African Farming November December 2013

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www.africanfarming.net November/December 2013

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

Rice milling The dry rice process

Angola

Stirring initiatives - coffee

Harvester progress New developments

Serving

AGRICULTURE for

33

YEARS Merging conventional and rotary technology, Massey Ferguson’s Delta hybrid.

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CONTENTS

Contents

www.africanfarming.net November/December 2013

News and Events

4

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

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

Rice milling The dry rice process

Poultry

Angola

12

Stirring initiatives - coffee

Harvester progress

Vaccination, a vexed issue for small poultry farmers as vaccines continue to remain an expensive necessity for smaller poultry farm owners.

Angola

New developments

15

Serving

AGRICULTURE for

33

Angola’s coffee: there are some modest signs of a reversal of Angola’s mass rural exodus thanks to a number of new schemes aimed at resurrecting the fortunes of coffee.

African Farming talks to Jorge Jover, general director of Agromundo, a global services company in the areas of agriculture and cattle producing, that is offerering modern and effective solutions to farmers across Angola.

Pan Africa Dealers’ convention

YEARS Merging conventional and rotary technology, Massey Ferguson’s Delta hybrid.

Rice offers farmers and agro-processors a highly versatile growing crop and harvested grain commodity.

22

Organised by Pan Trade Services and co-sponsored by Brazilian agricultural machinery and equipment manufacturers Baldan, Jacto and Nogueira, as well as equally prominent agriculture equipment and supplies doyens in Kenya, the first such convention in Africa took place in October in Kenya.

Zanzibar

26

The need for an agricultural revolution.

Rice milling

28

Angolan coffee production is steadily rising.

Differences in cultivation largely hinge on the amount of water required and the way in which it is harnessed and used.

Harvester Progress

31

There is something for everyone in the latest batch of combine harvesters from leading European and American manufacturers, including new developments in the high, medium and smaller capacity sectors and covering both rotary and straw walker threshing systems.

Analysis

34

Social media - a focus on the possibilities that work for farmers.

Oil Palm

36

Olam International encourages African oil palm producers to adopt best practice planting procedures to ensure the long-term viability of the industry.

Managing Editor: Zsa Tebbit Editorial and Design team: Bob Adams, Hiriyti Bairu, Lizzie Carroll, David Clancy, Andrew Croft, Prashanth AP, Ranganath GS, 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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Subscriptions: circulation@alaincharles.com Chairman: Derek Fordham Printed by: The Manson Group, St Albans, UK US Mailing Agent: African Farming & Food Processing USPS. No. 015-224 is published six times a year for US$90 per year by Alain Charles Publishing Ltd, University House, 11-13 Lower Grosvenor Place, London, SW1W 0EX, UK Periodicals Postage Paid at Rahway, NJ. Postmaster: send address corrections to: Alain Charles Publishing Ltd, c/o Mercury Airfreight International Ltd, 365 Blair Road, Avenel, NJ 07001.

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African Farming - November/December 2013

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EVENTS

Farming Calendar

9th African dairy conference in Zimbabwe

3-5

West Africa Agro www.agrofood-westafrica.com

ACCRA

3-5

West Africa Food and Bev-Tech www.agrofood-westafrica.com

ACCRA

ZIMBABWE HOSTED THE 9th African Dairy conference and exhibition in September in Harare under the theme: Enhancing Africa's food security, 'the Milk way'.

The conference was organised by the Eastern and Southern African Dairy Association (ESADA) and was attended by 35 exhibitors and over 20 countries from Africa and Europe are reported to have participated.

According to the organisers, some of the participating countries included Uganda, South Africa, India and the Netherlands.

Issues covered included the world dairy situation, dairy trade policies and economics, dairying for the global market, sustainability and the green economy, dairy processing technologies, milk production technologies and animal health and nutrition.

3-5

West Africa Food and Hospitality www.agrofood-westafrica.com

ACCRA

Wallace Mawire

November 2013 26-27

Risks in Agriculture Emerging Markets 2013 Summit www.risksinagriculture.com

26-28

Food Processing & Packaging Exposium 2013 www.interpack.de

ACCRA NAIROBI

December 2013

IFTF full of Dutch and international growers January 2014 15

VIV International Nigeria Summit ww.viveurope.nl

28-30

International Poultry Expo www.ipe13.org

28-31

IPM ESSEN 2014 www.messe-essen.de

ABUJA ATLANTA ESSEN

April 2014 3-6

Biovision Alexandria 2014 www.bibalex.org

ALEXANDRIA

A PARADISE FOR the florist trade, a theatre for the art of flower arrangement! That is what the International Floriculture Trade Fair offered this year as a special attraction. With IFTF entering its 4th edition this year the fair has almost doubled its number of exhibitors. From 186 exhibitors last year to 327 this year, this 75 per cent increase can be considered as a tremendous growth. Over 150 growers from inside and outside the Netherlands exhibited this year. “A confirmation that the IFTF trade fair is more and more seen as the place for direct sales between grower and buyer”, said Dick van Raamsdonk, director of the Vijfhuizen Trade Fair.

The IFTF doesn’t have any limitations or conditions and therefore every one is allowed to exhibit where thousands of buyers of fresh cut flowers and potted plants visit from all over the world. Last year buyers from over 103 different countries attended the show.

Asia/Pacific’s feed and grain shows biggest ever NEXT APRIL’S FEED & Grain exhibitions in Bangkok will be the largest ever. Still with almost six months to go FIAAP Asia, VICTAM Asia and GRAPAS Asia 2014 are already bigger than the last shows in 2012!

And they will get even bigger before the doors open to the thousands of industry executives that will have travelled from all over Asia/Pacific to attend what has now become the showpiece industry event and meeting place.

These senior executives will find the exhibition halls full of products and services that will enable them to conduct their businesses more efficiently. Many of the exhibitors will be displaying products that will reduce energy consumption, increase productivity, enhance products, improve safety in the workplace and in the end products and also increase profitability.

There will be so many displays to see. FIAAP, the feed ingredient and additive exhibition, has grown since 2012. Major international companies that supply these low-volume high-cost ingredients will be displaying their latest products, many of which will enable feed formulators and nutritionists to source more cost effective/alternative base ingredients for their feed formulations.

CEO’s and Directors will also be studying the cost benefits offered by the FIAAP exhibitors; they, together with their mill managers will be assessing the enormous variety of the latest feed processing equipment and technology that will be on show on the VICTAM stands. Once again many of these exhibitors will be offering solutions; solutions to problems that you may be experiencing in your feed production plant.

At the GRAPAS exhibition, rice millers, flour millers and grain

4 African Farming - November/December 2013

VICTAM 2012.

processors will also find solutions as there will be a wide range of equipment and services applicable for these industry sectors.

The latest milling technology will be on show as well as the ancillary systems that are required in these mills and of course feed mills.

At the moment there are almost 170 exhibitors and they are coming from 22 different countries; and there is still space for even more exhibitors.

The shows will take place at the modern, fully air-conditioned purpose-built BITEC exhibition centre in Bangkok from 8 – 10 April 2014. Additional information on the associated conferences, visitor information and lists of exhibitors can be found on the shows websites – www.fiaap.com, www.victam.com and www.grapas.eu

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VIV International Nigeria Summit VIV AND ITS local partner Nate Farms International will be presenting the VIV International Nigeria Summit 2014 on 15 January 2014 at the Sheraton Hotel in Abuja.

This full-day programme, focusing on animal protein production, will be developed and organised by VIV Worldwide with parallel seminar sessions, presenting technical best practices by international experts. There will also be a closing plenary conference, focusing on trends and developments regarding the Nigerian animal protein markets within an African and global perspective.

Partners for the programme include: Veterinary Council of Nigeria, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Standards Organization of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Trade & Investment Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development An attendance of around 250 is expected for this summit with more senior management-level professionals attending the plenary closing conference.

The main objectives involve the contribution to a healthy growth of the Nigerian animal protein industry. Listed as one of the world’s five most rapidly growing countries for poultry meat and egg production by Rabobank, Nigeria shows tremendous potential and will face many challenges. The Nigerian population will grow significantly, resulting in a sharp rise in demand for food. Animal protein plays an important role in food security, mainly due to its excellent nutritional value.

Nigerian feed millers are showing a huge interest in other protein sources to meet the demand of farmers and to tackle the problem of protein deficiency in animal production in Nigeria.

Managing farms on a sustainable basis while making a profit is one of the biggest challenges facing agriculture in Nigeria, yet it is one of the most important if the farms are going to meet the Federal Government’s agenda on food security and sustainability in Nigeria.

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Kitoko Foods offers Congolese affordable choice CONGOLESE SHOPPERS VISITING local markets in and around the capital of Kinshasa made a startling discovery in recent weeks -- fresher vegetables and lower prices offered by the Kitoko Food Farm, a joint project of the Gertler Family Foundation (GFF) and the Fleurette Group to improve food security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Employing local workers and using innovative farming techniques, a six-hectare pilot project at Kitoko is yielding high-quality produce that can be sold at prices significantly lower than the cost of imported food from outside the DRC. With its sustainable farming practices and affordable produce, Kitoko is taking important strides to combat chronic malnutrition in the DRC. At the same time, the farm and its techniques are designed as a model that can be easily replicated elsewhere, to become part of a global solution for food security.

Workers at Kitoko, located about 50 km from Kinshasa, recently brought a truck loaded with boxes of sweet corn, peppers, beans, eggplants, cabbage, tomatoes and other produce to local markets. The European-quality vegetables created a stir, with market goers marvelling at Kitoko's inexpensive, attractive offerings.

Using Kitoko as a model, satellite farms are planned for all of the DRC's 11 provinces, and students trained at Kitoko will teach others about the farm's high-tech irrigation and fertilisation techniques.

Standard product range NPK 2-4-3 4-3-3 2-3-6 2-6-3 8-3-3 4-2-10 4-10-2 Custom products on request

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Congolese workers at the Kitoko Food Farm, a joint project of the Gertler Family Foundation and the Fleurette Group, harvest tomatoes that will be sent to market.

(Photo: Gertler Family Foundation)

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Phone +32 (0)3 570 01 80 – Fax +32 (0)3 575 86 15 Fertikal nv – Molenweg, haven 1938, BE-9130 Kallo, Belgium

African Farming - November/December 2013

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NEWS

Zimbabwe researchers identify potato virus Y in tobacco crop RESEARCHERS AT ZIMBABWE’S Tobacco Research Board (TRB) have recently identified a virulent necrotic strain of potato virus Y (PVY) which could destroy up to 90 per cent of a crop stand in the tobacco crop.

According to Joseph Made, minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation , there are some challenges that have arisen as a result of knowledge gaps amongst tobacco growers.

"One of these challenges is the issue of failure to observe tobacco cultivation legislation," Made said.

He said the majority of new entrants into the tobacco industry in Zimbabwe appear to be ignorant of legislative issues which are aimed at restricting incidences and spread of insect-borne viruses of tobacco.

"Non-adherence to the legislation related to stalk destruction, planting of seed beds and planting into the lands could all have a catastrophic effect on our vibrant tobacco industry," Made said.

He added that one of the most prevalent diseases spread by aphids which feed on re-growths from un-destroyed tobacco stalks is potato virus Y.

Made urged tobacco growers to observe the legislation that has come out of research conducted over many years.

"This will help Zimbabwe maintain its reputation as a market for good quality tobacco and help them to continue to reap huge benefits from the business of growing tobacco,'' he said.

It has also been reported that the TRB is working hard to come up with tobacco varieties that are resistant to PVY.

Wallace Mawire

Genetically modified crops should be part of Africa’s food future AS A NEW report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies points out, genetic engineering in agriculture is not a magic bullet for Africa, but it can help battle pests and diseases, improve nutrition and reduce the use of water and chemicals, all of which would benefit farmers and their families. Genetically modified crops can increase yields, which lag in Africa behind those of the rest of the world.

African countries and research organisations in the Water Efficient Maize for Africa project, for example, have incorporated a gene from a common soil bacterium into corn, enabling plants to produce kernels even when short of water. The genetically modified corn is expected to increase yields by 25 per cent during a moderate drought.

