AGFAX - Recent highlights

Following three years of drought and food shortage, Malawi defied international advice and implemented a radical system of subsidies on seed and fertiliser. Harvests have increased dramatically, but poverty continues to blight millions of lives. Now the government has a new approach to agricultural extension, and is promoting belts of production by clusters of small farmers, in order to further boost production and introduce commercial farming.

Small scale farmer groups from Livingstone in southern Zambia are using drip-irrigation to grow high quality vegetables on a year-round basis. The vegetables are supplied to two 5 star hotels at Victoria Falls, a major tourist attraction. A farmer, an extension officer and the hotels' executive chef describe how this has come about, and the benefits it has brought.

In Apac district in northern Uganda, an information centre and a local radio station are working together to supply farming groups with advice and tips on how to grow, add value to, and market their produce. For those living beyond the reach of radio signals, the programmes are recorded onto audio cassette; when listeners' questions arise, the same cassettes are used to bring back answers from the experts. Pius Sawa meets the farmer groups, the information providers and the local agricultural authorities, to find out how and why it is so successful.

In Ghana, Blue Skies Ghana Ltd recycles large quantities of waste from its fruit processing operation, to make compost. Dorothy Duodo gives a guided tour of the process, from where the fruit peelings and pineapple crowns arrive, to the end product - sweet smelling, soil-like compost. On the way, she offers tips and hints for compost makers of all sizes.

Since 2003, Farm Input Promotions Africa (FIPS) has been working with small-scale farmers to improve their crop production. One key strategy has been making improved, high yielding seed available in small packets which even very poor farmers can afford. Recently, FIPS won funding to expand this work into Uganda and Tanzania. Eric Kadenge reports from Kisumu in western Kenya, where he meets a FIPS trainer and some farmers who are benefiting from the affordable inputs.

Utiang Ugbe, West African coordinator for RIU Best Bets, describes the criteria the judges will be using to choose the Best Bet technologies. He goes on to describe how the initiative will encourage private sector involvement in getting research into use. At 1 minute 12 seconds, this item would be suitable for use in a longer news report or short feature.