn annually. h

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GRAIN STORAGE

Researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) have introduced an improved metal silo that will help local farmers preserve grain from season to season. Mwangi Mumero reports.

Improved metal silo

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RAIN STORAGE IS a serious problem for maize farmers in Eastern Africa especially during times of good harvests.

During the 1997/98 El nino rains, farmers in Ukambani and Mbeere region in Kenya’s Eastern Province encountered huge grain harvests-unprecedented for over two generations. Many farmers were caught unawares - with a huge harvest but no storage facilities. Another area where a similar problem was experienced was Homa Bay, in Nyanza region.

“We literally had to sell part of our produce at a throwaway price to middlemen. Other grain harvests decomposed in the village as our small silos were full beyond capacity”, said Esther Nduku, a smallholder farmer from Mbeere South County.

Ironically, this is the region that has to perpetually rely on food donations from government and aid organisations due to incessant drought cycles that affect the area.

The CIMMYT metal silo is an airtight cylindrical metal structure constructed by trained local tinsmith for grain storage. Metal silos are of various capacities ranging from two to 20 bags. They are made of galvanised metal to reduce rusting.

Workshop on making metal silos for grain storage, Kenya.

Maize is core to food security, rural development and poverty reduction in eastern and southern Africa.

“Lack of appropriate grain storage technologies results in significant losses due to post-harvest pests - the larger grain borer and the maize weevil - undermines food security, forces farmers to sell maize when prices are low, and blocks value addition and credit opportunities to poor households,” observed Tadele Tefera, Project leader with CIMMYT. In many rural households, losses of 10-20 per cent of grain is reported in the first three

Lack of appropriate grain storage technologies results in significant losses due to post-harvest pests. months after storage, and this goes up to more than 50 per cent after six months.

A Kenyan agricultural think tank, Egerton University-based Tegemeo Institute, estimates that post harvest losses in Kenya is around 30 per cent of all stored produce. However, with

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GRAIN STORAGE

Sealing metal silos used for maize storage.

the advent of Larger Grain Borer and Aflatoxin, the loss can be over 100 per cent depending on the severity of the outbreak.

As recently as October/November 2009, the harvesting period in Eastern, Central and Coast regions experienced wet weather. This resulted in widespread outbreak of Aflatoxin contamination in these regions making grains unsuitable for human consumption and hence not marketable.

With support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC), the Effective Grain Storage Project seeks ideas on the highly successful experiences in Central and South America and the Caribbean. The silos are relatively cheap - a three-bag silo costs about US$74 (Ksh6,000) and a 20-bag

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silo US$350 (Ksh 30,000) - and with an effective lifetime of more than a decade, the silos more than pay for themselves, in terms of food security and surplus grain savings.

But for the grain storage to be effective, the farmers are required to ensure that the grains are properly dried.

“A handful of grains are mixed with a handful of salt in a dry bottle or glass. The mixture is then shaken. If the salt sticks on the wall of the bottle, then the grains are not properly dried”, said Esther Nduku, a resident of Mutobare location in Mbeere South as she demonstrated the moisture content checking technique.

Nduku has a range of metal silos in her household in which she stores her grain harvested on the family farm.

“After loading the grain through the upper lid, a burning candle is inserted to exhaust or use up the oxygen within it. The lid is then tied with a tight rubber to keep out air”, she explains.

Offloading is periodically done from the lower outlet and the rubber band replaced once the process is complete.

To ensure that the silos are available in the region where farmers need them, CIMMYT has been training local artisans to make them locally.

“The focus of the project is to ensure that farmers use only well-fabricated, high-quality metal silos. We are training artisans who will make and sell these silos," said Fred Kanampiu, CIMMYT agronomist and former project head.

Training of local artisans has taken place in Embu and Homabay over the last three years.

Among the benefits expected from this project is a decreased maize storage loss leading to food security in vulnerable regions.

“Metal silos bring food security to the poor,” said Tefera, the project co-ordinator.

“Not only what farmers harvest, but more importantly, what they store over seasons, could make a difference in their livelihoods.”

Farmers can also use the stored grain as collateral increasing their credit ratings.

“There is also greater stability of maize prices and more reliable grain supply. Employment and business opportunities for manufacturers, traders and processors will also boost local economies”, observed Tafera.

The project has identified World Vision International in Malawi and the Catholic Dioceses of Embu and Homa Bay in Kenya as in-country lead organisations for the experimental implementation of use metal silos in four target areas. h

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POTATOES

IFDC’s 2SCALE project is assisting small-scale potato farmers to double their yields. Agribusiness clusters increase yields and profits; the 2SCALE project aims to keep potato farmers smiling all the way to the bank.