Africa in general has been slow to accept genetic engineering.

Only four nations have commercialised biotech crops: South Africa, Egypt, Sudan and Burkina Faso.

Smallholder farmers — those with less than two hectares — are the backbone of Africa’s agriculture. They face immense difficulties. Fewer than a third of the farmers in sub-Saharan Africa use any type of improved seeds that have been developed through conventional breeding, let alone more advanced, genetically modified varieties. This is the hard reality that can’t be changed overnight by genetic engineering. Surely, there is no harm in a vigorous debate about genetically modified food; if people don’t understand it, the benefits will never be realised. But it is a shame to abandon these crops based on irrational fears and suspicions.

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NEWS

Zambia’s US$115mn irrigation project kicks off THE US$115MN irrigation project financed by the World Bank which is aimed at increasing yields per hectare for smallholders has been launched.

The project, which will be implemented in towns such as Mpika, Mkushi, Solwezi, Chirundu, Mufulira and Petauke, will benefit 70,000 people.

Officiating at the Irrigation Development Support Project (IDSP) workshop held in Lusaka recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock said the irrigation sub-sector is integral to developing the agricultural sector.

Government is cognisant of the role that irrigation plays in the development of agriculture through the provision of irrigation infrastructure and establishing associated irrigation schemes for commercialised smallholders, medium and large-scale farmers in high production areas across the country. ‘’Issues of involuntary displacements of local people and subsequent resettlements will mean that the local authority gets involved and ensure that the people are sensitised on the project. Let us ensure that the project is socially acceptable and is environmentally sustainable,’’ information obtained from the ministry said.

The ministry also appealed to farmers to support the project which is meant to contribute to their income generation and poverty reduction.

And, World Bank country director for Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe, Kundahavi Kadiresan pointed out that agriculture presents abundant opportunities for Zambia, to not only reduce poverty, but also create jobs and wealth, particularly for women and the youth.

Zambia can attain its goal to diversify its economy not only from copper mining, but also move away from the focus on one agricultural crop (maize) to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the rural areas, where poverty is high.

The US$15mn ISDP funding is targeted to the agricultural sector over a sevenyear period to assist government address issues pertaining to poverty reduction through income generation, job creation, diversification through irrigated agriculture and commercialisation.

The project was approved by the Bretton Woods institution’s board in April 2011 and became effective in November of the same year.

With contributions from Government and the private sector, the total project

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cost stands at US$201mn.

The main purpose of the project is to address the water needs of households in the target areas for irrigated crop cultivation during the dry season. The developmental objective of the project is to increase yields per hectare for smallholder farmers in the irrigation sites.

The project will include provision of irrigation infrastructure development, facilities and services at the farm gate, advisory services and access to matching grants to farmers and nascent agribusinesses and institutional

development within the ministry.

Economic transformation of the agricultural sector will depend on Zambia’s continued attention to the irrigation sector development. ‘’This project provides one of the keys to unleashing Zambia’s agricultural potential. Its successful implementation will not only support growth in agricultural productivity in the rural areas, but also generate employment and reduce poverty,’’ she elaborated.

Nawa Mutumweno

Processing the World’s Crops – for 60 years

African Farming - November/December 2013

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NEWS

Belgium gives US$2.7mn for Uganda’s cattle corridor BELGIUM HAS OFFERED US$2.7mn (Shs 6.8bn) towards efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change on thousands of farmers in Uganda’s cattle-corridor.

Natural disasters such as floods and long spells of drought, have contributed to diminishing crop and animal productivity in the corridor over recent years. The cattle corridor includes Ankole subregion, Sembabule, Luweero, Nakaseke, Nakasongola, Mubende and Kiboga, among others.

The Belgian aid will go to a project which is in line with the National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA) programme, initiated by the agriculture and water ministries. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will directly supervise the implementation of the Belgium-funded aspects in these districts.

Climate-resilient hybrid millet to fight hunger, diabetes A SOUGHT-AFTER AND drought-tolerant Kenyan crop, little grown because its yields are so low, has received a boost with the release of a new hybrid variety.

Scientists in Kenya say it is the first country in Africa to develop a hybrid seed variety of finger millet, which they hope will supplement the country’s drought-hit main staple – maize – and help fight diabetes as a result of its low sugar content.

Finger millet is one of Kenya’s most important drought-tolerant cereals, but farmers have not expanded production much because the yield is low. Government records put the amount of land planted with finger millet at 65,000 ha, despite rising demand which has led to the grain commanding premium prices in shops.

Lima credit scheme launched THE ZAMBIA NATIONAL Farmers Union (ZNFU), Zanaco and the Finnish Embassy have launched the Lima Credit Scheme at US$18mn in Kabwe, central Zambia to support farmers with easy access to inputs.

Officiating at the event recently, minister of agriculture and livestock Robert Sichinga said the scheme will dovetail with Government’s agricultural policy of crop diversification, value addition and commercialisation of smallholder agriculture.

A census to determine the number of small-scale farmers in the country was carried out by the Government which pegged the number at about 1.5mn. ‘’Our current resources at the record level only support 900,000 farmers. This means that another 600,000 are left out. Therefore, any private sector initiative will go a long way to alleviate challenges faced. The current Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) is estimated to cost Government an estimated US$180mn supplying fertiliser and maize seed to only 900,000 farmers,’’ he elaborated.

The minister commended ZNFU, Zanaco and district farmer associations for making this alliance a success, and co-operating partners, particularly the Finnish government for the financial support.

Speaking at the same event, Zanaco Bank managing director Martyn Schouten said the scheme has grown significantly, registering 10,596 farmers from 230 in 2008. ‘’We hope there will be a consistent and predictable policy applied in the agriculture sector. This is in order to provide a stable and sustainable agriculture business platform, where both financial institutions and farmers are able to take risks without fear of drastic policy shifts that may adversely impact gains over the years and, subsequently, undermine farmers’ ability to service debt with banks,’’ he observed.

Nawa Mutumweno

Insecticide solutions for malaria BAYER CROPSCIENCE RECENTLY signed research agreements to start field evaluations of new insecticidal solutions for malaria vector control at multiple locations in Africa. The company is confident that it can bring this innovation to market well before the end of this decade subject to regulatory approval, provided that preliminary data is confirmed in field trials.

While unprecedented progress has been achieved in malaria control during the past decade, reports of mosquito resistance to insecticides around the

8 African Farming - November/December 2013

world place these gains at risk. In May 2012 and through consultation with stakeholders representing all constituencies of the malaria community, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the "Global Plan for Insecticide Resistance Management in malaria vectors" (GPIRM). The plan urges affected countries and stakeholders to take immediate action to preserve the effectiveness of current vector control tools, but also to ensure that new public health insecticides with new modes of actions are made available.

“We are responding to this call to action and I am pleased to see this mode of action, which is new to malaria vector control, entering field trials now,” said Dr Gunnar Riemann, member of the Executive Committee of Bayer CropScience and president of the Environmental Science Division. These field trials complement Bayer CropScience´s commitment in the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) to improve public health by increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the control of insects which transmit disease.

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S03 AF NovDec 2013 Analysis - Poultry_Layout 1 11/28/2013 12:57 PM Page 9

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NEWS

DRC plans significant investment in agriculture

Namibian cattle exports set to benefit local farmers

UNTIL NOW, THE DRC has not produced enough food for its population or for export though the country enjoys fertile lands, fresh water bodies and conducive climatic conditions.

However, DRC's Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo Mapon said his administration wants to diversify the economy with investments that could make DRC the breadbasket for the Great Lakes region and beyond. He said the government wants to transform small scale farming activities, which are estimated to employ about 70 per cent of the rural population.

“I have been busy working in order to make agriculture a priority sector not on a small scale, but into an agro-based industry,” said Ponyo Mapon. “We are in partnership with experts who are coming from all over the place, even from Harvard University, to help us to set up agroindustrial machinery that will be capable of facing the future challenges.”

He said the administration aims to use agriculture to boost employment among youth.

“Agriculture can also help us resolve the issue of macroeconomic stability because today, we spend about US$1.3bn to import food stuffs. So, if we produce everything we consume today, we are capable of saving US$1.3bn per year,” said Ponyo Mapon.

THE NAMIBIAN GOVERNMENT will export cattle to Angola to make the livestock sector more profitable. (Image source: Olivier)The Namibian government is seeking to export cattle to Angola to keep livestock production in the country profitable, while improving the livelihoods of local farmers The Omaheke Regional Council will join forces with Angola’s Cuando Cubango province to export cattle on the hoof as well as processed meat products to Angola.

"I have received an invitation from the governor of the Lubango province, General Higino Carneiro, to visit him in November to discuss the details of the proposed long-term plan and hopefully sign the agreement that could boost our meat industry, create hundreds of jobs and contribute on a big scale to the [economy] by adding value to our export products,” revealed the Omaheke region governor, Festus Ueitele.

Namibian/Angolan Housing Institution (NAAHI) founder, Jose Oliveira, stated that Namibia has exported more than 200,000 cattle to South Africa, while Angola is still in need of better quality livestock.

"We are hammering out the details of a sustainable, long-term export trade that will be in the best interest of both countries," Oliveira said.

"We will sell our animals and meat products at respectable prices, and the Angolans are prepared to pay these prices because of the quality they get and the knowledge that they will improve vastly on their breeding stock.”

Swine leptospirosis research

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10 African Farming - November/December 2013

RESEARCH CARRIED OUT by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) indicates that pig farmers and small-scale slaughterhouse workers have low awareness of leptospirosis- a disease passed from swine to humans.

Across the developing nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America, regular contact between pigs and humans may increase transmission of this disease. Direct exposure to urine or contaminated water increases the risk. People who work or live with animals such as pigs have a higher risk of contracting the disease.

Very often swine and humans share dwelling crumpled places increasing transmission of the spirochaete bacterium called Leptospira spp.

Conducted in Vietnam in collaboration with the Vietnamese Department of Animal Health, Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City and Nong Lam University, the three- year study tested more than 360 people and 880 pigs in Tien Giang and Binh Phuoc provinces.

Leptospirosis stunts the growth of pigs and causes them to abort, leading to economic losses for pig owners and the pork industry as a whole. People who develop the disease also suffer economic losses due to decreased productivity or missed work and the costs of seeking medical treatment. Symptoms of leptospirosis in humans include high fever, severe headache, chills, muscle aches, and vomiting, and may include jaundice, red eyes, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and rash.

According to World Health Organization, approximately 10 million people come down with leptospirosis annually. Death rates are hard to calculate, but WHO believes death rate may be between 5 per cent to 25 per cent of infected patients.

Researchers recommend increased public health education on the disease. A the same time, persons working with animals should wear protective clothing like gloves and boots when cleaning animals and pens to reduced chances of bacteria entering the body through cuts nd scratches.

The risk of leptospirosis spreading among animals can be reduced by separating them in several pens rather than keeping them altogether in large groups.

Mwangi Mumero

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S03 AF NovDec 2013 Analysis - Poultry_Layout 1 11/28/2013 12:57 PM Page 11

NEWS

Practical feed and water management for broilers AVIAN NUTRITIONISTS AND feed formulators around the world are making huge strides on behalf of poultry producers to achieve feed and water management refinement for a better flock .

Feed compounders go to great lengths to see that commercial feed rations contain correct levels and proportions of nutrients to ensure consistently high economic poultry production.

Benefits from improvements in pellet quality are now well established with trials conducted

by Aviagen showing quite clearly that for every 10 per cent increase in the proportion of fines (defined as feed particles smaller than 1mm), there is a corresponding reduction of 40gm in the live-weight of birds at 35 days.

However, high-spec refinements in feed content and pellet formulation are of limited consequence unless producers physically handle feed and water inputs.

Inputs made at the mill to improve feed pellet quality will be lost if on-farm feed management is poor. Pellet breakdown commonly occurs if the feed is blown from the delivery lorry into the feed bin. Pellet breakdown at this point can be minimised by maintaining the feed pipe as full of feed as possible and the discharge speed low.

