Africa: Idris Elba Sounds Alarm As Pandemic Threatens Food Crisis for Farmers.

Africa: Idris Elba Sounds Alarm As Pandemic Threatens Food Crisis for Farmers. Idris Elba on Friday called for urgent action and creative solutions to prevent a looming hunger crisis in poor countries, where food production and transport have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. The British actor and filmmaker said the issue is personal to him and his wife, model and activist Sabrina Dhowre Elba, since both of their families come from Africa. The couple launched a United Nations fund in April to support rural food systems and spoke in an online panel on Friday with experts from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). With 60% of employment in Africa in agriculture, "that's an awful lot of people who are going to suffer and not eat because of the crisis and ongoing effects," Elba said.

Cattle may spread leptospirosis in Africa.

A study has shown that cattle may spread leptospirosis in Africa. The bacterial infection leptospirosis is increasingly recognized as an important cause of fever in Africa. Now, researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have analyzed the major risk factors for contracting leptospirosis and discovered that rice and cattle farming are associated with acute infection. Leptospirosis, caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira, causes a wide range of symptoms and can lead to serious complications include kidney and liver problems. In one study conducted in northern Tanzania, 8.8% of people with severe fevers had leptospirosis. Scientists know that animals can carry leptospirosis and lead to its spread throughout the environment or directly to humans. However, the major animal reservoirs and modes of transmission have not been well described. Rice farming, cleaning cattle waste, feeding cattle and farm work were all positively associated with acute leptospirosis. Smallholder farming -- which may be associated with substantial exposure to both livestock and rodents -- as well as frequent sightings of rodents in one's kitchen or food store -- was associated with seropositivity. see

Using African Drumming For Corporate Team Building.

Using African Drumming For Corporate Team Building.The African drumming classes are one of the most sought classes by many people, and the main reason behind this is the fact that these classes have a highly positive impact on the attendees. These classes are used widely throughout the world for both commercial and for private purposes. You can go to these classes along with you family members in order to get the desired tranquilly. These people would make you relax and, thereafter, they would teach you the basics of music. This would help you to identify the root process of music while making you understand the beauty of African music. You can play the music yourself and the professionals would join you to enhance the fun. This is just like learning and enjoying your moment. Apart from these personal uses, there are other formats of these music classes and this includes the corporate team building division.

Rapper Akon lights up two more African nations with solar power.

Rapper Akon lights up two more African nations with solar power.The Senegalese-American artist Akon is looking skywards to splash his cash by investing in solar power projects across Africa. The rapper added The Gambia and Cape Verde to his Akon Lighting Africa initiative this weekend, a fund that already helps populations who struggle to connect to limited or absent national grids in 25 African countries. The Gambian village of Sareh Pateh, population 4,000, turned on solar street lights for the first time on Sunday night, along with power for a mosque and a pharmacy. Akon, real name Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam, spent part of his childhood in a Senegalese village without electricity before settling in the United States. In Cape Verde on Saturday the musician met with Economy Minister Jose Goncalves and said he considered the poor but stable island nation to be his next investment prospect.The African Renewable Energy Initiative, launched at the Paris COP21 summit in 2015, aims to bring large-scale projects to the continent. source

Giant fish that eats crocodiles and humans.

During a fishing expedition on the River Congo in Africa, British angler Jeremy Wade, 52, caught Goliath tigerfish. Goliath is considered one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. It is much larger and more deadly than the small piranha. The giant fish has 32 teeth that are similar in size to those of a great white shark, and it has been proven that it attacks humans and crocodiles. When people name something or someone Goliath, you better expect to see something humongous! Well that is clearly the case of the Goliath tigerfish. The biggest monster fish from this species caught up until now was 5 feet long and weighed 154 pounds, but there are indications that even much bigger specimens roam the Lualaba River, Lake Upemba and Lake Tanganyika in Africa Each of this monster’s razor-sharp teeth can be up to one inch long, and when these “knives” gulp on the unsuspecting prey, expect a clean cut. The Goliath tigerfish species takes extremely long to breed, because, they like to hunt, and eat a lot, hence, they invest their energy into killing, rather than breeding. Your first instinct when you catch such a fish would be to take it home and frame it, please do not, cause we have to preserve the species, or else, we’ll only see it in documentaries. Many thanks coolweirdo.com

Olam, InVivo to jointly develop animal feed solutions in Nigeria.