Potatoes for profit in Kenya

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ARMERS IN KENYA’S Meru County, located in the foothills of Mount Kenya, are establishing three clusters to grow high-quality potatoes to sell to a Nairobi-based processor. The clusters, comprised of more than 800 farmers in the communities of Kibirechia, Timau and Kisima, will receive technical backup and initial funding from the project but are expected to become financially independent by December 2013. A business support team contracted by 2SCALE will work closely with the farmers, providing training and year-round monitoring of crop management, marketing and agribusiness management. Farmer training on fertiliser top-dressing and pesticide use was completed in December. Training on accounting and financial management began in January 2013, with weekly sessions continuing over a three- to four-month period.

2SCALE has brought together a range of partners to ensure that all requirements (market, seeds, fertiliser, extension, credit) are in place. The partners include: Equity Bank (a large private sector bank that offers agriculture sector lending); the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA), which will provide crop insurance; training and extension experts; and seed, fertiliser and agrochemical suppliers.

Meru is one of Kenya’s largest potato production areas, with a strong and growing market. But currently it is traders, rather than farmers, who benefit most. In Meru County, the 2SCALE project is focusing on small-scale potato growers, who typically grow potatoes without irrigation on 0.25-0.50-ha plots. The project will help the farmers double their yields through improved production methods, and increase their incomes by one-third by linking them directly to an assured market.

Yields, currently around 12 mt/ha, could be substantially increased with new varieties, fertiliser use and improved crop management.

However, the potato farmers face a number of challenges. Their crops are vulnerable to diseases (particularly blight) and worms known as nematodes. Farm-gate prices fluctuate widely – farmers receive anywhere from US$17.9 - US$53.7 (KSh 1,500 to KSh4,500) per bag, depending on the season. Storage facilities are limited, forcing farmers to sell 30 African Farming - May/June 2013

Kenyans eat more potatoes than any other crop except maize.

soon after the harvest when prices are lowest.

Forming an ABC can overcome many of these problems. A cluster can provide farmers a stable market and fairer prices.

A cluster also allows farmers to share transport, agro-input and other costs and more easily access credit and information. An ABC also guarantees the buyer reliable, high-quality supplies year round.

Who buys, and how much?

Driving the development of the Meru clusters is the ‘business champion’ – Sparta Foods Ltd, a Nairobi-based firm that processes and sells whole, peeled and sliced potatoes to hotels and restaurants. Sparta plans to triple its capacity to 450 mt per month by 2014, and to progressively contract with as many as 4,000 to 5,000 farmers in the next five years. “Our main problem is supply,” explained Audrey Ndubi, managing director of Sparta. “We currently import potatoes from Tanzania when supplies from Kenyan farmers are not adequate. These three clusters will help keep our processing plant running at full capacity throughout the year.”

Building the cluster A 2SCALE-sponsored design and development workshop in November 2012 brought the various cluster partners together.

The meeting and subsequent discussions helped participants identify the right partners, priorities for action in 2013, key constraints and areas in which more research is needed

(for example, identifying HYVs adapted to local conditions). Sparta representatives explained product standards (eg, grade, size, variety) that must be met, while farmers explained the challenges they faced. For example, most farmers use less than one-third of the recommended fertiliser rates because of input shortages and market uncertainties. More training is needed on agronomy, harvest methods (many farmers harvest their potatoes too early) and safe use of CPPs. A key issue is the best method to establish a rotation system, with a staggered planting cycle to ensure a steady supply of potatoes throughout the year.

The discussions highlighted several other issues that will be resolved during the coming growing season – bank loans, payment and tonnage commitments and storage capacities on-farm and at Sparta.

Trials were planted in a farmer’s field in November in the Kisima cluster to compare potato varieties and various levels and combinations of agro-inputs. The trials were harvested in February 2013, providing accurate data on yields and production costs.

The information is being used to create a transparent pricing system attractive to farmers as well as buyers.

“It’s a huge market, because Kenyans eat more potatoes than any other crop except maize,” stated Edward Baars, regional agribusiness co-ordinator of the 2SCALE project in east and southern Africa. “Our job is to help small-scale farmers grow for this market in profitable and sustainable ways.” h www.africanfarming.net

S10 AF MayJune 2013 Advertorial_Layout 1 20/05/2013 12:04 Page 31

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S11 FIXED AF MayJune 2013 Tractors_Layout 1 20/05/2013 11:07 Page 32

TRACTORS

Strong international demand is helping to expand wine and fruit production in some African countries, creating a growth market for tractors suitable for vineyard and orchard work. Michael Williams reports.

Tractor power for fruit and wine growers

T

HIS IS A sector of the tractor market where high horsepower is rarely an advantage and the important priorities are likely to be a small turning circle, compact size including a narrow width for working in vineyards, plus a transmission that is easy to operate with a good choice of low to medium range working speeds. Plenty of lift capacity on the rear linkage is usually an advantage for operating heavy equipment including sprayers, and good fuel efficiency is also important although running costs are generally moderate as most orchard and vineyard tractors are less than 100hp.

