Even though rice feeds half of the world’s population, its cultivation still has its challenges.  I wanted to understand the challenges LanreRice is facing in Nigeria and what he is doing to overcome them.  To my surprise, LanreRice does not mention insects or diseases, but first brings up birds. “It’s a regional phenomenon, but bird invasion is a plague like none other here.  Scarecrows are a traditional way to scare away birds but do little against the Quelea birds.  Last year in Kebbi state the local government did aerial spraying to try to control the invasion that destroyed over 75,000 hectares [...]

After my post last week about Byju John and his Turmeric production in Ghana, I got a question about why I was promoting a crop not grown in Africa.  I did not answer the question, but I’m going to do it here.  First, Turmeric is being grown in Africa.  Just a bit over 3% of the world's production is in Africa.  Second, while Turmeric can be grown in Africa, most Turmeric consumed on the continent is imported.  That means, locally grown Turmeric is a huge opportunity.  Third, diversification in crop production is only good.  It reduces the risk, strengthens local agriculture, [...]

On these pages, I have mentioned various times, and for good reason, how hard it is to get young people to choose agriculture as their vocation. At the same time, people in the city are complaining about how hard it is to find daycare for their children while the parents are working.  Farmers are about the only profession, where every day is a “bring-the-kids-to-work-day”. Promise Sekeleti is only 8 years old and attending 3rd grade in Sinda District in the Eastern part of Zambia.  He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Sekeleti.  He has been with his father, following his every step since his [...]

A few weeks ago, we spoke to Deng James Bol, about an onion cultivation project he is overseeing for Christians Initiative for Development Aid in South Sudan.  The onion project involves over 350 farmers and takes over 500 hectares of land, with the objective of expanding the production to 11,000 hectares.  If you thought this was the only project James was overseeing, you were mistaken.  He is overseeing several different projects, and just to remind us of his responsibilities, here are some: Ensuring the farms follow the highest standards to achieve high yields and crop quality Managing the farm budget, costs, and expenses [...]

The last time we met Laner Fadayomi or LanreRice, and his, Real Foster CAMS Limited, he explained to us the background of his operation.  It’s been a decade since he started cultivating rice, but where does this cire come from originally?  Rice is one of the oldest crops in the world.  Evidence of rice has been found in the middle and lower Yangzi River Valley region of China, dating from 11 – 12,000 B.C.  That is indeed a long time.  However, African rice was domesticated roughly 3,000 years ago, in West Africa.  The difference between Asian and African rice is mainly [...]

When you have built up your farm, starting from bare ground and project by project converted into a thriving food-producing machine, what else is there to do?  Humphrey Sekeleti has not stopped since he started three years ago building his first fishpond.  One project has followed the other, with chickens being his last endeavor.   I was curious to know what Humphrey thought about the future of his farm, will he be adding new projects, or expanding the existing ones, or is this enough?  Up to now, Humphrey has been very methodical in his approach.  He has planned his projects carefully but [...]

When talking about African agriculture, Turmeric is not the first topic.  Over 80% of all Turmeric in the world is produced in India with China (8%), Myanmar (4%), Nigeria (3%), Bangladesh (3%), and the rest of the world the remaining 2%.  If Africa as a continent only contributes to something over 3% of the world's production, why would I be dedicating posts to that?  Because it is an opportunity, and someone has found it.  Byju K. John reached out to Agri Project Africa to tell me about his project in Ghana.  It is an interesting story. A story that highlights all [...]

As we roam across the continent, we come across Lanre Fadayomi in Ogun State of Nigeria.  Mr. Fadayomi, or LanreRice, as he prefers to be called, is a rice farmer, with operations through his company Real Foster CAMS Limited, in both Lagos and Ogun States in the Southwestern part of the country.     This is my second story from Nigeria, but I have never posted anything about rice, so I felt this was a great opportunity to bring something new to you all. LanreRice has been in agriculture for ten years.  He has done various projects such as plantains, cucumbers, watermelons, and [...]

During the past three installments of our conversation with Humphrey Sekeleti about his farm in the Sinda District in the Eastern part of Zambia, we have seen how he had to adjust to reality when he realized the time it would take for the fish farm to start producing and how he was able to turn this challenge into an opportunity and create multiple projects come out of it. After he had gotten the fish ponds running, he started on the citrus orchard.  He planted one hundred lemon, orange, and peach trees, together with bananas, in an area of 140 X 70 meters.  [...]

The last time we spoke to Chris, he explained why he had expanded his operation and added 4-acre Cabbage to the nursery operation he had.  It was, as he said, to increase income, improve cash flow, and reduce risk.  To make sure he would not have all the eggs in the same basket.  He also told me he has prepared and planted 1 acre of Kale (photos below), and studying the option of Yam as well. All of this has not come without challenges.  Chris has had to deal with diseases and pests.  His biggest problems have been mildewing and fungal [...]