There is renewed optimism that Africa’s small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) could be big winners with the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) — the world’s largest such trading zone with a combined current GDP of US$2.5 trillion and a market of over one billion people. Given the challenges that have …
The sun was mid-way up when the car that carried me and a few local agricultural officers pulled up in front of a farmhouse. We got out and walked behind the house. There we found a heavily damaged field of corn. The farmer talked animatedly about a strange ‘hungry worm’. His corn was less than …
Last month, I visited a privately-owned farm estate in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The drive time from where I set out to the farm estate should have been around 20 minutes. Unfortunately, it took 45 minutes to get there, thanks to flooded roads and numerous potholes, which covered three-quarters of the trip. The condition of the …
The first time I met Josiane at Kigali’s largest public hospital, she burst into tears. A young, skinny orphan with a heart complaint, she had been in and out of hospital for over four years. During that time, she had received no visitors. Looking at her thin frame, I asked if she had eaten that …
Anandha Reddy is a farmer from Bayyaram Village, Siddipet District, Telangana. He has about four acres of thirsty land, which has twelve boreholes. He was ‘lucky’ as the twelfth borehole finally showed signs of water, at more than 1,000 feet. But, his expenditure of Rs 18 lakh on water discovery is a risky journey as …