Many of the leading manufacturers offer special narrow models for working in vineyards, but ordinary general purpose tractors in the appropriate size range are often used by fruit and wine producers.

Platform and full cab versions are usually available, but cabs have become increasingly popular, particularly on tractors used for fruit and vineyard work which usually includes large amounts of spraying and the cab protects the driver from spray drift.

Recent developments in this sector of the market include improved versions of the Rex F series tractors in the Landini range from Italy. Two models are available, the 75F with a 68hp engine and the 85F producing 81.5hp, both using four-cylinder Perkins engines and equipped with a four-speed shuttle gearbox providing 12 speeds forwards and in reverse. Maximum lift capacity on the rear linkage is 2600kg, four-wheel drive is standard and the maximum steering angle is 55 deg.

The list of design changes on the latest Rex models includes more precise adjustment of the rear linkage sensitivity and the p-t-o engagement has been improved. The cab interior is updated with a more user-friendly controls layout, a front p-t-o and three-point hitch have been added to the options list and cab and platform versions are available.

Argo, the company that builds Landini tractors, also makes the McCormick range which features the latest C-L series offering three models powered by three and four-

32 African Farming - May/June 2013

The Massey Ferguson MF 3635V has an 80hp three-cylinder engine.

Cabs have become increasingly popular, particularly on tractors used for fruit and vineyard work. cylinder Perkins engines producing 58, 68 and 71hp. The shuttle transmission has four gears and three ranges to provide 12 speeds forwards and in reverse, increasing to 24F+24R with optional creeper gears. Two and four-wheel drive versions are available with a 55 deg steering angle on the powered front axle, and all three models have 2.7 tonnes lift capacity on the rear linkage.

New arrivals from Mahindra This year’s new arrivals in the Mahindra range from India are two new models with the mechanical gearbox replaced by a hydrostatic transmission that uses engine power to pump oil around a circuit to drive the wheels. Hydrostatic drive systems are popular on combine harvesters and other farm equipment but unusual on tractors because their power losses are slightly higher than for a gearbox. This is a disadvantage for jobs such as ploughing where efficient pulling power is the main

priority, but for vineyard and fruit growing and for other specialised production such as vegetables and ornamentals, the benefits of a hydrostatic drive can easily outweigh a small reduction in pulling power.

Advantages of hydrostatic drive include stepless speed control without changing the engine speed or power output, which is ideal for p-t-o powered equipment or working with a loader. The ease of operation makes it suitable for drivers with limited experience and hydrostatic transmissions have a good reputation for reliability. The new Mahindra tractors are the 4010 with 38hp rated output and the 50hp 5035 model. Both have four-wheel drive as standard equipment and the lift capacity on the rear linkage is 1200kg. The Mahindra range also includes 25 and 28hp hydrostatic tractors as well as a range of gearbox models.

One of the special features of the New Holland T4000 series tractors with fourwheel drive is the SuperSteer option to allow a smaller turning circle where space is restricted. This is achieved by combining the standard turning action with a front axle that swivels to the left or right, and this can achieve a 76 deg maximum steering angle compared with 55 deg for a T4000 tractor

www.africanfarming.net

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TRACTORS

Quantum series tractors from Case IH are available in platform and or cab.

with the standard four-wheel drive front axle or 65 deg for the two-wheel drive version.

T4000 tractors are available in three different widths, with the V models having a 1061mm minimum width for working in vineyards and other narrow row spaces, the N model width is from 1229 and the F version is 1398mm minimum width for orchards and plantations. The V, N and F tractors are all available in four models with engine outputs from 78 to 106hp and there is also a 65hp V specification model, but SuperSteer is available only on F and N models. The engines have four cylinders and are either 3200 or 4500cc, the transmission options include 30 and 40kph versions and the lift capacity on the rear linkage is 1835kg.

A series models from Valtra Valtra, an AGCO group tractor range based in Finland, offers the A series models in the lower horsepower range with two models producing 88 and 101hp.

Described as general purpose tractors, they have a heavy duty front axle suitable for loader work, and moving boxes of fruit or vegetables with a front loader is an important job for many growers. Valtra A series tractors have three and four-cylinder engines, a 12x 2 transmission and the rear lift capacity is 3300kg.

The MF 3600 series from Massey Ferguson covers five power outputs from 69 to 102hp and is available in A and F versions. The A models are general purpose tractors with a standard width while the F versions are narrower for working between vines and other specialist cropping situations including vegetables and fruit as well as in the restricted space of buildings and yards on livestock farms. Overall width of the standard A tractors is between 1.70 and 2.40m while the narrow versions are 1.45 to 1.90m wide. Cab and platform versions are available with the choice of two or four-wheel drive.

