A row of derelict tractors on an abandoned state farm is a fitting reminder that industrialized agriculture has a checkered future in this populous East African country. With their faded red paint, gutted engines and rotting tires gradually being swallowed by the prickly underbrush, these 1970s-vintage symbols of progressive agriculture represent a technology that has
In Ethiopia: Conservation gospel falls on fertile soil
In Ethiopia: Too many people, too little land and a changing climate
The highway southwest of Addis Ababa to Wolayto-Soddo is wide and smooth, but there is no such thing in Ethiopia as setting the cruise control and just cruising, as one would expect to do on the wide open Canadian Prairies. With nearly 80 million people, Ethiopia is densely populated and most of its people live
In Ethiopia: First impressions of a far-off land
The sun was just peeking above the horizon as the Boeing 777 banked south just over Cairo, Egypt and headed for Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital that serves as the hub for all of Africa. We’d been travelling ahead in time, losing a night as we left Washington, D.C. at around 11 a.m. on Saturday,
Software inventors rule at this year’s Inventors’ Showcase
The only sparks and grinding that went into making this year’s Inventors’ Showcase entrants into winners was all in their heads. Software replaced metal as the judge’s top two picks in this year’s lineup of new inventions at Manitoba Ag Days. The top prize this year went to the Alberta-based Decisive Farming for its Know-Risk
Sun’s magnetic field could jinx GPS
Don’t blame the manufacturers — or even the gremlins — if your GPS system goes a little wonky in 2012. It’s likely solar flares will wreak havoc with at least some systems this coming year as the sun flips its magnetic field, says Pam Wilson, a precision agriculture instructor with Assiniboine Community College. “Basically the sun’s
Co-operating with its competitors
Attendance was down at the annual Canadian Wheat Board breakfast at Ag Days this year, but the farmers who came were encouraged by what they heard. “That just made my day. Now we have a choice,” said Jake Hofer, a wheat producer from Treesbank Colony after listening to a presentation by Gord Flaten, the board’s
Whither the weather?
If this is global warming — bring it on! That was a common response to last week’s record-setting temperatures across southern Manitoba —at least initially. Who could complain about a daytime high of 11 C the first week of January? But at the same time few could deny a sense of unease over a less-than-white
Apples And Oranges Add Up To Bananas
We ve observed over time that it s become increasingly difficult for civil servants to maintain that blurry distinction between policy and politics. But there can be no question that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has crossed the line with its marketing freedom website. It was undoubtedly pushed, but the result is the same. There can
A Dose Of Buhler Logic
It must have felt particularly sweet for John Buhler, founder of Buhler Industries Ltd. to be honoured with a degree for distinguished achievement during the University of Manitoba s fall convocation Oct. 19. The self-made multimillionaire and noted philanthropist was a high school flunkie. As he described it while addressing the Harvest Gala banquet in
What Do We Expect?
While many in rural areas expressed dismay at Manitoba s most recent election results, no one should be surprised. The results underscore the deepening urban-rural split in this province, a polarization that is both political and geographical. It s a polarity that is gradually disenfranchising rural Manitoba, as it reinforces the reality that any party