Poor Farmer

Small farmers in Africa need to produce more. Happily that is easier than it sounds “ There are several reasons for the stagnation in African agricultural productivity but poor policies have played a large role. In many countries state-owned monopolies for the main export crops were established either before independence or soon after. The prices paid to farmers were generally squeezed to create profits that were meant to be invested in other, sexier, industries. Such policies failed to spark an industrial revolution but succeeded in making farmers poorer. ” – The Economist The Economist (From the Sept 19, 2015 print edition) September 17, 2015 ON A hillside about an hour’s drive north of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, is a visible demonstration of the difference between the miserable reality of smallholder farming in Africa and what it could be. On one side of the steep terraces stand verdant bushes, their stems heavy with plump coffee beans. A few feet away are sickly o...

By William Clarke Agrimoney September 9, 2015 Coffee consumption has the potential to boom in sub-Saharan Africa, triggering a revival in the stagnated local coffee industry, according to Ecobank. With sub-Saharan coffee consumption well behind other developing markets, even in Ethiopia where arabica originated, Ecobank sees the lack of a domestic market as a major problem for the industry. But the Togo-headquartered bank said that sub-Saharan coffee consumption was set to soar, as local chains proliferate and coffee giant Starbucks prepares to enter the region, offering an opportunities to "revitalise" the industry. High quality Sub-Saharan Africa produces around 12% of world coffee output, with Ethiopia, Uganda and the Ivory Coast accounting for three quarters of that production. And Ecobank noted that the region is notable for producing some very high quality beans, including high-value arabicas from Ethiopia and Kenya. But Ecobank saw a n...

ECX splits into two By Dawit Taye The Reporter Ethiopia September 05, 2015 The Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX), the first organized exchange in Ethiopia, is set to split into two giving rise to another state-owned enterprise called the Ethiopian Agricultural Commodities Warehousing Service Enterprises (EACWSE) which will be in business of providing an innovative warehousing services to ECX and other customers in the market. The company will be the latest to be incorporated as SoE under the supervision of the Privatization Public Enterprises Supervisory Agency (PPESA) which is established with an authorized capital of one billion birr and paid up capital of 250 million birr.  Ermias Eshetu, CEO of ECX, told journalists at a press conference on Thursday that the international experience dictates that the two services be separated from one another to facilitate the activities of the trading institutions. And from the context of the local market, the warehousi...