Specifications for the MF 3600 tractors include a 3.3 litre engine with three cylinders, the rear linkage has top link sensing and the standard version lifts

2500kg. The transmission has 12 speeds forwards and in reverse for two-wheel drive models with a wider choice available with four-wheel drive. The p-t-o has a 540 rpm speed setting on platform versions, but cab tractors have either an additional 540 economy setting or a 540 and 1000 rpm dual speed p-t-o.

The Nexos series tractors from Claas include the VE vineyard models with a minimum overall width of only 1000mm for the two-wheel drive version, increasing to 1077mm with four-wheel drive. Three VE specification models are available with fourcylinder engines developing 72, 78 and 88hp and, like the rest of the Nexos range, they are offered in cab and platform versions with transmission options starting with a 12x12 gearbox with a 30kph top speed. The maximum lifting capacity on the rear linkage is 2610kg for the VE models, increasing to 3160kg for the other Nexos tractors.

Claas also offers VL and F versions of the Nexos tractors with overall widths of 1291mm for the VL models increasing to 1482 with the F specification. There are four VL and F models with outputs from 72 to 101hp. The steering angle is between 52° and 55° with up to 10° of castor angle, depending on the model, giving a turning radius ranging from 3.55 for the VE versions to 3.76m for the 101hp models.

For speciality crops such as fruit, vines and vegetables, John Deere offers the 5025 series tractors in two models. The 5425N powered by a 72hp PowerTech engine is a narrow tractor with 1825mm minimum overall width, and the 5725HC is a high clearance tractor with an 84hp engine and 2020mm overall width. Both models have four cylinder engines, with a turbo on the 5725HC version while the 5425N is naturally aspirated. There is a choice of cab or platform versions for the HC model but the N version is platform only. Lift capacity on the rear linkage is 1530kg for both tractors.

Also on the list of John Deere speciality crop tractors is the 83hp 5083EN model. It is classed as a narrow tractor with high underside clearance and with a standard specification that includes a cab and fourwheel drive. The standard transmission is a 12x12 gearbox, the dual speed p-t-o includes a 540rpm economy setting and the rear linkage has 1530kg maximum lift capacity.

Case IH is a company that can trace its history in farm equipment production back through more than 170 years. The company’s current range of tractors includes the Quantum series in C, N and V versions. The C models are general purpose tractors with a standard width, the N specification is narrow with a 1236mm minimum width and the V tractors are for vineyards and other situations needing a 1071mm overall width.

Specification details for the Case IH tractors include four-cylinder engines with 3.2 litres capacity and power outputs from 65 to 97hp. The transmission options start with a 16x16 speed gearbox and the lift capacity is 2360kg. Cab and platform versions are available.

As well as developments in small to medium tractors there have also been new arrivals further up the power range in Europe.

The newcomers include the M series tractors

Tractors-New Holland's SuperSteer front axle in action on a vineyard tractord

34 African Farming - May/June 2013

www.africanfarming.net

S11 FIXED AF MayJune 2013 Tractors_Layout 1 20/05/2013 11:07 Page 35

TRACTORS

from John Deere replacing some, but not all, of the existing 6030 range, and the first six of the new M models have rated engine outputs of 115 to 170hp. Models up to 140hp have a 4.5 litre engine with four cylinders, increasing to six cylinders and 6.8 litres for the top two models.

Massey Ferguson has announced a new model at the top of their MF 7600 tractor series. It has a 7.4 litre engine with 255hp

rated output increasing to 280hp maximum, and the powershift transmission with automatic shifting through 24 speeds.

The Massey Ferguson tractor range is built by the AGCO company which is making a big investment in Africa, including a new Massey Ferguson assembly plant which opened in Algeria last year plus this year’s announcement of a new parts distribution centre in South Africa.

High clearance and a narrow width increases the versatility of John Deere's 83hp 5083EN tractor.

Mahindra’s 4010.

The new additions to the Same tractor range from Italian based Same Deutz-Fahr are the Virtus models powered by fourcylinder Deutz engines producing 99, 110 and 122hp. The specification includes a 6600kg lift capacity on the rear linkage, a choice of transmissions that includes a 30x30 powershift with a 50kph top speed and an unusual feature is a power-assisted braking system on all four wheels.

The Same Deutz-Fahr company also made news recently when they won the prestigious European Tractor of the Year award for 2013. The award, judged by a panel of European tractor specialists, went to the Deutz-Fahr Agrotron 7250 TTV model offering 263hp maximum output from a 6.1 litre Deutz engine. The transmission has a 50kph top speed with 60kph available as an option and the rear linkage lift capacity is 10.0 tonnes. h

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African Farming - May/June 2013 35

S11 FIXED AF MayJune 2013 Tractors_Layout 1 20/05/2013 11:07 Page 36

NIGERIA

AGRIKEXPO, taking place from 11-13 July 2013, is a pan-West African exhibition for agricultural products and services, enabling visitors to explore the opportunities created by the development of agricultural productivity in the region, as Ugo Nwabuisi from organisers 151 Products explained to African Farming and Food Processing.