An appropriately low speed can be achieved by maintaining an engine speed of between 1,300rpm and 1,500rpm with a pressure of nine psi for meal and seven psi for pellets.

However, care must be taken not to maintain the rate of discharge rate too low and slow because the risk of pipe blockage becomes greater.

Feed consignments and stocks are more easily, economically and safely managed by having two storage bins per poultry house.

This system permits an entire consignment of feed to be depleted at one time thus ensuring the correct type of feed is being fed and that withdrawal times are met.

Bulk storage bins should be designed, constructed and sited to protect feed contents from rain to avoid feed from becoming wet, damp and mouldy. Mouldy feed poses clear and direct risks to poultry health through production of mycotoxins by fungal moulds growing on the feed grain or finished feed.

Vermins, rodents and wild birds are a potentially big factors affecting farm feed loss, significantly reducing the amount available and reducing quality through contamination.

Storage bins should designed so that vermin cannot enter with regular inspection and cleaning carried out as a matter of course. If feed storage in bags is unavoidable, the bags should be kept off the floor using raised pallets to prevent them absorbing moisture from the floor and to provide some protection from rodents.

www.africanfarming.net

New production facility for Ferm O Feed MAINTAINING A LIVING soil, rich in humus and nutrients, is the key to growing great fruits and vegetables, abundant flowers, and longlasting ornamental trees and shrubs.

Ferm O Feed, a subsidiary of Den Ouden Group from Schijndel, is building a new production facility for natural organic fertilisers. Ferm O Feed brings the production, packing and distribution facilities together in one location, reaching more cost-effective and integrated operations. This new production facility dries chicken manure and produces pelletised organic (mineral) fertilisers. The processing capacity will be

60,000 tons (output) per year and it is expected to be operational by early 2014.

Fertilisation, if applied correctly, produces higher yields at a much lower cost, and without the risks of environmental pollution and decreased soil fertility.

Ferm O Feed's products are not only a source of balanced minerals (macro and micro nutrients) needed for a strong and healthy growth of any plant, but also a source of organic matter for the soil. They increase the soil’s water retention capacity, restore depleted soil to a healthy PH balance and increase beneficial microbiological activity.

8 - 10 April 2014, Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC) Bangkok, Thailand

African Farming - November/December 2013 11

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POULTRY

Poultry vaccines continue to remain an expensive necessity for smaller poultry farm owners.

Vaccination, a vexed issue for small poultry farmers

V

ACCINATION IS AN essential part of commercial poultry production but continues to remain accessible only by big farmers due to the high cost of vaccines and limited availability. In many parts of the world, vaccination is not generally practised by small poultry farm owners and for a variety of good reasons.

Some poultry farmers, and especially those that operate an essentially closed family-run operation, with minimal on and off farm movements, may be lucky to have relatively few disease problems. Others may have diseases in their birds but unaware of its presence. Consequently, the presence of sick and unthrifty hens becomes an accepted norm.

For farmers in such situations a problem of ignorance, made worse due to on-going disease problems, continues to persist. Such diseases often do not get diagnosed by a properly qualified professional, either because of limited availability of such service or due to their services being too expensive.

Other farmers may be aware of diseases in their flocks but are unable to access vaccines, or are frustrated in their attempts to purchase them, because the appropriate vaccine only comes in multiple (500 to 1,000) dose vials suitable for large producers.

The irony is that virtually all mainstream poultry diseases seen in birds could have been prevented through the relevant vaccination at the appropriate age and stage in the bird’s life. Poultry diseases cause widespread and heavy losses in production and profit by impacting on yield and quality of meat and eggs. Vaccination is invariably a very worthwhile and indeed critically important investment.

The decision on whether or not to vaccinate against infectious diseases largely comes down to an assessment by the poultry producer on the likelihood of his or her birds becoming exposed to the causal microbial pathogens.

A completely closed flock where new birds are never introduced and the birds never leave the farm may get away without vaccination, although disease can still be introduced by wild birds, rodents and contaminated feed and water. However, this 12 African Farming - November/December 2013

All mainstream poultry diseases can be prevented with relevant vaccination at an appropriate stage in a bird’s life. Here a chicken is being vaccinated against Newcastle disease in Tanzania.

Vaccination is invariably a very worthwhile and indeed critically important investment. kind of completely ‘closed’ flock situation is relatively rare and all producers are advised to vaccinate the bird especially if the owner buys birds from hatcheries, bird auctions or any other sources and introduces and them into his/her existing flocks.

Practical vaccination Poultry vaccines are generally produced in large doses per vial and especially for the convenience of commercial producers who may have tens of thousands of birds requiring vaccination at the same time. This means the small producer may have to search further afield for a supplier who is prepared to sell vaccines in relatively small quantities. However, any extra hassle in accessing vaccines should in no way deter or discourage the small poultry producer from administering vaccine to his or her birds. Some vaccines such as Marek’s vaccine are best given at the hatchery and this may be the best source of vaccine and therefore the first port of call.

Once the decision has been made to vaccinate on farm, the owner should aim and plan to vaccinate the entire flock at one time and be meticulous in following the label directions on the vaccine being used to ensure best protection and complete safety for the flock.

Marek’s disease Marek’s disease is a severe debilitating and often terminal viral disease affecting chickens.

Infected birds become emaciated with drooping wings and may develop paralysis in one or both legs. Tumours may also develop within the bird’s internal organs.

Marek’s disease is invariably a lot worse that it normally appears because only a small proportion of the birds in an infected flock may show these symptoms and die.

However, the majority of birds will have ‘unsymptomatic’ infection and although appearing outwardly normal, they will be shedding virus particles in huge quantities for the rest of their life on the farm. Only a small percentage of birds within an infected flock will show typical symptoms and die.

When a virus shedding bird is introduced onto a farm where the disease has never occurred before, high mortality rates are quickly seen. Once infected with the virus a www.africanfarming.net

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POULTRY

Vaccination is unavoidable if health and wellbeing of birds have to be ensured.

farm is, for all practical purposes, contaminated forever. Generally speaking, broiler birds encounter fewer problems from Marek's disease than do layers, simply because they spend less time on the farm.

However, the good news for small poultry producers is that vaccination against Marek's disease is highly effective provided it is carried out in the correct way. This particular vaccination is most correctly and efficiently done at the hatchery to one day old chicks. It is, therefore, easier all round

for the producer to order already vaccinated chicks from the hatchery. Otherwise, it is essential to ensure vaccination of all new birds on the day of their arrival on farm.

Marek’s vaccine will not be completely effective if a bird has already been exposed to the disease for more than a few days prior to vaccination. Marek’s vaccine is sold frozen for administration under the skin at the back of the bird’s neck. Label instructions must be followed to the letter for vaccination to be successful.

Fowl pox Fowl Pox is caused by yet another highly infectious virus (the pox virus) affecting both chickens and turkeys. Fowl pox is strictly a disease of birds and entirely unrelated to the human illness called chicken pox.

The disease typically causes round and firmly adhering scabs on any un-feathered areas of the bird’s skin, together with fever (high temperature) and a drastic fall in feed consumption, resulting in slow growth rates and reduced egg production.

The virus is spread from bird to bird through the bites of blood-sucking insects or through wounds and scratches inflicted by birds on each other while fighting.

Though seriously debilitating and often fatal, fowl pox is easily prevented by vaccination. Vaccine is introduced directly into the skin by using a two-pronged metal needle previously dipped in the vaccine. All birds on the farm should be vaccinated at one time with yearly booster vaccinations recommended.

Newcastle disease Newcastle disease is the most important of a wide range of respiratory diseases that cause devastating losses in both commercial flocks and village chickens.

This virus disease, which is a major

info.sa@kemin.com

www.africanfarming.net

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POULTRY

constraint on the productivity and survival of village chickens, can be controlled by the use of vaccines.

Some Newcastle disease vaccines deteriorate after storage for one or two hours at room temperature, which clearly makes them unsuitable for use in village situations where the vaccine may need to be transported for hours or in some cases days at ambient temperature.

The I-2 Newcastle disease vaccine, which has been specifically developed for local or regional poultry production is more robust under higher temperature conditions. It is described as a thermostable vaccine which requires long-term storage in the refrigerator.

However, this I-2 vaccine will not deteriorate as quickly as the traditional vaccines during transportation into the field.

Evaporative cooling provided by wrapping the vaccine in a damp cloth will be adequate for maintaining the viability of the vaccine during transportation to remote villages. However, if it is stored in direct sunlight or allowed to reach high temperatures, above 37°C, for more than a few hours it too will deteriorate and be unsuitable for use as a vaccine.

Infectious bronchitis (IB) Many poultry producers have problems with Infectious Bronchitis (IB), yet another highly contagious disease of the respiratory system which is caused by a virus. Any poultry producer who buys chicks from hatcheries or other sources and adds them to the flock should definitely consider vaccinating for IB. The IB live virus vaccines are usually administered to young birds and may be given together with Newcastle disease vaccine in a combined dose. Therefore, it may be possible and clearly much easier to locate a source of Newcastle vaccine and IB vaccine at the same time.

IB live-virus vaccines are usually administered to young birds combined with the Newcastle vaccine for simultaneous administration. Unfortunately, the IB vaccine is usually produced in large quantities for commercial hatchery type applications, although the actual vaccine is relatively inexpensive even when purchased in large quantities. The live-virus vaccine is shipped in a small, insulated cooler with a gel-ice pack to maintain refrigeration. It consists of two parts, the vial of vaccine and diluent,

which must be stored separately in the refrigerator (in the dark) until administering the vaccine.

When ready to administer, the entire vial of vaccine and diluent are mixed, used to vaccinate the chickens and the remaining contents disposed of. The vaccine can be given via drinking water, eye drop, or nose drop.

Infectious laryngotracheitis Infectious laryngotracheitis is a highly infectious virus disease affecting the bird's trachea or wind pipe. Affected birds typically gasp for air and cough up blood with high mortality rates not uncommon.

The disease frequently circulates at bird auctions and shows. Any decision to vaccinate must include every single bird on the farm. Treatment is most effectively applied when the birds are one month old and yearly booster vaccines are recommended. Fast diagnosis followed by prompt vaccination should curtail the spread of this disease throughout the flock and prevent an otherwise considerable loss of birds. h

By Dr Terry Mabbett

Poultry production rises in Uganda POULTRY PRODUCTION IN Uganda rose by 3.2 per cent in 2012 despite the effect climate change has had on the country's poultry sector.

The increase in production levels has led to people in the country venturing into poultry farming, with the hope of creating revenue. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics 2013 recently revealed that the number of cattle in the country has been on the rise from 12.1mn in 2010 to 12.46mn in 2011 before rising to 12.84mn last year.

The report stated that increased poultry production is due to the prevention of animal diseases and improvement in livestock

production systems as a result of routine livestock extension interventions.

Poultry production increased from 42.7mn birds in 2010 to 44.3mn in 2011 and 45.9mn last year.

This rise is expected to save the country millions of dollars, which otherwise would have been used on the importation of chickens and eggs, mainly from Brazil and South Africa.

Egg production increased to 27,057 tonnes (807,634 eggs) compared to 26,269 tonnes (784,111 eggs) reported back in 2011.

Improving poultry production for smallholders THE CHICKEN, BEEF and pork processor Tyson Foods is helping improve production for small-holder farmers in Tanzania.

In co-operation with World Vision's Secure the Future Tanzania initiative, the Arkansasbased producer is sending staff to Tanzania's Babati region to teach thousands of local farmers how to raise chickens sustainably including best breed selection, keeping water clean, best feed choices, housing and disease management as well as processing, transportation and marketing.

"I've been to Tanzania and know it’s a beautiful country with hard-working people, but I’ve also seen the devastating hunger there and need for agricultural improvements," said Tyson Foods CEO Donnie Smith. "Our initiative isn’t about just giving the people of Tanzania money or food. It’s about sharing our knowledge and helping them create for themselves a sustainable

14 African Farming - November/December 2013

source of food so they can lift themselves out of the cycle of poverty. We believe it’s the best way to help give them a hunger-free world and to provide well for their children."

