Soc Trang , Vietnam | AFP | With a flashy gold watch and a chunky matching ring, Tang Van Cuol looks a far cry from the average Vietnamese farmer as he slings back a shot of rice wine and boasts about his projected earnings. After years scratching a living growing rice …
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Kampala, Uganda | GODFREY SSALI | Three NAADS officials from Manafwa District who caused a payment of 65.3m shs for supply of 100,000 coffee seedlings without following procurement laws, regulations and requirements have been sentenced to 5 years imprisonment each, if they fail to pay a total court fine of …
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Blantyre, Malawi | AFP | Malawi’s former agriculture minister was Wednesday arrested and charged with graft for allegedly profiting in a $35-million maize import deal from neighbouring Zambia, officials said. George Chaponda has been battling against graft allegations following the controversial purchase of 100,000 tonnes of maize in July 2016. Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau …
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Gahara, Rwanda | AFP | Inside a metal shed in southeastern Rwanda, Nicholas Hitimana brandished a plastic container holding a green liquid: geranium essential oil, freshly distilled and ready for export at more than $200 (175 euros) a kilo. The pioneer of essential oils in Rwanda, Hitimana said he understood …
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Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | African countries are currently having trouble releasing their biotech crops popularly known as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) to farmers, but scientists seem to be embracing a new strategy to ensure that there exist relevant regulatory systems. On July 18, the biosafety agencies and partners across …
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Kampala, Uganda | Isaac Khisa| The Uganda government says it is determined to ensure that the Biotech Bill is passed into law to facilitate safe development and application of biotechnology in the country. The National Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill, 2012, is now before parliament for debate amidst protest from the opponents of the …
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Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria on Thursday began to export yams to Europe and the United States, as part of moves to diversify its oil-dependent economy and earn much-needed foreign exchange. Agriculture minister Audu Ogbeh flagged off the first consignment of the fibrous tuber from the port in the …
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Unknown to most Ugandans, NARO currently runs one of the most active GMO research facilities on the African continent Kampala, Uganda| ANDREW S. KAGGWA | Barbara Ntambirweki, a research fellow with Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) is preparing for a bit fight – against introduction into the country of Genetically …
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Three top Chief Executive Officers from three different sectors have called on government and the private sector to think big about transforming Uganda’s current peasantry and subsistence agriculture, to a new commercial level Jimmy Mugerwa, the General Manager at Tullow Oil Uganda, William Sekabembe, the Executive Director at dfcu …
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Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe has banned the import of corn after enjoying a bumper crop that authorities hope will be enough to feed the nation and stimulate home-grown production, state-owned media reported Tuesday. Zimbabwe was once known as the “breadbasket” of Africa for its fertile land and modern …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price