Exploring agricultural opportunity in West Africa

H

ELD IN ASSOCIATION with the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce and Industries, AGRIKEXPO will take place at the Eko Conference Centre in Lagos.

Manufacturers, suppliers, agents, distributors, commodity exporters, farmers, financial institutions and several other stakeholders will gather at the venue to interact with other key figures within the industry.

Nwabuisi said: “The intensified focus of government on agricultural development, primarily on food security and employment, has thrown up great opportunities for agricultural investments and new business relationships.”

Fostering business engagement The show, which will be opened by President Jonathan, will align with the Nigerian government’s aim of transforming agriculture in the region, particularly regarding business engagement.

“That vision is being diligently anchored by the minister of Ugo Nwabuisi from 151 Products.

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

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36 African Farming - May/June 2013

agriculture, Dr Akin Adesina, who often says that agriculture is pure business and not a developmental project. Consequently, government is in clear support of AGRIKEXPO as a necessary infrastructure for agricultural business development,” Nwabuisi claimed.

Nwabuisi explained that several organisations will be showcasing a variety of technological products at the expo, including state agricultural development agencies and research institutes as well as private sector companies.

“Also there will be various export-orientated companies for primary agricultural commodities and input supply companies (seeds, fertilisers, agrochemicals, etc). Banks are also coming to showcase new finance packages to agro SMEs and farmers,” he added.

Other exhibitors will include the Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), the Cashew Exporters/Growers Association, poultry associations and many other farmer groups.

Nigerian potential The size of the agricultural sector in Nigeria is worth more than US$99bn a year, with the potential to grow to about US$256bn in less than 10 years, Nwabuisi said.

“The government has plans for huge improvements in the sector and has deployed an Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) as a key strategy to change. Local food production witnessed a recent boost to 8.1mn tonnes and the target is to add 20 tonnes of food to national production over a four-year period,” he elaborated.

In the last year, more than US$8bn worth of private sector investments have been made in Nigerian agriculture, with this figure set to grow due to the country’s increasing population, large arable lands and the desire of the government to cut down on food imports.

Nwabuisi added, “I would advise companies involved in agricultural business to consider an entry into the Nigerian market for early bird benefits.” h

www.africanfarming.net

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IRRIGATION

Modern farming methods have increasingly adopted sprinkler or overhead irrigation as a way of distributing water, because it is more efficient, less wasteful and more appropriate to sandy soils susceptible to erosion. Terry Mabbett reports.

Irrigation by rotary precipitation

Sprinkler or overhead irrigation is more efficient and less wasteful.

C

ROPS CAN ONLY reach water sources by root growth but water is fluid and can be delivered to the growing crop. This is the essential rationale of irrigation and literally a life saving one for an increasing number of farmers. In extreme circumstances virtually all water required by growing crops on the farm may come from irrigation. More usually it will be confined to one crop a year coinciding with the dry season or throughout the year to several crops in succession dictated by level of natural rainfall and growth and development stage of the crop to maximise yield and maintain crop quality.

Some countries, regions and farms still use the more traditional method of surface flooding or irrigation by using basins, borders and furrows as conduits for distribution of the irrigation water.

Modern farming methods have increasingly adopted sprinkler or overhead irrigation as a way of distributing the water, because it is more efficient, less wasteful and more appropriate to sandy soils susceptible to erosion and loss of top soil through flood irrigation methods.

In recent years irrigation efficiency and water conservation have become increasingly important for more African farms and

38 African Farming - May/June 2013

In recent years irrigation efficiency and water conservation have become increasingly important for more African farms and farmers. farmers as drought intensified and spread out from traditionally hit areas like the West African Sahel to affect a much wider area.

Sprinkler irrigation is carried out by conveying water in pipes under pressure then forcing it through a nozzle so that the liquid sheets break up into small droplets which fall on the crop like natural rainfall. As a general rule, sprinkler irrigation systems require much less water and labour than will surface irrigation methods.

There is a wide spectrum of sprinkler irrigation methods each suited to particular crops and soil conditions in which the crops are growing. That said, all methods of sprinkler irrigation feature several common components which are the pumps, mainline pipes, lateral line pipes and the actual sprinklers.

www.africanfarming.net

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IRRIGATION

Crops near Cape Town, South Africa, enjoy regular soakings from a massive irrigation system.

Pumps and pipes Pumps provide the power and the energy to draw the water from its source, which may be a river, a reservoir or a borehole, and then push it into the actual irrigation system for delivery to the field and distribution amongst the crop plants. The pump will be driven by either

an internal combustion engine or an electric motor. Mainline pipes deliver the irrigation water from the pump to the lateral pipes.