The UN World Food Program estimates that more than 40 per cent of Tanzanians live with chronic food deficits.

World Vision says this project will help educate 2,700 farmers about sustainable chicken production and directly benefit the lives of more than 10,000 Tanzanians with plans to extend the program to 6,000 additional households.

"The country is full of hardworking smallholder farmers who simply need information and expertise to turn their fields into a rich harvest," said World Vision US president Richard Stearns. "That's why we are excited to partner with Tyson. By sharing the knowledge of one of the great food producers in the world,

farmers in Tanzania will be able to build the foundation for a sustainable source of food."

The Tanzania project builds on Tyson's experience in Rwanda where the Fortune 500 firm helped open an egg farm in 2010 producing for the local market and improving protein for children.

"This new project with World Vision will expand our hunger-relief efforts in Africa and empower people living with limited resources, said Dave Juenger of the Tyson subsidiary Cobb-Vantress. "That's what it's all about-making a real difference around the world."

World Vision's Stearns says its Secure the Future initiative is more than a handout. "It is about developing the capacity of local farmers to feed their country and grow their economy," he said.

Scott Stearns

www.africanfarming.net

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2013/14 Agricultural campaign reinforced with irrigation systems THE 2013/2014 AGRICULTURAL Campaign that started in October this year will be reinforced with the implementation of irrigation systems, distribution of seeds and other inputs, with a view to avoid the loss of crops, given the shortage of rains.

The information was released in Lubango, southern Huila province, by the local provincial director of Agriculture and Rural Development, Lutero Campos. According to him, the campaign is expected to till more than 605,000 ha of land, and the involvement of 150,000 peasant families organised into co-operatives existing in Huiila province, is expected to produce 500,000 tons of assorted crops.

Lutero Campos added that the purpose is to use the river and lakes existing in the region to relaunch irrigation and avoid loss of seeds in case of drought.

“We are betting on irrigation as the cycles of drought are starting to be repetitive and we cannot afford to continue to see millions of cubic meters of water flowing down into the ocean or other rivers, while we can use them for irrigation,” the official said.

Lutero Campos explained that the Provincial Department of Agriculture has started the distribution of seeds of corn, beans and other grains and vegetables, as well as fertilisers and farming instruments.

He said the first to benefit from the distribution of seeds are the families whose cultures were destroyed by the drought, that is the peasants in the municipalities of Quilengues, Gambos, Matala and Quipungo.

Meanwhile, more than 600,000 ha had been tilled for the 2012/2013 season that produced only 200,000 of the expected 500,000 tons, due to the severe spell of drought recorded in that period.

Project to support family agriculture launched THE MINISTER OF Family Issues and Promotion of Women (Minfamu), Filomena Delgado, recently launched an agricultural project dubbed ‘Horta Familiar’ (family vegetable garden) in Golungo Alto which is aimed at supporting initiatives in family farming and reinforcing the diet.

ANGOP has learnt that the programme, which counts on the partnership of the FAO and the Agriculture Ministry, is part of the actions outlined in Minfamu's development plan for the 2013/2017 term and it is mainly designed to assist rural women.

Speaking in the launching ceremony of the project, Filomena Delgado explained that this move is aimed at reducing the level of malnutrition being recorded in women and children that live in rural areas.

The project is intended to cover over two million peasant families countrywide, aiming for the strengthening of food security. It is to include the provision of technical assistance to peasants.

National Beverage Company celebrates success in Angola SOUTH AFRICAN JSE-listed can manufacturer Nampak Bevcan is celebrating its success in Angola that exceeds all prior predictions.

After two years of operations, Angolata Viana, Nampak Bevcan’s first greenfield investment outside South Africa, is operating self-sufficiently and continuously exceeding production and quality targets.

Beverage can sales volumes from Angolata increased by more than 20 per cent from year before, which required imports directly from Nampak Bevcan South Africa to keep up with demand.

Breeding for 500 Eggs!

www.isapoultry.com

www.africanfarming.net

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ANGOLA

There are some modest signs of a reversal of Angola’s mass rural exodus, thanks to a number of new schemes aimed at resurrecting the fortunes of the world’s most valuable farm commodity, coffee.

Stirring initiatives: Angola’s coffee

A

NGOLA WAS FORMERLY the industry’s fourth-largest grower, but its coffee output plummeted in the 1980s and 1990s as farmers abandoned the land to seek the safety of the towns. The country produced a quarter of a million tonnes of coffee beans at its peak in 1973, but sank to a low point of just 3,000 tonnes in 1992.

A farming project in the Porto Amboim region of Kwanza Sul province is in the vanguard of efforts to reinstate Angola’s past coffee glories, but this time with the added incentive of ensuring better prices and conditions for the producers.

Programa de Fomento da Cultura do Amboim was developed in tandem with similar initiatives in two other post-conflict countries, Nicaragua and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The aim is to resettle people on the land, cut rural unemployment and restore neglected coffee plantations. The hope is that these pilot projects will provide examples and knowledge for replication elsewhere.

The project has the financial support of the International Coffee Organization (ICO), the Angolan and US governments, as well as institutional, technical and sales assistance from US Aid, the Co-operative League of the United States of America (CLUSA), and CABI (formally known as the Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux International).

Since the peak and decline of Angola’s coffee output, the world coffee market has changed markedly. Coffee now enjoys historically high prices thanks to a general commodity price boom stimulated by increasingly heavy global demand.

This change has benefited small-scale producers and not just the large plantation owners. Consumers are nowadays also proactively seeking coffee from small growers and consciously agreeing to pay premium prices for their efforts in producing coffee.

Family holdings, especially those farming organically and in harmony with the environment, are now able to take advantage of this new situation. Angola scores highly in this regard as 90 per cent of its coffee now comes from family smallholdings instead of the huge colonial plantations which accounted for 70 per cent of production in the past.

16 African Farming - November/December 2013

The aim of the Programa de Fomento da Cultura do Amboim is to resettle people on the land, cut rural unemployment and restore neglected coffee plantations.

Doing it for themselves The Porto Amboim project started in 2008 when the government and NGOs encouraged 4,917 families to farm 8,000 ha of neglected plantations covering three types of farming areas: low-lying savannah, cool forested highlands and an area of transition between the two.

The lower areas could grow the more resilient yet less valuable coffee variety Robusta, while the highlands were suitable for the more sought-after and thus pricier Arabica variety. Arabica is milder tasting, while Robusta gives higher yields and is used more in instant coffee and in stronger roasts.

Producing Arabica in its shady forest locations also helps efforts to protect the environment. Here, yields currently reach 610 kg per hectare compared to 409kg per hectare on the savannah, and 550kg per hectare in the area of transition. These yields have far exceeded the target originally laid down for the project area of 350kg per hectare.

Each family was given US$500 in credit,

around two hectares of land and 2,000 coffee plants in plastic bags from a stock of 10mn. The families had to nurture these young plants in home-made nurseries and then replant the mature bushes on their plots.

So that the families could survive during this process, they also received help to farm a mix of subsistence crops such as bananas and cassava. Replanting the coffee saplings had “an excellent success rate of 87 to 90 per cent,” according to José Mahinga, assistant administrative director at the National Coffee Institute (INCA).

Coffee production has steadily risen at the project, thanks partly to local model farms which served as examples of best practice. Here growers have been taught the importance and benefits of pruning trees to raise output – a chore traditional farmers resisted but seeing much higher yields on the model farms within just two years won them over.

In order to improve coffee flavour, farmers have also learned to use simple, raised drying tables to reduce the earthy taste of the coffee and thus gain higher prices.

Organic fertiliser made from coffee husks has also aided yields not only in coffee but in all the smallholders’ farm crops. Angola’s farmers have been able to make a virtue of a necessity: the previously abandoned coffee plantations had not used mineral fertilisers nor industrial insecticides for 40 years, and this gives Angola’s coffee farms the right to claim in their marketing that they have been organic for longer than most! www.africanfarming.net

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ANGOLA

and Chevron have provided financial credit to small coffee growers.

Apart from much higher prices, the industry has seen a transformation in the structure of farming and sales.

To maintain this organic ‘tradition’, the project uses botanical insecticides such as soap-based soups that have proved effective and doesn’t use any mineral fertilisers.

Social support The Porto Amboim project also addresses the wider development and healthcare.

Project workers and coffee-growers in areas with difficult access have communally constructed 17 classrooms from local materials to serve 1,683 pupils. They have also developed community health centres and small-scale infrastructure such as bridges, with the government providing teachers and health workers.

America’s CLUSA helped the project’s institution building. This involved encouraging the farmers to form associations and promote common objectives. Some 101 Porto Amboim farmers’ associations formed 13 cooperatives, which in turn have united under one umbrella organisation called Cesacopa.

This central organisation’s office and warehouse act as a focal point of contact for marketing and trading the coffee. So far it has struck sales deals with Portugal and South Korea. In addition, Cesacopa supports farmers seeking credit and channels finance from banks while also providing a democratic forum for growers to articulate their demands.

Cesacopa won the 2012 Incubator Award for business development in Africa, beating a field of 30 competitor presentations at Utrecht in the Netherlands. The award was granted by the Dutch Humanist Institute for Development Co-operation (Hivos) and artner organisation Venture Capital for Africa. The Dutch Humanist Institute for Co-operation with Developing Countries (Hivos) and partner organisation Venture Capital for Africa granted the award which recognises Cesacopa’s efforts in developing quality coffee exports, creating jobs, providing community support and protecting the environment.

One successful outcome of the Porto Amboim project, according to INCA’s José Mahinga, has been that growers have, as intended, gained more income. In 2011 the families involved in the project received 73.4 per cent of the selling price.

Looking ahead, Mahinga said the next 18 African Farming - November/December 2013

step in adding value to Porto Amboim’s coffee was to process it locally. An organisation such as Cesacopa would have a key role in such a development.

Coffee in its husk, known as mabuba in Angola, fetches around US$0.60 per kg, while when hulled it brings in between US$1.30 and US$1.50 per kg. However, roasted coffee sells at a hugely increased US$12.50 per kg, explained Mahinga. “We want to reduce the gap between these values to favour the producer.”

In the longer term Mahinga said he hopes to maintain the quality of the coffee and strengthen the power of coffee-growers, allowing them to do the business themselves.

Over the next five years he also expected to see the Porto Amboim farmers produce 6,000 tonnes a year, double the low point for the whole country in 1992. “It’s very possible to achieve this,” he predicted.

“Amboim coffee can be a reference point for all Angolan coffee.”

Another factor favouring Angolan coffee sales is the high quality of Amboim’s Robusta variety. Mahinga recounted that Brazilian coffee-taste experts had great difficulty in distinguishing the region’s Robusta from the much higher-valued Arabica variety.

Coffee fair In July 2012, Angola held its first coffee fair in Gabela, at the heart of its leading coffee province, Kwanza Sul. The fair, promoted by INCA, attracted around 5,000 people.

Agriculture and Rural Development minister Afonso Pedro Canga, speaking at the event, said the fair was “a space to identify opportunities and establish credible partnerships”. Trade minister Idalina Valente also attended along with 31 producers, coffee roasters, trading companies and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs).

Gabela is home to an INCA research station which gathers data on coffee varieties.

Here, more than 80 members of staff have been trained in good agricultural practices, while two went on to Brazil to train in coffee classification and grading.

Coffee is also produced in other provinces such as Kwanza Norte, Uíge and Huíla.

Angola-based oil companies including BP

Vietnam co-operation Angola’s coffee development policy is not restricted to small producers. In July 2012 the country signed an agreement with Vietnam’s Thai Hoa Group, the country’s top Arabica producer and trader, and Brazilian consultants, to help refurbish coffee plantations. The idea is to plant 100,000 ha over the next decade.

Vietnam is the world’s second-largest coffee producer after Brazil.

The Vietnamese and the Brazilians will partner an Angolan coffee producer to grow 6,000 ha of Robusta over the next three years. When signing the agreement in Hanoi, Angola’s ambassador to Vietnam, João Manuel Bernardo, told the press: “Now we want to regain our position in the production of coffee, along with cotton and other agricultural products.”

