Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | There was a decline in staple food production across the country in the 2018/2019 agriculture year, according to a survey by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics. The head of the Department of Production and Environment Statistics, Patrick Okello disclosed this while releasing the 2019 annual …
Read More »Kenya eyes increased cassava production as staple crops hit by climate change
Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | As the effects of climate change such as scarce rains and drought unfold in Kenya, the east African nation is warming up to alternative crops that were initially neglected to boost food security, with traditional staple crops facing increased threats. Maize and rice are among Kenyan …
Read More »‘Father of hybrid rice’ Yuan Longping dies at 91
Changsha, China | XINHUA | Chinese scientist Yuan Longping, renowned for developing the first hybrid rice strain that relieved countless people of hunger, died of organ failure at 91 on Saturday. The top rice scientist passed away in a hospital in Changsha, capital of Hunan Province, at about 1 p.m., …
Read More »OPM gives 28,000 kgs of rice to elderly women, persons living with HIV/AIDs in Gulu
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A total of 1,400 elderly women and Persons Living with HIV/AIDs in Gulu municipality have received 28,000 kilograms of rice from the office of the prime minister. Denis Owachgiu Nono, the Community Services Secretary Gulu Municipal council, says each of the four divisions has …
Read More »Government sends rice to flood victims in Alebtong
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Government has sent 600 kilograms of rice to residents affected by floods in Alebtong district. The rice valued at about 2 million shillings is to be given to about 3000 residents in the sub counties of Akura, Omoro and Adwir. The area was affected …
Read More »Border closure leaves rice-loving Nigerians steaming
Badagry, Nigeria | AFP | The days of heaping 50-kilo sacks of rice across the saddle of their motorbike and slipping a few notes to a customs officer are now gone. With Nigeria having snapped its borders shut, the legions of motorbike riders who used to satisfy the nation’s hunger for …
Read More »HEALTH: Rice and obesity
Is there a link after controlling for a wide range of factors? | TIM NEWMAN | A study that used data from more than 130 countries concludes that eating more rice might protect against obesity. After controlling for a wide range of factors, the team found that the results remained …
Read More »UBOS names crops that earned farmers money
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Bureau of Statistics-UBOS has released a list of ten crops where farmers last year earned better price than others. The list is contained in the new Producer Price Index (PPI) for agriculture released on Thursday. This is first-time UBOS has released …
Read More »Farmer’s Group stuck with rice huller
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A group of 300 small holder farmers in Gulu district is stuck with a rice huller despite the bumper harvest due to lack of electricity. It is now three months since Latyeng Farmer Group in Laliya Sub County, about 10 Kilometers North of Gulu Town …
Read More »Rice farmers cry out over competition from cheap imports
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandan rice farmers and dealers have cried out to government to rethink a policy encouraging more rice imports, which they say is pushing them from the marketplace. In a two-page appeal published in The Daily Monitor, the Rice Association of Uganda-AU, says it is …
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