Where the water source is stable and perennial, and the cropping programme well ordered, the mainline pipe will be installed as a permanent feature on the farm and will invariably be buried beneath soil level. In other situations a mainline pipe may need to be temporary, so that it can be moved to service various water sources in completely different areas of the farm. If the pipe is to be permanent then it will usually be made of galvanised steel or heavy duty plastic. Weight is all important for temporary pipes, so lightweight aluminium alloy or plastic will be preferred to allow easier movement of the mainline pipe from one place to another.

The next stages in the irrigation layout and design are the lateral pipes which branch off from the mainline pipe at appropriate intervals and positions to deliver the water now under pressure from the mainline pipe to the sprinklers. Like the mainline pipe they can be permanent or temporary structures and are invariably of a narrower bore.

Irrigation sprinklers Sprinklers for agriculture are generally one of two major types which are the sprayline and the rotary sprinkler.

The sprayline is simply a pipe with small size holes or nozzles distributed along its length and through which the irrigation water is delivered as spray droplets onto the crop. Originally, spraylines were used in the stationary mode but more recent developments employ an oscillating mechanism in which they move from side to side or alternatively they can be designed so that they rotate around a central axis.

Rotary sprinklers are the most commonly used pieces of irrigation equipment. Some designs utilise a number of small rotary sprinklers that operate in unison (mobile lateral systems) while others just use a single big sprinkler commonly called a ‘rain gun’ (rain gun systems).

The rotary sprinkler Sprinkler irrigation does exactly what the name says. Water forced under pressure through an orifice (a small round hole or a nozzle) is issued as a jet and into the air. As the water jet travels through the air it progressively shatters into small drops of water and subsequently falls to earth just like the drops of water that make up natural precipitation (rainfall).

By rotating in a horizontal plane the sprinkler generates a circular wetting pattern in the field with the distance from the sprinkler to the outside edge of the circle known as the ‘throw’. As a general rule a standard small rotary sprinkler will irrigate a circle of soil and crop surface of around 36 m in diameter. Rotary sprinklers on a crop irrigation system have the same high level of importance as the nozzles on the boom of a crop sprayer. As the last component in the whole system through which water flows, their design and performance ultimately determines success or failure of the entire system.

40 African Farming - May/June 2013

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IRRIGATION

The rotational movement in sprinkler irrigation is caused by the water jet working in conjunction with the spring-loaded swing arm. During operation of the sprinkler the swing arm interrupts the water jet and is thus forced in a horizontal direction by the force of the water flow. However, once free of the jet, the arm returns due to tension in the spring and interrupts the water jet once again. But on its return the arm makes contact with one side of the sprinkler which makes it turn very slightly. This procedure is repeated in what may be described as a constant beating motion so that the sprinkler undergoes a slow steady rotation. The velocity of rotation is determined by the tension in the swing arm spring and this must be adjusted so that the sprinkler rotates at a speed which ensures every part of the crop within the circular swathe receives ‘sprinkled’ irrigation water.

Uniformity of water distribution Controlled water application rates producing a satisfactory spectrum of droplet sizes to provide uniform spread of irrigation water are the key features of a properly functioning sprinkler irrigation system.

Designing a rotary sprinkler that generates uniform irrigation across the entire wetted circle of crop foliage and soil is no easy task. Generally speaking deposition of water is progressively reduced from the actual sprinkler to the edge of the wetted circle.

This problem may be overcome by operating two or three sprinklers near to each other so that the patterns of water distribution overlap and compensate for any distribution deficiency. However, care must be taken not to site the sprinklers too close together in case problems of over-application to crops

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and unacceptably high costs kick in. Generally speaking the overlap should cover approximately two thirds of the diameter of the wetted circle.

Rate of water application Application rate is defined as the rate of water provided to the crop (in mm/hour) from a group of rotary sprinklers operating close together and therefore essentially as a unit. The application rate will be determined by the magnitude of the sprinkler nozzle, the operating pressure (in bar) and the distance between the nozzles. The application rate can be increased by increasing the size of nozzle used, elevating the operating pressure and placing the rotary sprinklers nearer to each other.

Water drop size A rotary sprinkler will typically produce a wide spectrum of drop sizes ranging from diameters of 0.5 mm to 3 mm or more. Drop sizes exceeding 4 mm tend to shatter into many smaller size droplets. The smaller the droplet size the less is the momentum and the closer it will fall to the sprinkler nozzle. Care must be taken with larger droplets ‘thrown’ longer distances because they may damage sensitive crop foliage and some soil types by causing a phenomenon known as ‘soil capping’. This will reduce the permeability of the upper soil profile and therefore the water infiltration rate. Drop size spectrum can be adjusted by nozzle selection and manipulation of operating pressure. Water drops tend to become bigger with a reduction in operating pressure because of the reduced energy available to break up the water flow. h

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African Farming - May/June 2013 41

S13 AF MayJune 2013 Equipment_Layout 1 20/05/2013 11:42 Page 42

Researchers at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan say that maize lines and hybrids developed in the institute offer hope to African farmers to saving them from the challenges of drought.