If the first stage is successful, a US$250mn credit line from Brazil and other sources will extend the Angolan project to the full 100,000 ha. Brazil could be the likely importer of the Robusta variety because of Angola’s higher production costs. Brazil produces Arabica mainly for export, but also Robusta chiefly for domestic consumption.

Market changes While Angola has been absent from world coffee markets, changes have taken place in the sector’s profile. Apart from much higher prices, the industry has seen a transformation in the structure of farming and sales. Smallscale planting operations, often a number of family farms organised in co-operatives, have grown in importance.

Coffee drinkers have become more discerning in choosing their favourite variety and are also keen on seeing farmers get better payment for their efforts. As a result, small growers, perhaps using organic growing methods, can ask premium prices for their coffee.

Today’s consumers of expensive coffee like to know where their drink originates and which particular farmers will benefit from their purchases, and they are inclined to pay more for this coffee experience.

Over the past decade world commodity prices have risen dramatically, largely thanks to the emergence of new economic powerhouse countries where consumers with greater spending power are drinking more. h www.africanfarming.net

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ANGOLA

Agromundo is a global services company in the areas of agriculture and cattle production, offerning modern and effective solutions through cutting-edge technology to farmers across Angola. African Farming talked to its general director, Jorge Jover.

Integrated solutions for agriculture in Angola CAN YOU TELL us a little about the history of Agromundo?

Agromundo is a wholly owned Angolan company. It is part of the MITC Investment group. Our focus is the supply of agricultural inputs that can improve the level of production on Angolan farms. We achieve this by representing companies that are leaders in their respective fields.

Angola has a million hectares of arable land and one of Africa's largest water reserves and yet agriculture has been fairly neglected. What is the government doing about this and how can Agromundo help?

It is unfair to say that agriculture has been

www.africanfarming.net

neglected by the Angolan government.

They have set objectives in their Agriculture Strategy to make Angola self-sufficient in food production and also to become an exporter of agricultural products.

The government of Angola has invested in rehabilitating some of the irrigation schemes like the one in Waku Kungo, Matala and Chibia. Farmers are using irrigation but there is still huge potential to increase the number of hectares under irrigation. Most farmers are using credit lines from the government to do this. As an input supplier Agromundo can help with irrigation planning and the supply of irrigation equipment and other inputs like seed and agrochemicals.

Jover believes the main advantage for Agromundo is not only decades of expertise in the region, but the fact that the people working there genuinely love the country and want to see business and opportunities flourish.

Part of the government’s vision for increasing the commercial farming sector is the use of public private partnerships (PPP) and some projects are already in production.

African Farming - November/December 2013 19

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ANGOLA

Angola was once the world's fourth largest coffee producer and an exporter of food and sisal. Can those times return?

The coffee industry has grown constantly over the past few years and Angola is exporting coffee again. To my knowledge, there has not been a return to sisal production.

What other crops is Agromundo looking at?

Agromundo supplies inputs to grain, vegetable, fruit and sugar cane farmers. We foresee growth in all these crops and later also some diversification to crops like soya and sunflower. Industrial crops like cotton and tobacco are currently not produced in significant quantities in Angola and there is some potential for these in future.

As regards livestock, Agromundo is also working in the cattle-raising sector, I believe - what solutions are you looking at to improve this sector?

The growth of the livestock industry in Angola is hampered by a lack of modern abattoirs. These will require private sector investment. The supply chain cannot develop without modern abattoirs. Abattoirs

20 African Farming - November/December 2013

Agromundo can help with irrigation planning and the supply of irrigation equipment.

need a consistant supply of quality slaughter stock that can be supplied from feedlots. The feedlots then offer an offtake to farmers for their weaner calves. Before the feedlot, pig and poultry industries can develop and become competitive in Angola, the country will have to become more self-sufficient in grain production, such as maize, soya and sunflower.

Processing facilities for soya will be needed before soya can become a major crop in the country. At the moment Angola does not allow the import of GM seeds, and this will make the production cost of soya higher.

Agromundo’s focus on improving the cattle sector is on the supply of veterinary

medicines and in the near future also vaccines, cattle feed supplements and modern pasture seed genetics. One area that Agromundo would like to improve is the nutrition of cattle in the dry season; this is a big problem in Angola. Constant feedflow during the year can be achieved by cultivating pasture for standing hay and storing hay bales for the dry season. It is also important to supplement phosphate, energy and protein through supplementary lick blocks.

Some of these technologies can also be used by the smallholder sector, which will always be an integral part of livestock production in Angola and Agromundo will keep on making available inputs like veterinary medicines in package sizes suitable for them.

Primarily agriculture seems to be dominated by small-scale farmers. Are you seeking to create more opportunities for commercial farming?

The commercial farming sector will continue to grow in Angola and the challenge for Agromundo will be to make available modern production technology that can be applied cost effectively by Angolan farmers to increase their yields. h

www.africanfarming.net

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CONVENTION REVIEW

Organised by Pan Trade Services Ltd of the UK and co-sponsored by renowned Brazilian agricultural machinery and equipment manufacturers Baldan, Jacto and Nogueira and equally prominent agriculture equipment and supplies doyens in Kenya - FMD East Africa Ltd and Osho Chemical Industries Ltd, the Pan African Dealers’ Convention in Africa took place between 1 and 4 October 2013 in Kenya. Fred John Ndung'u Ng'ang'a reported back.

Pan African Dealers’ Convention successfully hosted in Kenya FMD’s HQ with some of the delegates outside.

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NDER THE THEME “Brazilian Technology Serving African Farming,” the event was ably co-ordinated by Soho Industrial Ltd, Kenya.

Hosting about 108 delegates including 28 from the three Brazilian companies, 30 from Kenya, nine from companies and institutions in the UK and the rest from Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, South Sudan, South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius, Malawi, Ghana, Ethiopia and Burundi, this was a landmark, serious and comprehensive event.

The Convention started with a welcome dinner at Nairobi’s Pampa restaurant,

22 African Farming - November/December 2013

which was addressed by her Excellency Mrs Marcella Maria Nicodemos, Brazilian ambassador to Kenya. The following morning most of the delegates in four shuttle buses travelled 170 km from Nairobi, where they had been hosted since arrival, to Nakuru town’s FMD East Africa headquarters. Here they were welcomed by FMD CEO Fergus Robley and separated into three groups that visited the sales, parts and workshop, and administration departments in turns. FMD employees took charge taking the visitors into various sections and answering their various queries.

FMD was awarded the Massey Ferguson franchise in 2002 to compliment

the Jacto, Baldan and Nogueira products.

With the head office in Nakuru (an agricultural epi-centre in Kenya), the company runs other branches in Nairobi and Eldoret, Mr Kiplimo Kosgey, FMD parts manager told my group. The FMD E Africa warehouse holds a huge consignment stock with about 15,000 line items, worth US$0.5mn, and with the slow moving stock being stored upstairs.

Since 1977, Mr Robley explained, FMD has been importing Jacto, Baldan and Nogueira and equipment and holds a large stock of the implements. The value of the sales has moved from US$1mn in 2009 to US$2.3mn currently and is expected to exceed US$2.5mn in 2014.

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CONVENTION REVIEW

“Here customer experience is good since we have reliable technology, good back up services and adequate stocks. Most business is from repeat customers.

Though the recently introduced 16 per cent VAT is affecting our business, we have a very low staff turnover. Our staff are committed, passionate, well-trained and organised and I’m happy to note that this event has been well organised even with my leave of absence,” explained Robley. He said that training of staff is a prerequisite given that dealing in agricultural equipment requires lots of experience especially with on-site fitting and fixing. Training is conducted in-house and in collaboration with the partners.

From FMD East Africa, the delegates were transferred to Sanctuary Farm just near Lake Naivasha. Here was a field day with equipment demonstrations by the Brazilian suppliers Jacto, Baldan and Nogueira for farmers and other guests, including Sen James Kiarie Mungai, MP and Nakuru county governor. He appreciated the superior Brazilian equipment on display acknowledging that it would boost agricultural mechanisation in the country.

A Jacto self-propelled sprayer called the Uniport Star, as well as the Baldan zero tillage planter PP Solo and ASDADR

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sub-soiler, and Nogueira balers and forage harvesters were among the equipment that caught the attention of many here. Lunch was followed by a raffle draw where guests won many prizes, the three top prizes of which were a Baldan plough; a Nogueira grinder/chopper (DPM) and a Jacto Condor-mounted boom sprayer. A lively and interesting football match between the African delegates and their Brazilian guests followed. The game ended late in the evening with a two-nil win by the Brazilians, and was followed by an African themed dinner at Sopa Lodge, Naivasha, where delegates wore their respective country’s national dress, danced to Kenyan music, and enjoyed traditional Kenyan cuisine.

The convention seminar itself Mr Pankaj C D Shah, international marketing consultant of Pan Trade Services Ltd UK, succeeded in mobilising the delegates and guests early on 3 October for breakfast and the Seminar that started promptly by 8.30 am.

He presented the history of Jacto/Baldan/Nogueira sales in Africa that commenced with the 1976 visit to Kenya by Mr Shunji Nishimura, the legendary Jacto founder. He set the tone for the Seminar by presenting the future prospects for mechanisation of farming in Africa and introduced Mr Kiplimo Kosgey, FMD parts manager, who represented Mr Robley and went on to introduce the chief guest, J A M Nkanya, the chief engineer agricultural engineering services, Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture, who was representing the cabinet secretary for agriculture Felix Koskei.

Elaborate and graphic company presentations followed from Jacto Brazil AG Department by Robson Zofoli, commercial director; Baldan Brazil by Mr

Sidnei Candido, export manager for CEO Celso Ruiz; Nogueira Brazil by Eudelcio Dias, export manager; Jacto Small Farm Solutions by Shun Nishimura, GM, JSFS. Other presentations included the story of Brazilian success in South African farming

by Northmec RSA and FATEC School Pompeia: Precision farming by Robson Zofoli, commercial director of Jacto AG Division. The session ended with questions and answers and lunch after which guests and delegates left for different activities and destinations including a flight to the Masai Mara game reserve.

The Brazilian manufacturers pledged to stay ahead of competition by leveraging their strengths and brand promotions; sustaining research & development for product development and innovation; using appropriate technology & production methods; sustaining field presence and support to farmers; providing technical training for distribution staff; providing spare parts inventories and quick delivery; maintaining efficient customer relations and rapid response for which they are renowned; promoting excellence in service delivery and sourcing funding from bilateral and multi-lateral financiers.

Nakuru county senator James K Mungai admired and conferred with a delegate the range of equipment on display at the exhibition.

While welcoming all the delegates engineer Nkanya thanked Pan Trade for having organised the fruitful and successful event. He appealed for increased networking among Brazilian and Kenyan companies.

“Only 15 per cent of our 500,000 sq km of land in Kenya is arable so we need to improve farming methods to tap the potential in the arid and semi-arid lands to feed our ever-rising population,” Nkanya observed.

Currently, the agriculture ministry runs 24 stations dedicated to mechanising agriculture. This will be tackled and eventually partners will be urged to support local assembly of agricultural equipment and machinery, the engineer added. h

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EQUIPMENT

Case IH Patriot sprayers IN FARMING, TIMELY application is critical and application windows are short. That is why having the right sprayer that works efficiently and makes the most of the short time available is key. Case IH’s full line of self-propelled sprayers use the best technologies available to enable timely, consistent coverage – at the right rate and droplet size.

Case IH currently offers three models, ranging from 220 hp to 325 hp, from 3,000 litres to 4,500 litres, and boom widths from 27m to 37m. With this offering Case IH meets the needs of mid to large commercial farmers producing a wide variety of crops, from corn to wheat, from cotton to sugarcane and soybean.

A new, smaller model ideal for owner-operators with specialty crops or smaller fields will soon be added to the offering. This lighter model offers a narrower track spacing than the bigger models and boasts more ground clearance than any competitive sprayer in its class.

