Reuters – In South Africa, a country where all-day barbecuing is a national pastime, plant-based substitutes are making surprising inroads despite a deep cultural love of meat and hostility from the regulator. That could be heartening for climate scientists, who say shifting diets from emissions-heavy meat and dairy toward more plant-based foods is vital to
In meat-loving South Africa, climate concerns whet appetite for veggie burgers
South African plan to allow land expropriation fails to pass
Constitutional amendment defeated by ruling ANC's opponents on both sides
Johannesburg | Reuters –– A proposal to change South Africa’s constitution to explicitly allow expropriation of land with no compensation failed to win the two-thirds of parliamentary votes that it needed on Tuesday. Lawmakers debated whether to change Section 25 of the constitution to enable authorities to seize land to address racial land inequalities left
South African white farmers, Black protesters face off over farm murder
Two suspected killers of farmer attend court hearing
Senekal | Reuters –– White South African farmers and Black protesters hurled abuse and threats at each other on Friday during a court hearing in a murder case that has exposed still simmering racial tensions 26 years after the end of apartheid. The killing of Brendan Horner, a white man whose body was found tied
Africa’s richest man targets Nigeria’s rice deficit
Aliko Dangote plans to produce a million tonnes of rice in four years
Nigeria enjoys a perfect rice-growing climate over a vast area yet it is the world’s second-biggest importer of the staple, often from countries in its warm, wet tropical latitude like top exporter Thailand. It’s one of those baffling Nigerian paradoxes, like the fact that it is Africa’s top oil producer yet suffers frequent fuel shortages;
IBM rolls out ‘Watson’ in Africa
IBM began rolling out its Watson supercomputer system across Africa on Feb. 5, saying it would help make agriculture smarter and address continental development obstacles as diverse as medical diagnoses, economic data collection and e-commerce research. The world’s biggest technology service provider said “Project Lucy” would take 10 years and cost $100 million. The undertaking
World Bank Urges Transparency In Foreign Farmland Deals – for Sep. 16, 2010
The World Bank is urging greater transparency in land investment transactions to protect local land owners as the volume of foreign farmland investment in poor countries swells. Foreigners investing in agricultural land in developing countries should be open in their transactions and recognize the rights of existing owners to avoid weak governance, the World Bank
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