IITA maize holds solution to Africa’s drought

A

CCORDING TO IITA’S Communications Officer, Godwin Atser, the maize were of extra-early maturing genotypes developed and conserved at the institute’s gene bank.

He noted that identification of the maize lines had led to the possibility of sustainable development of more resilient varieties with dual characteristics of escaping and tolerating drought in the near future. The discovery of the maize parental lines was also seen as ‘good news’ for farmers, especially in drought-prone areas of Africa, where maize remained a key staple.

An IITA scientist, Muhyideen Oyekunle, said 48 per cent of the early maturing lines under study at IITA were drought-tolerant with tolerance indices ranging from 0.17 (low) to 15.31 (high).

Oyekunle and other researchers, according to the release, found that under drought conditions, hybrids performed better than openpollinated varieties and could provide safety nets for farmers during drought. He also identified five diverse groups among the early maturing maize inbred lines studied and two inbreds as the best in terms of combining ability for future hybrid production.

Oyekunle explained that general considerations in breeding for drought tolerance in maize include information on genetic diversity among tropical maize lines and populations, hybrid performance and inheritance of drought tolerance.

He said IITA and other stakeholders had made early and extraearly maturing maize varieties and hybrids available to farmers in West Africa.

The varieties, he said, were being widely adopted to the extent that maize cultivation was largely replacing sorghum and millet in the savanna ecologies. h

Drought-tolerant maize.

42 African Farming - May/June 2013

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NEWS

SGS discussed precision farming at Commercial Farm Africa SGS RECENTLY DISCUSSED how to achieve sustainable crop production through its precision farming services (PTS) at the third Commercial Farm Africa conference, for which it is was also a sponsor.

The event, which took place from 19 to 20 March in Accra, focused on the latest agricultural developments and opportunities available in Africa under the theme ‘Into Africa – building local markets, improving farm productivity & increasing ROI’.

In line with this, SGS managing director Cobus Burger gave a presentation entitled ‘Searching for the key that will unlock the map towards sustainability in crop production’.

In the presentation, Burger placed emphasis on the importance of analysis to help manage soil fertility and quality, which in turn determines crop potential, tillage practices and farm layout, he said.

Research from SGS suggested that conditions for growth are optimal when soil is made up of 45 per cent minerals, 25 per cent water, 25 per cent air and five per cent humus. On the other hand, soil that contains, for example, 79 per cent minerals, 10 per cent water, 10 per air and one per cent humus, has been over-cultivated and will most likely develop a crust/salt layer which damages the aeration of the soil, and as a result the crop production, Burger said.

PFS can therefore help identify the areas that are lacking in nutrients so that fertiliser may be applied in the correct locations.

In the face of increasing input costs and falling food prices alongside a growing reliance on plant genetics, the answer is, according to Burger, “Increasing the yield/ha using what nature has to offer to leverage a positive result.”

Usage of the SGS PFS solution has grown across Africa since 2010, when it was employed in South Africa, Namibia and Zambia. The company’s operations have since expanded to include Botswana, Angola, Tanzania, DR Congo, Kenya, Cameroon, Ghana and Egypt as of 2013.

Illustration of process to create a map that shows variability in the nutrient status of the soil.

In addition, he noted that plant analysis helps to evaluate and manage the nutrient status of a crop during the growing season while water analysis determines the risk involved in irrigation.

Burger advised that to attract investors to farming projects, a return on investment (ROI) of 10 to 15 per cent or more is necessary.

“Increasing yield is the most effective way to sustain and increase the ROI as well as managing your risk in crop production,” he added.

SGS has therefore developed a precision farming service (PFS), a global positioning system (GPS) solution which creates maps to show the variability in the nutrient status of the soil.

According to Burger, the solution takes in to account the soil’s physical properties to determine crop potential under dry land or under irrigation conditions.

www.africanfarming.net

African Farming - May/June 2013 43

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AQUACULTURE

Alvan Blanch Development Company Ltd have supplied Nigerian and American-owned fish feed manufacturers US Lynx with a new steam extrusion system, capable of producing floating feed. This has allowed Abuja-based US Lynx to join the handful of fish feed suppliers in Nigeria which produce floating pellets capable of achieving higher fish survival rates and improved feed conversion ratios.

Key to profitable African aquaculture

N

OW FULLY INSTALLED by engineers from the local Alvan Blanch Nigeria technical office and commissioned by an engineer from the UK, the feed mill is successfully producing various sizes of pellets for different stages of fish growth – from 3mm to 8mm.