Case IH customer, Mr Jaap van der Westhuizen, runs mostly Case IH equipment on his farm near Koppies in the Northern Free state, South Africa. He bought his first Case IH sprayer in 2008 and now runs two Patriot sprayers with 36m boom for his 11,000 ha, of which 1,200 ha are farmed with maize, 4,800 ha with sorghum and 5,000 with soya beans.

He sprays his crops four times a year, which adds up to 55,000 ha a year with just two sprayers. “I find that using the Case IH sprayers works out cheaper than aerial crop spraying and it gives me the flexibility to spray when I want to,” commented Mr van der Westhuizen.

I did look at other manufacturers’ products but what stood out for me was the AIM Command spraying system that is unique to Case IH, as it gives me full control of my spraying programme,” he commented. “After buying the Case IH sprayer I have never had to weld or patch the booms. All these factors, and the suspension system, make it the superior sprayer for me.”

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From left: Johan Coetzer, salesman, Northmec and Jaap van der Westhuizen.

Mr van der Westhuizen is also very impressed with the service he receives from his Case IH dealer, Northmec. So much so, that now 95 per cent of his equipment fleet is Case IH. “My sales representative is a part of my business,” he explained. “He understands my needs and comes up with solutions; this is what makes the difference on my farm. I like the personal relationship between myself, my dealer and head office. I even have direct access to the managing director of Northmec, should a problem arise. This helps immediate decisions to be made, which solves problems in no time.”

When Mr van der Westhuizen purchases a new machine, his Case IH dealer, Northmec, has a dedicated trainer to make sure all the farm’s drivers know how to carry out correctly daily checks and give them operator training: “This saves me money in the long term, because I know my drivers are using the equipment correctly, which causes fewer major breakdowns.”

“I don’t buy Case IH because it is red; I buy Case IH because of service, parts quality and because my dealer understands my needs. I also like working with people that have a passion for agriculture,” concluded Mr van der Westhuizen.

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ZANZIBAR

Zanzibar's agricultural sector, while of huge importance to the islands, lacks development and has, until now, been very limited - whether social unrest and the undercurrent of religious discrimination are a part of the problem is anyone’s guess. What is a fact, however, is that Zanzibar has a plan as Tim Guest reports.

Farmers in Zanzibar cultivate food for their families but rarely more.

Zanzibar - the need for an agricultural revolution

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ANZIBAR'S AGRICULTURAL SECTOR, which once led spice trading in the region, with cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper still important to the islands to this day, is currently the focus of major agricultural re-vamp plans by its regional, and Tanzania’s national, governments. It has been a long time coming, but the islands’ overall land-based and marine agricultural development is crucial if Zanzibar is to drag itself out of poverty and improve the scourge of malnutrition, which afflicts a large proportion of the population.

Last year, Zanzibar’s minister for agriculture and natural resources, Mr Suleiman Othman Nyanga, (within the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar), said that agriculture had a major role to play in the development of Zanzibar in terms of employment. He said it contributed about 32.2 per cent of GDP on average, and had increased from 4.6 per cent in 2010 to 5.7 per cent in 2011, largely due to irrigation improvement and new and more practical policies.

He said plans for developing agriculture by the end of 2013 include further irrigation improvements, education for farmers on how to increase production and a drive to increase clove production, which was once the island’s main spice product.

In a further governmental verbal commitment to "increase food production and self reliance" on Zanzibar, this time from the mainland, acting minister for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Tanzania’s government of National Unity, Mr Ramadhani Abdallah Shaaban, said, in a statement to his parliament, that these aims would be achieved by improving agriculture research. He said that an agriculture research institute had been established on Zanzibar and that it had so far been “useful". He added that a number of studies aiming at developing rice, cassava and vegetables have been undertaken since the launch of the institute.

So, some action and a good deal of talking have been taking place, but when malnutrition is a factor still affecting about a third of Zanzibar’s population, it is clear the time has come for real, practical action in addressing food security and farming practices.

Visions, strategies, plans and research The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar has devised a national development vision - Vision 2020 - and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as broad development goals for which the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources (MANR) has a crucial role to play in improving the socio-economic situation of the community. One major goal is that of reducing poverty and improving the nation’s food selfsufficiency by 50 per cent by 2015. The ministry sees the role of its agriculture and natural resources sectors as crucial in helping the government reach its Vision 2020 goals, particularly as agriculture

26 African Farming - November/December 2013

alone employs over 40 per cent of Zanzibaris. As part of an all-inclusive push to achieve these admirable targets, all players in the agriculture and natural resources value chains have the mandate to ‘spearhead their efforts to ensure three priority objectives are attained, namely: basic food security, improving income levels and increasing export earnings’.

The MANR is responsible for the management and co-ordination of all the activities related to agricultural and natural resource development in the islands and comprises six departments, two institutes and the MANR Liaison Office in Pemba. There are also affiliated departments crucial to the government’s plans.

Currently, MANR has in place an Agricultural Strategic Plan – the ASP 2011-2014 - which directs the efficient allocation of scarce resources to achieve the medium-term objectives of the sector. ASPs have been regularly put in place and are reviewed every three years in order to monitor the progress and guide the ministry’s future plans, including the promotion of research and other services while ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources. Last year, Zanzibar’s Revolutionary Government and the MANR commissioned research by the Bureau of Agricultural Consultancy and Advisory Service of Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania. With another set of aims, MANR is quoted in the research as saying that agriculture, “...by the year 2020, be participatory, demand driven, carefully targeted, cost effective, gender sensitive, and properly coordinated, so as to enable farming and livestock keepers to utilize available resources in an effective and sustainable manner to improve food security and incomes”. The outcome of the very detailed research offers what it terms a Master Plan for agriculture on the islands.

A research Master Plan – a glimpse Agriculture in Zanzibar comprises of crop production, forestry livestock and fisheries, although food production is mostly a small scale affair.

Its major food crops are rice, cassava, banana, sweet potatoes, yams, beans and vegetables, and although there is potential to grow and expand the sector, the ‘sector is underperforming’, which is the result of poor funding, poor livestock management practices, little diversity and, sadly, a lack of initiative. One of the situations cited is that previously well-established plantations from the 60s and 70s have been allowed to turn into unproductive acreage through poor management and neglect, as trees have died without being replaced, or are not pruned to ensure optimum yields.

And while subsistence is the predominant farming activity, with livestock such as cattle and goats providing a source of savings and cash income, and milk and eggs used mainly for home consumption, fishing and sea weed farming are also widely practiced. Yet despite all these possibilities the Sokoine University research states that ‘overall

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ZANZIBAR

[domestic production] performance is dismal’ and, as a result, a ‘substantial amount of food is imported despite huge potential’.

Its recommendations for attaining the agricultural goals of the archipelago involve modernising the whole sector by transforming it from a subsistence-based sector to a commercial sector, one that is more productive and able to face its current and future social, economic and environmental challenges.

Improvements must be made to crop production, animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry and beekeeping and the reliance of food and cash crop production in Zanzibar on rainwater for growth and success has to be improved. As mentioned above, irrigation efforts have been taking place and these must continue drawing on the other water sources on the islands, namely boreholes, springs, caves, local wells and small rivers. All these, of course, depend on rainfall for their supplies to be healthy and the prospect and reality of increasing temperatures in the years ahead means that evaporation of many of these sources is a problem. A current lack of infrastructure, equipment and modern techniques to prevent water loss is one major problem, which the report stresses must be addressed in order to ‘harvest and store water for agricultural production’ going forward.

Seed production is also critical to any crop production on the islands and is currently the responsibility of the MANR’s Seed Unit (SU), at Bambi, and a secondary seed production unit at Kibonde Mzungu. But with limited capacity, and currently concentrating mainly on production of rice seed, maize and cowpeas, the SUs are beholden to the Agricultural Seed Agency (ASA) in mainland Tanzania for basic grade seeds, which they supply to farmers along with fertiliser and pesticides.

The SUs also have 17 tractors which deliver land preparation services to the contract farmers. However, the Sokoine University research states that much of the physical infrastructure, specifically buildings and seed

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Cassava is one of Zanzibar’s major food crops.

processing equipment are in ‘suboptimal conditions’ and this situation means that the SUs are unable to produce quality seed for many other root, cereal and fruit crops.

An obvious conclusion Having only touched the tip of the iceberg in the article above, (we haven’t even mentioned fruit and forestry which face problems of disease control and die back, or seaweed farming and its potential), it is clear that the agencies involved in agriculture on Zanzibar know what needs to be done to improve the productivity, food security and prospects for their islands and are making some efforts in the right direction. Going forward, mechanisation, latest husbandry techniques, improved seed production and education across the agricultural sector - from MANR agencies and staff right down to subsistence farmers themselves - are just some of the many improvements needed if the government is to attain its Vision 2020 goals, and the sector, its food security and productivity aspirations. h

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RICE MILLING

Differences in cultivation largely hinge on the amount of water required and the way in which it is harnessed and used. Dr Terry Mabbett reports.

The dry rice process

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ICE IS THE most heavily consumed cereal grain in the tropics and sub tropics with Africa, and especially West Africa, proving to be no exception. Rice offers farmers and agroprocessors with a highly versatile growing crop and harvested grain commodity. The crop can be grown within a wide range of environmental conditions utilising a broad spectrum of different agronomic techniques. Likewise the harvested grain commodity can be processed into consumable products using a range of processing methods.

Differences in cultivation largely hinge of the amount of water required and the way in which it is harnessed and used. Similarly, the way in which rice is processed after harvest depends on whether water is used to carry out ‘dry’ or ‘wet’ processing of the grain.

Rice is invariably thought of as a lowland crop grown in flooded fields or paddies. This description covers all types of rice cultivation in which the soil is covered with water to a variable depth, and over a lengthy period of time that may encompass the complete rice production cycle. Amounts of water supplied may range from several metres (deep water or floating rice) to just several inches.

Mangrove rice cultivation is a highly specific type of lowland rice production in which rice is grown in mangrove forests in river estuaries or along the coastline.

Rice harvesting in the Gambia.

28 African Farming - November/December 2013

Rice offers farmers and agro-processors with a highly versatile growing crop and harvested grain commodity.

Upland and dryland rice farming Irrigation is the most expensive input for most contemporary methods of wet paddy rice cultivation. In areas where water supplies were restricted or too costly ,farmers developed the ‘age-old’ art of ‘upland’ farming where rice is grown with limited irrigation over specific short periods, dictated by water availability and the stage of crop development (eg, grain filling).

‘Dryland’ rice farming does not use irrigation and the crop relies solely on

Rice is invariably thought of as a lowland crop grown in flooded fields or paddies. rainfall for its growth and development.

‘Dryland’ rice farming takes place on welldrained soils above the flood line, where seasonal rainfall and the ability of the soil to retain water are the sole determinants of crop growth and development.

Differentiation of rice with respect to water does not stop at production because rice may be processed in a completely dry mode or, alternatively, using copious quantities of water to pre-cook the grains in a process known as par-boiling. Traditional West African dryland production in upland areas, increasingly augmented by lowland irrigated rice cultivation, is invariably followed by the dry processing or milling of harvested rice grain.

The dry rice process Harvested rice grains are enclosed by closely fitting integuments called glumes.

These are removed by hulling prior to rice consumption as grain, or further processing into flour, snack foods and beverages.

The first secret to the successful postharvest processing and storage of rice is www.africanfarming.net

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Extruder OEE for the Production of Fish Feed

AMANDUS KAHL GmbH & Co. KG, Dieselstrasse 5-9, D-21465 Reinbek / Hamburg, Phone: +49 40 727 71 0, Fax: +49 40 727 71 100, info@amandus-kahl-group.de,

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RICE MILLING

drying the grain to an optimum moisture level of 12-14 per cent weight/weight (w/w). Moisture contents within this range are sufficiently low to inhibit enzyme action and therefore microbial activity in store. In addition, it facilitates the easy removal of the outer covering (bran or husk) by hulling with minimum breakage of grains to give good quality shelled rice. Rice bran is rich in oil so hulling also extends shelf life of grains by eliminating the source of rancidity.

Hulling followed by polishing has been carried out for thousands of years using traditional village methods and during the last 200 years by the use of small manufactured metal rice hullers.

