Africa

Black rhinos in Kenya were on the brink of extinction three decades ago, but their numbers have since quadrupled from 240 in 1984 to 966 in 2024.

The strict regulations introduced by the Namibian government on the importation of animal feed from South Africa pose a serious challenge for livestock producers in the southern region of the country, according to Rina Hough, commodity analyst of the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU).

Zimbabwe's staple maize harvest is expected to halve to 1,1 million tons in 2024 due to an El Niño-induced drought, Reuters recently reported.

Botswana has extended its import ban on fresh produce from South Africa, continuing to defy the free trade agreement that is in place.

The Namibian meat industry recorded a top performance during the third quarter of 2023 in comparison with the third quarter of 2022.

Africa should collaborate and share knowledge on agriculture best practices to nurture the aquaculture industry for enhanced and sustainable food security, says Zambia’s fisheries and livestock minister Makozo Chikote.

Namibian livestock producers called on that country’s government to seriously consider the creation of two Meatco entities that would service producers north and south of Namibia’s veterinary cordon fence (VCF) as two independent subsidiaries.

Zambia remains one of the main exporters of maize in Africa, following sustained output of the country’s staple food in recent years spurred by input subsidies, despite some climate change effects, invasion of pests, erratic rains, post-harvest losses and frustrated production in recent years.

The cause of elephant deaths in Zimbabwe and Botswana in 2020 has been revealed by scientists. The detection and presence Bisgaard taxon 45, an unnamed close relative of Pasteurella multocida in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, which covers Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, Zambia and Namibia, was of great concern.

The Namibian Directorate of Veterinary Services recently issued a directive to that country’s pork importers, informing them about the change in import conditions for fresh frozen pork with regards to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (RPPS).

Zimbabwe’s first citrus exports to China commenced after Zimbabwean citrus orchards and packing houses were given the green light for the exports in June this year.

Zimbabwe Sugar Sales (ZSS) general manager Tracey Mutaviri recently painted a bleak picture of local sugar sales in a report to the members of the ZSS board.

Namibia has taken the precautionary step of suspending poultry imports from South Africa following the outbreak of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).

In an effort to mainstream the value and contribution of nature in development planning and policy development, the Zimbabwean Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality, supported by the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), recently announced the landmark Zimbabwe Biodiversity Economy report.

Zambia’s North-Western Province, near the border with Angola, is known as the country’s top honey-producing region because of its woodlands that sustain bees and beekeeping.

The conflict and political unrest in Sudan have opened up an additional export market for red meat from Namibia in the Middle East. This was according to a statement by the Namibian Meat Board following a visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar.

Zimbabwe had so far stocked 37 dams with fish countrywide as part of its multi-million-rand aquaculture programme that was announced in 2022.

The Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco) expected a significant turnaround for the financial year running from February 2023 to January 2024.

Botswana’s first mega citrus project with around 800 000 citrus trees is expecting its first harvest in January next year.

Zambia’s 2022/23 maize harvest is expected to be 25,2% lower than last year’s. The crop has been forecast at 2,7 million tons, compared with 3,62 million tons recorded in 2021/2022.