The demand for extrusion system Fish consumption accounts for 35 per cent of the animal protein intake in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country but, currently, more than half of the nation’s fish consumption is imported. With Federal Government programmes aimed at promoting and supporting nutritional self-sufficiency, growth in aquaculture throughout the value chain is a prioritised initiative. The availability of cost-effective high quality feed allows local fish farms to improve their fish yields and profit margins – and is thus a key driver in the expansion of this important industry.

Alvan Blanch recognised the demand that many African fish feed producers have for a higher quality feed which would not disintegrate in water – and would be able to compete with the standards of expensive imported feeds. They have teamed up with a longestablished Dutch manufacturer to introduce the Almex single screw steam extrusion technology into their feed milling portfolio because it is the ideal way to reliably produce floating fish feed that is in great demand across Africa.

Mr Onyechi Okolo, Managing Director of US Lynx, explained that whichever breed of fish is farmed – be it Tilapia or common Catfish – it is more efficient to give them floating feed as the only way to assess the performance of the fish is to study them surface feeding. The other benefit of feed produced through an Alvan Blanch Extrusion system, is that is can float on the surface for hours, which leads to less wasted rations, while avoiding excessive water contamination. For many farmers this leads to a big saving in wasted fish feed as well as reduced labour costs from regular feeding.

US Lynx insist on using only top quality ingredients, locally sourcing wherever possible, formulated with care to produce the high protein, well-balanced rations that are ideal for efficient growth and conversion rates in local fish varieties.

“There has been tremendous interest in our product since we started production” said Mr Okolo, who pointed out that fish farmers are willing to pay a premium for international standard product.

Complete feed mill with steam extrusion - for fish feed. US Lynx Ltd, Abuja, Nigeria. Bag of feed.

The system process The process starts with multiple raw material reception pits, with automatically controlled discharge into a weighing mixer, hammer mill and secondary mixer to ensure thorough blending. The mixture is then conditioned with steam before being propelled into the steam extruder, being pushed out through small dies and cut to form small pellets. These are conveyed through a continuous drier, oil coated and cooled before being held in a bagging hopper with automatic weighing and sacking system to finish.

Andrew Blanch, MD of Alvan Blanch, has just returned from a trip to Nigeria – and to the US Lynx site. He received much interest in the steam extrusion system: “It is clear that floating fish feed is the future for African aquaculture, and with the Alvan Blanch system being both effective and affordable, African businesses can now compete with imported quality fish feed”.

Alvan Blanch manufacture the steam extrusion feed milling system – based on the customers’ requirements – for use worldwide, with a focus on the evolving African feed production market. h

44 African Farming - May/June 2013

Complete feed mill with steam extrusion - for fish feed. US Lynx Ltd, Abuja, Nigeria.

The extruder.

The availability of cost-effective high quality feed allows local fish farms to improve their fish yields and profit margins.

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New Holland supports tree planting in Niger NEW HOLLAND, IN partnership with Tree-Nation, is to plant 120 Moringa trees in Dosso, Niger. This is part of a larger project, which aims to plant over 50,000 trees this year in the county to combat desertification and climate change as well as helping to alleviate local poverty and malnutrition.

The initiative was announced recently during the SIMA International Exhibition in Paris. Financed by New Holland Agriculture and in collaboration with Tree-Nation, this initiative is another example of the Clean Energy Leader strategy in action. New Holland is committed to sustainable farming practices, which enhance agricultural efficiency and productivity whilst respecting the environment.

Within the framework of its Clean Energy Leader strategy, launched in 2006, the company looks for practical and accessible ways to reconcile the needs of the agricultural industry with increasingly urgent calls for action to protect the environment. This strategy has led to heavy investment in its own low emissions engine technology together with its sister, powertrain manufacturer FPT Industrial.

New Holland is already involved in many projects such as a large-scale biomass power generation programme in Sierra Leone and rural mechanisation projects in collaboration with governments. Its attention to environmental preservation has also led to awareness campaign initiatives such as the sponsorship of the Sustainable Innovation Forum hosted in the last two years by Climate Action in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme, respectively in Durban (South Africa) alongside the 2011 Climate Change Conference (COP17), and in Doha (Qatar) for the 2012 Climate Change Conference (COP18).

By supporting tree planting, New Holland is not only contributing to reducing the global carbon footprint; the Moringa trees also support local communities. Their leaves are highly nutritious and are a rich source of protein, vitamins A, B and C and contain more than four times the calcium of an equivalent quantity of milk. They can also be used as cattle feed, and

A D V E R T I S E R S

test results show, that when fed Moringa leaves, cattle gain more weight and milk output increases significantly.

Tree-Nation is the pre-eminent global social network, which is focused on reforestation projects and has received United Nations Environment Programme backing for its ‘Plant for the Planet’ Campaign.

To date, more than 100,000 individuals and over 200 companies have supported their projects. Tree-Nation has already planted more than 500,000 trees in projects across Africa and South America to fight climate change, deforestation and help local economies. Their objective for 2013 is to reach one million trees.

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