International organisations advise against rice polishing as it removes too much of the Vitamin B complex leading to an increase in deficiency diseases such as ‘Beriberi’.

The world’s expanding rice harvest is increasingly processed within integrated ‘rice milling’ operations, available in a range of capacities from small (eg, 75-100 tons/day) or massive (1000+ tons/day) installed as turnkey operations with full computerised control. A summary of the operations involved includes cleaning, hulling, bran separation from shelled rice, pearling, polishing classification (whole/broken grains etc) and bagging.

Irrespective of the scale of rice processing, paddy rice must be harvested at full maturity and timed carefully so there is no hiatus. Delay during harvest leading to alternating wet and dry periods is responsible for development of stress in the kernel, which in turn results in high levels of

The various components of the rice harvest, including socalled ‘waste’ products, can be put to a huge variety of uses.

Rice dehusking

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ensures optimum balance between level of grain breakage and per cent of dehusked grain in the finished rice product.

Length of time in these machines also determines whether the end product is white rice or brown rice. Brown rice is dehusked less and is richer in the Vitamin B complex. The average amounts of vitamins in the B complex within rice are thiamine (B1) – 4 g/g; riboflavin – 0.6 g/g and niacin – 50 g/g.

Rice milling in Senegal

grain shattering during milling further down the processing line. Grain shattering during milling can additionally become a real problem if grains become overheated during the post harvest drying period, whether it remains too long in the hot sun or inside a mechanical dryer.

Threshed grain needs to be sorted to remove stones and insects and winnowed to eliminate light material such as stalks, leaves and dust particles. Storage in wellaerated rooms avoids absorption of moisture leading growth of surface mould and grain discolouration. But rooms must be sufficiently sealed to exclude insects, rodents and birds. Provided these measures are implemented, threshed grain can be kept in good condition until milling.

Control of processing, sacking and storage Primary process control points during milling are: ● Maintenance of grain moisture at 12-14 per cent to facilitate optimum dehusking (hulling) and storage quality ● Selection of holding times for grain in de-husking and polishing machines. This

Equivalent primary control points during the following packaging, storage and marketing phases are: ● Only use clean and dry (preferably new) jute or sisal sacks. This avoids risk of contamination and moisture absorption by the grain. If grain is earmarked for transit to a more humid zone then it should be packaged in polythene sacks.

However, only optimally dry grain should be packed in polythene sacks, or paper sacks with polythene liners. Polythene not only stops moisture getting into the bag but also any excess moisture in the grain from getting out. ● Strict control of sack or bag filling using accurate scales. ● Well ventilated and insect and rodent free storage conditions prior to retailing. ● Re-packing in paper packets for shortterm storage and retail and heat-sealed polythene for longer-term storage prior to retail.

Because the rice stays dry throughout and does not undergo any pre-cooking or contact with water there is minimal risk of contamination with pathogenic microbes.

Standard hygiene practices in relation to food production and handling are deemed sufficient.

Down the line The various components of the rice harvest, including so-called ‘waste’ products, can be put to a huge variety of uses. Rice grain is cooked and eaten as a vegetable or desert dish. The grains can be further processed into flour (usually broken grains) biscuits, snacks, breakfast-cereals, beers, wine and distilled spirit. Rice meal is used for animal feed while the valuable rice bran oil can be extracted from the bran. Rice starch is used in a variety of industrial processes. Rice hulls with their high silica content have been used in a wide variety of situations including the manufacture of pressed insulation board, cement tiles and cement breeze blocks, in the glass industry and for road surfacing. Rice straw is used in the manufacture of ‘straw-board’ for the building industry. h

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COMBINE HARVESTERS

There is something for everyone in the latest batch of combine harvesters from leading European and American manufacturers, including new developments in the high, medium and smaller capacity sectors and covering both rotary and straw walker threshing systems. Mike Williams reports.

Harvester progress

New Holland’s CX8090 is the highest capacity conventional combine in the world.

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N SPITE OF the increased popularity of rotary threshing systems, combines with conventional straw walker separation are still a popular choice, and straw walker machines feature in the latest harvester developments from New Holland. These include specification improvements for the CX7000 and CX8000 Elevation series combines with five models powered by engines with maximum outputs starting from 299hp and with 449hp for the top model, said to be the most powerful straw walker harvester available.

The two CX7000 models have five straw walkers with 5.2 sq m of cleaning area under wind control and the three CX8000 models have six straw walkers with 6.5 sq m.

Design improvements for the 2014 harvest include bigger grain tanks with 11,500 litres capacity on the top two models, and a 14 per cent increase in the unloading speed means the biggest grain tanks can be unloaded in just over 90 seconds.

Harvesting efficiency with the CX combines can be improved with New Holland’s Opti-Fan control system automatically adjusting the fan that produces an air flow while the crop material is moving over the sieves. When harvesting on an upward gradient the fan speed is reduced to avoid moving the material too quickly, but the speed is increased while harvesting downhill to maintain a more even flow. The result, the company says, is reduced grain loss and a better sample.

Opti-Fan is also available on New Holland’s updated TC combines, the popular medium capacity straw walker series that was first introduced in 1992. Since then numerous design

improvements have helped to push the production total to almost 50,000 machines, making it one of the world’s top selling combines. There are three models in the TC range for the 2014 harvest, all with five straw walkers and with engine outputs from

Harvesting efficiency with the CX combines can be improved with New Holland’s Opti-Fan control system The new C9000 series straw walker combines from Deutz-Fahr have 9500 litres grain tank capacity.

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COMBINE HARVESTERS

Merging conventional and rotary technology, the MF Delta hybrid has a host of new features to improve operator comfort and control as well as increase capacity and performance.

175 to 227hp. Design improvements on the latest versions include a more spacious cab with a bigger window area for better allround visibility, and the grain tank capacity on the two largest models is increased to 6400 litres.

Another addition to the New Holland harvesting equipment range is an extra wide header, available for the 2014 harvest and designed to offer increased output on the company’s biggest CR series rotary combines. It is the biggest header in New Holland’s Varifeed range with a 12.3 metre cutting width in a single span.

New developments from John Deere Combine developments from John Deere include a new smaller capacity model built by the Sampo Rosenlew company in Finland. It will be sold under the John Deere brand name as the W440 model and will be offered to small and medium acreage growers as an alternative to employing a harvesting contractor or buying a used combine.

Two versions of the W440 will be available, the PTC model with a pre-threshing cylinder and a standard version without. The active separation area is 0.62 sq m for the standard W440, increasing to 1.03 sq m for the PTC model. Both versions have six straw walkers with 6.3 sq m cleaning area. The grain tank capacities are 6500 litres for the standard version increasing to 8000 litres for the PTC combine, and the emptying speed is up to 100 litres per second. Both versions are powered by a 238hp engine.

Further up the output scale in the John Deere range is the recently introduced S685i model with rotary threshing and separation. It is designed to fill a gap near the top of the high capacity S series, powered by an engine offering up to 570hp maximum output with the power delivered through the ProDrive hydrostatic transmission. The new model is designed to work with a 9.15m recommended header width and the grain tank capacity is a generous 14,100 litres.

equipped with straw walker separation. The C9205 has five straw walkers and is designed for 4.8 to 7.2m cutting widths and there are six straw walkers on the C9206 harvester which can handle the recently introduced 9.00m width header. Both models share the same 9500 litres grain tank capacity and they are both powered by 7.8 litres Deutz engines with rated outputs of 307 and 363hp.

A new development on the C9000 models is the addition of a feed roller located at the beginning of the intake trunking that carries the crop material through to the threshing drum. The roller is fitted with retractable tines that help to maintain an even flow to maximise the threshing capacity.

As well as the two standard models, the C9000 combines are also available as special TSB hillside models equipped with a slope compensation system. The compensation operates with lateral gradients of up to 20 per cent and for up to six per cent longitudinal slopes. TSB hillside models also feature four-wheel drive with a new, fully adjustable rear axle and with an anti-skid system to maintain optimum output in difficult working conditions.

Further up the output scale in the John Deere range is the recently introduced S685i model with rotary threshing and separation.

Case IH has announced a number of detail changes to the specification of their Axial Flow rotary combines. Grain tank capacities for the current range are from 8810 to 12,330 litres and engine outputs and maximum engine outputs are from 299 to 571hp. Case IH, like some of the other leading manufacturers, has also introduced a new high output header with a 12.2m cutting width for use on the top Axial Flow models, and the top three models are also available in a rubber tracked version.

Rubber tracks increasingly popular Rubber tracks are an increasingly popular option for combine harvesters that may have to work in soft ground conditions or on soils that are likely to be compacted by the weight of a heavy combine with a full grain tank, and the list of companies offering rubber tracks as an option now includes Massey Ferguson. The MF Atrak track system The new W440 combine in the John Deere range has six straw walkers and a 238hp engine.

Models with straw walker separatio The new additions to the Deutz-Fahr range are the two C9000 series models

32 African Farming - November/December 2013

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COMBINE HARVESTERS

has been announced as an option on the Centora straw walker and Delta rotary type combines for the 1914 season.

Massey Ferguson is also offering a bigger header, introducing a 10.7m version of the popular Powerflow version, and the specification changes introduced by MF include a new drive system to increase the output when emptying the grain tank on the Centora and Delta harvesters. The flow rate has been boosted to 120 litres per second to deal with the 12,500 litres tank capacity on the top models in both ranges.

Massey Ferguson is also offering a bigger header, introducing a 10.7m version of the popular Powerflow version.

Claas Europe’s biggest combine harvester manufacturer The company that pioneered the idea of rubber tracks for combine harvesters was Claas, Europe’s biggest combine harvester manufacturer, and they offer the option of Rubber-tracked version of the Crop Tiger 40 tracks on a wide range of models including their combine from Claas with a 3.2m working width.

Crop Tiger harvesters. The Crop Tiger models have a no-frills specification and are designed as entry models for small to medium acreages. Two models are available, the Crop Tiger 30 with a 2.6m working width and a 1500 litre grain tank and the 40 model has the header width increased to 3.2m.

Both are equipped with a sun canopy to shield the driver and the power units are Tata Simpson engines with 62 and 76hp rated output.

Developments further up the Claas combine range include a new 420 model added to the Tucano range. It has a conventional separation system with five straw walkers, the grain tank capacity is 7500 litres and the recommended header widths are 5.4 and 6.0m. Another new arrival is the entry level 740 model in the Lexion range with rotary separation. The 740 has a Caterpillar engine developing up to 449hp maximum output and the grain tank holds 10,000 litres. h

New & Used Food Machines All With Warranty Bowl Cutters Used Fatosa 75 litre Bowl Cutter, 2011 Used Rex 200 litre Bowl Cutter s/s bowl Used Laska 200 litre Bowl cutter with black bowl New Fatosa 35 litre Bowl cutter s/s bowl Mincers and Mixer Grinders Used Butcher Boy 56 Mincer Used Hobart 56 Mincer, 15 Hp motor Used Butcher Boy auto 52 Mincer Used Wolfking 140 Mixer Grinder Used Laska 160 Self Feed Mincer New Fatosa PSA 160 Auto self feed Mincer Used Weiler 11 inch flaked frozen meat Mincer Vacuum Packers and Shrink Tunnels New ATM Single chamber for long fish etc New ATM double chamber vacuum packer New ATM large single chamber vacuum packer Used Cryovac CJ 51 Heat shrink tunnel Used Summan semi manual Dip Tank

Mixers and Tumblers New Fatosa 80 litre paddle Mixer Used IFM 1,000 litre twin ribbon Mixer Used Lutetia 400 Kg vacuum Tumbler Used Ruhle 150 scrape mixer/ tumbler Used Lescha 225 litre impact tumbler Used Hanrow 200 litre Tumbler Mixer Dicers, Flaker, grater Used Urschel Twin RA A Dicer shredder Used Urschel ML Dicer strip cutter Used Ruhle SR1 dicer with multi grid Used Treif Dicer 84 x 84 chamber Used Butcher Boy bandsaw sliding table Used Biro Bandsaw, sliding table Miscellaneous Used Saxon Sealer, Model SB1000/conveyor Used Talsa 120 litre electric cooker tank Used Bratt pans 80 to 180 litres Used Vertical bag clipper Used Handtmann VF 80 Filler with double clipper Used 2007 KS P10SE Vacuum Filler Used Vemag Robot 500 Vacuum Filler Used Ranger Apollo cooked sausage peeler Used tote bin hoist bolt to floor type Used Metal detectors

www.machines4food.co.uk Email: sales@machines4food.co.uk

Unit 40, Second Avenue, Westfield Industrial Estate, Midsomer Norton, Radstock, BA3 4BH, England

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

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ANALYSIS

Social media: focus on possibilities that work for farmers.

