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ZARI to Set up an Electronic Pest and Disease Identification System

Tuesday, 26 July 2011 14:53 administrator
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Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) is in the process of setting up an electronic pest and disease identification system which will enable farmers detect, prevent and report pest and disease problems they encounter on farms without having the hustle of reporting to the district agriculture officers more especially since farms are usually  far from the centre’s. The system is likely to be implemented before the end of the year, so farmers and regional manager be on the lookout for the launch of this system which is likely to help pest and disease detection and prevention much faster and it will also allow farmers to report the pest and other plant disease and get rapid response.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 July 2011 14:59
 

Zambia attains middle income status

Monday, 18 July 2011 13:00 administrator
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A World Bank report released last week has ranked Zambia and Ghana on 27th and 28th  place respectively in terms of Gross National Income (GNI) per capita. The (GNI) per capita is calculated as a total value of all goods and services produced domestically on annual basis divided by the population. Middle income countries are in two categories; the lower middle income countries are those having the GNI per capita between USD$1,006 and USD$3, 975 per year, this is where Zambia, Ghana, Namibia, Zimbabwe find themselves in, while the upper middle income are those countries with GNI per capita ranging between USD$3,976 and USD$ 12,275, a category where China, Brazil, South Africa and Singapore, among others, fall.
Reclassification of Zambia to a lower middle income country by the World Bank has emanated from the country’s sustained economic growth for almost 11 consecutive years, whose contribution has come mainly from the mining, agriculture and service sectors. As a result of this sustained economic growth the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranked Zambia as the fourth best performing economy in Africa, while two international rating agencies Standards and Poors, and Fitch ranked Zambia with a B+ rating, meaning that the country is credit worthy to borrow.

 

Maize Bran Shortages Persist

Wednesday, 13 July 2011 15:07 administrator
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Maize bran shortages have persisted with Lusaka and Southern Province being the worst hit. A snap survey in Lusaka revealed that all major millers in Lusaka had no bran stocks for sale. Only Livestock Services Cooperative had number three maize meal which was going at 35,900/50kg bag. MACO officials talked to have attributed the shortage to possible illegal exports and the increased local demand for bran. The Union will investigate further to establish the real situation and lobby for measures to help improve the bran supply on the local market.

 

Last Updated on Wednesday, 13 July 2011 15:53
 

AMESD Showcases Earth Observation Products

Monday, 18 July 2011 12:52 administrator
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The African Monitoring of the Environment for Sustainable Development (AMESD) Project held a workshop from 11th to 14th July, 2011. The aim of the workshop was to showcase the available Earth observation products in three thematic services; Agriculture, Environment and Drought Services. Participants were made to understand the concepts and rationale of monitoring the environment through the use of Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing (RS) tools. AMESD has installed three satellite receiving stations at the Ministry of Agriculture (Mulungushi House), Metrological Department Headquarters and the Zambia Environment Management Agency offices. These stations will be receiving spatial data transmitted from Germany on the environmental conditions prevailing in Zambia at a particular point in time with respect to Agriculture, droughts and fire services.
 This is a positive development for the agriculture sector as the land use and condition of crops in the country will be monitored on a regular basis. It will also make crop forecasting more efficient. Data from the drought receiving station will give an early indication on the drought prone areas whereas signals transmitted to the fire services receiving station will help curb distraction caused by bush fires.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 July 2011 15:03
 

End of June Inflation Edges Up

Wednesday, 13 July 2011 15:12 administrator
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The annual inflation rate at the end of June 2011 increased to 9% compared to 8.9% recorded at the end of May 2011. This was attributed to an increase in the price of some food items. The annual food inflation rate increased to 5.3% at the end of June compared to 4.2% at the end of May. A review of selected food related retail prices shows that the highest price increase was recorded on retail prices for most horticulture products with the retail price of tomatoes rising the most by 30.6% while retail prices for proteins and maize related items declined.

 
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