Global agri-business Olam International Ltd. and leading French feedstock company InVivo Animal Nutrition & Health have signed a consulting agreement to jointly develop expertise in animal feed in Nigeria. The two-year consulting services partnership agreement signed in December will involve technical assistance and sharing of expertise to jointly develop solutions and products in the animal feed space. The knowledge transfer between the two companies will help develop solutions, formulate animal feed, characterize raw materials and implement R&D trials and protocols to enter the animal feed industry in Nigeria. This agreement will see, both companies tap into each other’s proven expertise – Olam for its Africa experience and InVivo NSA for its animal feed proficiency. InVivo NSA will support Olam in the design, equipment selection and installation of its feed mills across Nigeria. Its nutrition and formulation experts will work closely with Olam’s team to build a strong understanding of the local market and develop cost-effective formulations using local and imported raw materials. InVivo NSA will also train Olam’s staff on providing veterinary field support to poultry and fish farmers in order to help deliver consistent product performance. In addition, Olam will gain access to InVivo NSA’s R&D and product development facilities as well as their feed manufacturing units in other developing markets across Asia and Latin America. Olam’s Global Head of Grains, K C Suresh, said: “This partnership follows our announcement in November to enter the animal feed and related businesses in Nigeria. This knowledge-transfer agreement will accelerate our penetration into this space, allowing Olam and InVivo NSA to rapidly scale up commercial activities. In doing so, we look forward to improving productivity and returns for the local fish and poultry producers, which supports Nigeria’s economy.” InVivo NSA’s CEO, H. de Roquefeuil, adds: “Developing key partnerships with major players and accelerating our footprint in Africa is at the core of InVivo Group’s 2025 strategy. We look forward to leveraging off Olam’s Africa experience to bring our differentiated expertise to the region.” The global feed industry is a growing part of the agri-commodity complex with attractive returns and a strong growth outlook, particularly in emerging markets such as Nigeria. Olam has a 25-year history in Nigeria across multiple commodities. Its recent decision to expand into the animal feed industry was based on a comprehensive study of the sector and its existing expertise in the agri-commodity complex in the region. Nigeria was chosen as the first point of entry due to its strong growth outlook and demographics where the commercial feed market is expected to grow at over 10 percent CAGR over the next 5 years. read more at wattagnet.com

TICK VACCINE FOR AFRICAN CATTLE .

Two Queensland scientists have been recruited as part of a global project to help develop a tick vaccine for the African cattle industry.The tick may be an enemy of the Australian beef industry, but the situation is even more dire in Africa.The research is part of a global project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to help the overseas cattle producers combat tick infestation. Researcher Alicja Lew-Tabor said ticks were having a significant impact on domestic beef production in Africa.Unlike Australian producers, African producers generally only supply their domestic market and Dr Lew-Tabor said ticks caused significant problems in meat and milk supply. "Most of the countries in Africa have cattle of sorts, whether it is for milk or beef production, and most of them would be in regions that are affected by cattle tick and the diseases that they carry," Dr Lew-Tabor said."Ticks are resistant to a lot of the drugs that they use to put on the cattle; they become resistant to them in time."That chemical resistance was the very reason why Dr Lew-Tabor and fellow researcher Manuel Rodriguez-Valle were selected to join the worldwide project. For five years, they have worked on the development of many vaccine strains which could have potential in Africa.They started with 300 possibilities and have selected 25 vaccines which could be successful in controlling the tick infestation.Dr Rodriguez-Valle said the work was tedious, but the results looked good."We have two candidates that look very interesting [and] we will have results very quickly, at the end of February; we are very confident in them," he said.To control the results, the cattle are kept isolated in pens.The goal is to try to reduce the number of ticks per animal by 70 per cent. We infect the animals with around 5,000 tick larvae and wait until the ticks drop off each animal, then we collect the tick, weigh it and analyse the reduction in the number of ticks," Dr Rodriguez-Valle said.The vaccines inject antigens into the cattle, creating antibodies to attack the ticks."We got 80 per cent protection in a trial that we did in Brazil but what they [Gates Foundation] has wanted us to do is pull that mixture apart and work out what the most active components are," Dr Lew-Tabor said.The vaccine is expected to be ready to use within five years, and Dr Lew-Tabor said there could be benefits for Australian beef producers too."They will be able to bring the more susceptible breeds into regions where they don't have those breeds," she said. source; ABC NEWS.

FOOD FRAUD IN BEEF PROCESSING PLANT.

Beef processing and handling is riddled with a lot of challenges, ranging from lack of insurance policy to lack of compensation to butchers who have their animals condemned.

The food industry has faced with a lot of challenges and all hands must be on deck to ensure that the proper protocols are enforced. The food fraud saga rocking some countries has resulted in several food recalls and a larger percentage of the populace are changing their dietary preferences. 

Sharp practices are employed by processors to ensure they make profit to the detriment of consumers. 

 Have you gone to the market to buy beef weighing a particular KG,but when you leave on kitchen unit you discover a reduction in size? or you cut up the beef and when its done you discover a dramatic reduction? well!!! welcome to food fraud arena. 

The carcass is usually punctured and water is poured in the carcass to increase the weight.When you ask processors to supply beef at a particular weight,they simply add water to make up for the short fall and break even. #change it # new paradigm # better processing # meat inspection laws.# new breed butchers.

PROCESSING POULTRY FOR PROFIT.

All categories of poultry can be raised and processed for profit. The time of maturation of these birds differ hence the venture could be short term or a long term venture depending on your finances . Whatever the category, processing and packaging as premium chicken still is the best approach as it attracts high market value.