The rise of the rural entrepreneur

T

HE USE OF social media can, according to the book 'Future of Farming', be a trigger for farmers worldwide. In the USA, 76 per cent of farmers between the ages of 18 and 35 use social media to share knowledge, connect with consumers and promote their business. In some parts of the world, farmers and agribusinesses have been using social media for many years and are quite adept at utilising it to both grow their businesses and connect with consumers.

Bart IJntema, senior vice president of Food and Agriculture Development at Rabobank International has said: “Having a farming background myself, I have taken a keen interest in the use of social media in the agricultural sector. To me it is not a question of whether social media can be of added value to the sector, but how. Over the years I have seen farmers using apps to make business decisions, write blogs and tweet to share their story with a broader audience. Farmers use online platforms to skip a number of links in the food chain and sell their products directly to end consumers. Social media can definitely be made to work for the sector; we just need to focus on the possibilities that may work for farmers in doing business and engaging with the general public."

Social media and farming are not always the most obvious companions you may think of. Nonetheless, farmers are recognising the value of social media and how various platforms can be utilised to share information about their businesses and sectors. With over one billion Facebook users and 554mn users on Twitter, there is a great opportunity to bridge geographical distances between farmers and their customers, as well as others with whom they would like to share knowledge. Social media provides opportunities for farmers and consumers to connect, positioning farmers as a source of information about the origin of the foods consumers eat.

Social media provides opportunities for farmers and consumers to connect.

Closing the gap In Australia, it is predicted that within a couple of years, 33 per cent of the country’s farmers will utilise social media. Little by little, farmers have found their way to the platforms that are meaningful to them. This is due, in part, to the fact that farmers around the world face several challenges that can be partially resolved by using social media. Challenges such as access to finance in developing countries, consumer contact, access to knowledge and managing the image of the agricultural sector.

Sam Livingstone, from the virtual farming community AgChatOz in Australia, explained: "Social media can provide a massive benefit to both the farmer and the consumer in so many ways, from knowing that the beef you are buying as a consumer has been raised on grass, to letting consumers know which farmers’ market you are going to be at on the weekend so that they can purchase your produce."

“New ideas are generated when consumers and farmers connect 34 African Farming - November/December 2013

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Young farmers respond to climate change via social media.

online. Moreover, the online sharing of knowledge in areas where it’s difficult to physically bridge distances is a blessing. It provides farms with easy access to, for example, colleagues and their knowledge, experience and best practices.”

Sharing knowledge The relevance of knowledge sharing is emphasised by Ricardo Rios, a former computer engineer from Chile. "When I started my dairy farm, my knowledge as a computer engineer was worthless.

After a few years of farming I came to see that we lacked knowledge to become a flourishing company.” Seeking knowledge, Ricardo met a farmer from New Zealand who could help him. With this colleague as a mentor he learned a lot in a short time. “Since we started the coaching process from New Zealand, our company has grown. We are now achieving as much from the production system as the New Zealanders. This season we will milk 4,700 grass-fed cows,” said Ricardo. “If you lack knowledge, you need to find knowledge”.

Engaging with the general public Social media offers farmers a unique way to educate the general public about what they do, the practices they use and the challenges they face. When used properly, social media is one tool farmers can utilise to join a broader conversation about food production and, in the process, manage the perception of their businesses, and agriculture in general. Michele Payn-Knoper, an agriculture advocate and farmer with the AgChat Foundation in the United States, says: "Social media provides farmers with the opportunity to connect with the 98.5 per cent of the US population not on a farm, share best practices amongst peers and provide food buyers with an inside look into today's farms. Personally, I've received calf-feeding ideas, sold a truck and booked speaking engagements through Twitter and Facebook. More than 92 per cent of farmers in the United States own a smart phone; it's just a matter of putting those tools to work. Smart social media is smart business for farms."

Bart IJntema: “Rabobank, being a co-operative, acknowledges the added value of joining forces and working together. We feel that the principles and concepts of social media provide us with a way to start doing online what we have been doing offline for over a century already: connecting and co-operating. This is why we started developing a ‘Virtual Farm Club’ concept with and for rural customers. This concept will leverage the strengths of social media to facilitate connection and interaction among farmers from all over the world. We envision this concept to enable peer-to-peer information sharing, benchmarking, discussion with and among global and local peers, idea exchange, Q&As, and so on. The Virtual Farm Club will, in short, enable this generation of farmers and the next generation to share knowledge and best practices across a global virtual kitchen table.” h

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African Farming - November/December 2013 35

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OIL PALM

Olam International encourages African oil palm producers to adopt best practice planting procedures to ensure the long-term viability of the industry.

Best practices in oil palm plantation development

A

S GOLD SPONSOR of the 2nd Palm Oil Africa conference, leading global agri-business, Olam International’s keynote address would focus on best practices in oil palm plantation development, bringing to bear its deep understanding of the African agricultural sector and rural community landscape.

Olam’s global head of Plantations for Palm, Supramaniam R. Ramasamy, demonstrated how large-scale industrial development can still remain compatible with the three tenets of sustainability – economic, social and environmental – but only if companies are prepared to work in line with current best practice guidelines, such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), collaborate with stakeholders and commit to the long-term financial investment required.

In 2010, as part of its aim to shift the country from dependence on oil, gas, timber and mining exports, the Government of Gabon entered into a 30/70 joint venture with Olam to develop commercial palm oil plantations supported by outgrower programmes. To date, Olam has planted 5,857 hectares of the 32,293 hectares identified as suitable for planting1, while actively managing a further 29,891 hectares of conservation areas set aside to provide habitat for wildlife, maintain ecosystem services and preserve local people’s

traditionally important sites, such as fishing grounds and sacred places.

Key points from the address covered: Economic The catalytic role of private public partnerships in accelerating the growth of African agriculture, as well as opening up platforms for wider economic development.

Development Finance Institutions, in particular, recognise the strategic importance of supporting progressive government policies that attract experienced and responsible global operators into the key sector of agriculture; ● Through direct foreign investment, job creation and capacity building for a range of skills required now and in the future. It is estimated that palm plantations create one job for every eight hectares developed, while palm outgrower programmes offer communities the opportunity for integration and smallholders to directly gain from the economic investment; ●

Environment ● The benefits of taking a landscape approach to responsible development: Olam will share the key points of its site selection strategy in the context of Gabon, where the conservation-minded Government has

●

●

maintained 88 per cent forest cover and one of the lowest deforestation rates in Africa.

Olam has worked with the National Parks Agency to identify least-impact development options, and its site-level investigations are being fed back to the Government of Gabon to inform relevant aspects of national landuse planning; The need to invest in extensive third party verified environmental and social impact assessments and the importance of industry standards such as RSPO, while also committing to continual gap assessments. To date, Olam has invested over US$1mn in environmental due diligence and anticipates ongoing environmental and social investment costs of approximately US$1.5mn per annum. As a result of its due diligence processes, including broad stakeholder consultation, Olam has declined development options which would have impacted primary forests and landscapelevel priority ecosystems; The approach to protect high conservation value areas by preserving natural habitat blocks and linking them at site-scale via ‘corridors’, and developing long-term faunal management plans;

Social ● The reality that enduring success for agribusiness is only viable when companies

Olam Palm is committed to developing a sustainable footprint in our upstream palm projects.

36 African Farming - November/December 2013

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OIL PALM

help maintain food security by supporting smallholder agricultural programmes, while protecting broad areas between villages and plantation boundaries for traditional uses; ● That community investment is intrinsic to project costs – for example in Olam’s Mouila plantation, 950 hectares have been set aside for continued customary use and agriculture; three dispensaries, two kindergartens and 17 hydraulic pumps constructed; over 1,000 solar lamps installed; and 1,000 HIV test kits provided.

Gagan Gupta, Olam’s country head for Gabon commented: “The level of interest from global companies in the African opportunity is immense.

And, while we have faced challenges and learned lessons along the way, after 24 years on the continent, Olam is able to assess what is appropriate to pursue but just as importantly, with whom to work, so that collaborative investments have the best chance of creating long-term value for all parties.” h

●

establish equitable and transparent relationships with local communities and accept the long-term commitment therefore required to understand and resolve community land rights and customary usage of forest areas; The importance of the Free, Prior and Informed Consent process even if, as in the case of Olam, no communities or indigenous peoples are found to be living in concession areas. Equally, how agri-business can

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Olam has partnered with the Government of the Republic of Gabon in a 70/30 Joint Venture to develop 100,000 hectares of palm plantations over two phases out of a total leasehold land bank of 300,000 hectares allocated for developing Palm and Rubber plantations in Gabon. During the first phase, Olam Palm Gabon plans to develop 50,000 hectares of industrial palm plantations.

Upon successful completion of the first phase, smallholder oil palm plantations will be developed to enable communities to fully benefit economically from oil palm development.

The development is expected to take place over several years until 2019. Areas allotted to date for potential oil palm plantation development are shown here.

African Farming - November/December 2013 37

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New partnership for Maschio Gaspardo THE MASCHIO GASPARDO Group keeps growing and has recently announced a new partnership with Moro located in the province of Venice. Since Moro was first established in 1958 the company has been specialising in the production of ploughs. During this time period, more than 50 years of experience, it has revolutionised the process of soil working thanks to the introduction of the rotary ditcher, the on-land plough for rubber-tired tractors and the on-land reversible plough.

With the production of ploughs, Maschio Gaspardo has made another decisive step towards a full line of products and global leadership in the production of agricultural equipment.

As for the range of ploughs, the variety of models will be one of the company’s strong points: to satisfy clients who are more and more diverse and demanding, the models will be available from one to nine fixed or reversible, lead, trailed shares, inside or outside furrow.

The frames will be manufactured based on modern constructive concepts like screwed and non-welded frames, which, in return, will reduce mechanical tensions and make them more reliable, and the use of high-strength materials will make the frames lighter without changing their robust features.

The great variety of moldboards and coulters, together with different types of heads, frames and free light under the frames, allows real customisation of the machinery according to client needs.

Every model is available with a classic safety system using shear bolts or with a nonstop hydraulic system with a step-by-step or continuous working width adjustment.

A D V E R T I S E R S

Pigs’ toys increase animal wellbeing IN CO-OPERATION WITH Kassel University, WEDA Dammann & Westerkamp, specialists for pig house equipment from Lutten, have developed a new kind of manipulable material for piglets and fattening pigs.

By means of the rooting cones and pushing balls of bite-resistant and food-safe polyurethane, mounted to floor and brackets, the animals can act out their natural play instinct and can permanently busy themselves while standing up, sitting, or lying down.

Tested in various pig houses, the animals’ dealing with the cones has shown consistently positive results, in particular „reorientated“ behaviour patterns like tail-biting are reduced due to the satisfied rooting instinct.

Scientific findings also prove the practical suitability of the toys: in test groups with rooting cones, the animals used the cone significantly more frequently than the animal in the comparison group with the classical chain or ball. Consequently, the atmosphere in the rooting cone groups is clearly more tranquil than in the comparison groups, the result being that here, too, the injuries have clearly visibly declined. The results of this so-called „screening” (visible scratch marks) have been fully taken into account during product development.

“We were well aware of the demand of pig farmers for suitable manipulable material, especially for the farrowing section and service station”, explained Ralf Meyer, WEDA’s development manager.

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S10 AF NovDec 2013 Equipment_Layout 1 11/28/2013 3:07 PM Page 35

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